Andor star and executive producer Diego Luna was already over the moon with how well the Disney+ Star Wars series has fared with both fans and professional critics.
The show has a 96% score on ratings aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and has earned some of the best online fan reaction since The Mandalorian. But the actor, now working on Andor‘s second season, admits he was taken aback by his recent Best Actor nominations from the People’s Choice Awards, the Critics Choice Awards, and the Golden Globes.
Luna recalls of the latter, “… I remember I was shooting, and the makeup artist came and said it to me, like, ‘Congratulations!’ And I thought she was talking about the shot we were doing. And I was like, “[T]his is simple, the tough one is to come.’ And she was like, ‘No, no, congrats on the nomination!’ And I was like, ‘Wow, that’s great news!'”
He adds, “It’s been cool … because I wasn’t expecting it to happen, you know, I wasn’t, like, really pushing or thinking about that at all. And these two nominations came as a surprise to me.”
Luna expresses, “What people are celebrating today about the show is what we wanted this show to be … You read in the reviews and in social media that people are celebrating the show for being complex and for being darker, and more mature cinematically and visually. I mean, there … is a statement, you know, and people are celebrating that.”
He adds, “Many times shows get celebrated, but not necessarily for the right reasons or for the same reasons you joined. And this time it’s happening. And that makes me very proud.”
The Black Keys will be boogieing on the ice to kick off the new year.
The “Lonely Boy” duo is set to perform during the NHL’s 2023 Winter Classic hockey game, which will feature the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins facing off on a frozen Fenway Park.
You can tune in to watch the Winter Classic airing January 2 at 2 p.m. on TNT. The telecast will feature The Black Keys’ performance, as well as a rendition of the national anthem by “Poison” group Bell Biv DeVoe.
The Black Keys spent much of 2022 on the road touring behind their new album, Dropout Boogie, which features the single “Wild Child.” The boogieing will continue in 2023 with a tour of Europe.
Keith Richards and his wife, Patti Hansen, celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary on Sunday, which also happened to be the Rolling Stones guitarist’s 79th birthday. The couple’s daughter Theodora shared a photo from the celebration, revealing a picture of the couple recreating a kiss from their big day, with Patti actually donning her wedding dress.
“A jubilee happened yesterday 🎂💋🍯🇦🇷💕🪩 My parents had a party where we celebrated my dad being another year older and that my parents have been married for 39 years (really it’s 43yrs of togetherness but we’ll go off the legitimacy of their 1983 Cabo wedding ),” she writes on Instagram. “I am so proud of this family. We’ve been through a lot but the love is so strong and powerful that it carries us forever forward on a cloud of compassion and courage. I love you mom and dad. You guys are my inspiration.”
Keith also marked the occasion, sharing a picture from their wedding day, writing, “Happy Anniversary, Patricia❤️. Love, Keith.”
In a special holiday episode of Alex Cooper‘s Call Her Daddy podcast, John Mayer opens up about relationships and reveals who really inspired his hit “Your Body Is a Wonderland.”
When Cooper refers to the rumor that the song’s about a certain actress, John insists, “No, that was about my first girlfriend! … I was 21 when I wrote that song, [and] I was nostalgic for being 16.”
And the story about the actress? John explains, “That’s one of those things where people just sort of form that idea, it gets reinforced over the years … no, I had never met a celebrity when I wrote that song!”
John, who says he has indeed been in love in the past, tells Cooper that contrary to his reputation as a womanizer, “Of course I wanna get married.”
He jokes, “I can’t wait for someone to be mad at me because I said I would take the dry cleaning in, and they were going to until I said I would and then I didn’t … I would love that, because that would suggest that we’re into something deep, meaningful and secure.”
“Every relationship I’ve ever been in was devoted to the idea that this could go the distance,” he notes. “… If you told me that I could have a great two months with someone but it would end on the first day of the third month, I would not be interested. I’ve always sought potential for a long-term relationship.”
John also sings acoustic versions of “Daughters,” “Why Georgia” and more. When Cooper asks, “Do you do this before you have sex with someone?” he responds, “No. I do it after sometimes.”
He adds, “You should never play guitar to have sex with someone, but a little naked guitar playing after is very memorable.”
For night three of Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin‘s 2022 TheHanukkah Sessions, the pair released a cover of the 10cc song “The Things We Do for Love.”
The performance features vocals by Inara George, who plays with Kurstin in the band The Bird and the Bee, as well as background singing by Tenacious D‘s Jack Black and Kyle Gass. You can watch it streaming now on YouTube.
For The Hanukkah Sessions, which is now in its third year, Grohl and Kurstin release a cover of a song by a Jewish artist for each of the holiday’s eight nights. This year’s edition was recorded live at the Los Angeles club Largo earlier this month, and so far has included versions of Blood, Sweat & Tears‘ “Spinning Wheel” featuring director Judd Apatow and Pink‘s “Get they Party Started” featuring the pop star herself.
The last two Hanukkah Sessions spawned covers of artists including KISS, Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Drake, Lisa Loeb, Ramones, Amy Winehouse and Billy Joel.
(NEW YORK) — Break out the gloves and hats: bitter cold is moving in, bringing what could be the coldest Christmas in decades for parts of the U.S.
On Friday morning, the wind chill — what temperature it feels like — will drop to minus 7 degrees in Dallas and 1 degree in Houston. Up north, the wind chill will plunge to a brutal minus 39 degrees in Minneapolis and minus 37 degrees in Chicago.
On Christmas Eve, the wind chill is forecast to reach minus 10 degrees in New York, minus 1 degree in Nashville and 4 degrees in Atlanta.
Here is your cheat sheet for how to brave the frigid weather:
How to stay safe outside
Those with prolonged exposure or those not dressed appropriately for the weather are in danger of frostbite and hypothermia, National Weather Service meteorologist Jay Engle told ABC News.
Frostbite results in the loss of feeling and color in affected areas — usually the nose, ears, cheeks, fingers, toes or chin, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Frostbite could potentially cause permanent damage and, in severe cases, can lead to amputation, the CDC said.
Someone suffering from frostbite can be unaware of it because tissues that become frozen are numb, the CDC said. These are all signs of frostbite: numbness, white or grayish-yellow skin, or skin that feels unusually firm or waxy.
“Don’t rub your hands — if you have frost-nip or frostbite, rubbing actually causes tissue damage,” Dr. Randall Wexler, professor of family medicine at Ohio State University, told ABC News.
If you think you are developing frostbite, “keep the area covered if you can … because if you have frostbite on your hand and you pull off your glove, you may cause tissue damage,” Wexler said.
He added, “That’s also when you want to start trying to raise your core body temperature — get rid of wet clothes, put on clothes that are warm and dry.”
There’s also hypothermia — or abnormally low body temperature — which can impact the brain, “making the victim unable to think clearly or move well,” the CDC said. “This makes hypothermia especially dangerous because a person may not know that it’s happening and won’t be able to do anything about it.”
Warning signs for adults are shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech and drowsiness. Warning signs for infants are bright red or cold skin and very low energy, the CDC said.
Engle recommends to “dress in three or more layers. One big thick winter coat tends not to do the trick. You have to have a thick sweater underneath and then a lighter jacket on top of that and then your winter coat.”
“People really should keep their heads covered because that’s where majority of heat gets lost,” Engle added.
Wexler said moving can generate heat. But try to avoid sweating.
“If you are overheated and start to sweat, that lowers your body temperature and makes you more susceptible to cold injury,” he said. “You want to be able to adjust your layers, zip and unzip.”
Wexler also recommended staying hydrated because “dehydration can help promote cold injury.”
The young and elderly should be especially careful in the cold.
“Their ability to maintain core body temperature is harder than mid-age and younger adults,” he said. “Kids, especially babies, lose a disproportionate amount of heat from their head — that’s why you want to have a hat on their head when you’re out there. Older people are more at risk simply because it is more difficult to regulate our core body temperature as we get older.”
It’s also more difficult to maintain your core temperature if you are diabetic or taking decongestant antihistamines or certain blood pressure medications, Wexler said.
How to keep your car safe
When the temperature dips, getting behind the wheel can prove to be a challenge. Problems include dead car batteries, iced-over windshields, broken car locks and driving with no traction.
Audra Fordin, founder of Woman Auto Know and the owner of Great Bear Auto Repair in Queens, New York, provided these tips:
1. Before you hit the road, check under the hood.
“If it’s really cold outside, you want to make sure that your battery is going to be good in the freezing cold weather,” Fordin said. “If you see any snow or blue stuff that’s growing off your battery, that’s an indication you want to go to the shop to have your battery checked.”
2. Iced out windshields? Turn to your wallet for help.
“If you get to your car and can’t see, pull out a credit card, and you can just wipe that frost away,” Fordin said.
3. Fighting a stubborn car lock? Get sanitizing.
“If your lock is frozen, put the sanitizer on the key, and then put the key into the lock,” Fordin said.
4. If your car can’t gain traction, let your floor mat give an assist.
“Grab your floor mat, you’re going to put it underneath the wheel,” Fordin said. “That will give you enough traction to pull your car out and hit the road.”
(NEW YORK) — The number of migrant crossings into the El Paso area has dropped to 1,500 per day on average, down from 2,500 at one point earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday.
DHS was thrust into overdrive at the start of last week as it directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel to El Paso to assist with processing the influx of migrants.
More than 3,400 migrants have been expelled from El Paso under Title 42 or deported by ICE over the past week.
Nearly 6,000 were moved out of the area to other, less impacted Border Patrol stations and processing centers, DHS said.
“We have deployed additional agents to the region and deployed improved processing systems, automated surveillance towers, rescue beacons, mobile processing units, medical screening personnel, and nearly 1,000 Border Patrol Processing Coordinators for processing migrants and ensuring border security,” DHS said in a statement.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief for the El Paso Sector Peter Jaquez said Tuesday his agents foiled 12 smuggling schemes rescuing nearly 60 migrants from smuggling exploitation and taking 15 human smugglers into custody over the past two days.
Agents in the Border Patrol’s El Paso sector area cover 264 miles of border from West Texas across the state of New Mexico. The City of El Paso saw much of the migrant influx and officials and aid workers remain under strain to care for those still there.
The Red Cross is providing support to shelters with cots and food. The El Paso Office of Emergency Management said Tuesday it had identified two vacant schools to use to house migrants released into the community.
“All eyes are on El Paso and for this reason, we must show the world the compassion our community is known for and illustrate the resilience and strength of our region,” City Manager Tommy Gonzalez said Tuesday.
Some deep-pocketed movie fans made off with some pricey props from the big screen over the weekend, as part of Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies’s Icons and Idols: Hollywood auction.
Among the 1,300 pieces of memorabilia was the event’s heaviest hitter: the original film-used “mechatronic” model that brought E.T. the Extra Terrestrial‘s friendly alien to life sold for $2,560,000. The metal skeleton and E.T.’s bright blue eyes were all that remained from Steven Spielberg‘s alien star: its latex body had long since deteriorated.
A pearl gray silk dress worn by Marilyn Monroe fetched $224,000; a journal with handwritten notes from the superstar went for $87,500.
Other big-ticket items that were on the block included the iconic Ten Commandments staff Charlton Heston‘s Moses used to part the Red Sea, which sold for $448,000, more than 22 times its original estimate, and a shield wielded by Chris Evans‘ Captain America, which sold for $102,400.
Other props that sold included Pedro Pascal‘s shiny silver helmet from The Mandalorian, which went for $75,000, and Bruce Lee‘s screen-used nunchakus from Enter the Dragon, which sold for $64,000.
With Christmas around the corner, many are breaking out their favorite holiday traditions. For Keri Hilson, her favorite holiday tradition is simple: her mother’s popcorn balls.
“My mother’s very like the one to hold to just traditions down,” the singer and actress told ABC Audio while promoting her film, Hip Hop Family Christmas Wedding. “But her popcorn balls… they mean the most to me… literally that’s what she has to do every year.”
Hilson added that while her mom also makes treats like caramel apples and apple crisp pie, it’s the popcorn balls that have her in a choke hold.
“They’re so good and so special. And she’s, like, really perfected them,” Keri said, adding that they’re so good, Hilson eats them even though she could have an allergic reaction to them.
“I’m allergic to corn, but I’ll pop a Claritin or Zyrtec and I will eat my popcorn ball. Yes, I will,” the “Pretty Girl Rock” singer added.
Popcorn balls aside, Hilson is just happy to be able to spend the festive holiday at home, as it hasn’t always been possible in the past.
“My mother’s birthday’s Christmas Eve, so I try to be home,” she said. “My occupational hazard would have me away from home for a whole lot of Christmases and other holidays, and that seems to be a busy time for performers.”
“But I’m going to be home this year and I need her popcorn balls,” Hilson continued. “That’s my favorite Christmas tradition.”
(NEW YORK) — As the holiday travel rush begins, a cross-country storm is bringing heavy snow, blizzard conditions and damaging winds.
Here’s the latest forecast:
Blizzard warnings have been issued in the Upper Midwest and the Plains on Wednesday as the storm moves in. Heavy snow will cause treacherous travel conditions in Des Moines and Minneapolis.
On Thursday, snow and gusty winds will slam Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago.
The storm then brings snow and gusty winds to Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee Thursday afternoon into Friday.
Michigan will see more than 1 foot of snow.
Chicago will get a few inches of snow which will be coupled with powerful 40 to 50 mph wind gusts, producing blowing and drifting snow.
In the Northeast, heavy rain, coastal flooding and disruptive winds are expected Thursday night into Friday. Gusts could reach 70 mph in some areas.
