Ronnie Wood likely makes a lot of money as the guitarist for TheRolling Stones, but apparently that isn’t his only good source of income.
The Mirror reports that new documents filed by his art company show Wood’s paintings brought in over $1.7 million in profit last year. The site notes it’s the first time his artwork has brought in over $1 million.
Wood has been painting since the ’60s, when he was a student at Ealing Art College, and picked it up again in the ’80s. In addition to art exhibits in London last year, he earned some of that money selling artistic reproductions of concert set lists from the Stones’ recent Sixty tour, as well as oil paintings and prints of his bandmates.
Twisted Sister isn’t gonna take not playing together anymore.
Dee Snider and company are set to reunite for their first performance in seven years when they’re inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame.
“Looking forward to playing together for the first time since 2016…especially the rehearsal!” Snider tweeted.
Twisted Sister embarked on a farewell tour in 2016 following the 2015 death of drummer A.J. Pero. Ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy manned the drums in place of Pero.
The 2023 Metal Hall of Fame Charity Gala will take place January 26 in Agoura Hills, California. Now in its sixth year, the annual ceremony “enshrines forever those iconic musicians, artists, music industry executives who are responsible for making hard rock and heavy metal music what it is today.”
Neither of them went home with a trophy at Tuesday night’s Golden Globes, but both Selena Gomez and Rihanna poured on the glamour with their outfits.
Selena brought her little sister, Gracie, 9, as her date, and stunned in a strapless Valentino gown in royal purple velvet, topped off with a floor-length cape with huge ruffled sleeves in a lighter shade of purple. She completed the look with DeBeers diamond drop earrings and wore her hair in a high ponytail.
In a sweet moment on the carpet, Selena posed with fellow Disney Channel child star Jenna Ortega. In fact, they were nominated in the same category: Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy — Selena for Only Murders In the Building and Jenna for Wednesday.
As for Rihanna, she attended with boyfriend A$AP Rocky, and US Weekly reports she wore a custom off-the-shoulder Schiaparelli gown by Daniel Roseberry, which featured a black velvet bustier and a velvet stole with big puffy sleeves. She shined bright like a diamond in Cartier jewels: diamond earrings and an 18-karat gold drop diamond necklace.
Rihanna’s hair was in a twisted updo, and open-toe Giuseppe Zanotti heels and a velvet Roger Vivier bag with crystal detailing completed the new mom’s look. Of course, her makeup was by Fenty Beauty, and you can see more photos of Rihanna on her makeup artist Priscilla Ono‘s Instagram Story.
Rihanna’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever song “Lift Me Up” was nominated for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture, but it lost to “Naatu Naatu,” from the Indian film RRR.
Sir Rod Stewart celebrated his 78th birthday on Tuesday and shared a hilarious video proving just how happy he was to blow out another birthday candle.
The legendary singer took to Instagram to show the moment his family turned out the lights and began singing to him. Instead of a cake, Stewart is handed a white plate with “Happy Birthday” written in chocolate in fancy cursive. As for the candle, it’s wedged between a few strawberry slices.
The hitmaker, who’s singing along, makes a few exaggerated expressions before blowing out his candle, which causes his family to laugh hysterically. The video ends with him taking a moment to consider his wish before blowing out the candle.
“Lovely day,” he captioned the sweet video and included a red heart emoji.
Stewart also shared a few birthday tributes to his Instagram Story, with several coming from his children. Ruby Stewart, who is expecting her first child, sent her love to “Grandpapa Stew.” Sean Stewart, Rod’s child with model Alana Stewart, also sent his father some birthday love.
Some of his pals paid tributes by sharing throwback photos of the legendary hitmaker, such as Rolling Stones member Ronnie Wood, who shared a black-and-white photo of his old band Small Faces hanging out with Stewart in 1970.
After a year away, the Golden Globes returned Tuesday night for its 80th installment, and backstage, the winners were in the mood to party.
Austin Butler, who picked up his first ever Golden Globe for playing the title role in Elvis, admitted he was still recovering from “sort of blacking out” a short time earlier, when he accepted his award. “You know, I remember going to so many auditions and never booking anything, and I just feel so grateful right now,” explained the actor, who also thanked Elvis’ family, who, “have now welcomed me into their family in such a beautiful way,” making him, “endlessly grateful to them…”
Michelle Yeoh, who took the Best Actress trophy for Everything Everywhere All at Once, was also “overwhelmed” to be picking up the honor at 60 years old — at a time when Asian representation is finally strong in Hollywood. “I’m just so happy that I’m still here when this change has happened, you know that I’m not in my rocking chair and go like, ‘Why didn’t I get that chance?'” she said.
Her co-star in Everything Everywhere, former child star Ke Huy Quan, explained how grateful he was to be recognized in the Best Supporting Actor category. “You know, for the longest time, people have come up to me and they would say, ‘Are you the kid from Indiana Jones? Are you the kid from Goonies?’ But now when I go out, people say, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re Waymond from Everything Everywhere All at Once!‘ And that was what I always hoped would happen!”
(WASHINGTON) — The chairman of the new Republican-led House Oversight Committee has issued a flurry of letters as part of the panel’s first formal steps toward a long-promised investigation targeting President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden, and social media companies that they allege sought to suppress negative stories about the president’s son that they claim could have impacted the 2020 presidential election.
The letters, issued by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and obtained by ABC News, request testimony from multiple former Twitter executives who were involved in the company’s handling of news reporting that surfaced from leaked data obtained from a laptop reportedly belonging to Hunter Biden.
The panel is also requesting financial information from the Department of Treasury regarding Hunter Biden and his associates.
In a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Comer requested records related to potential suspicious activity reports, or SARs, on Hunter Biden and other members of the president’s family, as well as multiple businesses and business partners. SARs are reports filed by financial institutions to flag questionable banking transactions, but do not amount to allegations of crimes.
In response to the letters, a White House spokesperson told ABC News, “In their first week as a governing majority, House Republicans have not taken any meaningful action to address inflation and lower Americans’ costs, yet they’re jumping out of the gate with political stunts driven by the most extreme MAGA members of their caucus in an effort to get attention on Fox News.”
“The President is going to continue focusing on the important issues the American people want their leaders to work together on, and we hope House Republicans will join him,” the statement said.
A representative for the Treasury Department declined to comment when contacted by ABC News, and representatives for Hunter Biden did not immediately return a request for comment.
Beyond their interest in Hunter Biden and his business endeavors, the panel’s primary focus is finding out whether his father, President Biden, was more involved in those dealings than previously known.
“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating President Biden’s involvement in his family’s foreign business practices and international influence peddling schemes,” Comer wrote in the letter to Yellen.
Comer has previously claimed that the Treasury Department was providing “cover for the Biden family” after the department rejected Comer’s request last year for the same information when Republicans were in the minority.
Noting in his letter to Yellen that the agency previously told him it would only respond to requests from committee chairs, Comer wrote, “I now make these requests pursuant to my authority as Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.”
Comer sent letters to former top Twitter employees including former Twitter lawyer Vijaya Gadde, former head of trust and safety Yoel Roth, and former deputy general counsel James Baker, requesting that they testify at a public hearing during the week of Feb. 6.
“Your attendance is necessary because of your role in suppressing Americans’ access to information about the Biden family on Twitter shortly before the 2020 election,” Comer wrote to the former employees.
Baker declined to comment when contacted by ABC News, while Gadde and Roth did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for the White House and Hunter Biden also did not immediately return a request for comment from ABC News.
The letters come about a month after a series of document releases authorized by new Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who has sought to bolster claims that the social media giant, under previous management, suppressed or otherwise aimed to influence discourse around controversial political subjects to advantage of Democrats. Critics, in turn, have accused Musk of employing prominent media figures masquerading as independent journalists in order to advance a narrative that takes many of the private messages out of context.
The Justice Department, meanwhile, has been examining whether Hunter Biden paid adequate taxes on millions of dollars of personal income, including money he made during business pursuits in China and Ukraine.
Hunter Biden has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, ethically or criminally, but has acknowledged that his family ties likely bolstered his career. He has not been charged with any crimes.
Republicans have long signaled that investigating President Biden and his family would be a main priority in the new Congress. The day after clinching the majority in the House, Republicans held a press conference announcing they would be ramping up the probe into the Biden family.
In a statement to ABC News, Comer called the Biden probe a “top priority for House Republicans during the 118th Congress.”
“The American people must know the extent of Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s shady business deals and if these deals threaten national security and his decision-making as president,” Comer said.
The committee also plans to hold a hearing on COVID-19 pandemic spending fraud, according to a source familiar with the panel’s thinking.
It took more than 50 years, but Judy Blume‘s groundbreaking teen 1970 novel, Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret, is being adapted as a feature film by Broadcast News and Terms of Endearment producer James L. Brooks and Edge of Seventeen writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig. The story follows 11-year-old uprooted New Yorker named Margaret — played by Abby Ryder Fortson — who faces puberty, new friends and a new school in suburban New Jersey. She relies on her mother, Barbara — portrayed by Rachel McAdams — who’s also struggling to adjust to life outside the big city, and her adoring grandmother, Sylvia, played by Kathy Bates, who isn’t happy with the move and remind them every chance she gets. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret opens April 28…
Paramount+ has ordered a live-action Dungeons & Dragons TV series, according to Variety. Dungeons & Dragons is the most popular tabletop fantasy role-playing game of all time. Specific plot details of the series are being kept under wraps. The Hasbro game combines humans, elves, orcs and hundreds of other creatures, who compete in a series of war games, treasure hunts, campaigns, camaraderie and reversals of fortune…
Woody Harrelson has boarded the cast of the Apple original film Project Artemis, joining Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, according to Deadline. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Project Artemis is described “as a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of the 1968 Apollo 11 moon launch”…
(NEW YORK) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., emerged with gavel in hand on Saturday after fierce Republican negotiations, but the concessions he made in the process have heightened concern over a potential economic crisis later this year.
The empowerment of far-right House members in recent days has raised the risk of contentious, high-stakes negotiations over how the federal government should pay for past debts and allocate future spending, economists and budget experts told ABC News.
Failure to reach an agreement before fast-approaching deadlines would send financial markets into turmoil, raise interest rates at a moment when elevated borrowing costs already weigh on economic activity and all but ensure a recession, they added.
Within months, Congress will need to pass two measures in order to avert economic disruption: a debt-limit increase that allows the U.S. government to borrow money for past expenditures, ensuring that the nation continues paying creditors what it owes; as well as a budget that keeps the government funded for next fiscal year.
The faction of conservative Republicans that exerted leverage in the speaker vote has indicated it would not raise the debt limit unless Democrats agree to significant spending cuts; the Biden administration, however, has said it will not take part in policy negotiations conditioned upon the annual borrowing hike.
Sharp spending cuts put forward by some Republicans, meanwhile, risk gridlock over next year’s budget, which could cause a government shutdown that halts some federal payments, economists and budget experts said.
“The events of last week are quite disconcerting,” Shai Akabas, director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “It’s going to make passing any legislation more difficult than usual, and it’s never easy under a divided government to start with.”
“It is a serious risk for the U.S. economy and for Americans’ financial wellbeing,” he added.
Here’s what you need to know about what recent turmoil in the House of Representatives means for the U.S. economy:
Debt limit
The dispute among Republicans over McCarthy centered in part on the party’s approach to the nation’s debt limit, the amount of money that the U.S. is legally permitted to borrow in order to cover its debt.
Since yearly spending by the federal government exceeds tax revenue, the U.S. has accrued tens of trillions of dollars in debt, requiring the country to make ongoing payments so that it doesn’t default on outstanding loans.
In turn, Congress annually passes a measure that allows the U.S. Treasury to increase the amount it can borrow. In some years, the debt-limit increase has become a political lightning rod, setting off debate over the nation’s fiscal responsibility. In 2011, for instance, Congressional Republicans pressured then-President Barack Obama to agree to some spending cuts in order to win their support for a debt-limit hike.
In his effort gain the support of far-right House members, McCarthy agreed to refuse an increase in the debt limit unless Democrats agree to major spending cuts, the New York Times reported.
A dispute over the debt limit will reach a tipping point within months, according to Akabas, who said the organization projects the government will fail to meet its debt obligations at some point in the middle of this calendar year.
Failure to raise the debt limit and ensuing default on U.S. debt — which have never happened before — would cause immense harm to the U.S. and global economies, since the trustworthiness of U.S. Treasury bonds amounts to a cornerstone of domestic and international investment, economists and budget analysts said.
As confidence in U.S. borrowers falls, interest rates on loans for some businesses would rise, slowing economic activity as the U.S. already faces elevated recession risk, they said. Moreover, the stock market would falter, threatening the retirement savings of millions of Americans, they added.
“A default on the debt would be a catastrophe for financial markets and a catastrophe for America’s standing in the world,” Daniel Bergstresser, finance professor at the Brandeis International Business School, told ABC News.
“The American political and economic system is great enough that many treat US Treasury obligations as being as close to a sure thing as exists,” he added, noting that consequences would likely include a fall in the value of the U.S. dollar.
A default on U.S. debt could shed three million jobs from the economy, drive up the cost of a 30-year mortgage by an average of $130,000 and shrink 401(k) savings for a typical worker near retirement by $20,000, according to a report from center-left think tank Third Way.
“If we violate the debt limit for any significant portion of time, we’re almost certain to push the economy into a recession,” Zach Moller, director of the economic program at Third Way, told ABC News.
Akabas, of the Bipartisan Policy Center, described the economic consequences of U.S. debt default as a “conflagration of risks.”
“It’s uncharted waters,” he added. “It would likely bring costs for the U.S. taxpayer, the American economy and the global economy.”
Government shutdown
In addition to covering its previous expenses, the federal government will need to reach an agreement on how it should allocate money for next fiscal year, which begins in October.
If Congress does not pass a budget by then, the U.S. government will shut down, as agencies struggle to sustain government programs and pay federal employees.
A group of far-right Republicans has called for major cuts to government spending that would set the nation on course to balance its budget in 10 years.
As part of concessions made to the conservative faction, McCarthy has vowed to advocate for sharp cutbacks that include a shrinking of entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security — bulwarks of financial health for many older Americans, the New York Times reported.
Spending cuts on the scale demanded by far-right Republicans would dramatically curtail federal programs, though specifics remain murky since lawmakers have yet to put forward a detailed proposal, economists and budget analysts said.
“Balancing the budget in 10 years is too heavy a lift to be a serious policy proposal,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in Washington, which advocates for fiscal responsibility through spending cuts and tax hikes.
“The policy they’re asking for needs to be achievable,” she told ABC News.
Meanwhile, if Congress fails to hash out a budget and the government shuts down, the turmoil could have far-reaching effects, including the closure of some national parks and cuts to government services like passport processing.
“While disruptive, shutdowns aren’t disastrous,” she said.
A government shutdown would also impose some economic pain, as the nation sees a reduction of some programs on which Americans rely and a pause in work for some federal employees, Akabas said.
“It’s certainly not good for the economy,” he said.
MacGuineas said concessions made to far-right Republicans in recent days have left her uncertain about how negotiations over the debt limit and budget will be resolved.
“It makes my head hurt,” she said. “I don’t know – and that makes me very uncomfortable.”
(NEW YORK) — The Federal Aviation Administration said normal operations were “resuming gradually” after ordering a nationwide pause on all domestic departures until 9 a.m. Wednesday following a computer failure that has impacted flights around the country.
“The ground stop has been lifted,” officials said at about 8:50 a.m. ET. “We continue to look into the cause of the initial problem.”
Departures were resuming at about 8:15 a.m. ET at two of the nation’s busiest hubs — Newark, New Jersey and Atlanta — FAA officials said on Twitter, adding, “We expect departures to resume at other airports at 9 a.m. ET.”
The affected Notice To all Air Missions, or NOTAM, system is responsible for sending out flight hazards and real time restrictions to pilots, administration officials said earlier.
“The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions system following an outage,” said the FAA announcing the temporary grounding of all planes nationwide. “The FAA has ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 a.m. Eastern Time to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information.”
A senior official briefed on the FAA computer problems tells ABC News the software issue developed late Tuesday night and led to a “cascading” series of IT failures culminating in Wednesday morning’s disruption. As has been reported, the disruption is confined to the commercial side of aviation.
Engineers are feverishly working to fix the problems and, separately, identify precisely what happened. As of now, the assessment is the failures are the result of a “glitch” and not something intentional. All possibilities are being looked at to ensure that the FAA systems were not breached.
Notably, the FAA system that failed is overdue for replacement.
The official compared the current outage to the crisis that crippled Southwest Airlines during the holidays: antiquated software overdue for replacement inside a critical IT network. If one thing goes down, the system can become paralyzed.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed in a tweet that President Joe Biden has been briefed and said “there is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point.”
“I just spoke with [Transportation Secretary Pete] Buttigieg,” Biden said addressing the media on the South Lawn of the White House. “They don’t know what the cause is. But I was on the phone with him about 10 minutes. I told him report directly to me when they find out. Aircrafts can still land safely, just not take off right now. We don’t know what the cause of it is expected to be able to — in a couple hours we’ll have a good sense of what caused it. And we’ll respond at that time.”
“THE FAA is experiencing an outage that is impacting the update of NOTAMS. All flights are unable to be released at this time,” the FAA said in a statement announcing the problem.
An update was issued shortly after their initial announcement saying that they are working to fix the problem.
“The FAA is working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System. We are performing final validation checks and repopulating the system now. Operations across the National Airspace System are affected. We will provide frequent updates as we make progress,” said the FAA.
American Airlines also made a statement following the computer failure.
“The Federal Aviation Administration is experiencing an outage with its NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) system, which provides critical flight safety operation information,” said American Airlines. “We are closely monitoring the situation, which impacts all airlines, and working with the FAA to minimize disruption to our operation and customers. We encourage customers to check aa.com for the latest flight information.”
United Airlines corroborated the current technical problems with a statement of their own.
“The FAA system that sends out important real-time flight hazards & restrictions to all commercial airline pilots – Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) – is currently suffering a nationwide outage. United has temporarily delayed all domestic flights and will issue an update when we learn more from the FAA,” said United Airlines.
Southwest Airlines also confirmed that they are suffering through delays due to the technical issues occurring at the FAA.
“We are closely monitoring a data issue with FAA systems which may impact the start of operations today on Jan 11, 2023,” Southwest Airlines said in their statement released early Wednesday morning. “Please check your flight status in the Southwest app or website to watch for any flight status changes. If your flight status changes substantially we will message the day of travel contact listed on your reservation by their preferred contact method.”
(NEW YORK) — Fisk University has made history by becoming the first historically Black university gymnastics team to compete at the NCAA level.
The Bulldogs debuted at the Super 16 event in Las Vegas on Jan. 6 against North Carolina, Southern Utah and Washington, ultimately placing fourth, according to ESPN reporting. Next, the team will face Michigan, the 2021 NCAA champion, on Jan. 13.
The university announced the formation of a women’s gymnastics program only a little over a year ago. What got the ball rolling was a conversation last year between Fisk University gymnast Jordynn Cromartie and her uncle.
Cromartie, a freshman, told ABC News that her uncle, who is a Fisk alum, was trying to convince her to go to his alma mater, but she said she couldn’t because she was looking at schools with a gymnastics program.
“[I told my uncle] I’ve spent my own life trying to make it on a collegiate gymnastics team so I wouldn’t come to Fisk unless they had a program or something for me to do,” said Cromartie. “During that conversation he was like, ‘Watch me make it happen.'”
Only a few months later, it happened. Head coach Corrinne Tarver, known as the first Black gymnast to win an NCAA all-around title in 1989, spoke to ABC News about building the team from the ground up.
“It’s pretty exciting, but also a longtime coming… It’s one of those things that people already thought was already there,” said Tarver. “However, it’s here now and that’s what’s important.”
Cromartie, whose main focus this year is floor and beam since she’s still recovering from a surgery in April, said it feels “surreal” to be part of the team.
“I feel like I still don’t know how much of an impact we’re making on the world,” said Cromartie. “It’s going to be really fun in the future to see what happens.”
Tarver said the team’s goal this season is to leave “everything on the mat.” Larger, she said she hopes the team will inspire more diversity within NCAA gymnastics.
“Well honestly I want the team to go out there every single competition, do the best that they are capable of doing,” said Tarver. “Overall I am hoping that we are a blueprint for other HBCUs to add a gymnastics program.”
