The fighting between the members of Journey continues. Varietyreports the latest battle is over their classic song “Don’t Stop Believin’,” with Neal Schon filing a cease-and-desist order against bandmate Jonathan Cain to stop him from playing the tune.
The trouble appears to stem from Cain’s appearance last month at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, where he played the tune backed by Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Kari Lake.
“Although Mr. Cain is free to express his personal beliefs and associations, when he does that on behalf of Journey or for the band, such conduct is extremely deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach,” the letter reads. “Journey is not, and should not be, political.”
It adds, “Mr. Cain has no right to use Journey for politics. His politics should be his own personal business,” noting, “He should not be capitalizing on Journey’s brand to promote his personal political or religious agenda to the detriment of the band.”
The bandmates’ relationship certainly has been on rocky ground recently. Just last month, Schon sued Cain over an American Express card Schon said Cain signed up for, but didn’t give him access to. Cain claimed the suit was an attempt to cover up Schon’s own “excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle.”
Somehow they are supposed to work together again, though. Their tour with Toto kicks off February 4 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
(WASHINGTON) — The House Ways and Means Committee voted along party lines on Tuesday to release information from former President Donald Trump’s tax returns covering 2015-2020. That move capped a tumultuous legal battle over the documents and drew the spotlight back to the years-long controversy over Trump’s decision not to disclose financial information after launching his political career.
Trump broke decades of tradition when he first ran for president in 2016 and — after initially suggesting otherwise — refused to release his tax returns, claiming he was under audit by the IRS.
Democrats have long criticized that move and, since they retook the House in 2018, sought to obtain the records themselves, which they ultimately accomplished last month.
Trump isn’t the first president for whom his taxes were controversial: In 1973, Richard Nixon started the custom of presidents releasing their tax information — with Nixon’s release intended to assuage the public after scrutiny over some deductions he claimed.
Later, after the IRS began a policy of automatically auditing presidents and vice presidents’ taxes, then-Vice President George H. W. Bush paid nearly $200,000 in back taxes on previously undisclosed income from the sale of a home.
In Trump’s case, information released by the House panel on Tuesday — while they say they are redacting information from the wider records to come within days — showed that in some years between 2015 and 2020 he paid little to no taxes and, multiple times, reported tens of millions in losses.
In 2018 and 2019, when he reported positive income rather than losses, he paid a combined $1.1 million in taxes, according to the committee.
Republicans on the House committee warned Democrats were setting a dangerous precedent of using private financial records as partisan weapons, but the committee’s chairman, Richard Neal, D-Mass., said the decision “rises above politics.”
The committee highlighted how they found the IRS had not followed its automatic audit policy with Trump until 2019, after he was already in office.
Along with questions about auditing and privacy, political strategists said the tax release raises the possibility of damaging Trump’s standing with voters, who have said they want him to disclose more about his finances.
“With the exception of Donald Trump, every major party presidential nominee over the past 40 years has released their tax returns, so yes, I think Americans are entitled to know what’s in them,” said Democratic pollster Matt Hogan. “It’s not that the average American wants to know what’s in a candidate’s tax returns, it’s that if the candidate won’t release them, it sends a signal to voters that the candidate is hiding something.”
Polls have indicated that the public wants to know more about Trump’s taxes. An ABC News survey from 2017 — near the height of the debate over the documents — showed that 74% of adults thought his returns should be released.
At the same time, strategists like Hogan noted, Trump broke with other presidents and candidates in many ways. Democratic rival Hillary Clinton hammered the tax issue on the trail and he defeated her in 2016.
“Just as a president’s budget can help reveal their priorities, the refusal to release their tax returns can help reveal their character. But Trump broke so many political norms, that his refusal to release his tax returns barely registered among the most common critiques of him,” Hogan said.
During one 2016 debate, Clinton said that for several years Trump paid nothing in taxes — a barb he turned into a badge of honor.
“Why won’t he release his tax returns? Maybe he doesn’t want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he’s paid nothing in federal taxes,” she said in one debate. “Because the only years that anybody has ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license and they showed he didn’t pay any federal income tax.”
“That makes me smart,” Trump responded.
After taking office, Trump continued to maintain he was under audit — telling ABC News’ Jonathan Karl in 2018 that that was one reason he didn’t want to give Democrats his returns.
“If I were finished with the audit, I would have an open mind to it … but I don’t want to do it during an audit,” he said then.
But since becoming the leader of the Republican Party, Trump has continually declined to release details about his finances like his predecessors, who cited the need for transparency.
Nonetheless, some Trump tax information leaked to The New York Times in 2020 and, in November, an accountant described his financial losses about a decade ago while testifying in the trial of his company, the Trump Organization.
“This isn’t the first time Trump’s tax returns have been put out in the public sphere. It didn’t matter then, and it won’t matter now,” said one Trump ally, granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Sarah Longwell, a GOP pollster who has been critical of the former president, took another view.
“How much it matters is entirely dependent on what’s in them,” Longwell said. “Assuming it’s more of the same — not paying taxes and inflating valuations — then I don’t think it’ll make much public opinion difference. But if there’s something explosive, it can add to the accumulating perception of Republican voters that Trump has too much baggage to be electable.”
Some prominent conservatives in Washington are condemning the upcoming release while focusing on how it could affect the public — not Trump.
“It will be a regrettable stain on this committee,” Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, told reporters earlier this week.
“Let me be clear, our concern is not whether the president should have made his tax returns public as is traditional, nor about the accuracy of his tax returns,” Brady said then. “Our concern is that if taken, this committee action will set a terrible precedent that unleashes a dangerous new political weapon that reaches far beyond the former president and overturns decades of privacy protections for average Americans.”
Miley Cyrus is getting ready to launch her second annual Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party and revealed the star-studded list of talent who’ll help her ring in 2023.
We already know this year’s co-host will be none other than the iconic Dolly Parton, who is Miley’s real-life godmother. But now we know who else will be rocking out on the stage with them.
Among those hitting up the Miami stage will be Sia, “Big Energy” rapper Latto, up-and-coming artist FLETCHER and hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd, as well as a few comedians. Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman, as well as Sarah Sherman and comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy,will help bring the belly laughs for the new year.
Saturday Night Live‘s leader, Lorne Michaels, will return as the event’s executive producer. The show airs live from Miami on December 31 from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ET. It’ll also stream on Peacock.
Dionne Warwick doesn’t have anyone romantic in her life these days, but she hasn’t totally ruled out falling in love again, although she’s not overly concerned about it.
“Everybody needs companionship, of course,” the 82-year-old tells People. “Let’s not be crazy. However, it is not my priority right now. When I feel the need to have company, I know where to go and who to call. Ain’t Ghostbusters either.”
As for who she may be interested in, Dionne recently called out Pete Davidson for not giving her a shot and also expressed interest in Leonardo DiCaprio.
Meanwhile, as previously reported, Dionne recently told Peopleshe wants to meet Twitter owner Elon Musk to find out his true intentions regarding the social media site. Well, folks on Twitter want Dionne to do more than that — they want her to take over.
After Elon held a Twitter poll asking if he should step down as CEO and users voted that he should, Dionne held her own Twitter poll, asking her followers, “Should I take over as Twitter CEO?” As of Wednesday afternoon, 85% voted “Yes.” But to be fair, the only other option was “Yeah,” with 15% choosing that.
And if folks want to learn more about Dionne, they’ll soon have their chance. The new CNN film Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over airs New Year’s Day on CNN at 9 p.m. ET.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) Chris Pratt should stick to herding velociraptors. The Jurassic World series star took to Instagram to document an ill-fated attempt to emulate Erika Thompson, a Texas-based beekeeper who has more than 966,000 followers on the social media platform.
A shades-wearing Pratt explained to his fans, “So I’ve been following this bee lady on the Instagram, and she’s so cool and brave, and gets in front of these hives of bees and says, ‘They’re very calm today. I’m gonna remove the bee, I’m gonna use my bare hands to sift through the bees and look for the queen.'”
The Marvel movie star continued, “So it’s built up this false sense of security in me, to whereas I said, ‘I think I can control bees, too.'”
Pratt recalled, “I saw a beehive two days ago and I went towards it, and a man standing next to me says, ‘Hey careful, there’s bees,’ and I said, ‘These bees look very calm,’ and I just stared at these bees, and then one of them comes out and stings me in the eyeball.”
The actor then removed his shades to reveal a very swollen left eye, adding, “So, anyways, f*ck that bee lady.”
Nalah Jackson, a suspect in the disappearance of Kason Thomass, captured on video at a gas station in Huber Heights, Ohio. — Columbus Ohio Police
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — A woman who allegedly stole a car in Columbus, Ohio, with twin babies inside has been charged with two counts of kidnapping as the FBI joined a massive multi-state search for her and one of the missing infants police suspect is still in her possession.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said at a news conference Wednesday evening that detectives have found no trace of the suspect Nalah Jackson, 24, or the kidnapped 5-month-old baby, Kason Thomass, since early Tuesday morning when Jackson was allegedly caught on surveillance video abandoning Kason’s twin at the Dayton International Airport.
The search for Kason, who was last seen wearing a brown onesie, was launched Monday night after he and his twin brother, Kyair, went missing when Jackson, homeless woman, allegedly stole their mom’s running car. The twins were inside the vehicle as their mom stepped away to pick up a food order, police said.
Kyair Thomass was found around 4:40 a.m. Tuesday abandoned at the Dayton International Airport, more than 70 miles from Columbus, which a deputy police chief called, “a troubling aspect of this case.”
Bryant said two counts of kidnapping were filed against Jackson late Tuesday.
She said the FBI is assisting in the search for the suspect and Kason, providing personnel and technology.
She pleaded with the public Wednesday to come forward with any information no matter how small it may seem.
Bryant said the search has been expanded to five states surrounding Ohio.
Wednesday’s news conference came about 24 hours after Bryant made a direct appeal for Jackson to surrender the baby, saying, “we’re begging you to please return Kason.”
Surveillance images released by police captured Jackson at a gas station in the Dayton suburb of Huber Heights early Tuesday morning driving the stolen black 2010 Honda Accord. In a statement posted on Twitter, police said that while at the gas station, Jackson asked an employee for money.
Columbus Deputy Chief Smith Weir said Jackson was captured on the gas station’s surveillance cameras shortly before additional security video showed her dropping off Kyair at the Dayton airport.
Weir said several witnesses who encountered Jackson at the airport said she asked to borrow their cellphones to make a call.
He said it was “troubling aspect” that Jackson would leave one of the babies but keep the other.
“It’s perplexing as to why that would be,” Weir said. “Obviously we could all let our imaginations run wild, but we have to deal with what the facts are, and the facts are we’re still looking for one child.”
Bryant said the incident unfolded about 9:45 p.m. Monday while Kyair and Kason were alone in the Honda Accord their mother left running after stopping a Donatos Pizza restaurant in the Short North Arts District of northeast Columbus to pick up a Door Dash order.
The mother’s car was stolen soon after she went into the restaurant, police said. When the mother turned to look at her car from inside the restaurant, she noticed it was gone along with her twin babies, police said.
Bryant said witnesses told police that Jackson was seated inside the restaurant when the mother walked in.
The car has not been located and Bryant said it remained unclear if the suspect dumped the vehicle somewhere or was still driving it.
An Amber Alert was issued by the state Highway Patrol around 1:37 a.m. Tuesday. Police said the delay in issuing the alert was due to the stolen vehicle, which the mother recently purchased, not having license plates.
Bryant said at least 60 Columbus police officers have been assigned to the case and other law enforcement agencies were assisting in the search for the child. The chief said officers checked multiple residences around Columbus where Jackson once lived and searched several homeless encampments in Columbus she has been known to frequent.
Weir said he is worried about Kason’s well-being, saying, “We consider this child to be in danger.”
“This is a cry for help,” Weir said. “We’re asking the community to come forward and help us find this child.”
While Taylor Swift is working on reclaiming her music catalog, Justin Bieber is reportedly doing the exact opposite.
A report fromThe Wall Street Journal claims Justin is nearing a deal with Hipgnosis Songs Capital to sell his music catalog for a lofty $200 million. If approved, this will be Hipgnosis’ largest music-rights acquisition.
As for what’s on the table, the deal covers Justin’s six albums, collaborations and independent music singles over his 15-year career. The singer reportedly has yet to shake hands or sign any papers, so the deal is still in its negotiation stage.
Coincidentally, this won’t be the first Justin that Hipgnosis will acquire a song catalog from — earlier this year, they obtained the song catalog rights to Justin Timberlake‘s music for about $100 million.
Bieber and Hipgnosis’ teams have not responded to requests for comment.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled short lists in 10 categories for the 2023 Oscars on Wednesday, and among those in contention for Best Original Song nominations are Rihanna, The Weeknd, and Drake and Giveon.
Rihanna is one step closer to her first Oscar nomination thanks to “Lift Me Up,” her contribution to the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. This means director Ryan Coogler and Tems,who co-wrote the movie, could be headed for nominations, as well.
Drake and Giveon were short-listed for their help in writing “Time,” a song featured in the film Amsterdam, while Jazmine Sullivan and producer Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II were recognized for their pen on Till‘s “Stand Up.” The Weeknd’s writing on “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from Avatar: The Way of Water helped him to make the first cut.
A total of 81 songs were eligible in the Best Original Song category, but only 15 made the short list. The official Oscar nominations will be announced on January 24.
Luke Combs has shared the music video for his single, “Going, Going, Gone.” The song comes off the track list of his newest album, Growin’ Up.
Miranda Lambert’s second annual Mutt Shop for MuttNation is underway. Just in time for the holidays, the country star — and her Instagram-famous husband, Brendan McLoughlin — are stocking up on pet foods, toys and supplies to take to shelters. You can follow along on Twitter.
Will we see a member of the Pussycat Dolls and the music industry’s resident cat mom hit the studio together? If Nicole Scherzinger has her way, it would have happened yesterday.
The singer took to TikTok to confirm that she’s been flirting with some Taylor Swift-caliber Easter eggs on her social media. Followers took notice of some Reputation-era flare in her recent manicure and asked Nicole if she had something to say about it.
“Is the black nails a Reputation Easter egg? You and Taylor working together?” one hopeful fan wrote, which earned a cryptic response from Nicole.
The singer shared a video of herself singing in the studio to a mashup of the Pussycat Dolls’ “Buttons” and Taylor’s “Anti-Hero.” She then looks toward the camera with a devious smile and shrugs.
She captioned the post, “I’d be down for a collab @Taylor Swift,” including a sly-eyed emoji, as well as a black heart.
Taylor has not responded to the invite, but Nicole’s fans are going nuts over the thought of the two singers collaborating.
