Culture Club has reached a settlement with their former bandmate Jon Moss, which will have them paying the drummer over $2 million in lost profits.
Moss, a founding member of the ’80s group, had filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates, Boy George, Roy Hay and Michael Craig, claiming he was owed money after being “expelled” by their manager in 2018.
According to Metro UK, the band agreed to a judgement in favor of Moss just six days before they were due to go to court to decide the value of the Culture Club name, as well as the amount Moss was entitled to and more. As part of the judgement, the band will pay the agreed upon amount immediately, while Moss has agreed to “relinquish” all rights to the Culture Club name.
(NEW YORK) — A new study is offering more information for women about whether the type of birth control they take increases their risk of breast cancer more than another.
The study, published Monday in PLOS Medicine, found that new forms of progestin-only hormonal birth control — including pills, patches, implants and injections — carry the same, small increased risk for breast cancer as the types of birth control that contain both estrogen and progestin.
“We’ve known for a while that estrogen and progestin birth control pills, oral contraceptives, have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer,” Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a board-certified OB-GYN and ABC News’ chief medical correspondent, said Wednesday on Good Morning America. “What we didn’t know is the newer forms of progestin-only pills, IUDs, injectable implants, what their associated risk, if any, was in comparison.”
The study, which drew on data from a primary care database in the United Kingdom, found that women taking any type of hormonal contraceptive had a relative increased risk of breast cancer of 20% to 30%. That seems like a high number, but the 15-year absolute risk, which indicates the likelihood of something actually happening, is 1 in 12,500 women from ages 16 to 20 and 265 in 100,000 women from ages 35 to 39.
The slight risk increased for women as they aged, the study found. However, the longer a woman is off hormonal birth control, the lower the risk.
Progestin is a form of progesterone, which is the hormone that plays a role in pregnancy and the menstrual cycle, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Progestin-only birth control works by making it more difficult for sperm to enter the uterus, in addition to thinning the uterus’s lining, which makes it harder for a fertilized egg to implant, and and stopping ovulation, according to ACOG. When taken in pill form, a progestin-only pill is taken once per day, at the same time each day.
Ashton, who was not involved in the study, said it is important to recognize how slightly the use of hormonal contraceptives raises the risk of breast cancer.
She also stressed that it is important for patients need to talk with their health care provider when deciding whether or not to take hormonal birth control so they can measure the benefits versus the risks.
Hormonal contraception is proven to lower the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers, for example, but it is also shown to increase the risk of clotting.
“It’s about individualizing that risk benefit and option risk for the woman,” Ashton said. “If you talk to any OB-GYN, they will say, we have a line, ‘Pregnancy is much higher risk than any associated risk with birth control pills or hormonal contraception.'”
Among women ages 15 to 49 in the United States, around 14% of those using contraception use oral contraception pills and around 10% use long-acting devices like IUDs, according to 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(ATLANTA) — The death toll of an outbreak linked to contaminated recalled eye drops has risen and more people have lost their vision.
According to an update issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday, the number of deaths has risen from one to three.
What’s more, at least eight people have gone blind and four people have had their eyeballs surgically removed.
The CDC did not provide any information in its update about the affected patients including names, ages, sexes or where they live.
More than 10 different brands of artificial tears have been recalled. Most cases have been linked to EzriCare and Delsam Pharma eye drops, made by India-based Global Pharma Healthcare.
According to the CDC, the eye drops were contaminated with an antibiotic-resistant form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an aggressive bacterium.
Pseudomonas are a type of bacteria found in the environment, with P. aeruginosa being the most common to cause infections in humans.
The infection is common health care settings and spreads from improper hygiene either due to unclean hands or medical equipment and surfaces not being properly cleaned.
P. aeruginosa is resistant to multiple types of antibiotics and has caused about 32,600 infections among U.S. hospitalized patients and an estimated 2,700 deaths, according to the CDC.
The strain that has been linked to the outbreak, however, had never been reported in the United States before, the CDC stated in its update.
As of March 14, 68 people across 16 states have been infected with P. aeruginosa. Of those cases, 37 have been linked to four health care clusters.
Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning, backed by the CDC, urging health care personnel and the public not to buy EzriCare Artificial Tears or Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Tears due to potential bacterial contamination.
After the warning, Global Pharma Healthcare issued a voluntary recall of both products, notifying distributors and advising wholesalers, retailers and customers who have the products to stop usage.
Not long after, the FDA also recommended that Global Pharma recall Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Eye Ointment, which the company agreed to. So far, no reports of infections have been linked to this product.
The CDC has warned anyone with symptoms of an eye infection who used EzriCare or Delsam Pharma eye drops to seek medical care immediately.
Such symptoms include yellow, green, or clear discharge from the eye; eye pain or discomfort; red eyes or eyelids; feeling of something in the eye; increased sensitivity to light; and blurry vision.
The CDC did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Dan + Shay‘s last Instagram post was on January 11, 2023, where they performed “Tequila” acoustically to celebrate the song’s fifth anniversary. But since then, it’s been radio silence from the duo, with no music or life updates. That had fans wondering: where are Dan + Shay?
Well, the singers are around, of course, but they’ve been hunkered down working hard on new music.
In an update posted on Instagram Tuesday night, Dan + Shay shared:
“Hi, we’ve been quiet on social media lately but wanted to check in and let y’all know we’re alive. We’ve been spending every single day in the studio working on a new album that we can’t wait for you to hear. The last 10 years have been the most incredible ride thanks to your support, so we feel the responsibility to bring you our best work yet. We’ve written songs, recorded songs, written more songs, recorded more songs, and feel so good about how things are shaping up. As soon as it’s ready, you’ll be the first to know,” the pair wrote.
Dan + Shay expressed gratitude for the charting success of their single “You,” which is currently number 11 and climbing on the country charts.
“And while we’ve been camped out in the studio, ‘You’ has been climbing the charts thanks to our friends at country radio, so don’t forget to keep requesting it at your local station(s)!” they added. “Thank y’all so much for being patient with us while we prepare for the next chapter.”
Dan + Shay’s last album is 2021’s Good Things, which features the hits “I Should Probably Go To Bed,” “Glad You Exist” and “10,000 Hours” with Justin Bieber, as well as current single “You.”
Harry Styles continues to shake up Seoul, and he was joined by some “Dynamite” talent — albeit backstage.
Harry’s Love on Tour is embarking on its Asian leg and brought him to South Korea. He previously hung out with BLACKPINK‘s Rosé, who was at his show alongside bandmate Jennie.
It was also reported four members of BTS —RM, Suga, V and Jungkook — were in the crowd. They recently revealed they also hung out with Harry backstage.
RM and V took to their Instagram Stories with pictures of their meeting. The boys are flashing various peace signs or making heart gestures with their hands.
V and Jungkook trended on social media after fans snagged video of them dancing in the crowd as Harry belted out One Direction‘s “What Makes You Beautiful.”
Speaking of BTS, the group is collaborating with Dr. Martens shoes for a BT21 collection. The shoes are embossed with the BT21 characters, which were drawn by members of BTS and given personalities. The characters are named Cooky, Mang, RJ, Tata, Shooky and Koya.
Fans won’t have to wait too long to snatch up a pair because they drop Thursday, March 30, on drmartens.com. Prices range from $140 to $190 a pair.
NBA Youngboy‘s new album is nearly a month away. In a post shared to his Twitter account Tuesday, he announced the project titled Don’t Try This At Home will drop on April 21, with 33 tracks available for fans to stream.
He also shared the album’s cover art, which featured Baton Rouge’s F.G. Clark Activity Center with the name of his album on its roof.
Youngboy’s upcoming effort will follow I Rest My Case, released in January. Though he told Billboard that he’ll try to steer clear of negativity in his music, he let Rap Radar know that he’s going to “talk crazy.”
“I’ma talk crazy on there,” he said. “I’ma show you Murda Man. I’ma talk crazy on there, but I’m letting you know though, don’t try this at home. It’s all entertainment, bruh. I’ma talk my s*** and everything I’m talking, letting you know, don’t try this at home.”
“Entertainment and reality is very different,” Youngboy continued. “What I do think, some of the entertainers make their entertainment their reality also, if I said that right.”
(NEW YORK) — A grand jury is continuing to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
No current or former president has ever been indicted for criminal conduct.
Here is how the news is developing. All times Eastern. Check back for updates:
Mar 22, 12:51 PM EDT
Manhattan grand jury to reconvene as early as Thursday
The Manhattan grand jury weighing charges against former President Donald Trump in connection to the Stormy Daniels hush payment investigation is not meeting on Wednesday, sources told ABC News. The earliest the grand jury would reconvene is Thursday, sources said.
The grand jurors were called Wednesday morning and told they were not needed during the day as scheduled, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The grand jurors were told to be prepared to reconvene on Thursday when it’s possible they will hear from at least one additional witness, the sources said.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment, citing a policy of not discussing grand jury matters.
-ABC News’ John Santucci and Luke Barr
Mar 22, 8:25 AM EDT
With Trump case looming, what is an indictment?
Criminal prosecution proceedings typically start with an arrest and a court appearance, but legal experts say that on many occasions, especially in white collar crimes, suspects aren’t hit with charges or a visit from an officer until long after an official investigation is underway.
Typically, if a crime is being investigated, law enforcement agents will make an arrest, file initial charges and bring a suspect to be arraigned in court, Vincent Southerland, an assistant professor of clinical law and the director of the criminal defense and reentry clinic at NYU School of Law, told ABC News.
After this arraignment, prosecutors would impanel a grand jury for a formal criminal indictment. Southerland, who has been practicing law in New York state for 19 years, said this process includes giving the jury evidence, possible testimony and other exhibits before they can officially charge a person with felonies.
A Manhattan grand jury is currently investigating Trump’s possible role in the hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and having an affair with Daniels. His attorneys have framed the funds as a response to an extortion plot.
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
Mar 21, 6:11 PM EDT
Pence discourages protests if Trump indicted
Former Vice President Mike Pence discouraged any protests should a grand jury indict Donald Trump.
“Every American has the right to let their voice be heard. The Constitution provides the right to peaceably assemble. But I think in this instance, I would discourage Americans from engaging in protests if in fact the former president is indicted,” Pence said Tuesday when asked by ABC News if Americans should protest a possible indictment.
Pence said he understood the “frustration” while calling the case “politically motivated.”
“But I think letting our voices be heard in other ways, and in not engaging in protests, I think is most prudent at this time,” he said.
-ABC News’ Libby Cathey
Mar 21, 11:00 AM EDT
McCarthy grows frustrated as Trump questions persist at House GOP retreat
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy again ripped into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg when asked about the potential charges against former President Donald Trump at a Tuesday press conference at the House GOP retreat in Orlando.
When McCarthy was asked directly if had concerns about Trump’s alleged conduct regarding the alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, he didn’t answer the question and instead pivoted to talking about Hillary Clinton and Bragg.
“What we see before us is a political game being played by a local. Look, this isn’t New York City, this is just a Manhattan,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said he hasn’t spoken to Trump in three weeks.
When asked if Trump is still the leader of the Republican Party, McCarthy took a jab at the press: “In the press room, for all of you, he is.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin
Mar 21, 10:14 AM EDT
Grand jury to reconvene on Wednesday
A grand jury will reconvene on Wednesday to continue to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, paid $130,000 to Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign to allegedly keep her from talking about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump.
Trump has denied the affair and his attorneys have framed the funds as an extortion payment.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is mulling whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records, after the Trump Organization allegedly reimbursed Cohen for the payment then logged the reimbursement as a legal expense, sources have told ABC News. Trump has called the payment “a private contract between two parties” and has denied all wrongdoing.
Trump this weekend wrote on his Truth Social platform that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday.
The U.S. Secret Service is coordinating security plans with the NYPD in the event of an indictment and arraignment in an open courtroom in Manhattan, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The two agencies had a call Monday to discuss logistics, including court security and how Trump would potentially surrender for booking and processing, according to sources briefed on the discussions. White collar criminal defendants in New York are typically allowed to negotiate a surrender.
Is Quavo the karaoke king? The rapper showed off his skills during his appearance on Jimmy Fallon‘s variety show That’s My Jam.
On the show, he was tasked with performing a “nonsense karaoke” version of Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz’s “Get Low,” which featured a whole new set of words to the beat.
“Pickle brine/ Taste like wine/ Straightening my teeth with Invisalign/ Jello, Jello, Jello, Jello, Jello, Jello/ I bought a Kindle at the mall/ Belly flop’d Niagara falls/ Read a book opened by Roald Dahl,” Quavo rapped to the beat as the crowd waved their hands in the air.
Quavo’s appearance follows previously released singles “Greatness” and “Without You,” both tributes to his nephew/Migos mate Takeoff, who passed away outside a Houston bowling alley in November.
Lindsey Buckingham seems to be trolling folks on social media. Following the premiere of the Amazon Prime series Daisy Jones & the Six, a clip of Fleetwood Mac’s 1997 reunion concert performance of “Silver Springs” has gone viral on social media, and Lindsey appears to have responded.
Buckingham shared a portion of the performance on TikTok, featuring just his guitar solo, stopping just as Stevie Nicks is about to sing the song she wrote about their breakup. Buckingham captioned the clip, “I hear we’re talking about that ‘97 Silver Springs’ again…,” which prompted several responses on social media.
“Leaving in the solo but cutting off before the bridge when Stevie stares a hole right through your soul,” one person commented, while another added, “He knows well and good that is not the part we’re talking about.” Daisy Jones star Riley Keough responded to his post, “Yes we are.”
“Silver Springs” was written for 1997’s Rumours, but was left off of it. It became a B-side for “Go Your Own Way,” and the live version was featured on the 1997 album The Dance. The performance clip has gone viral because Daisy Jones author Taylor Jenkins Reid says the book was inspired by watching that Fleetwood Mac concert, and particularly mentioned the performances of “Silver Springs” and “Landslide.”
(LOS ANGELES) — For the second straight day, classes were canceled for more than 400,000 Los Angeles public school students as tens of thousands of service workers, backed by the powerful teachers union, continued to strike.
Custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, special education assistants and other members of the Service Employees International Union Local 99 walked picket lines Wednesday morning with no new negotiations with the Los Angeles Unified School District publicly announced. The 30,000 members of the service employees union are demanding higher wages and better working conditions, and are planning to stay off the job for a third day on Thursday.
The labor action is the first major work stoppage for the nation’s second largest school district since a 2019 strike by the 35,000 members of the United Teachers Los Angeles Union.
The teachers union is honoring the service union’s picket lines, forcing the school district to shut down schools.
Cecily Myart-Cruz, president of the UTLA, said her members are supporting the service employees’ demands to show “respect to the education workers that keep our schools working and our children safe.”
“We stand in solidarity with them, recognizing that their struggles are our struggles … that the only way we achieve our goals is by standing collectively together,” Myart-Cruz said.
The service workers union has called for a three-day strike.
Hopes of avoiding a strike were dashed on Monday when a new effort to jumpstart labor negotiations broke down at the last minute, officials said.
“Despite our invitation for a transparent, honest conversation that perhaps would result in a meaningful solution that would avoid a strike, we were never able to be in the same room or at the same table to address these issues,” LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said in a statement.
Carvalho said he and the district’s negotiating team waited for hours on Monday to resume labor talks, but never got a response from the service workers union.
“We’ve run out of time,” said Carvalho, adding that he is still hopeful that negotiations will resume soon.
Max Arias, executive director of the service workers union, said the union had agreed to “enter a confidential mediation process” with the LAUSD.
“Unfortunately, LAUSD broke that confidentiality by sharing it with the media before our bargaining team, which makes all decisions, had a chance to discuss how to proceed,” Arias said. “This is yet another example of the school district’s continued disrespect of school workers. We are ready to strike.”
Conrado Guerrero, president of the local service workers’ union and a building engineer for the school district, said Tuesday that the “LAUSD has pushed us to a strike.”
“I showed up every day, I installed air filters in classrooms and other facilities. My work was essential for student health,” Guerrero told ABC News. “But it seems LAUSD has forgotten that.”
The service employees have been working without a contract since June 2020.
“We’re not getting an equitable wage to feed families, have housing,” Fatima Grayson, a striking special education assistant, told ABC Los Angeles station KABC. “A lot of people that do work for LAUSD have to work two jobs.”
In December 2022, the union declared an impasse in negotiations, prompting the appointment of a state mediator.
The service workers’ union said many of its members earn “poverty wages” of $25,000 per year and are demanding a 30% pay hike, with an additional pay increase for the lowest-paid workers.
Carvalho said on Monday that the school district had upped its most recent offer to a 23% wage increase, along with a 3% “cash-in-hand bonus.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the city is helping parents cope with the strike by making recreation centers available to students. All city public libraries will also remain open and the Los Angeles Zoo is offering free admission to students during the strike.
Many parents said they are standing behind the service workers, including some who plan to walk the picket line with the striking employees.
“We have some of our most underpaid workers doing some of the most challenging jobs on our campuses,” parent Jenna Schwartz told KABC. “The majority aren’t receiving health care. They’ve been negotiating for years to no avail.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Los Angeles, joined service workers on the picket line Tuesday, saying he is supporting “all those who take such good care of our kids who are there in school.”
“I stand here with people of Los Angeles who believe that those that have these important responsibilities should not have to live in poverty,” Schiff said. “The median income of our bus drivers and our cafeteria workers that are school age is $25,000 a year. Those are poverty wages. People with some of the most important responsibilities in our schools should not have to live in poverty.”
ABC News’ Flor Tolentino contributed to this report.
