Elton John‘s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour is paved with gold: It’s topped Billboard‘s list of the highest-grossing tours for the month of November. It’s the sixth time Elton has been number one on that chart, and it extends his record as the artist with the most months at number one overall.
Elton’s eight concerts in November took in a whopping $60.2 million, including $23.5 million alone for his three concerts at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium on November 17, 19 and 20. Those shows represented the final North American concerts of his farewell tour; the show on November 20, featuring Dua Lipa, Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile, was livestreamed on Disney+.
Since mid-July, Elton’s been playing North American stadiums, and those 33 shows together have brought in a hefty $222 million. Overall, the tour currently ranks as the second-highest-grossing one of all time, behind only Elton’s pal Ed Sheeran‘s Divide tour, which ran from 2017 to 2019.
It’s the time of year for Christmas movies, and to make bingeing easy, the ratings aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has listed 100 of the best holiday films, based partly on their critics and audience scores.
Chances are you’ve seen many, but there are others you may not have considered — or considered Christmas movies at all — as they span across all genres, from family to horror.
1944’s Meet Me In St. Louis topped the list; the musical film has a 100% score overall. The Judy Garland film takes place over several seasons, with Christmas playing a major role.
Other entries with a 100% score included 1967’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas (#39) and 1983’s Mickey’s Christmas Carol (#44).
Other selections include the old standby Miracle on 34th Street (#3), and the animated movies Klaus (#5) and Tim Burton‘s The Nightmare Before Christmas (#6).
And yes, Die Hard made the Christmas list, at #8.
With a 90% score, 1983’s classic A Christmas Story ranked 15th; the new Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special cracked the top 20 at #17, and 1983’s Trading Places, starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd (#21), just beat out 1984’s Gremlins.
As for the movies some might not immediately think of in the silly season but many others swear by: 2016’s slasher pic You Better Watch Out ranked 20th; 2005’s twisty Kiss Kiss Bang Bang starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer (#24) managed to beat out 2003’s Elf (#25).
A chef who used to work for Lil Wayne claims she was wrongfully terminated in a lawsuit she’s filed against the rapper.
TMZ reports Morghan Medlock alleged Wayne fired her earlier this year because she had to leave his Memorial Day trip to Vegas after receiving a call about her injured son. In court docs obtained by the outlet, she claimed Wayne and his team were smoking on the private jet, which was delaying their departure. As she was in a rush to get to her son, she booked a separate flight and notified Wayne’s assistant. She said she made it clear she wasn’t quitting when she left to take care of her son.
According to Medlock, she reached out to Wayne’s team about getting back to work, but was ignored. She later received a text informing her of her termination, along with a message from Wayne saying, “tell Chef Morghan this isn’t going to work,” she wrote in the suit.
Medlock is suing Wayne for wrongful termination, retaliation and unlawful practices, claiming California law protects against the firing of an employee who missed work to care for their sick or injured child. She’s seeking at least $500,000 in the case.
Damon Albarn has shared a cover of The Specials as a tribute to late vocalist Terry Hall.
In a video posted to his Twitter, the Blur and Gorillaz frontman performs an instrumental piano version of “Friday Night, Saturday Morning.”
“Terry, you meant the world to me,” Albarn writes in the caption. “I love you.”
The Specials announced on Monday that Hall, 63, had died “following a brief illness.” In a Facebook post, bassist Horace Panter shared that Hall had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Zac Brown Band is known for their immersive, high-energy live shows — and that’s not changing anytime soon, even though member John Driskell Hopkins is currently battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
In conversation with the Tennessean, ZBB’s Coy Bowles explains that the band is focusing on every second they get to play onstage with John.
“We can’t allow ourselves to think about [Hopkins’ ALS diagnosis] as a super-defining negative because we love him so much,” Coy explains. “So our mind frame around it has been focused on making the most of the fact that he’s still out there with us.”
The band has also been finding ways to use their connection to the degenerative disease for a good cause. In 2022, they played a sold-out benefit show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to raise awareness of ALS and money for research toward a cure.
Now, ZBB is still rocking: They’re on the bill for New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, which will air from Music City to ring in 2023.
“Humans gathering together to celebrate the power of music is exciting,” Coy adds. “We’re firing on all cylinders and probably having the best time [onstage] we’ve ever had.”
DaBaby has scored a legal victory in a $6 million lawsuit that accused him of battery in 2020.
As TMZ reported, concert promoter Kenneth Carey had hired DaBaby that year as a host for a Miami event. When the two were unable to agree on the fee, Carey claimed a fight broke out. He said the rapper assaulted him, and robbed him and his friend.
DaBaby was initially charged with criminal battery, which prosecutors later dropped. After a five-day trial, he came out victorious.
“Along with our client, Jonathan Kirk (DaBaby), we are thrilled that this federal jury, after a five-day trial, came to the same conclusion that we have maintained for almost 3 years – that these plaintiffs were attempting to use the legal system to shake down Mr. Kirk,” the rapper’s attorney Drew Findling told TMZ Hip Hop. “Mr. Kirk deserves all the credit in the world for not caving in to these plaintiffs’ cash demands and having the confidence in the facts and his legal team to take this to a jury trial for a complete and total victory!”
(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee voted Tuesday to make public some documents related to former President Donald Trump’s tax returns — a move Trump has long fought.
The committee met for several hours behind closed doors Tuesday afternoon and then returned to vote 24-16 in open session to release the information related to Trump’s tax returns from 2015-2020.
It’s not clear what documents will be released or ultimately included in the committee’s report, but there will be two days to redact sensitive information before anything is made public.
Chairman Richard Neal, D- Mass., said after the vote, “This is not being punitive. This is not about being malicious.”
The tax returns will cover six years, from 2015 to 2020, Neal later said. The committee is in the process of redacting personal information and will release the documents once that’s finished, which Neal said could be in a “few days.” The six years of returns, including those of eight affiliated businesses; committee reports, a report from the Joint Committee on Taxation and IRS audit reports are expected to be released.
According to a summary released by the committee, Trump and his wife Melania, during the first year of Trump’s presidential campaign in 2015, together reported $31.7 million in losses and reported $641,931 in net taxes.
During the 2016 presidential election year, the two again reported losing $32.4 million in adjusted gross income and paid just $750 in taxes, according to the committee. During Trump’s first year in office, the couple reported losing $12.9 million and again paid $750 in taxes.
In 2018, their adjusted gross income went up, with them bringing in $24.3 million, and they reported paying $999,456 in taxes. In 2019, the two reported making $4.4 million and paid $133,445 in taxes.
In 2020, they reported losing $4.8 million and Trump paid $0 in taxes.
Neal told reporters that the committee found there was no ongoing audit of Trump’s tax returns during his presidency until the committee requested them, despite an IRS requirement that tax returns filed by a sitting president or vice president are subject to audit.
Neal said the audit only began in 2019 after he requested the returns and said the audits of the requested returns were never completed.
“The tax forms were really never audited and only my sending a letter at one point prompted a rear-view mirror response,” Neal said.
The committee earlier unanimously voted to have a transcript of the closed proceedings released when appropriate.
Before the committee met, multiple boxes of Trump tax return-related documents were seen being wheeled into the room.
The committee obtained the information from the Treasury Department last month, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Trump’s request to block an appears court order that he surrender his tax returns and other financial records to the committee.
It marked the fourth time Trump had lost a high court appeal related to requests for his taxes.
It’s not immediately clear what significant new information might be in the committee’s possession. Prosecutors in New York have already been able to access some of the data, but some of what the committee has could be more recent.
Tuesday’s vote came a day after the House Jan. 6 committee voted to make criminal referrals about Trump to the Justice Department.
The committee had requested six years’ worth of Trump’s returns as part of what it said was an investigation into IRS audit practices of presidents and vice presidents.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, Trump accused the committee of seeking his taxes under false pretenses.
In November, it was revealed that Trump reported nearly $1 billion in operating losses over a two-year period about a decade ago when an accountant testified at the criminal trial of the Trump Organization, spilling into public tax information that the former president has tried repeatedly to keep private.
The Ways and Means Committee move comes just two weeks before House Republicans are set to take majority control.
The Supreme Court offered no explanation for its decision and there was no noted dissent or vote breakdown.
“We knew the strength of our case, we stayed the course, followed the advice of counsel, and finally, our case has been affirmed by the highest court in the land,” Chairman Neal said at the time. “Since the Magna Carta, the principle of oversight has been upheld, and today is no different. This rises above politics, and the Committee will now conduct the oversight that we’ve sought for the last three and a half years.”
While Trump has claimed the subpoena is a politically motivated fishing expedition, the committee said the documents were critical for drafting “legislation on equitable tax administration, including legislation on the President’s tax compliance.”
The top Republican on the committee, Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, has accused Democrats of making a major mistake in a “rush to target” Trump.
“Ways and Means Democrats are unleashing a dangerous new political weapon that reaches far beyond President Trump, and jeopardizes the privacy of every American,” Brady said in a statement ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.
“Going forward, partisans in Congress have nearly unlimited power to target political enemies by obtaining and making public their private tax returns to embarrass and destroy them. This is not limited to public officials, but can target private citizens, business and labor leaders, and Supreme Court justices,” he said.
He echoed that shortly before the members gathered, saying, “The precedent that we set today will have severe consequences for taxpayers in democracy.”
ABC News’ Tal Axelrod, Aaron Katersky, Devin Dwyer, Rachel Scott and Will Steakin contributed to this report.
It’s certainly been one of those days/weeks/months for Elon Musk, and Fred Durst is here to help.
In a tweet to the billionaire, who’s faced criticism over his handling of the social platform since purchasing it for a reported $44 billion, the Limp Bizkit frontman writes, “@elonmusk good morning, sir. Myself and @limpbizkit are available for any help you may want or need at Twitter. Happy Holidays.”
It’s unclear exactly how the Bizkit might be able to help the embattled Musk, but Durst has surprised us with his projects before — remember when he directed an eHarmony commercial? — so maybe he’s secretly a programmer or engineer, too.
While Durst is offering his assistance to Musk, a number of rockers have left Twitter following his takeover, including Jack White and Trent Reznor.
Congress has called upon Ticketmaster’s executives to explain what caused the Taylor Swift ticketing fiasco.
WLS reports U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who chairs the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, is seeking answers into Ticketmaster’s sales process.
Schakowsky reached out to Ticketmaster after the presale left fans complaining of hourslong waits, site crashes and exorbitant prices to get tickets to Taylor’s Eras Tour. Those same fans are now raising alarm over the number of tickets being sold for ridiculous prices on third-party resellers.
“We want a complete explanation of the problems that we have had. So we are calling them in,” she said. Schakowsky wants Ticketmaster to not only explain how it sells tickets, but to look into ways of improving how it operates.
In her letter to Ticketmaster, which was signed by members of the bipartisan committee, she signaled concern that “millions of fans endured delays, lockouts, and competition with aggressive scammers, scalpers, and bots.” She says the fiasco also exposed “potential unfair and deceptive practices that face consumers and eventgoers.”
“I think in many ways consumers are really held hostage,” she said.
This is the latest development stemming from the disastrous rollout of Taylor’s ticket presale. Last month Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn called upon the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Ticketmaster violated the 2016 Better Online Ticket Sales Act, which was designed to combat illegal bots that snatch up swaths of concert tickets before fans can get their hands on them.
In addition, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee announced a hearing to look into the alleged monopoly critics say Ticketmaster has on the ticketing industry.
In addition, the Justice Department’s antitrust division is investigating Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, for potential abuse of power.
In his recent interview with the Wall Street Journal,Bob Dylan revealed he’s a fan of the British series Coronation Street, a soap opera that has been on since the 1960s. Producers of the show were so flattered they’ve actually offered him a part on the series.
“I’ve binge-watched Coronation Street, Father Brown, and some early Twilight Zones,” Dylan said in the interview. “I know they’re old-fashioned shows, but they make me feel at home.” He added, “I’m not a fan of packaged programs or news shows, so I don’t watch them. I never watch anything foul-smelling or evil.”
Well, Coronation Street producer Iain MacLeod couldn’t quite believe the comments, telling The Daily Telegraph he could “dine out on this forever”: “To hear that Bob Dylan is a Coronation Street viewer blows my mind.”
MacLeod says he “would absolutely love the idea of him turning up” on the show, suggesting “we could write in an open mic night and a mysterious singer could roll in out of the Manchester rain and do a turn.”
