As previously reported, Gov’t Mule was forced to postpone their New Year’s concerts due to a medical emergency in the band. It turns out it was Warren Haynes who suffered that emergency and now he’s giving fans an update on his health.
In a post on Instagram, Haynes shared that he is “doing OK,” but that he had been hospitalized for the past week “due to some pretty serious complications from COVID and influenza.” He is home now.
“I’m very sorry Gov’t Mule couldn’t do our New Year’s Eve run,” he writes. “Trust me when I say we were actually really excited for these shows and the band was raring to go.” He also assured fans they would be rescheduled.
But in some more bad news, Haynes let fans know that he will not be able to attend Gov’t Mule’s annual Island Exodus in Jamaica, which kicks off January 15, because doctors say he needs more time to recuperate.
The four-day festival will go on, however, and it’s added Anders Osborne, Jackie Greene, John Scofield, Robert Randolph, Audley Freed, Rob Barraco, Robert Kearns and Jeff Sipe to the lineup, which already includes special guests Jimmy Vivino and Ron Holloway, as well as Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience, Duane Betts, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country and Little Days.
(NEW YORK) — More schools across the United States are putting mask mandates in place as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
Before winter break, districts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania announced they would temporarily be requiring masks among students and staff members amid a surge of respiratory illnesses.
Now schools in Massachusetts and Michigan are following suit while Chicago schools are asking students to take rapid tests before classes start.
Chelsea Public Schools in Boston announced in a letter to the community that the decision was due to Suffolk County designated as “high risk” for COVID-19 transmission as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“As a result of this designation, Chelsea Public Schools will implement a mask mandate, effective on Monday, January 9,” Superintendent Dr. Almi G. Abeyta wrote in the letter. “Masks must be worn in school buildings at all times except when eating or drinking…Mask wearing will continue to remain mandatory for any person visiting our school health offices, and anyone returning to school from a five-day quarantine following a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.”
The letter did not state for how long the mandate would be in place.
Meanwhile, Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan said it was instituting a two-week mandate starting Monday, Jan. 9, and ending Friday, Jan. 20.
According to local affiliate WXYZ-TV, the decision comes after a wave of respiratory illnesses led to at least five school closures in December alone.
“The Ann Arbor Public Schools will require well-fitting masks to be worn by students, staff and visitors while indoors in AAPS schools, beginning on January 9th and during the first two weeks following the winter break,” Superintendent Jeanice Kerr Swift wrote in a letter to families, students and staff. “Extra masks are available at all school buildings for use by students and staff.”
Additionally, Chicago Public Schools announced it is asking students and employees to perform a rapid at-home COVID-19 test before entering classrooms.
‘In order to keep our school communities safe, please test for COVID-19 before returning to school,” the notice read. “If you test positive, please report the positive test using the COVID-19 Self-Reporting Form, and follow the guidance outlined on our safety page.”
Data from the CDC shows that COVID-19 cases are increasing even as cases of RSV and influenza are trending downward.
Weekly cases have risen from 309,253 for the week of Nov. 30 to 470,699 for the week of Jan. 4, data shows.
(LONDON) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to a hospital in Orlando, Florida, for abdominal pain, according to the presidential office. News of Bolsonaro’s hospitalization comes hours after President Joe Biden condemned the “outrageous” storming of three major Brazilian government buildings by supporters of Bolsonaro on Sunday.
A heavy police presence remained in Brazil on Monday after chaotic scenes reminiscent of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Bolsonaro has had strong episodes of abdominal pain, including occlusion, since he was stabbed during a campaign event in 2018. He is undergoing medical exams at AdventHealth Orlando and might be spending the night. Bolsonaro traveled to the U.S. days before the end of 2022 and missed his successor’s inauguration.
Brazil’s new president, the left-wing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known widely as “Lula,” confirmed that three buildings had been damaged in the attack. He was in Sao Paulo at the time, but traveled to Brazil on Sunday evening to survey the damage.
“The coup plotters who promoted the destruction of public property in Brasilia are being identified and will be punished,” he tweeted. “Tomorrow we resume work at the Planalto Palace. Democracy always. Goodnight.”
Lula previously served as president of Brazil from 2003 to 2011. He was jailed on corruption charges in 2019, but his convictions were later nullified and he successfully defeated Bolsonaro in elections in 2022. Lula is holding a virtual crisis meeting on Monday with all governors of the country to discuss the reinforcement of security nationwide, especially at official buildings.
Bolsonaro, a far-right politician, has often been compared to former President Donald Trump, and has falsely claimed Lula won in a “stolen election” — even going as far as to advocate for a military coup.
The chaos began when at least 100 buses full of supporters of Bolsonaro arrived for a planned protest in Brazil’s capital. An estimated 4,000 protesters gathered, before several hundred broke through police barriers to enter the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Then, they were able to storm the Planalto Palace — one of the official palaces of the presidency. None of the buildings were in use at the time.
Brazilian security forces used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd. Armed officers were also seen confronting supporters of the ex-president on the roof of the Senate building.
At least 400 were arrested for their involvement in the attack on Sunday, according to military police, and they will face charges of rebellion. A further 1,200 protesters, camped out in Brazil, were arrested near the army headquarters. It is not clear how many have been released so far.
The Ministry of Justice has set up an email address to receive information about the “terrorist” attack, in addition to the ongoing investigation.
Bolsonaro was in Orlando, Florida, at the time of the attack, and said that he condemned the violence but denied Lula’s accusation that he was responsible.
Biden condemned the attack on Sunday, describing it as “outrageous.”
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted his own condemnation: “The United States condemns any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil. President Biden is following the situation closely and our support for Brazil’s democratic institutions is unwavering. Brazil’s democracy will not be shaken by violence.”
(NEW YORK) — The first federal death penalty trial of the Biden administration began Monday in New York City with a prosecutor alleging Sayfullo Saipov was on a mission to become a full-fledged member of the ISIS terrorist network when he allegedly killed eight people and injured many others after he plowed a rental truck into people on a pedestrian and bicycling path in lower Manhattan on Halloween 2017.
Assistant U.S. District Attorney Alexander Li promised in his opening statement to show jurors photos of mangled bicycles and bodies, video of the attack truck racing down Manhattan’s West Side Highway and the 32-year-old defendant running through the street before a police officer shot and wounded him. Li said prosecution witnesses will testify of hearing the “roar of the engine” and the “horrible grinding noise” as Saipov allegedly mowed down bicycles and people.
As the trial began in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Saipov, who was raised in Uzbekistan, sat at the defense table wearing an olive shirt, a face mask and headphones so he can follow the trial through translation into his native language.
If convicted, he could face a sentence of death by lethal injection, making him the first federal defendant executed in a New York case since Julius and Ethel Rosenberg died in the electric chair in 1953 for espionage.
The Halloween 2017 truck attack was the deadliest terror attack in New York since Sept. 11, 2001.
The truck Saipov rented reached a speed of 66 mph before crashing into a school bus near Stuyvesant High School with two children aboard, one of whom was badly injured, Li said.
“The man who did this was Sayfullo Saipov,” Li told jurors. “Right after the attack, the defendant proudly declared why: He did it for ISIS. The defendant killed to become a member of ISIS and he did it right here in New York.”
Saipov’s attorney is scheduled to give an opening statement Monday afternoon.
Prosecutors said Saipov picked New York City for the attack because he knew it’s a busy, crowded metropolis. Had he not crashed into the school bus, prosecutors alleged Saipov would have extended his path of terror onto the Brooklyn Bridge.
Li alleged Saipov chose Halloween in 2017 as the date for the attack “because he knew there would be lots of people on the streets.”
Saipov — who lived in Florida, Ohio and New Jersey following his arrival in the United States — has pleaded not guilty to charges that include murder in the aid of racketeering.
He was allegedly inspired to commit the killings by ISIS videos he viewed, prosecutors have previously said. The rental truck used in the Oct. 31, 2017, attack was decorated with an ISIS flag.
The suspect allegedly drove the truck on a bike lane and pedestrian walkway in lower Manhattan, near Stuyvesant High School. When the truck collided with the school bus, the driver exited the vehicle holding two objects, a paintball gun and pellet gun, prosecutors said.
“Moments after Saipov got out of the truck, he yelled, in substance and in part, ‘Allah Akbar,'” according to charging documents filed in the case.
Prosecutors alleged Saipov rented the pickup nine days before the attack “so he could practice making turns with the truck in advance of his attack,” prosecutors said.
The attack required “substantial planning and premeditation,” prosecutors said, describing Saipov in court documents as Saipov as “heinous, cruel and depraved.”
Killed in the attack were Diego Enrique Angelini, Nicholas Cleves, Ann-Laure Decadt, Darren Drake, Ariel Erlij, Hernan Ferruchi, Hernan Diego Mendoza, and Alejandro Damian Pagnucco. Five of the victims were tourists from Argentina.
If Saipov is convicted, there would be a penalty phase of the case in which the jury would decide whether he deserves the death penalty or life in prison.
It has been a decade since the Southern District of New York last prosecuted a death penalty case. Its last capital murder case was against Khalid Barnes, who was convicted of murdering two drug suppliers but was ultimately sentenced to life in prison in September 2009.
NSYNC‘s Joey Fatone gave some lucky fans a big treat at a drag brunch: he crashed the gathering to perform one of his band’s biggest hits.
Drag queens Tiffany Fantasia and Elishaly D’Witshes brunched with fans at the Palace in Miami, Florida. The venue shared video of the two performing the early 2000’s hit with the beloved boy bander.
And while they lip-synced to the song, Joey was on hand to sing his part. He even broke out some of his old dance moves for the performance, with the drag queens catching on and assisting with the iconic choreography.
The crowd went wild, with fans screaming and singing along with the music.
“WHAT A WEEKEND ITS BEEN ALREADY!!” the venue captioned the video, adding, “You never know who’s going to attend our shows!”
The Palace is a famous drag bar and holds brunches every Friday through Monday.
“Finally getting to play live in 2022 left us hungry to continue our tour,” the Chicks said in a statement. “After so many years without new music, last year felt like a long time coming.”
“We hope our fans are ready for more in 2023 because we are not done!” they continue. “There is a lot more to come this year and we are excited to get it all started in Las Vegas at the Zappos Theater this spring.”
Tickets go on sale this Friday.
The Chicks’ most recent album, Gaslighter, came out in July 2020. It was their first in more than 14 years.
For parents-to-be Kaley Cuoco and her actor beau, Tom Pelphrey, the sky was not the limit to celebrate their baby shower.
The pair, who are expecting a little girl, threw a lavish party Saturday night to help welcome the bundle of joy at a horse ranch reflecting Cuoco’s equestrian love.
“Last night we got to celebrate our future unicorn surrounded by incredible friends, family & animals in the most magical environment,” The Flight Attendant star said on her Instagram feed.
“[T]hank you to the very special group of people who made it a night we will all remember for the rest of our lives,” Kaley continued, showing photos of her and Tom smiling, with her growing baby bump on display in a pink floral minidress.
Kaley also posted pictures of her with friends and family and noted she and Pelphrey hired a company to write messages in the sky in lights, with the help of a squadron of drones.
“Just 400 drones no big deal,” the former Big Bang Theory star said of the display, which depicted changing, midair images, like a horse and rider jumping, and a mother and father holding hands with a little girl, as well as messages including “Tom + Kaley” surrounded by hearts, “It’s a girl” and “Baby Girl Pelphrey.”
The drones weren’t the only stars: Brad Pitt was spotted among the guests, wearing a velvet blue jumpsuit, according to Instagram photos posted by the Daily Mail.
Cuoco began dating the Ozark actor after filing for divorce from equestrian Karl Cook in 2021; she was previously married to tennis pro Ryan Sweeting but they divorced in 2015.
Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Smashing Pumpkins will headline the 2023 BottleRock Napa Valley festival, taking place May 26-28 in the wine country of Napa, California.
The bill also includes The National, Phantogram, Sheryl Crow, Bastille, Lucius, War, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Struts, KennyHoopla, Beach Weather and The Unlikely Candidates. Post Malone, Lizzo, Duran Duran and Lil Nas X will headline, as well.
Tickets go on sale this Tuesday, January 10, at noon PT.
Elvis Presley would have turned 88 on Sunday and his birthday was celebrated at his Memphis estate, Graceland, with daughter Lisa Marie Presley on hand to welcome a huge crowd of fans.
“I can speak with some authority having been here every year for a lot of years,” Elvis Presley Enterprises CEO Jack Sodentold the crowd. “This is unquestionably the largest crowd we’ve ever had. You all come from all over the world … and we love you for being here.”
The celebration included several Elvis-related events, including a birthday proclamation from the city of Memphis, an Aloha from Hawaii-themed cake to mark the concert’s 50th anniversary and an appearance by actor Alton Mason, who played Little Richard in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis film.
“Thank you. It’s been a while. I missed you,” Lisa Marie told the gathered crowd. “I keep saying you’re the only people that can bring me out of my house. I’m not kidding.”
She added, “Today, (Elvis) would’ve been 88 years old, it’s hard to believe. I think that he’d be proud. This year has been an incredible year,” referring to the renewed love of Elvis thanks to the film. She added, “It’s just so moving how every year you come from all over the world. It’s moving to me and my family … so thank you.”
The celebration also marked the official opening of Graceland’s new The Making of Elvis exhibition featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the 2022 film.
(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) — Many questions remain unanswered after a 6-year-old student allegedly shot and injured a teacher at a Newport News, Virginia, elementary school.
Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said in a statement this weekend that police were “working diligently to get an answer to the question we are all asking — how did this happen?”
What we know
A Richneck Elementary School teacher, described as a woman in her 30s, was shot with a handgun on Friday in a first-grade classroom, police said.
She was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. The mayor told CNN on Sunday that she was in stable condition.
The shooting took place during an altercation between the teacher and the student, police said, without providing more details.
No students were injured and the 6-year-old suspect was taken into custody.
The gun
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said officials were looking into how the 6-year-old obtained the handgun.
Authorities haven’t made public who owns the gun or how the 6-year-old got the gun into the school.
A motive has also not been released. Authorities haven’t elaborated on the altercation between the student and teacher but the police chief told reporters Friday that the shooting was not accidental.
The 6-year-old
The mayor didn’t release where the 6-year-old is being held.
Asked by CNN on Sunday what will happen next for the suspect and if the 6-year-old’s parents could be held responsible, the mayor replied, “There’s a lot of questions that we have to answer.”
“Because it remains an investigation, we’re going to let itself work out before we rush to judgment at this time,” Jones said. “The individuals responsible will be held accountable — I can promise that.”
