Mötley Crüe‘s Tommy Lee married Pamela Anderson in Mexico in 1995 after only knowing her a few days. And in her new book, Love, Pamela, which is out now, Anderson reveals just how little they knew about each other.
“On the flight home, I asked him what our last name was, and he said, ‘Lee,'” she writes in the book, according to the New York Post. “I said, ‘Oh, I thought it was Tommy Lee … something. Jones?'” (To be fair, he was born Tommy Lee Bass.)
Anderson says she was “in heaven” when she married Lee, noting she was “genuinely happy” and “lost in a sea of love.” Her mother, however, was “furious” with her. Writes Anderson, “She couldn’t believe I had gotten married, cried that she had always dreamed of being at her only daughter’s wedding.”
The couple, who had two sons together, Brandon in 1996 and Dylan in 1997, divorced in 1998, with Anderson saying that their stolen sex tape and Lee’s 1998 arrest for spousal abuse doomed the relationship.
“Neither of us could forgive the other, deep down. We just weren’t equipped to get through it all,” she explains. “I loved to see him with his boys, but the four of us together forever was only a dream.”
Donald Glover is giving fans a glimpse of the Beyoncé-inspired Amazon series Swarm via exclusive photos from the show.
The series follows the story of a young woman who is obsessed with a pop star and takes fan through “her life, her fandom, and how it takes her to dark, unexpected places,” Vanity Fairreports. Dominique Fishback from Judas and the Black Messiah takes on the leading role, Dre.
“We just thought it’d be fun to make a post-truth Piano Teacher mixed with The King of Comedy,” Glover tells VF when discussing the series. “Me and my brother Stephen were talking about finding someone like Isabelle Huppert, as far as risk-takers in performances.”
Donald pitched the idea for Swarm to Janine Nabers, an Atlanta writer and producer. She tells VF that they were “creating an antihero story … through the lens of a Black, modern-day woman.”
To help bring the story to life, Glover also cast Chloe Bailey for the role of Dre’s sister, Marissa, and Damson Idris as Dre’s boyfriend. Malia Obama worked behind the scenes in the writers room.
Many of the crew members had previously worked on Atlanta, making Swarm feel like “a sister” to the FX show, Nabers says, adding they live in “the same tonal space.”
“A lot of people did it out of the kindness of their hearts and they did a really great job,” Donald adds. “Dom, Damson, Chloe. I was really blown away at how hard they worked on the tone, ’cause it’s a strange one.”
(PROVIDENCE, R.I.) — Many U.S. cities are attempting to establish a reparations program in an effort to rectify economic disparity borne of slavery, and Providence, Rhode Island, is among the places moving forward with a plan.
But the city’s plan has drawn criticism over the extent to which the initiative benefits historically marginalized residents, including descendants of enslaved people.
Last year, then-Mayor Jorge Elorza signed a $10 million reparations budget into law, using re-appropriated federal COVID-19 response money as the funding source. Federal guidelines require the program to be “race neutral” — white residents and non-descendants of slavery under a certain income threshold can also apply and benefit from the program.
“The federal guidelines basically forced us to have to look at census tracts. And one of those impacted communities were those who were economically disadvantaged,” Rodney Davis, chair of Providence’s reparations commission, told ABC News.
Elorza said that making the program “race based” could have opened up the city to getting sued, resulting in government officials being “locked in litigation for two or three years.”
Supporters have spent decades fighting for financial compensation for descendants of enslaved people. At one point, Rhode Island was the slave trade capitol of the colonial U.S., with more than 1,000 slave ships coming in from Africa by the end of the 18th century.
Hundreds of years later, the residue remains — much of it memorialized in Stages of Freedom, a Providence museum filled with Black art, books and exhibits. It’s curated by local historian Ray Rickman, a former state representative, who says the impact of slavery is still being felt by Rhode Island’s Black population.
While the institution of slavery has been abolished, the remnants of an unequal system are still evident. In Rhode Island alone, white households earned 50-70% more than Black, Hispanic and American Indian households, according to a report from the Rhode Island Foundation.
Rather than direct payments to citizens, reparations in Providence are distributed through investments into small businesses and programs, including workforce training and financial literacy.
The Rhode Island Black Business Association received $150,000 after applying for the program. President and CEO Lisa Ranglin started the organization to help other aspiring Black business professionals to get their start.
“I think it’s easy to give a check out to somebody for $200, $500. When we think about really building sustainability, $500 is not going to move the dial in any meaningful way,” Ranglin said.
The struggle to determine the best forms of reparations has been just as divisive as the topic itself.
Of those who support reparations, the majority believe financial assistance for education, businesses and homes would be the most helpful forms of repayment, according to a Pew Research Center poll.
Some believe that Providence’s program misses the mark; among them is former Brown University student and activist Justice Gaines.
“It’s not reparations. What this policy is, it is city funds from COVID-19 to fund an anti-poverty program. That’s not what reparations is. Reparations is the work to repair the harm that has been done to Black people in this country,” Gaines told ABC News.
The reparations committee claims the indigenous community was involved in the program’s planning, but Rhode Island’s only federally recognized tribe, the Narragansett Indians, told ABC News that neither Elorza’s office nor the reparations commission reached out.
Elorza’s office has declined to comment.
“That $10 million that the mayor did, it was great, but $10 million is a drop in a pool, not even a bucket, because if we really wanted to repair the harm, it’s going to be hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars,” Davis said.
ABC News contacted the newly elected mayor, Brett Smiley, to inquire about his plans for the program, but has not received a response.
Supporters of the reparations program admit it isn’t perfect, but say it’s a promising start.
“We must elevate the communities that we serve, especially those communities that have been left behind way, way too long. I don’t believe in handouts, but rather, we got to be there to be a hand up and support people in an intentional way,” Ranglin said.
LCD Soundsystem, boygenius and Steve Lacy will headline the upcoming Re:SET tour.
Described as a “unique, localized experience,” Re:SET will take over a venue in a certain city for three days, with LCD, boygenius and Lacy curating a lineup to close out a different day. Among the 12 cities participating are New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Nashville.
Tickets will be available for individual shows, as well as in three-show bundles, for each city.
A presale, which you can register for now, begins Tuesday, February 7, at 10 a.m. local time. The general sale starts Friday, February 10, at 10 a.m. local time.
In a video posted to Instagram Tuesday, Will Smith made it official: Bad Boys 4 is on.
The Oscar winner recorded himself jumping into the car, teasing followers, “Yo, I got an announcement.” He added “a hint,” blasting “Shake Ya Tailfeather,” the track that became the theme to the buddy cop series.
“I wish I was you, not knowing what I’m about to show me,” Will said before pulling up to a house and knocking on the door.
Martin Lawrence answers the door, asking, “It’s about that time?”
“It’s official, baby!” Will shouts, hugging Martin. “Bad Boys 4 Life, baby!”
However, Martin explained the third movie was already called Bad Boys for Life, which led to some back and forth about what the fourth movie should actually be called.
“We shouldn’t have called it that, though,” Will says of the blockbuster third movie. “But this is Bad Boys 4, it’s official.”
Bad Boys for Life debuted in January 2020 and became the highest grossing movie of that year, which saw the movie industry crippled by the pandemic. It went on to make $424.6 million worldwide, against a moderate budget of $90 million — the highest grossing installment of the franchise.
Drake‘s betting habits have been well documented, so it’s no surprise he put a wager on the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals. According to a screenshot on his Instagram Story ahead of the game, he’d put up $1.1 million for the Chiefs: “Big Sunday let’s buy mama something nice.”
The Chiefs’ victory earned him a payout of more than $2 million.
Drake’s win comes a month after he reportedly lost $1 million betting that Argentina would beat France in the 2022 World Cup final.
The Chiefs will play the Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl February 12.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is expected to pose two questions to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a Wednesday meeting and will challenge him to commit to avoiding a catastrophic default and unveil a specific, detailed and comprehensive budget, according to a White House memo obtained first by ABC News.
The highly anticipated meeting comes amid an ongoing standoff over the debt limit.
According to the memo, the president is expected to ask McCarthy if he will “commit to the bedrock principle that the United States will never default on its financial obligations” and whether he agrees with “former presidents, including Presidents Trump and Reagan, that it is critical to avoid debt limit brinksmanship.”
The memo — written by senior advisers Brian Deese and Shalanda Young — notes President Biden will release a budget on March 9 and challenges McCarthy to do the same.
“It is essential that Speaker McCarthy likewise commit to releasing a budget, so that the American people can see how House Republicans plan to reduce the deficit – whether through Social Security cuts; cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) health coverage; and/or cuts to research, education, and public safety – as well as how much their Budget will add to the deficit with tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and large corporations, as in their first bill this year.”
McCarthy responded to the memo in a statement on Tuesday, writing: “Mr. President: I received your staff’s memo. I’m not interested in political games. I’m coming to negotiate for the American people.”
Republicans in the House have insisted on deep spending cuts in exchange for their cooperation on raising the debt ceiling.
The Republican Study Committee, which represents the largest group of Republicans in the House, previously called for revisions to Social Security and Medicare including raising the age for Medicare to 67 and Social Security to the age of 70 for younger workers.
But McCarthy recently said any cuts to Social Security and Medicare would be “off the table.”
McCarthy pointed to the “Commitment to America” plan presented by Republicans before the midterms, which he said “strengthens” Medicare and Social Security. The White House has accused McCarthy of being “evasive” on his plan for government spending.
Pressed on what he meant by “strengthen” and whether he would seek to raise the retirement age — McCarthy said: “No, no, no. What I’m talking about Social Security, Medicare, you keep that to the side.”
“I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling but take control of this runaway spending,” McCarthy said.
Meanwhile, the White House has repeatedly said Biden will not negotiate or compromise by tying a debt limit increase to spending cuts, with the administration pointing to the bipartisan history of the ceiling being increased by both parties over the years.
“Attempts to exploit the debt ceiling as leverage will not work,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier this month. “There will be no hostage taking.”
Earlier this month, McCarthy made it clear he was holding firm.
“For the president to say he wouldn’t even negotiate — that’s irresponsible. We’re going to be responsible. We’re going to be sensible, and we’re going to get this done together. So the longer he waits, the more he puts the fiscal jeopardy of America up for grabs,” McCarthy told ABC News’ Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott earlier this month. “We should sit down and get this done and stop playing politics,” he added.
The debt limit doesn’t allow government spending on new programs — instead it allows the U.S. to borrow any money it needs to pay for the nation’s existing bills.
The federal government hit the current debt ceiling, about $31.4 trillion earlier this month prompting the Treasury Department to step in with “extraordinary measures” which will allow the nation to avert a catastrophic default until June.
“President Biden will ask Speaker McCarthy to publicly assure the American people and the rest of the world that the United States will, as always, honor all of its financial obligations,” the memo states.
Editor’s note: This article has been revised to reflect an updated memo released by the administration.
The Moody Blues’ John Lodge has added a special show to his upcoming Days of Future Passed tour, which will have him playing the band’s second album in its entirety.
Lodge is set to play a special symphony show with the Coachella Symphony on March 26 at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater in Rancho Mirage, California, which will wrap his winter 2023 tour. This will be his only symphony show on the tour. Tickets are on sale now.
“The Coachella Valley Symphony approached me and asked me to perform Days of Future Passed with them at their new home at Rancho Mirage Amphitheater, and it intrigued me,” Lodge shares. “I had been developing a full orchestra concert, but it was something for the future. However, they are a passionate community music organization, and Alan (Hewitt, LODGE’s music director and keyboardist) knew them from when he lived there, and so it seemed like a wonderful way to step my feet into the water, and a fabulous finale to the tour.”
Lodge’s tour is set to kick off February 18 in Lexington, Massachusetts. He’ll be joined by his 10,000 Light Years Band, with a guest appearance by his friend and current Yes frontman Jon Davison.The show will also feature a special recording by the late Moody Blues drummer and co-founder, Graeme Edge.
(WASHINGTON) — The Environmental Protection Agency has vetoed a controversial proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska.
Pebble Limited Partnership, the company that would control the mine commonly known as Pebble Mine, argues it would bring economic opportunity to the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. However, the location of the mine and the infrastructure needed for it to become operational is the focus of a coalition of local Alaska Natives, fishermen and conservation groups concerned about the environmental impact it would have on the Bristol Bay watershed, which is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.
“After extensive review of scientific and technical research spanning two decades, and robust stakeholder engagement, EPA has determined that certain discharges associated with developing the Pebble deposit will have unacceptable adverse effects on certain salmon fishery areas in the Bristol Bay watershed,” the EPA said in a statement Monday.
The EPA, citing the Clean Water Act, said it has the authority to veto the project because of the impact of “certain discharges of dredged or fill material associated with development of a mine at the Pebble deposit.”
Pebble Limited Partnership said it will fight the EPA’s decision, which it said will hurt the economic opportunity for local residents.
“Today’s action by the EPA to preemptively veto the proposed Pebble Project is unlawful and unprecedented. For well over a decade, we have argued that fair treatment under the rules and regulations of the U.S should be followed for Pebble or any other development project,” Pebble Limited Partnership CEO John Shively said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the Biden EPA continues to ignore fair and due process in favor of politics. This preemptive action against Pebble is not supported legally, technically, or environmentally. As such, the next step will likely be to take legal action to fight this injustice.
“Pebble development can be done in an environmentally responsible manner without harm to the Bristol Bay fishery,” Shively’s statement continued. “Unfortunately, EPA’s decision ignores their purported commitment to environmental justice as it dashes the hopes of hundreds of local Native Americans for a brighter economic future.”
The Army Corps of Engineers denied the permit application for Pebble Mine in 2020, a decision that was later appealed by Pebble Limited Partnership. Using the details provided in that permit application, in December 2022, the EPA’s local administrator suggested a veto of the mine, due to how the company planned to discharge materials “for the construction and routine operation of the mine.”
The EPA said the region near the proposed project is home to 25 Alaska Native villages and communities and “is an area of unparalleled ecological value, with salmon diversity and productivity unrivaled anywhere in North America.”
In an unusual move shortly after the recommendation to veto the mine proposal, an Alaskan Native group sold land it owns near Pebble Mine for $20 million as “conservation easements,” which under Alaskan law prevents any future development at those sites. These easements would block the construction of a key transportation road that mine developers planned to build.
The money from the easements will go to the Pedro Bay Corporation, an Alaska Native village corporation that owns land where part of the transportation road to the mine would be built. Pedro Bay Corporation shareholders are Alaska Natives who inhabit the eastern shore of Lake Iliamna in the Bristol Bay region and have a vested interest in not only the economic prosperity of the region but also in maintaining their cultural traditions.
Pedro Bay Corporation has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
Funding for the conservation easements was raised from a variety of donors in an effort spearheaded by The Conservation Fund. The president and CEO of the Conservation Fund, Larry Selzer, told ABC News this money will compensate the Pedro Bay Corporation for the appraised value of the land, taking into consideration the economic opportunities future development projects like Pebble Mine would bring to the region if they moved forward.
However, the prospect of job opportunities and other economic benefits from Pebble Mine are not the only reason Pebble Limited Partnership said they want to mine there. Some of the metals that would be extracted from Pebble Mine are essential for a transition to renewable energy sources, which is considered a key part in the global effort to mitigate against the effects of climate change.
“The copper at Pebble could provide a critical metal necessary for the substantial increase in renewable sources of energy which require significant amounts of mined materials in order to meet the nation’s stated goals for renewable energy,” Mike Heatwole, a Pebble Limited Partnership spokesperson, told ABC News.
“A prime question for policymakers is whether we want to produce these minerals domestically under the most stringent environmental standards or if we intend to turn a blind eye and get the metals from other countries,” Heatwole added.
The executive director of the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, Tim Troll, was also involved in the purchase of the conservation easements, which the land trust now holds. The exact locations for the easements were chosen to protect two rivers and a creek that feeds into Lake Iliamna. All of them are considered to be important bodies of water for the salmon habitat.
In an interview with ABC News, Troll cited a specific concern for “fugitive dust,” a term used to describe small particles that pollute the air as well as water ecosystems, which he said trucks using the transportation road for mining activities could release into the environment.
Selzer said the Conservation Fund balances economic and environmental objectives carefully, and is not anti-mining, acknowledging the role it will play in a transition to greener energy systems.
But Selzer said that there is no safe way to build Pebble Mine due to seismic activity in the region and its proximity to the Bristol Bay watershed.
“There are other places to mine,” Selzer told ABC News. “There are not other places to fish salmon at this scale.”
Last year, Kate Bush‘s 1985 song “Running Up that Hill (A Deal with God)” topped charts worldwide thanks to its inclusion in the Netflix hit Stranger Things. But it looks like Linda Ronstadt may be the latest artist to have a decades-old hit revived by a TV show.
Linda’s 1970 hit “Long, Long Time” plays a pivotal role in the emotional third episode of the HBO series The Last of Us, which aired on Sunday night. On Monday, Spotify News tweeted, “On Sunday, January 29th, between 11PM and midnight ET, there was more than 4900% increase in U.S. streams of ‘Long Long Time’ by Linda Ronstadt.”
“Oh, so all of our hearts were breaking last night,” read the caption.
“Long, Long Time,” written by Gary White, appeared on Ronstadt’s 1970 album, Silk Purse. It peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance. The ballad was Linda’s first Top 40 solo hit; she’d previously reached #13 with “Different Drum,” recorded with her former band Stone Poneys.
It remains to be seen if, like “Running Up that Hill,” the song will eventually make its way back onto the Billboard charts and radio stations.
