We are getting our first look at the new Blood, Sweat & Tears documentary, What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat & Tears?, which is set to hit theaters March 24.
A trailer for the John Scheinfeld-directed doc has just been released.
The film, which was made with the full cooperation of band members, delves into how the band got caught up in political controversy following a State Department-sponsored tour of Iron Curtain countries Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland in 1970. As the description notes, “As a result, they found themselves in the crosshairs of a polarized America – as divided then as it is now – and became an early victim of cancel culture.”
“It has been fascinating for me to re-live these incidents of some 50 years ago, through the footage, documentation and, incredibly, the live performance tapes John and his team discovered through some very deep and tireless digging. I believe the music we made then holds up today,” founding member and drummer Bobby Colomby shares. Blood, Sweat & Tears is known for such hits as “Spinning Wheel,” “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” and “And When I Die.”
Scheinfeld adds, “Uncovering the details of the extraordinary story took us far and wide, and we were amazed by the unexpected twists and turns of the tale. We hope people will be as struck as we were by the political parallels and counterpoints between then and now.”
(JACKSON, Miss.) — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill banning puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries for people under 18 in the state who are seeking gender-affirming health care.
The state joins six other states — Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, South Dakota and Utah — with laws or policies that ban minors from accessing care.
Studies, including research in the medical journal JAMA Surgery, have shown that gender-affirming care can be life-saving for transgender and nonbinary children and adolescents, promoting positive mental and physical health.
Transgender youth are more likely to experience poor mental health, suicide, substance use and other health risks due to discrimination and stigma, according to the CDC.
The new legislation also prevents public funds or tax deductions for gender-affirming procedures, “places enforcement procedures on the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure and stops Medicaid from covering gender transition for persons under 18,” according to Reeves’ office.
“At the end of the day, there are two positions here. One tells children that they’re beautiful the way they are. That they can find happiness in their own bodies. The other tells them that they should take drugs and cut themselves up with expensive surgeries in order to find freedom from depression,” Reeves said in a statement on the signing of the bill. “I know which side I’m on. No child in Mississippi will have these drugs or surgeries pushed upon them.”
The law sparked outrage among the LGBTQ community and allies in the state, calling Reeves’ decision an “act of violence.”
“He and the lawmakers who pushed this bill in Mississippi are willfully ignoring the unique needs of transgender young people, interfering with their medical care and sending a stigmatizing, exclusionary message,” said Mickie Stratos, president of The Spectrum Center of Hattiesburg, an LGBTQ advocacy organization.
They continued, “Advocates for transgender equality in Mississippi and beyond will continue doing everything in our power to care for and protect trans youth in our state.”
Rob Hill, state director of Human Rights Campaign Mississippi, slammed Reeves, saying in a statement that the governor “doesn’t have an ounce of medical training.”
“He is in no position to dictate the decisions that doctors and their patients make about health care,” Hill said. “This is nothing more than an attempt to inflate his flagging poll numbers ahead of a difficult reelection campaign.”
Several major national medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association, say that gender-affirming care is safe and effective. The American Medical Association has deemed it “medically necessary.”
(WASHINGTON) — The CEO of Norfolk Southern, the rail company responsible for the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, has agreed to appear before a Senate committee next week.
Alan Shaw will appear before the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee during a March 9 hearing.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Norfolk Southern said Shaw told the committee “that he will appear voluntarily …. We continue to engage in discussions with Members of Congress and other committees about additional requests to testify, while balancing his commitments to the remediation process and the community.”
“Alan will share what he knows about the incident,” the spokesperson continued. “As the [National Transportation Safety Board] has noted, there are also industry-wide issues, and we would expect that other industry participants will also be involved in future hearings. The rail industry needs to learn as much as it can from East Palestine, as can the owners of the rail cars.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had called for Shaw to appear for a hearing during floor remarks on Monday.
“The American people should hear from Norfolk Southern CEO precisely why they thought it was a good idea to spend years lobbying to loosen regulations designed to prevent accidents like this,” Schumer said. “And I especially want to hear why Norfolk Southern, after seeing a record $3.3 billion in profits last year, prioritized billions in stock buybacks instead of putting that money towards safety and towards their workers.”
The hearing has not yet been formally noticed by the committee, but other witnesses are expected.
The freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed on Feb. 3 near East Palestine, sending toxic chemicals into the air, soil and creeks in the area. The derailment has caused concerns for residents as well as increased scrutiny of railway regulations and calls for reform.
A bipartisan group of senators, led by Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown and Ohio Republican J.D. Vance, introduced legislation on Wednesday looking to regulate the railroad industry.
Among the proposals in the legislation are measures to enhance safety precautions for trains carrying hazardous material, like requiring that wheels of trains carrying hazardous materials be scanned for heat every 10 miles; mandating a two-person crew aboard all trains; and increasing the fines that the Department of Transportation can levy against corporations for breaking rules.
“Through this legislation, Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in East Palestine will never happen again,” Vance said in a statement. “We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from a catastrophe of this kind.”
The Norfolk Southern spokesperson said in their statement, of proposed rail legislation, “The rail industry needs to learn as much as we can from East Palestine. Norfolk Southern has committed to working with industry to develop practices and technologies that could help prevent an incident like this in the future. This incident requires a broad industry response, and we will also work with the owners of the rail cars on the integrity and safety of the equipment we use.”
This is the first major legislative foray for Vance, Ohio’s freshman senator. The bill boasts an impressive group of bipartisan co-sponsors, including Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
It’s not yet clear whether the legislation will have the necessary 60 votes to clear the Senate, but the bipartisan group of co-sponsors suggests it’ll have more than a fighting chance.
“These commonsense bipartisan safety measures will finally hold big railroad companies accountable, make our railroads and the towns along them safer, and prevent future tragedies, so no community has to suffer like East Palestine again,” Brown said in a statement.
In floor remarks Wednesday, Schumer announced his support for the bipartisan Railway Safety Act and said he would work with the bill’s sponsors to advance it forward for a vote.
“This is precisely the kind of proposal we need to see in Congress,” he said.
“The bill is as smart as it is necessary,” Schumer said.
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
Blink-182‘s upcoming reunion tour will start a little later than planned.
In an Instagram video, returning guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge shares that the first leg of the tour, which was scheduled to kick off March 11 in Mexico before heading to South America, has been postponed to 2024 as drummer Travis Barker recovers from surgery on his finger.
“We just kinda had one of those freak accidents that nobody saw coming,” DeLonge says. “Travis needs to go in and have surgery on his finger, and we have to get that well, we have to get that strong before we can do anything else.”
As previously reported, Barker shared in February that he dislocated his finger and tore ligaments during a rehearsal session. This week, he announced that he required surgery.
“This is just devastating on so many levels,” DeLonge says. “But we’re gonna get Travis better, and we’re gonna come down the three of us together and we’re gonna rock and we’re gonna have an incredible time with you guys.”
The affected dates include the South American Lollapaloozas, which will now feature Twenty One Pilots in Blink’s place.
Blink announced last October that they were reuniting with DeLonge after he’d left the band in 2015. They also put out a new single called “Edging,” marking their first material with DeLonge since 2011. A new record is in the works.
The U.S. leg of the tour, which kicks off in May, is currently set to go on as scheduled.
(NEW YORK) — Social media platform TikTok will set a default 60-minute screen time limit for users below age 18, the company announced on Wednesday.
When the one-hour limit expires, young users will be prompted to enter a password that allows them to continue viewing the app, the company said.
Young users can opt out of the daily 60-minute screen limit, but some high-usage viewers will be asked to set a daily screen time limit of their choice, said TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
“We believe digital experiences should bring joy and play a positive role in how people express themselves, discover ideas, and connect,” Cormac Keenan, TikTok’s Head of Trust and Safety, said in a statement.
TikTok, which has more than 100 million monthly active users in the U.S., has faced growing scrutiny from state and federal officials over fears that American data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government.
The app has also encountered sharp criticism over the risks it may pose to the mental health of young people.
Republican Rep. Michael Gallagher, of Wisconsin, who chairs a House select committee on China, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” last month that he considers TikTok “digital fentanyl.”
“It’s highly addictive and destructive and we’re seeing troubling data about the corrosive impact of constant social media use, particularly on young men and women here in America,” he added.
Last year, a bipartisan group of state attorneys general launched a nationwide investigation into the mental health effects of TikTok for young users.
Scrutiny over the harmful effects of content on social media, especially for young people, intensified after leaks from whistleblower Frances Haugen in 2021 revealed that an internal Facebook study had shown damaging mental health effects of Instagram for teen girls.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study last month that showed elevated rates of poor mental health in young people, especially young girls.
In 2021, nearly 60% of high school girls experienced a persistent feeling of sadness or hopelessness over the previous year, the study found, adding that almost 25% of high school girls made a suicide plan over that period.
In July, TikTok announced plans for a rating system aimed at protecting young users from inappropriate content.
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, both Democrats, last February sent a letter to TikTok saying its “algorithm of ‘nonstop stream of videos’ increases the likelihood that viewers will encounter harmful content even without seeking it out.”
The letter followed an investigation from The Wall Street Journal that found the platform surfaced tens of thousands of weight loss videos to a dozen automated accounts registered as 13 year olds within a few weeks of their joining the app.
Other social media platforms have also faced criticism over their effect on young people’s mental health. In September 2021, Facebook suspended plans to offer a version of Instagram for kids.
The following month, officials from Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube told lawmakers they would work with them on proposals to help protect young users from harmful content on their platforms.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March on the company’s data security practices, the committee said last month.
Dierks Bentley just dropped his 10th studio album, Gravel & Gold, but fans wonder if he is planning to take the new music on the road. So far, no tour news has been announced, which is why a fan tweeted that she’s waiting for Dierks to “release some tour dates.”
To his followers’ delight, Dierks responded shortly after with a tease, “There’s an announcement you might want to hear this Friday [curious eye emoji].”
Dierks’ last tour was his 2021 and 2022 Beers On Me Tour.
Gravel & Gold is out now. The 14-song project includes its lead single, “Gold,” which is currently at #11 on the country chart.
Will Dierks announce a new tour soon? Keep an eye on his socials this Friday.
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — Three police officers are in the hospital after they were shot while serving a warrant in Kansas City, Missouri.
The shooting unfolded shortly after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday as the three officers from Kansas City’s tactical response team were executing a search warrant, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said. When the officers knocked and announced their presence, gunfire erupted from inside the home and the officers returned fire, Graves said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Wednesday morning that a standoff is ongoing.
The injured officers were hospitalized with “non-life-threatening, but serious injuries” and were listed in stable condition, police said. Graves said the three officers were able to talk and told her they were doing OK.
Kansas City police tweeted, “They put themselves in harm’s way to safeguard Kansas City, serving with bravery and selflessness, and for that, we are indebted to them.”
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted, “We’ve been reminded too much lately in Kansas City how dangerous police work can be. I am praying for a full recovery for our three officers injured this evening and that everyone on duty gets home to their families safely.”
Chris Pine is clearing the air about what happened between him and Harry Styles during the infamous “spit-gate.”
Rumors sparked in September that Harry had spit on his Don’t Worry Darling co-star at the movie’s Venice Film Festival premiere. Pine’s team dismissed the reports, while Harry used the rumor as a punch line at one of his Madison Square Garden shows.
Esquirechatted with Pine about the alleged incident, to which the actor insisted, “Harry did not spit on me. Harry’s a very, very kind guy.”
While Pine agreed the viral video in question does makes it “look, indeed, like Harry spit on me,” he said what actually happened was an exchange of words.
So, what did Harry say? According to Pine: “I think he said, ‘It’s just words, isn’t it?'”
Apparently that was a running joke between the two, as the actor explained, “We’re all jet-lagged, we’re all trying to answer these questions, and sometimes when you’re doing these press things, your brain goes befuddled and you start speaking gibberish,” he explained. “So we had a joke — ‘It’s just words.'”
Shortly after the “spit-gate” rumors took off, Harry joked during his September 7 show he had “popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine.”
(NEW YORK) — Finland has begun construction on a barrier fence along the border it shares with Russia, the country announced. Construction will begin on a pilot phase that’s 3 kilometers, or 1.8 miles, in length in order to test the barrier’s capabilities before completing the entire project.
The full barrier is expected to take three to four years to build, depending on funding and the smoothness of the construction process, the country said.
The border between Russia and Finland is 1,300 kilometers, or over 800 miles, long. The barrier being built will be about 130 to 260 kilometers, or 80 to 160 miles, long when completed.
Construction of the border comes months after Finland and Sweden abandoned their longstanding policy of military nonalignment and applied to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Finnish parliament approved the country joining NATO in a vote on Wednesday, though Turkey and Hungary — two of the 30 NATO countries — still have to approve Sweden and Finland’s entry.
“In the assessment of the Finnish Border Guard, the changed security environment has made it necessary to construct a barrier fence along part of the eastern border,” the Finnish Border Guard wrote on a website dedicated to the barrier fence.
“Russia implements border control of traffic moving from Russia into Finland, thus preventing attempts at illegal entry. If Russia reduces its border control, this may cause additional pressure at the Finnish end to control illegal entry. Finland cannot rely on the effectiveness of Russian border control,” it added.
Finland has also vowed to support Ukraine, sending it shipments of weapons.
Construction of the pilot fence has started in Pelkola, Finland, at the Imatra border crossing point, according to the Finnish Border Guard. The pilot is expected to be completed by the end of June.
Forest clearance at the terrain began on Tuesday. Road construction and fence installation should begin in March. A technical surveillance system will also be installed after construction, according to the Finnish Border Guard.
Another 300-meter barrier fence will also be built in the Immola garrison during the pilot phase of construction. It will serve as a test area for surveillance technology and become part of the training environment for the Border and Coast Guard Academy, the Finnish Border Guard said in a statement.
After the barrier is completed, landowners in the area near the border will be paid a lump sum for permanent damage and harm caused by the construction.
A road will also be built for the movement and maintenance of border patrols near the fence under construction.
(NEW YORK) — The gates at Yosemite National Park have been shuttered due to extreme weather and climate conditions for a second time in less than a year.
The park has closed indefinitely after up to 15 feet of snow fell in some areas, the National Park Service announced on Tuesday night.
Yosemite had already been closed since Feb. 25 due to the storm that brought unusual amounts of snow to parts of California and was supposed to reopen on Wednesday.
Park officials are attempting to restore critical services so visitors can safely return, according to the National Park Service. However, there is no estimated date for reopening.
A major winter storm brought blizzard conditions to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Places like Soda Springs, California, about 200 miles north of Yosemite National Park, have seen about 109 inches of snow in the last week, according to the National Weather Service. More than 50 inches fell in the past two days.
Residents in the region are now being forced to dig out of their homes. Photos posted to Twitter by the National Park Service show homes nearly buried in snow and exterior doorways blocked by snowpack.
An additional 19 states are now on winter weather advisories for blizzards, heavy snow, damaging winds and flooding as the storm system moves east.
Portions of the park have closed several times over the past year due to conditions caused by extreme weather and climate.
In December, Big Oak Flat Road was closed for several days after a winter storm caused rocks to fall.
Wildfires in July last year that threatened the sequoia trees in the Mariposa Grove forced the national park to close its southern entrance.
ABC News’ Max Golembo and Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.
