KISS’ Gene Simmons recently announced a chance for U.K. fans to record a song with him at Abbey Road Studios — for a price, of course. Well, now he’s offering U.S. fans a similar experience.
To coincide with KISS’ final shows ever at New York’s Madison Square Garden on December 1 and 2, Simmons is giving lucky fans a chance to join him at Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios December 4, 5 and 6.
For a little less than $6,000, a fan and a guest will get to spend the day in the studio with Simmons and record a song with him, which they’ll be able to take home. They’ll also get to hear Gene share stories about his career, snag some items from his personal KISS collection and take a photo with him. Plus Simmons will sign two of the purchaser’s personal items.
Simmons notes that no musical experience is necessary to take part in this special package, but “if you play an instrument, we may use that in the recording.”
With the John Wick franchise, Keanu Reeves is playing the role of a lifetime.
That’s saying something, considering Reeves is a veteran of action classics like Point Break, Speed and, of course, The Matrix.
“It’s a fun character to be able to have that, you know, that John Wick kinda thing,” Reeves told Good Morning America of the seemingly unstoppable titular assassin, in an interview that aired Monday. “But I don’t take that home with me.”
Preparation “starts with training before the training,” as Reeves calls getting his “John Wick toolbox” together. On display in the films is a mix of judo, jiujitsu and weapons manipulation — gun fu, as it has come to be known.
Asked if he’s aging out of doing these over-the-top stunts at 58, Reeves assures fans “I’m not quite there yet,” but admits the fourth John Wick movie “got me closer.”
“I’m definitely feelin’ the age,” he said, also noting that he’s more experienced and therefore more efficient in tackling the action than he was when starting out.
Reeves said it’s cool and kind for people to be referring to John Wick: Chapter 4 as one of the greatest action movies of all time.
“I mean, I think the film is really epic, and I love playing the role,” he said. “I love the John Wick world.”
Reeves spoke to GMA before last Friday’s death of Wick co-star Lance Reddick. But in a statement after the actor’s unexpected death from natural causes at 60, Reeves shared a statement with the film’s director, Chad Stahelski, to ABC News. The pair said they were “deeply saddened and heartbroken” by the loss of the “consummate professional,” who was “a joy to work with.”
Now dedicated to Reddick, the movie opens March 24.
Selena Gomez is the third most-followed person on Instagram and over the weekend became the first woman on the platform to amass over 400 million followers.
The singer celebrated the massive milestone on Sunday and shared a slew of throwback photos dedicated to her most loyal fans. “Wishing I could hug all 400 million of you,” she captioned the sweet collage, which features fans supporting her at various concerts and giving her hugs backstage throughout the years.
Selena’s famous friends also joined in the celebration, such as tennis pro Serena Williams writing in a comment, “Love you!!!!!”
Paris Hilton, Queer Eye‘s Jonathan Van Ness, fellow Disney Channel alum Christy Carlson Romano and many others also shared congratulatory remarks.
Only two other individuals have amassed over 400 million followers — soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo with 562 million and Lionel Messi with 442 million.
Fans certainly have theories about why Selena is enjoying a massive spike in followers in recent months, with most singling out the recent drama with Hailey Bieber. Since the controversy blossomed in January, Selena has gained over 20 million new Instagram followers.
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Birley Club
Sir Rod Stewart was forced to press pause on the Australian leg of his tour due to an unexpected illness.
He took to Instagram Saturday to share a statement that his scheduled performance at Mt Duneed Estate in Geelong would not proceed as planned. The show was part of the venue’s A Day on the Green festival, where the singer was set to perform alongside Cyndi Lauper and Jon Stevens.
They, along with Stewart, shared the joint announcement from Live Nation, saying the show “will not go ahead, due to illness.”
The announcement, which was captioned with a broken heart emoji, also promised that fans would hear “a further announcement regarding the concert arrangements … early next week.”
Stewart explained why he had to pull out of the festival in a follow-up post. “I am absolutely downhearted that I’m disappointing my fans,” the statement began. It continued, “Late this morning I was advised that I have a viral infection and my throat is too irritated to sing.”
“I’m only human and sometimes get sick just like you do. My greatest joy is performing for you, so I’m doing everything I can to get on the mend and back on stage,” the statement closed.
So far no announcement has been made regarding his scheduled Tuesday show at AEC Arena in Adelaide.
(NEW YORK) — The Manhattan, New York grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s role in the hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels is hearing Monday from a witness for the defense.
Trump’s legal team asked the Manhattan district attorney’s office to allow Bob Costello, an attorney and longtime Trump ally, to appear as an exculpatory witness, according to a letter to prosecutors obtained by ABC News.
Costello previously represented Michael Cohen, a key witness for the prosecution, and was expected to tell the grand jury that Cohen previously said he was unaware of any crime committed by Trump.
“Cohen repeatedly told Costello that Cohen does not know of any criminal activity by President Donald J. Trump in any matter,” the letter said.
Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, paid $130,000 to Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign to allegedly keep her quiet about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump. The former president 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.
Over the weekend, Cohen said he was asked to be on standby for possible rebuttal testimony before the grand jury.
Based on the date of the letter, Costello’s testimony appeared to be arranged before Trump wrote on social media Saturday morning that he was expecting to be arrested Tuesday. The post also called on followers to protest.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city is prepared for any protests related to a potential indictment.
“We are monitoring comments on social media, and the NYPD is doing their normal role of making sure there is no inappropriate actions in the city,” Adams said Monday at an unrelated press conference.
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve was aware of risks to Silicon Valley Bank more than a year before its collapse, ABC News confirmed on Monday following a New York Times report.
Even more, ABC News has confirmed a Wall Street Journal report that the Fed cited risks to Silicon Valley Bank’s management as early as 2019 — four years before the bank’s collapse.
In all, the Fed cautioned the bank about its concerns on several occasions, ABC News confirmed.
In a 2021 review, the Fed identified significant vulnerabilities in the bank’s containment of risk, but the bank did not rectify the weaknesses.
The Federal Reserve of San Francisco, a regional entity that supervised Silicon Valley Bank, slapped the bank with six citations, including a note on the bank’s failure to retain enough accessible cash for a potential downturn, according to the Times and confirmed by ABC News.
The following year, in July 2022, Silicon Valley Bank received a closer look known as a full supervisory review, which rated the bank deficient for governance and controls.
Last fall, employees at the Federal Reserve of San Francisco met with top officials at the bank to address the lack of accessible cash and the potential risks posed by rising interest rates. Former Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker sat on the board of directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from January 2019 until the day of the bank’s collapse on March 10.
Details about the Fed’s conduct toward Silicon Valley Bank over the past two years were first reported by the New York Times and confirmed by ABC News. Silicon Valley Bank did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The Fed’s warnings proved prescient earlier this month, when the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank marked the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history.
The bank’s deposit base, which draws heavily from startup firms in the technology industry, tripled in size during the pandemic-era tech boom between 2020 and 2022.
Rather than invest all of the deposits into other startups or venture firms, the bank placed a sizable share of the funds into long-term Treasury bonds and mortgage bonds, which typically deliver small but reliable returns amid low interest rates.
In short order, however, the low-interest rate environment evaporated. Over the last year, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate 4.5%, the fastest pace since the 1980s.
The sudden spike in interest rates dropped the value of Silicon Valley Bank’s Treasury bonds and mortgage bonds, punching a hole in its balance sheet.
Two weeks ago, when Silicon Valley Bank announced it had lost $1.8 billion on the sale of those distressed bonds, major depositors withdrew their funds, prompting others to follow in quick succession.
The bank failed to generate enough cash to meet the demand of depositors seeking funds — a spiral downward that shuttered the bank in less than 48 hours.
The Fed is currently conducting an internal review of how it supervised and regulated Silicon Valley Bank, officials said. Those findings will be publicly released May 1.
(WASHINGTON) — The Republican chairmen of the House Judiciary, Oversight, and Administration committees issued a letter to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Monday demanding testimony and documents related to the investigation and potential indictment of former President Donald Trump.
The joint letter, from House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, and House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, is the first action by Republican House committees in response to Trump saying he expects to be indicted this week and after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy quickly announced he planned to use committees to probe the potential indictment and whether federal funding was involved.
“You are reportedly about to engage in an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority: the indictment of a former President of the United States and current declared candidate for that office,” the letter reads.
Jordan also told ABC News on Monday that he doesn’t believe Trump broke the law and called the expected indictment unprecedented in nature. When pressed on whether Jordan had any evidence to believe that federal funds were used in a local investigation, he said he did not and that’s why they’re looking into it.
McCarthy said during a press conference on Sunday evening at the House Republicans’ retreat in Orlando, Florida that he doesn’t think people should protest in relation to any potential impending indictment of Trump.
“I don’t think people should protest, no,” McCarthy said when asked if he condones Trump’s call to protest in relation to it made over Truth Social.
McCarthy wouldn’t directly denounce Trump using similar language that he did prior to Jan. 6, but added, “We want calmness out there” and “no violence.”
When asked if he believes it’s still appropriate for Trump to run if he’s convicted of a crime, McCarthy said “the Constitution allows him to.”
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge on Monday indefinitely delayed the defamation lawsuit writer E. Jean Carroll brought against former President Donald Trump.
Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, claimed Trump defamed her when he denied her allegation that he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.
The trial had been set to begin on April 10. Attorneys for Carroll and Trump declined to comment.
Judge Lewis Kaplan adjourned the case without setting a new date while he awaits a decision from a different court that could affect whether the trial goes forward.
The Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals, which governs the conduct of federal employees, is deciding whether Trump was acting in his official capacity as president when he spoke out against Carroll. If so, the Justice Department would substitute for Trump as the defendant and the case would be over, as the federal government cannot be sued for defamation.
Last year Carroll filed a second defamation lawsuit against Trump that also alleged battery. In his ruling, Judge Kaplan declined to merge the cases for the purposes of trial.
In a criminal case, Trump could decline to testify in his defense. In a civil case, he could be called to testify by the plaintiff. Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, has not said whether she would.
The Offspring has announced a summer U.S. headlining tour alongside Sum 41 and Simple Plan.
The pop-punk triumvirate will hit the road together starting August 1 in Auburn, Washington. The outing will conclude August 16 in Tampa, Florida.
“The only thing better than being on tour is touring with your friends!” The Offspring writes in a tweet. “We had two incredible international tours last year with @Sum41 and @simpleplan and we’re excited that they’ll both be joining us this summer in the US!”
Tickets go on sale Friday, March 24. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Offspring.com.
The Offspring will be supporting their latest album, Let the Bad Times Roll, which was released in 2021.
After 20 Emmy wins to date, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and a mantel full of other trophies, Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is coming to an end.
The trailer for the fifth and final season debuted Monday, with the streaming service announcing it will begin on April 14.
The snippet shows Rachel Brosnahan‘s title character telling an interviewer, “I want a big life. I want to break every single rule there is.”
According to the streamer, in this season Brosnahan’s Midge “finds herself closer than ever to the success she’s dreamed of, only to discover that closer than ever is still so far away.”
That’s evidenced in the trailer, with a frustrated Midge lamenting to her faithful manager, Susie (Alex Borstein), “It’s two steps forward and three steps back, and I’m tired of it!”
Bucking her client and bestie up, Susie declares, “They’ll see you for what you are, a god****** star!”
Just before a major appearance, Midge declares, “I’m gonna get this. You’ll see.”
The original cast returns, including Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub, and familiar faces also resurface, including Milo Ventimiglia and Kelly Bishop, playing respectively Handsome Man, an object of Midge’s affection, and the matchmaker Benedetta.
