Foo Fighters have announced a trio of U.S. headlining shows.
The newly added dates include stops in Gilford, New Hampshire, on May 24; Rogers, Arkansas, on June 14; and Pelham, Alabama, on June 16.
Tickets go on sale Friday, March 3, at 10 a.m. local time. For all ticket info, visit FooFighters.com.
The concerts mark the first headlining Foo Fighters shows of 2023, joining previously announced festival sets at Bonnaroo, Boston Calling and others. Dave Grohl and company are making their live comeback this year following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last March.
The Alarm is back and ready to release new music. The band is set to drop the new album Forwards on June 2, and they’ve just dropped the title track.
The album comes after a year of frontman Mike Peters dealing with some major health issues, including a battle with pneumonia and a relapse of his leukemia.
“I literally took my guitar into [the] hospital with me,” Peters shares. “I was on the ward for such a long time, I started writing these songs in between IV sessions and the first people to hear the music were the very people who were trying to keep me alive.”
The result is 10 new life affirming songs. “I’ve been to places only deep suffering can take the human spirit and, in the darkness, I clung onto every piece of light I could find to work my way back to life,” Peters shares. “This was the energy that drove me to write and record Forwards.”
The album will be released on both CD and vinyl, with two vinyl options available, a classic green and white star white vinyl edition, and a limited edition metallic green vinyl available only at independent record stores.
Here’s the track list for Forwards:
“Forwards”
“The Returning”
“Another Way”
“Love and Forgiveness”
“Next”
“Whatever”
“Transition”
“Love Disappearing”
“New Standards”
“X”
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — A new document reveals that a 9-year-old girl screamed, “He shot me!” after a gunman allegedly broke into her home and fatally shot her during a series of shootings in Orlando, Florida, that killed three and injured two.
Keith Moses, 19, was arrested last Wednesday in connection to the three shootings, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.
“The fact that he was smiling after killing a 9-year-old and killing two other innocent victims … just tells me he’s just a very evil, evil person and needs to go away for the rest of his life,” Orange County Sheriff John Mina said at a news conference Tuesday.
The first shooting claimed the life of 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin on Wednesday morning, authorities said. Moses’ cousin said he witnessed the shooting inside a car, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Then, Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons, 24, was shot and killed, and photojournalist Jesse Walden, 29, was shot and injured, while the journalists were near their car on Wednesday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said.
Walden later told police he and Lyons had just arrived on the scene to report about Augustin’s slaying when a gunman fired multiple shots at him, according to the new arrest warrant affidavit.
Walden, who was hospitalized in critical condition, was released from the hospital on Monday, Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV reported.
After Lyons and Walden were shot, 9-year-old T’yonna Major was gunned down in her nearby home, and T’yonna’s mother was shot and injured, according to the sheriff’s office.
T’yonna’s mother later told police she woke up to the sound of T’yonna screaming “He shot me!” according to the arrest warrant affidavit. T’yonna was shot twice in her torso, according to the affidavit.
The 9-year-old’s mother is expected to make a full recovery, the sheriff said.
No motive is known, the sheriff said.
Moses was initially charged with the first-degree murder of Nathacha Augustin, authorities said. He’s now facing additional charges, including the first-degree murders of Dylan Lyons and T’yonna Major and the attempted first-degree murders of Jesse Walden and T’yonna’s mother, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Let it be known that Metallica isn’t behind the times when it comes to social media.
The metal legends have taken to TikTok to tease a new song, presumably off their upcoming album, 72 Seasons. The clip features James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo jamming together remotely while inviting fans to join them.
Metallica previously used TikTok to share a mash-up of Hetfield jamming “Master of Puppets” alongside the famed scene in Stranger Things featuring the song.
72 Seasons will be released on April 14. It includes the previously released songs “Lux Æterna” and “Screaming Suicide.”
Has Shawn Mendes taken up with another female pop star/actress?
The singer, who used to date Camila Cabello, was spotted over the weekend in LA running errands with Sabrina Carpenter, the New York Post reports. The two weren’t holding hands or kissing, but photos show them looking very happy to be together.
The Post reports that the outing follows a rumor, allegedly posted by the celebrity gossip account Deuxmoi, that Shawn and Sabrina were seen together at an LA restaurant earlier this month looking “verrrry comfortable” and “clearly on a date.”
Fans are not OK after hearing the rumor and seeing the photos. One posted a number of “mind blown” emojis and noted, “If they are dating, the Internet will be broken.” Another posted the photos of them together and wrote, “Wait WHATTTT.” Still another tweeted, “Shawn Mendes and Sabrina Carpenter are WHAT??” along with the Spongebob “Get away from her!” meme.
The Sabrina rumor follows yet another rumor that Shawn is dating his chiropractor, Dr. Jocelyne Miranda: The two have been spotted together numerous times, including during a hike last week.
Wendy Williams is apparently plotting her return to television.
After being spotted by paparazzi at a New York City PETCO, the longtime talkshow host gave an update on her current life plans.
“I’m shopping for kitty litter because I have a wax museum in Paris and one in California,” Williams said. “I’m going for a week in Paris and then three weeks in California and then immediately fly back.”
She added, “And then I want to be on TV, stuff like Seth Meyers, Joy Behar,Whoopi Goldberg, The View, stuff like that. I am formerly retired.”
Williams’ daytime talk show ended in 2022 after 13 years on air. Rumors circulated about why, including her battles with addiction and Graves’ Disease.
Shortly after the show’s final episode last June, which was hosted by fill-in host Sherri Shepherd, Williams posted an image of herself to her podcast’s Instagram with the caption, “When one door closes a LARGER one Opens!”
Williams subsequently went public about an ongoing battle over control of her finances.
Joe Maher/Disasters Emergency Committee/Getty Images for Livewire Pictures Ltd
Ed Sheeran‘s always been huge in Australia, and now he’s cemented his popularity Down Under by breaking another record for concerts there.
Billboard reports that Ed’s show this Friday night at Australia’s Melbourne Cricket Ground set a new attendance record: He’s sold more than 107,000 tickets for it. His show Thursday night at the same venue has already sold more than 100,000 tickets, with more up for sale. Ed wrote on Instagram that these are “the biggest ticketed shows ever in Australian history.”
On the same post, Ed shared a video of himself toasting a statue of his late friend, Australian concert promoter Michael Gundinski, whose company is producing the Australian leg of the tour. Gudinski’s death inspired Ed’s song “Visiting Hours.”
As Billboard notes, Ed also set records the last time he toured in Australia, on his 2018 Divide tour. He sold more than 1 million tickets for the tour Down Under, smashing a record set by Dire Straits that had stood for more than 30 years. He also set a record for most stadium shows played in Australia — 18 — breaking a record previously set by Australian rockers AC/DC.
The North American leg of Ed’s current Mathematics tour starts May 6 in Arlington, Texas.
Twice Oscar-nominated Avengers actor Jeremy Renner is putting in the work, both physically and mentally, following his near-fatal New Year’s Day snowplow accident.
In a series of new Instagram Stories he posted Monday evening, Renner recorded himself on a stationary bike, exercising his left leg, with the help of a brace in his left hand, as his right leg rests on a platform.
“Whatever it takes,” he captioned the video, a callback to a repeated line of dialog in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The next image in the sequence shows the Mayor of Kingstown actor by the fire, reading cancer survivor Mark Nepo‘s self-help tome The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have.
“Mental recovery, too,” Renner captioned that photo. The book deals with finding peace and beauty within your life one day at a time, even after adversity.
To show support to his Kingstown family, the final video in the sequence he posted was a clip from the latest episode of the Paramount+ show.
Renner suffered serious injuries when he was pulled under his Snowcat plowing vehicle in an accident outside his Nevada home on January 1.
The now-52-year-old star said he broke over 30 broken bones in the incident, which also left him with blunt chest trauma. He underwent emergency surgery after he was airlifted from the scene, and spent weeks in intensive care before he continued his recovery at home.
(LONDON) — Researchers from Kenya’s Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) have detected a new species of mosquito in the East African nation that has shown resistance to locally-used insecticides and the potential to transmit Malaria throughout the year, unlike traditional malaria-causing mosquitoes.
The mosquito species — named Anopheles stephensi — was previously only known to spread Malaria in South Asia and parts of the Arabian Peninsula, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
However, it has been expanding geographically — first being detected in Africa in Djibouti in 2012 — and has since being found in several African nations such as Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan.
This, however, is the first time the mosquito has been detected in Kenya and its arrival is raising concern among researchers who say malaria transmission may continue all year round, rather than being seasonal due to its ability to “spread very fast to new areas” regardless of climatic and environmental conditions.
“The new mosquito poses a serious threat and could reverse the gains made in the fight against malaria,” KEMRI said in a statement sent to ABC News. “Malaria in Kenya, and Africa at large is known to occur in rural areas. Rainfall, temperature and availability of unpolluted mosquito breeding habitats in rural areas favour the breeding of malaria mosquitoes.”
“However, Anopholes stephensi is unique as it thrives in man-made containers and breeding habitats in polluted settings. The establishment of Anopheles stephensi in urban and peri-urban areas may pose a serious threat for malaria transmission in areas that have been Anopheles and malaria free,” KEMRI said.
Recent research carried out across Kenya show that the new malaria-causing mosquito was present in Laisamis and Saku sub-counties in Marsabit, Northern Kenya, and was detected during routine surveillance from KEMRI and the Ministry’s Division of National Malaria Program (DNMP).
Data from hospitals in the area have also shown an uptick in malaria cases outside the usual malaria season.
Malaria — which is transmitted through the infectious bite of the female Anopheles mosquito — kills nearly one child under the age of five in Africa almost every minute according to UNICEF.
“Malaria is a leading public health problem in Kenya. The disease is endemic in different parts of the country and almost 70% of the entire population is at risk,” says KEMRI.
There were an estimated 247 million malaria cases and 619,000 deaths worldwide in 2022. Just over half of all malaria cases globally were accounted to by four African nations, according to the WHO — Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Niger.
KEMRI is conducting a “coordinated response” to the new mosquito threat — urging people to cover all water containers to avoid mosquito breeding, utilize available malaria control tools such as mosquito nets and use personal protective measures such as the use of repellents, long-sleeved clothing.
(NEW YORK) — Dr. Deborah Horn wants to give her patients with obesity the best possible care. But too often, the conversation in appointments isn’t focused on picking the best treatment options, which sometimes includes anti-obesity medication.
Instead, the conversations are focused on cost and insurance coverage.
“When we’re sitting in front of a patient and thinking, how can we best help this patient, and if medication is the best route, coverage should really be the last thing we think about,” says Horn, the medical director for the UTHealth Houston Center of Obesity Medicine and Metabolic Performance. “Unfortunately, with the state of access, coverage becomes the first thing.”
Over 40% of adults in the United States have obesity, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as a body mass index of 30 or higher. While body mass index is not an indication of health, obesity is linked with heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.
Newer anti-obesity medications like semaglutide (the active ingredient in Wegovy and diabetes medication Ozempic) can be highly effective for people with obesity. But analysis and reports show that drugs used for weight loss aren’t often covered by Medicare, most Medicaid programs, and some commercial insurances, limiting access to the drugs — which can cost over $1,300 out of pocket for a month’s supply.
“If patients are on Medicare or Medicaid, the conversation is about what patients can manage for themselves financially,” Horn says. “That’s a frustrating conversation for patients.”
As conversations around semaglutide and other similar drugs continue, Impact x Nightline explores issues surrounding the drugs, and the effects they’re having on patients who have been struggling with weight loss in an episode now streaming on Hulu.
Medicaid coverage for anti-obesity drugs vary state by state.
“States have the option, but are not required, to cover weight loss medication,” a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services spokesperson said in an email to ABC News.
Coverage doesn’t map neatly onto obesity rates in states.
“Louisiana, for example, has a pretty high rate of obesity, they cover anti-obesity medication in their Medicaid program,” says Timothy Waidmann, a senior fellow in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute and author of the report Obesity across America.
Colorado’s Medicaid program doesn’t cover these types of drugs, and they have the second lowest obesity rate in the United states, according to America’s Health Rankings.
While Medicare doesn’t cover these types of drugs, beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans might have the medications covered.
However, this leaves a majority of Medicare enrollees without coverage for these types of drugs, forcing them to pay high out-of-pocket costs, or go without.
The coverage gaps could deepen economic and racial disparities around obesity, experts say. Patients who can afford to pay out-of-pocket for the drug are the ones who are able to access treatment.
“The biggest struggle we have in clinic is equity in care,” Horn says.
Horn, other experts, and obesity advocacy organizations are pushing for Congress to pass the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act, which would (among other things) expand anti-obesity medication coverage for people on Medicare.
Right now, coverage of anti-obesity medications by commercial insurance plans is mixed, and often varies by employer to employer, Horn says. But if Medicare covers the drugs, other plans would likely follow, she says.
“If we can get Medicare to cover the medications — no one wants to be worse than Medicare,” she says.
The success rates of the newer drugs like semaglutide and the new awareness around them might help move the needle and push more commercial insurance and Medicaid programs to cover the medications, experts say.
“I think, broadly, the popularity will only work to increase the number of states that offer coverage,” Waidmann says.
Older anti-obesity medications weren’t nearly as effective for weight loss as semaglutide and the other newer compounds, like tirzepatide (the active ingredient in diabetes medication Mounjaro), Horn says. They lead to around the same amount of weight loss as bariatric surgery — which Medicare and most Medicaid programs do cover.
“They’ve closed the gap,” Horn says. “We have medications that are as efficacious or almost as efficacious as surgery. Patients should be given a choice.”
But for now, patients who could benefit from these medications are stuck in a bind. Horn says she has a patient who lost over 100 pounds on semaglutide, but his insurance recently changed, and the drug will no longer be covered.
“He’s sitting at home thinking, ‘what is going to happen next?’ He knows his physiology,” Horn says. “You’re left feeling like your hands are tied.”
