Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross‘ score of the 2020 film Mank is now available on vinyl.
The movie reunited the Nine Inch Nails duo with director David Fincher, who they also worked with on The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl. Mank was nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar, but lost out to the soundtrack for Soul, which was composed by — wait for it — Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, along with Jon Batiste.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met Thursday with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss pushing policing reform in the wake of the death of Tyre Nichols.
As the group gathered in the Oval Office, Biden said it was his hope that the “dark memory” of Nichols’ death “spurs some action that we’ve all been fighting for.”
“We got to stay at it, as long as it takes,” the president said.
Attendees included CBC chair Rep. Steven Horsford, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Raphael Warnock, Rep. James Clyburn, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Rep. Joe Neguse — all Democrats.
Calls for legislative action have grown in the weeks following the fatal encounter between Nichols and Memphis police. Graphic footage of the Jan. 7 confrontation showed officers striking and kicking Nichols after a traffic stop. He died three days later. According to a preliminary independent autopsy commissioned by the family, he suffered from “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.”
Nichols’ parents, attorney Ben Crump and Rev. Al Sharpton all pushed for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as they delivered remarks at Nichols’ funeral on Wednesday. Harris, too, demanded Congress pass the legislation, calling it “nonnegotiable.”
“The death of Tyree Nichols is yet another example of why we do need action,” Horsford said as the caucus sat down with the president and vice president.
“We need your help to make sure we can get the legislative actions that are necessary to save lives, and to make public safety the priority that it needs to be for all communities,” he told them.
The group did not elaborate on any specific policies they planned to discuss as they entered the otherwise closed-door meeting.
But any policing reform faces an uphill battle in the now-divided Congress.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez pressed President Biden on whether police reform will be possible this Congress just before his meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus.
“I hope so,” Biden said as he held up his hands and crossed his fingers.
In advance of Thursday’s meeting between the Congressional Black Caucus and Biden, Republican Sen. Tim Scott poured cold water on the idea of using the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as a starting point in negotiations.
“Resurrecting the House progressives’ police reform bill is a non-starter,” Scott wrote in a Twitter thread.
The legislation passed the Democrat-controlled House in 2021 but stalled in the Senate, with impasse occurring primarily over the issue of qualified immunity for officers.
Scott has been at the center of police reform negotiations in the Senate in recent years, and he worked with Booker in 2021 to try to get a deal on the issue. His sign approval of any policing reform bill would likely be essential in garnering the necessary Republican support in the Senate.
“I’ve been working toward common ground solutions that actually have a shot at passing,” he tweeted. “Solutions to increase funding and training to make sure only the best wear the badge. Solutions that would have made a difference in places like Memphis & Kenosha.Here’s the truth: We can get something meaningful done. We can pass a bill that the majority of Congress–and the majority of Americans–would agree on.”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters at his weekly press conference Thursday he’d spoken to Congressional Black Caucus leaders ahead of their meeting at the White House.
Jeffries declined to say when exactly Democrats would put forward a policing bill, saying he wouldn’t get ahead of the meeting.
“We do need to have a real, genuine, authentic, and bipartisan conversation about dealing with police reform in America, and figuring out how do we strengthen the relationship between the police and the community,” Jeffries said.
Kelly Clarkson was feeling nostalgic for the ’90s, so she belted out Mark Morrison‘s “Return of the Mack” on the Kellyoke segment of her daytime talk show. She gave the track, which is about bouncing back after a bad breakup, a more sensual twinge.
Speaking of the ’90s, Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard is admittedly peppering Winona Ryder with questions about all the rockstars she dated in that era — such as Dave Grohl and MCA from the Beastie Boys. Finn told GQ, “I could literally ask her what it was like knowing Kurt Cobain, and she just tells me everything.”
Another project from The Weeknd is heading to HBO. He announced his concert at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium is being turned into a concert film, titled The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium. It will start streaming on HBO Max on February 25.
Harry Styles felt the birthday love at his concert in Palm Springs, California, which also marked his final North American tour stop. Billboardsays he told fans at the show, “Obviously, I have a fear of people not coming to my birthday party. So, I just thought I would do a show and maybe you might come.”
Ok Go, the band that danced on treadmills for their “Here It Goes Again” music video, is suing Post Foods for naming a new grab-and-go breakfast option OK GO! Varietyreports the band alleges Post Foods is violating and diluting their trademark, which they’ve had since 2008. They want the cereal option to be called something else.
The second season of CMT Storytellers premieres Thursday, February 16, at 10 p.m. ET, with an episode starring Kelsea Ballerini.
If you missed the livestream of Reba McEntire‘s concert at the grand opening of Reba’s Place in Atoka, Oklahoma, last Thursday, you can check out the full show on her YouTube channel.
(WASHINGTON) — A massive spy balloon believed to be from China was seen above Montana on Thursday and is being tracked as it flies across the continental United States, with President Joe Biden ultimately deciding against “military options” because of the risk to civilians, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
The high-altitude reconnaissance balloon was not the first such vessel to pass over the country in this way, a defense official said in a briefing.
A separate senior official told ABC News the balloon is the size of three buses and complete with a technology bay.
The defense official said they “are confident” the balloon was sent by China. “The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is flying over the continental United States right now,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Thursday.
“NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] continues to track and monitor it closely,” Ryder said.
While the balloon’s purpose remains unclear, one outside expert predicted it was essentially scientific and set off course.
Retired Col. Steve Ganyard, an ABC News contributor, said the balloon appeared to be a standard research vessel — which would mean it was unpowered and drifted with the jet stream.
Separately, the senior defense official told reporters that “instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration.”
“It’s happened a handful of other times over the past few years …. It is appearing to hang out for a longer period of time this time around,” the defense official said.
The balloon was seen over Montana on Thursday and a U.S. official said F-22s were sent up the same day.
Biden was briefed about the balloon and “asked for military options,” the official said. The president agreed with the recommendation of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, and U.S. Northern Command Gen. Glen D. VanHerck to not “take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field.”
A senior administration official echoed that view and said in a statement, “We acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information.”
“Currently, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective,” the defense official said. “But we are taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.”
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that there was a ground stop in Billings, Montana, on Wednesday but an agency spokesperson did not share more details.
Military expert’s view
Ganyard predicted the balloon was an experiment gone awry.
Such balloons are not controlled after their release and while they are normally equipped with mechanisms to deflate over an open area, the mechanisms can fail, Ganyard said. So it’s possible the balloon would have drifted over from China after multiple days, rather than being nefariously deployed.
China intentionally deploying a reconnaissance balloon over the U.S. would be highly provocative, with little value, Ganyard said, noting that Chinese satellites are able to collect information in a similar manner.
ABC News’ Amanda Maile and MaryAlice Parks contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — A massive spy balloon from China is flying over the continental U.S., government officials said Thursday.
“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is flying over the continental United States right now,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters. “NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] continues to track and monitor it closely.”
A senior defense official said they “are confident” the balloon was sent by the Chinese government — and this incident isn’t the first one.
“Instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration,” the official said.
Earlier Thursday, a senior U.S. official described the balloon to ABC News as the size of three buses, with a technology bay.
President Joe Biden has been briefed about the balloon and “asked for military options,” the defense official said. Biden is following the recommendation of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, and U.S. Northern Command Gen. Glen D. VanHerck to not “take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field.”
“Currently, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective. But we are taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information,” the defense official said.
The balloon was seen over Montana earlier Thursday, they said.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that there was a ground stop in Billings, Montana, on Wednesday but an agency spokesperson did not share more details.
ABC News’ Amanda Maile contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny whips into theaters on June 30, just shy of the 81st birthday of the movie’s star, Harrison Ford.
The leading man may be well past retirement age, but thanks to digital wizardry, the new movie will be showing both past and 1969-set “present” day adventures of the swashbuckling archeologist. Getting a chance to show what an Indy in his later years would be up to, Ford says, was “always” his goal.
“I always wanted to do it,” Ford told Variety on the red carpet of his Apple TV+ comedy series Shrinking. “I wanted to do the rest of the story to see the end of his career.”
And while Indy famously said, “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage,” his real-life alter ego insists he’s finally done with the role. “It’s the last time for me,” Ford insisted.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was directed by Oscar nominee James Mangold and produced by Lucasfilm, which, like ABC News, is a subsidiary of Disney.
Nice Life Recording Company & Atlantic Recording Corporation
Lizzo can celebrate a new victory. The U.S. Patent and Trademark office approved her application to trademark the phrase “100 percent that b****.”
A tribunal ruled Thursday that Lizzo owns the saying and can use it however she likes, including on merchandise. The singer famously used that phrase to open her 2019 hit song “Truth Hurts.”
It should be noted the singer didn’t actually create the phrase. The saying was once used as a viral meme and its true creator, Mina Lioness, has since been given songwriting credit on “Truth Hurts.”
Lizzo attempted to trademark the phrase after the song took off, but its fate was in limbo for literal years as the agency debated if the wording was unique enough to warrant trademark protection. Lizzo’s application was actually tossed last year, with the ruling saying the wording was too commonplace and that she didn’t have the right to appropriate it.
Billboard reports the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board reversed that decision because they believe Lizzo is inherently connected to the phrase. Part of their argument was that if a person were to read “100 percent that b****” on a shirt, they would most likely think of the rapper.
The ruling reads, “Consumers encountering ‘100% That B****’ on the specific types of clothing identified in the application ― even when offered by third parties ― associate the term with Lizzo and her music.”
The TTAB argued that Lizzo popularized a phrase, adding it was “lesser known” before it was featured on “Truth Hurts.”
“Lizzo did not originate the expression she encountered as a Twitter meme,” the ruling stated. “Nonetheless, lyrics from songs are more likely to be attributed to the artists who sing, rap or otherwise utter them, rather than the songwriters.”
Chris Cornell‘s widow, Vicky Cornell, has shared a statement regarding Soundgarden‘s nomination to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
In an Instagram post, Vicky writes, “Thank you Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for nominating Soundgarden for induction in 2023!”
“I know that Chris would be so proud and his fans will be so happy to see his band recognized and honored,” she continues. “On Chris’s behalf, I want to thank every one of you in advance for your love and support for his music and legacy.”
Soundgarden is on the ballot for the second time, following their first nod in 2020. Both nominations have come after Chris’ death in 2017.
Guitarist Kim Thayil previously told Billboard that the latest nomination is a “pleasant surprise.”
The 2023 Rock Hall inductees will be announced in May.
Keith Urban, Tim McGraw and Nickelback will headline this year’s Boots and Hearts festival in Canada.
Riley Green, BRELAND, Lauren Alaina, Blanco Brown, Bailey Zimmerman, Travis Denning, Kylie Morgan, Adam Doleac, Seaforth and many more round out the lineup for the August 10-13 event.
Known for being Canada’s largest camping festival, Boots and Hearts takes place in Oro-Medonte, Ontario, at Burl’s Creek Event Grounds. You can find out more at BootsAndHearts.com.
