Jack White and Trent Reznor have deactivated their Twitter accounts in response to Elon Musk’s purchase of the social media platform.
In a statement posted to his Instagram, White criticizes Musk, who bought Twitter for a reported $44 billion, for reinstating former president Donald Trump‘s account over the weekend, which was originally suspended for violating the site’s “Glorification of Violence” policy with tweets leading up to the January 6 Capitol attack.
“Absolutely disgusting, Elon,” White writes. “That is officially an a**hole move.”
“Trump was removed from Twitter because he incited violence multiple times, people died and were injured as a result of his lies and his ego, (let alone what his coup did to attempt to destroy democracy and our Capitol),” he continues. “And how about the division and the families broken apart from his rhetoric and what it did to this country?”
Taking aim at Musk’s explanation that he’s reinstalling Trump’s account for “free speech” reasons, White writes “I am a believer in free speech, but for example I’m not about to let the KKK hold a rally at our record label’s performance stage.”
White notes that he never had a personal Twitter account himself, but adds that he’ll be deactivating the account of his label Third Man Records, which has indeed been removed.
Reznor, meanwhile, told The Hollywood Reporter of his plans to “depart” Twitter, saying, “We don’t need the arrogance of the billionaire class to feel like they can just come in and solve everything.”
“Even without [Musk] involved, I just find that it has become such a toxic environment,” the Nine Inch Nails frontman declared. “For my mental health, I need to tune out. I don’t feel good being there anymore.”
Reznor’s account has since been deactivated, as well.
If you ever wanted to cozy up next to a bunch of priceless sneakers, DJ Khaled has an opportunity for you.
Airbnb teamed with the hitmaker to rent out his “illustrious sneaker closet” in Miami for four lucky individuals. Yes, you heard correctly — the winners will be “sleeping amid hundreds of pairs” of DJ Khaled’s “most pried kicks,” including his “Jordan 3 ‘Grateful’ and Jordan 8 ‘Oregon PEs.'”
“Guests will have an opportunity to live and breathe Miami the same epic way DJ Khaled does,” the listing teases, adding that there will be a few perks that’ll sweeten the deal even more. For example, those who score this limited rental will be awarded their very own pair of We The Best Air Jordan 5s and a handwritten letter from DJ Khaled himself.
Renters will also be able to take a dip in Khaled’s pool, relax at his outdoor lounge, enjoy a catered dinner at his restaurant The Licking – Miami Gardens and get hooked up with a “private shopping session” at Miami’s 305 Kicks sneaker store.
But, one of the most attractive parts of this unique stay will be the pricetag. He will only charge $11 per night, which is a nod to his shoe size. The closet will be open for one night stays for two guests only on December 5 and December 6.
So, if this type of deal is right up your alley, head on over to airbnb.com/wethebest on Tuesday, November 29 at 1 p.m. ET to book. Just note guests “are responsible their own travel to and from Miami,” per the listing.
(NEW YORK) — Christian Pulisic is poised to become a household name as the U.S. men’s national soccer team prepares to take the field against Wales for their first World Cup match in eight years.
Ahead of his World Cup debut, Pulisic spoke to ABC News’ Good Morning America about the international tournament and what it means to be on this stage four years after the team failed to qualify.
“My No. 1 dream was to play for Team USA in a World Cup. So you can imagine, when that really hit, that we wouldn’t be there, I couldn’t understand why it happened. I was obviously so upset, so emotional,” he said. “But, you know, looking back on it, that motivated me that much more.”
He continued, “It’s all in front of us, all that to play for and being in a World Cup. I still just can’t wait for that feeling.”
The 24-year-old all-world forward from Hershey, Pennsylvania, is on pace to score the most goals in U.S. men’s national team history.
“I think they should expect a very hungry team, a young team, and one that’s just willing to go to battle and do anything that we can to win,” Pulisic said.
The 12-year run-up to this World Cup has been fraught with human rights abuse allegations against host country Qatar and accusations that some officials from FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, took bribes to vote in favor of Qatar’s host bid.
“We’re not the United Nations, we’re not the world police, we are not, I don’t know, the blue helmets. The only weapon that we have is this, it’s the ball,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in part of a lengthy defense on the eve of the tournament.
On Sunday, Qatar became the first host country to lose an opening match when they fell 2-0 to Ecuador.
Pulisic, a prodigy who began playing in Europe’s best leagues as a teenager, will lead the young American squad with dreams of World Cup glory.
“I like the quote, ‘If you play for the badge on the front of your jersey, people remember the name on the back,'” Pulisic said.
“I think being American, it means something to a lot of people around the world,” he continued. “That’s why every time I put on that jersey, I hope that I can inspire people back home. I hope that they can watch and say, ‘You know what, this kid is fighting. He’s giving everything that he has. If he can do it, I can do it, too.’ And at the end of the day, for me, that’s what it means to be American.”
(NEW YORK) — A New Zealand-led team of marine geologists investigating an underwater volcano that erupted on Jan. 15 in the Tongan archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean have found that it was the “largest ever recorded” with modern equipment.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, which triggered a tsunami and a sonic boom that twice-circled the globe, was captured in dramatic satellite imagery which showed huge cloud of ash and steam thrust into the atmosphere.
A team of oceanographers, scientists and marine geologists headed by the New Zealand National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), with assistance from a robot boat remotely operated in the UK by Sea-Kit International, have conducted the “fullest investigation yet” into the underwater Tongan volcano. They discovered that almost 10 cubic kilometres of seafloor was displaced — the equivalent of 2.6 million Olympic-sized pools.
“The eruption reached record heights, being the first we’ve ever seen to break through into the mesosphere,” said Kevin Mackay, NWA marine geologist. “It was like a shotgun blast directly into the sky.”
“While this eruption was large, one of the biggest since Krakatoa in 1883, there have been others of similar magnitude since then that didn’t behave in the same way. The difference here is that it’s an underwater volcano and its also part of the reason we got such big tsunami waves,” added Mackay.
The team of scientists also unraveled new information into the volcano’s underwater pyroclastic flows — a mixture of hot, dense volcanic ash, lava fragments and gas ejected from the volcano — through examining sediment debris found 80 km away.
“The sheer force of the flows is astonishing — we saw deposits in valleys beyond the volcano, which is where the international cable lies, meaning they had enough power to flow uphill over huge ridges and then back down again,” said Dr. Emily Lane, Principal NIWA scientist.
The volcano was also found to have injected an immense plume of water vapor into the Earth’s stratosphere. According to NASA, only the 2015 Calbuco eruption in Chile and the 2008 Kasatochi Island eruption in Alaska released significant amounts of high-altitude water vapor.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Luis Millán, atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement in August.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano’s crater was also found to be 700 meters deeper than before the eruption.
(NEW YORK) — Seven-year-old Jax Ramirez was born a “typical little boy,” according to his mom — but now, he’s one in 1.6 million.
Due to an extremely rare genetic disease, he dreams of the day he can attend school in person — and with a bone marrow transplant, he may have the chance.
“He’s a cyber student,” his mother, Missy Ramirez, said. “He just hops on [Zoom] every day with a smile. He’s loving. He loves his friends. His biggest wish is that he someday can see his friends in person.”
Jax was diagnosed with IPEX syndrome last year. The symptoms of the autoimmune disease include diarrhea, diabetes and eczema in young patients, according to the National Center for Advancing Translation Sciences.
The only potential treatment for the disease is a bone marrow transplant. More than a year after his diagnosis, Jax is still searching for his life-saving donor.
To help continue to raise awareness of the bone marrow registry, GMA is partnering with Be The Match in our “One Match, Second Chance” series to continue to raise awareness and to help save lives. Learn how to take the first step to sign up to become a donor today.
Missy Ramirez said symptoms became noticeable when her son was about 2 and a half years old, and he started to have fits of “rapid breathing.” Jax was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
“Nobody in my family has Type 1 diabetes. This is not something that I would have ever put on my mom radar,” she said. “It just didn’t sit well with me.”
Missy Ramirez said other things began to “pop up” and that her son seemed to get gravely ill, too easily.
“We would always end up in the hospital,” she said. “It was never just a little tiny cold.”
She said the common hand, foot and mouth disease turned into a hospital stay for Jax. Then, a runny nose from the flu precipitously turned into a weeklong medically induced coma.
“I had been researching people, doctors, specialists to help me find what the answer was because I knew it just couldn’t be bad luck anymore,” Missy Ramirez said.
Jax was eventually diagnosed with IPEX syndrome in October 2021. Missy Ramirez said they quickly discovered that there were no matches for her son on the bone marrow registry.
“The more diverse you are, the worse the outcomes are simply because there’s not enough representation of people of color on the registry,” she said.
“It was that moment I decided that I can’t just sit by idly hoping that somebody will just magically join this registry and save my son,” she added.
Missy Ramirez and a few close friends started The Match for Jax, a foundation to find a match for her son and others like him. Nearly a year later, the group has registered more than 4,000 people in her son’s honor, but they’re still looking for Jax’s match.
“Every family should have a match. Every person of color should have a voice,” she said. “Every person should be represented and every person should have a second chance at life.”
Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — The attack at a gay bar in Colorado Springs, Colorado, over the weekend has left the local LGBTQ community grieving.
At least five people were killed and dozens were injured in a late night shooting on Nov. 19, the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors the memory of the lives of transgender people who were victims of discriminatory violence.
The targeted bar, Club Q, was hosting its weekly drag show, according to its website.
“Club Q is in shock, and in deep mourning, with the family and friends who had loved ones senselessly taken from them,” the club said in a statement sent to ABC News. “We condemn the horrific violence that shattered an evening of celebration for all in the LGBTQ community of Colorado Springs and our allies.”
An alleged motive has not yet been announced. The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.
“There are no words that will undo the horror that continues to devastate our communities,” said Nadine Bridges, the executive director of LGBTQ advocacy group One Colorado.
She continued, “Our safe spaces continue to become places of grief, trauma, and sorrow due to gun violence, mass shootings, and the general disrespect for our human condition. Not one more life should be taken or lost. No one should feel unsafe to celebrate or live authentically in public.”
The tragedy comes amid a wave of Republican-led legislative efforts to restrict LGBTQ rights and health care. More than 300 bills and policies have been introduced in the last year to ban gender-affirming trans health care and LGBTQ content in schools.
“This is what happens when vitriol against us is left unchecked, when LGBTQ+ people are slowly being legislated out of existence, and everyone from legislators to hate groups to social media users use the same vile talking points about us, every day. This is what happens,” PFLAG National, an LGBTQ advocacy group, told ABC News in a statement. “Book bans; Don’t say gay; Violent protests at Pride; Bans on care for trans kids; Hundreds of pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation; It always leads to this.”
Some Republicans have also used false “pedophilia” claims to attack the LGBTQ community.
Colorado has seen its own share of anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric from local leaders, including Rep. Lauren Boebert, who has introduced a bill to prohibit tax dollars from being used on research concerning gender affirming care.
LGBTQ groups are calling on local, state and federal lawmakers to “go beyond statements and condolences and take swift, exacting action to ensure public safety,” Bridges said.
Acts or threats of violence against the LGBTQ have been seen across the country in recent months – including bomb threats toward Boston Children’s Hospital, which offers gender-affirming care, an alleged riot plot from white nationalists at a Pride parade in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and more.
“There’s actually a term for this. It’s called stochastic terrorism. And this is a documented phenomenon where when levels of hateful rhetoric towards a community rises, that it’s followed inevitably by levels of hateful actions,” Kevin Jennings, CEO of LGBTQ legal advocacy group Lambda Legal, told ABC News.
“I’m sure there will be meaningless expressions of thoughts and prayers. And frankly, my message to those people is just: please keep your thoughts and prayers. Take some meaningful action,” he added.
Though fear, confusion and grief weigh heavy on the LGBTQ community in Colorado Springs, local groups say they refuse to hide.
“Loved ones’ lives and their wholeness were violently taken,” PFLAG Colorado Springs board of directors said in a statement to ABC News. “When voices of influence spread fear and hate, the risk is the loss of kindness and the loss of our humanity. Our love is stronger than that.”
As the community tries to heal, the Colorado Healing Fund, a nonprofit founded to establish a secure way for people to donate to victims of mass casualty crimes in the state, will be collecting donations for survivors and families of victims of the tragedy.
Bruce Springsteen has another hit record. The Boss moved 39,500 copies of his new covers album, Only the Strong Survive, to debut at eight on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Of those albums moved, 36,500 were in traditional album sales.
Only the Strong Survive is now Bruce’s 22nd top 10 record, landing him at eight for the most top 10 albums and at six for the most among solo artists. The Rolling Stones currently have the most, with 37, followed by Barbra Streisand with 34, and The Beatles and Frank Sinatra, with 32.
Only the Strong Survive has Bruce covering some of his favorite soul songs, including “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),” “Nightshift,” “Don’t Play That Song” and more. He recently told Rolling Stonethat a second volume of covers is on the way and that he has about “three-quarters” of it recorded.
(NEW YORK) — The nation’s largest rail union on Monday voted down a tentative contract brokered by the White House, raising the possibility of a nationwide strike next month that could cripple the U.S. economy.
The SMART Transportation Division, or SMART-TD, which represents about 28,000 conductors, rejected the contract in a vote that garnered record turnout, the union said Monday. The contract was nixed by a slim margin, as just 50.8% of workers voted against it.
The second-largest rail union, made up of engineers, voted in favor of the contract on Monday, splitting the top rail unions, which represent roughly half of the industry’s workers.
The results arrive roughly a month after the nation’s third-largest rail union rejected the White House-brokered contract.
A nationwide strike is expected next month unless the contract is ratified by each of the 11 rail unions, since all of the unions have vowed not to cross the picket line in the event of a work stoppage. So far, four unions have ratified the agreement.
“SMART-TD members with their votes have spoken, it’s now back to the bargaining table for our operating craft members,” SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson said in a statement.
“This can all be settled through negotiations and without a strike. A settlement would be in the best interests of the workers, the railroads, shippers and the American people,” he added.
In a statement, SMART-TD did not provide the reason behind the members’ disapproval. Previously, unions have rejected the tentative contract due to frustration with compensation and working conditions, particularly a lack of paid sick days.
The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, or NCCC, the group representing the freight railroad companies, said in a statement that the risk of a nationwide strike next month will require the companies to start taking steps to prepare for the disruption.
“A national rail strike would severely impact the economy and the public,” the NCCC said. “Now, the continued, near-term threat of one will require that freight railroads and passenger carriers soon begin to take responsible steps to safely secure the network in advance of any deadline.”
The tentative contract included a 24% compounded wage increase and $5,000 in lump-sum payments, the NCCC said last month.
American railway companies and unions reached a tentative labor agreement in September amid the threat of strikes. That agreement came after 20 consecutive hours of negotiations led by U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh at his office in Washington, D.C., Walsh said.
The agreement improved the time-off policies at the rail companies, which made up a key sticking point in the negotiations, BLET and SMART-TD said in a statement in September.
A potential strike could lead to $2 billion a day in lost economic output, according to the Association of American Railroads, which lobbies on behalf of railway companies.
Rail is critical to the entire goods side of the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing, retail and warehousing. Freight railroads are responsible for transporting 40% of the nation’s long-haul freight and a work stoppage could endanger those shipments.
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — More than 100 investigators, officers and support staff have fielded about 600 tips since the murders last week of four University of Idaho students, officials said on Sunday.
As the tips pour in, each has been processed, vetted and cleared, according to the Moscow Police Department, which has five support staff members dedicated to the case.
“Thirty-eight interviews have been conducted with individuals who may have information about the murders,” the department said in a Sunday briefing update.
Investigators have released timelines detailing the whereabouts of the victims and the other students who lived at the off-campus house. No arrests have been made by authorities.
Investigators said they’ve also conducted autopsies and have searched for surveillance video. They’ve asked for tips from anyone “who observed suspicious behavior.”
“Currently, no suspects are in custody and no weapon has been located,” investigators said.
The victims who were found dead on Nov. 13 have been identified as Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho.
ABC News contributor and former FBI agent Brad Garrett told Good Morning America on Monday that the killer or killers may have been familiar with the layout of the house.
“It tells me that someone came into the house with a comfort level — that they probably knew their way around the house,” Garrett said.
The Moscow Police Department said it has dedicated four detectives, 24 patrol officers and five members of its support staff to the investigation. They’ve been joined by a wave of outside investigators, who’ve taken over Moscow, a college town with about 25,000 residents, since the killings were first discovered last Sunday.
The FBI sent 22 investigators to Moscow, according to the local police. Another 20 agents were working on the case but located in Treasure Valley, Idaho; Salt Lake City, Utah; and West Virginia. Two members of an FBI behavior analysis unit were also working on the case, police said.
Investigators also said a 911 call came from inside the residence and was made on one of the surviving roommates’ cellphones. They initially told authorities that someone was passed out and wouldn’t wake up, officials said.
“Multiple people talked with the 911 dispatcher before a Moscow Police officer arrived at the location,” officials said. “Officers entered the residence and found the four victims on the second and third floors.”
Garrett said investigators should be broadening their search outside the victims’ immediate circle of friends and family.
“You’re going to have to start spreading out to people they had just a casual relationship with,” he said.
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro, Melissa Gaffney, Marilyn Heck, Izzy Alvarez and Flor Tolentino contributed to this report.
Michael J. Fox accepted an honorary Oscar in an emotional speech at the 13th Annual Governors Awards on Saturday in Los Angeles.
The beloved Back To The Future lead received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which honors individuals “whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry,” for his work with The Michael J. Fox Foundation, which funds research into Parkinson’s disease.
“It made me feel really proud of all the people who work at the foundation. All the patients who contributed their life stories,” Fox told Good Morning America on the red carpet. “It’s really humbling, I mean, it’s truly humbling.”
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that affects the central nervous system and impairs movement, often including tremors, according to the Mayo Clinic. Currently, there is no known cause or cure for Parkinson’s disease.
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 and subsequently became an advocate for finding a cure. He founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 and the foundation has since become the largest non-profit funder of Parkinson’s disease research in the world and has funded more than $1.5 billion of research projects to date, according to the foundation’s website.
Fox, who retired from acting in 2020 due to the progression of his disease, was supported by his wife Tracy Pollen, his four children, as well as his longtime-friend, and Back To The Future co-star, Christopher Lloyd on Saturday night while he received the high honor.
“My optimism is fueled by my gratitude,” Fox said during his acceptance speech. “With gratitude, optimism is sustainable.”
