Saint Asonia has premiered the video for “Devastate,” a track off the band’s Extrovert EP.
The clip captures an intense live performance backed by flashing video screens. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.
“It’s a song I wrote about those people in our lives that always seem to leave a trail of destruction behind them,” frontman Adam Gontier says of “Devastate.” “I feel like we’ve all got, or had, someone in our lives that was just evil. Not caring about anything but themselves, and turning everything they touch into darkness.”
Extrovert was released last November. It’s one of two EPs Saint Asonia put out in 2022, along with July’s Introvert.
Saint Asonia is currently on a U.S. tour with Theory of a Deadman and Skillet. They’ll then launch a Canadian headlining tour in April.
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Thursday, in a procedural move, cleared the way for a final vote on repealing decades-old war powers measures that authorized two wars with Iraq — first under former President George H. W. Bush in the Gulf War, and then by his son, former President George W. Bush — with supporters fearing that the outdated authorizations could be misused by a future president.
In a strong bipartisan showing, the Senate voted 67-27 in a test vote to repeal the authorizations.
It’s now all but certain to pass the Senate in a final vote next week, but it’s less clear is how a Republican-controlled House will handle the legislation.
Noting that the U.S. and Iraq are now security partners in the region, lead co-sponsor Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia argued on Wednesday that it is long past time for Congress to reassert its constitutional authority to declare war, saying, “After 20 years, it’s time to repeal this and show again that Congress can exercise that Article I muscle,” referencing the war declaration powers spelled out in the Constitution.
Kaine, whose son is a Marine infantry officer, recalled being angered by what he called a rush to war in Iraq ahead of the 2002 midterm elections, when he was a lieutenant governor, and then later fought to get on the Senate Armed Services Committee and Foreign Relations Committee to repeal the two Iraq “AUMFs” — or authorizations for the use of military force.
“Americans are tired of endless wars,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, Wednesday ahead of the debate.
He argued much the same Thursday, saying, “The nation of Iraq has changed dramatically since 2002, and it’s time the laws on the books catch up with the changes. The Iraq war has itself been long over. This AUMF has outlived its purpose and we can no longer justify keeping it in effect.”
Shortly before the Senate was set to vote, the White House weighed in with President Joe Biden’s support.
“President Biden remains committed to working with the Congress to ensure that outdated authorizations for the use of military force are replaced with a narrow and specific framework more appropriate to protecting Americans from modern terrorist threats,” it said in a statement.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week voted 13-8 to repeal both the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMF).
Schumer has confirmed that there will be votes on amendments next week before final passage. Kaine said he thought it likely that those would include the two GOP amendments rejected by the committee.
One — by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — is at the core of GOP opposition to repeal. Some Republicans have argued that repealing the laws might risk sending a dangerous message in an ever volatile part of the world, particularly with regard to Iran. The top Republican on the committee — Jim Risch of Idaho — has repeatedly maintained that repealing the measures would send a message to Iran that the U.S. lacks resolve.
The Cruz amendment would affirm that the U.S. has the authority to attack Iran, though the committee last week rejected that measure 13-8.
GOP Sen. Todd Young, a lead sponsor of the repeal effort with Kaine and a Navy and Marine Corps veteran, argued that while he, too, shares his colleagues’ concerns about Iran, a future administration should come to Congress and seek a specific approval for military action.
“I believe that the threat from Iran is so significant and so different from the wars since 9/11 or Saddam Hussain’s Iraq, that we must pass a new AUMF should the situation require it,” Young contended when the bill was first introduced. “Those advocating for leaving the 2002 AUMF in place as a means of deterring Iran, when that was in no way the intention of this authorization, would be building on past abuses and advocating for precisely the kind of expansion of war power authorities that ultimately makes Congress and this committee irrelevant.”
And the chairman of the panel, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, contended Wednesday that any future administration still has authority to go after ISIS and other Iranian backed groups through the still-viable 2001 AUMF that Congress approved for the war in Afghanistan and to go after al-Qaeda – the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as well as to pursue the Taliban, ISIS, and affiliated terror groups.
“This will have no impact on defending against any Iranian threat. The president already has the authority under the ’01 AUMF and the constitution for military operations against ISIS or Iranian backed groups that threaten US personnel,” Menendez said Wednesday.
The second GOP-sponsored amendment would have repealed that 2001 use-of-force authorization but was roundly rejected by all committee members but its sponsor, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
The Biden administration said back in 2021 when the House first voted to repeal the 2002 authorization that it supported the effort.
“The administration supports the repeal of the 2002 AUMF, as the United States has no ongoing military activities that rely solely on the 2002 AUMF as a domestic legal basis, and repeal of the 2002 AUMF would likely have minimal impact on current military operations,” the administration said in a statement of administration policy.
The repeal effort’s fate in the now GOP-controlled House, though, is unclear, despite its sponsors spanning the political spectrum from the far right via Chip Roy of Texas to moderate Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.
One senator, a veteran of the Iraq War herself, made a passionate case for repeal Wednesday.
“The documents set the legal framework for military action that are supposed to define the mission for the Americans who are going downrange, but lately, too many in these halls of power in Washington have shrugged off that duty, hiding behind this outrageously outdated document. They’ve been scared of the political risks that come with bringing these wars back into the spotlight. They’ve been staring down election days,” said double amputee Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.
“Congress has shirked responsibility to our troops. For more than 20 years since passing these AUMF’s those in power have stretched and skewed their original intent. They’ve left our troops without a clearly defined mission,” she said.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla.) — A second person has been arrested and charged in the murder of Jared Bridegan, a former Microsoft executive who was shot and killed in the middle of a Jacksonville Beach street last year in what authorities described as a targeted ambush.
Mario Fernandez Saldana, the husband of Bridegan’s ex-wife, was arrested Wednesday in central Florida without incident, authorities announced at a press conference. He has since been indicted by a grand jury on multiple charges, including first-degree murder, a capital felony.
State Attorney Melissa Nelson declined to reveal the motive behind Fernandez Saldana’s alleged involvement, saying she was limited in what she could share due to the ongoing investigation. She did confirm that he was the former landlord of Henry Tenon, the man arrested in January for allegedly pulling the trigger.
Nelson said that relationship was the “single link” tying Tenon to Bridegan.
Fernandez Saldana was also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse. He will be extradited to Duval County.
Authorities pledged to continue investigating the murder but did not say if there are additional suspects.
Bridegan, 33, was driving with his then-2-year-old daughter in Jacksonville Beach on Feb. 16, 2022, when he came upon a tire blocking his path, police said. When he stepped out of the car he was “gunned down in cold blood,” Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said.
Coolio‘s musical legacy will live on via the release of a new song. The lead single off his upcoming posthumous album, LONG LIVE COOLIO, “TAG ‘You It'” features West Coast MC Too $hort.
According to Billboard, a statement about the project describes “TAG” as a “catchy, raunchy and raw” song that pays “homage to ’90s hip-hop” and is “certain to create controversy and buzz.” It was supposed to release while Coolio was still alive, but will now drop Friday alongside an accompanying video.
Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., passed away last September due to suspected cardiac arrest. His longtime manager, Jarez Posey, confirmed the news, sharing the rapper died at a friend’s house.
The release date for Coolio’s posthumous album has yet to be announced.
Seven Henrico County Sheriff’s deputies have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection to the death of Irvo Otieno, who died in Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie, Va., while in police custody. From top left, Bradley Disse, Dwayne Bramble, Jermaine Branch, Randy Boyer; bottom from left, Tabitha Levere, Brandon Rodgers, Kaiyell Sanders. — Meherrin River Regional Jail
(DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va.) — Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old man who died in police custody earlier this month, was held down by seven Virginia sheriff’s deputies for 12 minutes, according to Ann Cabell Baskervill, the Commonwealth Attorney for Dinwiddie County, who described the “cruel” incident Thursday during a court hearing.
Cabell Baskervill described the incident as “a demonstration of power that is unlawful” and “it killed him.”
“There was no legitimate purpose for putting him down on the ground other than revenge, frustration or demonstration of power,” Cabell Baskervill said. “What it seems is [it’s] this demonstration of power that killed him.”
Cabell Baskervill said the preliminary cause of death was asphyxiation by smothering, his death was not reported for 3 1/2 hours and at no point during that incident was 911 alerted. Between Otieno’s death and the call made to state police about the incident, Otieno’s body was moved, handcuffs were removed and washed and a funeral home had been called instead of the medical examiner’s office, the commonwealth’s attorney said in court.
All seven sheriff’s deputies, from Henrico County, Virginia, have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Otieno.
Cabell Baskervill said that the brutal incident began in the Henrico County Jail, where Otieno, during his four-day stay, was punched by officers in his side and torso. She alleged at one point he was pepper-sprayed while he sat in his cell alone.
Otieno was then handcuffed and his legs were restrained with leg irons, which was the case until his death, according to Cabell Baskervill. From Henrico County Jail, he was transported to Central State Hospital, a state-run inpatient psychiatric facility located in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, on March 6. The officers allegedly used lights and sirens to transport him even though there was no apparent emergency relating to his transport.
Otieno arrived at the Central State Hospital at 3:58 p.m. to be admitted as a patient. During the admission, “State Police investigators were told he had become combative during the admission process,” according to a statement released by Cabell Baskervill.
Cabell Baskervill alleged that none of the seven deputies “made truthful statements to the State Police either that night or yesterday upon arrest.”
The incorrect timeline given to police by the deputies can be disproven based on timestamps and video evidence that has yet to be released or shown in court, Cabell Baskervill said.
Cabell Baskervill pushed back against officers’ claims that Otieno was combative, saying video footage shows that Otieno “was not agitated and combative,” saying he was fidgety, stressed and anxious, which is justified due to the treatment he had been receiving.
Otieno was thrown to the ground and held down for 12 minutes, at least eight of which he was held face down, she said.
All seven deputies were in the room at the time of his death, according to Cabell Baskervill.
There is no body-worn camera or car camera footage of the incident, however, several videos do exist from Central State Hospital and Henrico County Jail.
The seven arrested deputies were identified as Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48; and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30.
Two deputies, Branch and Disse, were released on bond while the five others are being held without bond.
Lawyers for Disse said that the officer was asked by a supervisor to drive to Central State Hospital because of issues they were having with the inmate and because they were told he could not be controlled with just three officers.
In court, a lawyer for Branch alleged the officer “did not administer any blows to the deceased, or violence towards him, other than simply trying to restrain him.”
Branch’s lawyer, Cary Bowen, told ABC News by phone that Cabell Baskervill was trying to fashion the case as something that is “malicious.”
“There was no weapon used. There was no pummeling or anything like that. I think everybody agrees,” Bowen said. “And the way she was casting it was that they ended up suffocating. He couldn’t breathe. And she’s acting like the guy didn’t resist and he wasn’t manic or bipolar or whatever. Just a nice guy who they’re picking on.”
The seven deputies have been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the cases filed against them.
The Henrico County Sheriff’s Office is also conducting an independent review of the incident and said it is fully cooperating another investigation by Virginia State Police.
“Public safety is what we stand for as a Sheriff’s Office. We will continue to maintain the highest professional standards in how we serve and protect those in our custody, the community at-large and our staff,” Henrico County Sheriff Alisa Gregory said in a statement.
James Hetfield has apparently apologized to Kip Winger over Metallica‘s “Nothing Else Matters” video, but Lars Ulrich has not.
As for why either would need to apologize to Winger, you may recall that in the “Nothing Else Matters” video, there’s a shot of Ulrich standing next to a photo of the “Seventeen” singer with darts sticking out of it.
Speaking with the Appetite for Distortionpodcast, Winger shares, “[Lars has] never apologized, but James Hetfield called me about a year and a half ago and apologized for the incident.”
“James is a kind of guy I could totally be friends with,” Winger continues. “He was very sincere, it wasn’t like he just called to apologize and then blow me off. He’s actually texted me a few times, we text every now and then. I don’t think Lars would ever call me to apologize.”
As for what inspired the diss in the first place, Winger muses, “I think everybody was just young kids, and they were thinking it was funny.”
“To me, it’s not funny to slag off a fellow musician,” he says. “But, who knows? I mean, they were just doing what they were doing.”
The “Nothing Else Matters” video hit 1 billion views on YouTube in 2021. The moment with the Winger poster happens around the 2:55 mark.
Apparently, Lewis Capaldi once called his mom to come pick him up after a one-night stand because he was having a panic attack. That’s just one of the things we learn in the trailer for Lewis’ new documentary, How I’m Feeling Now, hitting Netflix on April 5.
The trailer shows how Lewis’ mental health deteriorated due to the pressure of having to follow up his super-successful debut album.
“I think I’ve never been more insecure in my life as I am now, and I think that’s got worse the more successful I’ve got,” Lewis says in the trailer. “There’s that tension all the time. The clock’s ticking … my anxiety is out of control.”
“I feel like I’m in a race against the clock to get my mental health in order,” he says. “Other people are depending on me to get better, and I know that I can.”
The comment about the one-night stand comes from his mom at the end of the trailer. “That’s not a story that needs to be told,” says Lewis.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Lewis says he’s “wildly nervous” about the movie coming out, adding, “The whole film became way more intimate than I’d ever imagined so it feels like a particularly vulnerable position to be in.”
He also reveals the title of the film is named after a song he wrote about his mental health; the song arrives on Friday. He writes that in the past five years “there have been some extremely low points, and that’s what this song is about.”
And Lewis being Lewis, he concludes that he probably won’t make another movie anytime soon because “having a camera crew with you everywhere you go makes you look like a d*** and is quite simply f****** stupid.”
For many years, the Billboard Music Awards have taken place in May in Las Vegas, but it appears as though those days are over.
For 2023, the awards show is moving to Sunday, November 19. It’s not clear if the show is staying in Las Vegas or moving to another location. The BBMAs honor the artists who’ve been the most successful on the Billboard charts in the past year. The awards show also includes the annual presentation of the ICON Award, which was given to Mary J. Blige last year. Other ICON winners include Pink, Cher, Mariah Carey, Prince and Janet Jackson.
No other details, such as who will host the show, what network it will air on or who will perform on it, are available.
Steven DeKnight, a producer with credits including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Netflix’s Daredevil, is walking back comments he made last week regarding Wednesday star Jenna Ortega.
As reported, Ortega appeared on Dax Shepard‘s Armchair Expert podcast and explained she was “protective” of her title character, Wednesday Addams, to the point of being “almost unprofessional” on the set of the Netflix hit when it came to changing lines and questioning the character’s motives in the script. “I don’t think I’ve ever had to put my foot down more on a set in a way that I had to on Wednesday,” she said in part.
DeKnight took to Twitter last Tuesday to call the comments “beyond entitled and toxic.” He added, “I love her work, but life’s too short to deal with people like this in the business.”
He also tweeted, “She’s young, so maybe she doesn’t know any better (but she should). She should also ask herself how she would feel if the showrunners gave an interview and talked about how difficult she was.”
However, on Wednesday, DeKnight backpedaled, explaining of Jenna in part, “She’s an amazing talent. It was just an unfortunate situation to expose creative differences publicly, and also I’ll admit that writers are on edge because of the impending strike, myself included. A perfect storm.”
He also expressed “over and over” that Ortega is “fantastic,” adding of his comments, “It was an unfortunate gaffe to say that publicly. We’ve all had them. Learning experience for everyone. Me included.”
As one might have guessed, Jenna’s legions of fans didn’t accept the quasi apology, with many expressing sentiments similar to this user‘s: “No, you attacked her for speaking her mind…But you keep defending your attack on a young, woman, of color.”
(FORT HOOD, Texas) — The Army is investigating the death of 21-year-old Pvt. Ana Basalduaruiz, a combat engineer at Fort Hood, Texas, who had served with the division for the last 15 months.
Basalduaruiz, who was found dead last month, told her mother she was being sexually harassed by a superior and her family offered to pick her up from the base, her family told ABC News.
The Army Criminal Investigation Division and the chain of command are actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding Basalduaruiz’s death, Fort Hood told ABC News.
Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén was murdered at the same base after reportedly being sexually harassed by another soldier. The soldier killed himself while being pursued by police. A report released nearly a year after her death confirmed that Guillén had been sexually harassed by a superior.
An autopsy will be conducted on Basalduaruiz’s body Thursday, according to her aunt, Itzi Ortega.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Pvt. Ana Basalduaruiz, and we extend our sympathies to her father, mother, and her sister,” said Lt. Col. Patrick Sullivan, commander, 91st Engineer Battalion. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time. She was an exceptional teammate that will truly be missed.”
Basalduaruiz’s family was told they will not hear anything else until the investigation into her death is completed.
According to the Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2021 report on sexual assault and harassment in the military, 29% of women and 7% of men experienced sexual harassment. The 29% for women is an increase from the last report on fiscal year 2018 — when 24% of women stated they suffered sexual harassment. The increase was driven by the experiences of enlisted women and those under the age of 25, according to the report.
Basalduaruiz joined the military in 2020 but did not start training until August 2022 because of the pandemic, her aunt said.
Guillén’s sister, Mayra Guillén, reacted to Basalduaruiz’s death on Twitter.
“I’m aware of the death of Ana Basaldua in Ft Hood, TX. May she Rest In Peace. She was only 21 years old … I will be speaking to the family soon, I find it very sensitive to speak on something I’m not fully aware off yet and this is also very triggering for me … I need to gather my thoughts and then I’ll be able to share them,” she said in a Tweet.
