Quinta Brunson discusses ‘Abbott Elementary”s success in ‘Cosmopolitan”s Party Issue

Quinta Brunson discusses ‘Abbott Elementary”s success in ‘Cosmopolitan”s Party Issue
Quinta Brunson discusses ‘Abbott Elementary”s success in ‘Cosmopolitan”s Party Issue
Danny Kasirye for Cosmopolitan

It’s been nearly a year since Abbott Elementary premiered and the show’s seen much success, earning social media praise and three Emmy awards. As the cover star of Cosmopolitan‘s Party Issue, show creator Quinta Brunson discussed why her show’s been a big hit.

“I can feel a chord that’s connected to everybody else, where I can feel what people would like to see right now or what would make people feel better,” she says. “I think that’s why Abbott hits the way that it does. Even if we’re telling a really specific joke about Jill Scott or Lil Uzi Vert, there’s a way to craft it so that it will still make a white grandma in Wichita laugh, even if she doesn’t know the reference.”

Abbott has earned several awards and nominations, including nods at the upcoming People’s Choice Awards. Despite the wins, Quinta admits she’s been more focused on improving the show than celebrating.

“I’m just not sure that certain things have been processing the way they should. I’m finding my ways to celebrate, but it’s been a consistent grind,” she says. “My focus is to make more Abbott and make it well.”

“I was recently telling someone older and way more successful than me that this period feels a little bit like a blur,” she continues. “But the person said that watching my wins has allowed her to remember her own wins and have this celebration she never gave herself … I look forward to the day when I can look back and remember, ‘Ah, yeah. That was cool.’”

Until then, Quinta’s anticipating a little break during the winter hiatus.

“I’m looking forward to actually … going away and being able to sit in silence,” she says. “Silence and sitting seem to be in short supply for me.”

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Tens of thousands without power in NC county for third day as search continues for saboteurs

Tens of thousands without power in NC county for third day as search continues for saboteurs
Tens of thousands without power in NC county for third day as search continues for saboteurs
Dominik Stötter / EyeEm/ Getty Images

(MOORE COUNTY, N.C.) — More than 30,000 customers in a North Carolina county awoke for the third day Tuesday without electricity as a search for those responsible for sabotaging two key power substations continued and crews scrambled to repair what authorities described as “millions of dollars” in damages.

The crisis in Moore County has prompted local law enforcement to call in the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to help in the probe of what has been deemed a criminal act. The White House is also closely monitoring the situation, officials said.

“This kind of attack raises a new level of threat,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

Asked whether the attacks are being investigated as a act of domestic terrorism, Cooper said, “I think investigators are leaving no stone unturned as to what this is as they are looking at every motivation that could possibly occur.”

Residents throughout Moore County remained under curfew Monday night and into Tuesday morning, as area schools were canceled for the second day.

Duke Energy, the local utility, said crews are working around the clock to restore energy, but conceded it will likely take until Thursday to repair the damage.

Freezing temperatures in the county about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh forced many resident to seek warmth and food at a shelter opened in Carthage.

“It’s better to have warmth and comfort than make sure your belongings are safe,” Gunner Scevertson, one of the resident who left his home to seek warmth at the shelter, told Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC.

Carthage business owner Rachel Haviley used her portable generator to serve up coffee and food to neighbors in need.

“My kids are home, they’re not in school. My husband was supposed to go to DC, now he’s in daddy day care,” Haviley told WSOC. “I have a friend that was supposed to be at the hospital for class, now she’s not there. There are elderly people who rely on things that help keep them alive, so people’s lives and families have been impacted by this.”

Vandals wielding firearms are suspected of causing major damage to two electrical distribution substations, initially knocking out power to around 45,000 homes and businesses across the county, officials said. As of Tuesday morning, power had been restored to more than 7,000 customers, said Jeff Brooks, spokesman for Duke Energy.

As of Tuesday at noon, 35,304 customers in Moore County were still without electricity.

Brooks said while some of the damaged equipment could be repaired, other pieces had to be replaced.

The attacks occurred just after 7 p.m. Saturday, said Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields.

Fields said the perpetrator or perpetrators shot up two key substations in the area, adding, they “knew exactly what they were doing.”

Fields told ABC News that murder charges could be filed against those responsible if anyone dies as a result of the power outage.

“What was done was an intentional act. It was not a random act,” Fields said.

No arrests have been announced in the probe.

The attacks came amid protests over a Downtown Divas drag show in the Moore County city of Southern Pines. The drag show had been scheduled for Saturday night and was disrupted due to the blackout.

Fields said no evidence has yet been uncovered linking the power outage to the drag show.

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New Coldplay music? Chris Martin reveals band is “in the studio”

New Coldplay music? Chris Martin reveals band is “in the studio”
New Coldplay music? Chris Martin reveals band is “in the studio”
Santiago Bluguermann/Getty Images

It appears new Coldplay music is in the works.

In a tweet Monday, frontman Chris Martin reveals that the “Viva La Vida” outfit is currently “in the studio.”

“We send you all much love,” Martin adds.

The post also includes a list of some of Martin’s favorite songs at the moment, including The 1975‘s “Looking For Somebody (to Love)” and BTS member RM‘s “Yun” featuring Erykah Badu.

Coldplay’s most recent album is 2021’s Music of the Spheres, which features the single “Higher Power” and the hit BTS collaboration “My Universe.”

As exciting as the prospect of more new Coldplay music is, that will only bring us closer to the band’s final album. Martin previously told NME that the group will stop making records after their 12th studio effort — Music of the Spheres is their ninth — and later revealed to BBC Radio 2 that the final album will arrive by 2025.

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Enter scammers: Metallica warns of “the ugly side of social media” amid new album announcement

Enter scammers: Metallica warns of “the ugly side of social media” amid new album announcement
Enter scammers: Metallica warns of “the ugly side of social media” amid new album announcement
Gotham/Getty Images

Following Metallica‘s surprise announcement of their new album 72 Seasons last week, it seems some not-so nice people are trying to take advantage of excited metalheads.

In a Facebook post, the metal legends warn of “the ugly side of social media” including “YouTube channels and live streams, as well as websites, claiming to offer Metallica Crypto giveaways in conjunction with last week’s announcement.”

“Let’s be as clear as possible. These are scams,” Metallica writes. “They’re being streamed on fake YouTube channels posing to be ours and all pointing to websites that we do not run.”

“Please remember — all of our official social media channels are verified,” the band adds. “Always look for official verification before believing something wild and crazy to be true. We thank all of you who have been vigilant in reporting these live streams to YouTube and to us…please don’t let up!”

72 Seasons, the follow-up to 2016’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, will be released April 14. It includes the lead single “Lux Æterna.”

Metallica will support 72 Seasons on a massive world tour in 2023 and 2024, which will feature multiple shows in each city featuring completely different set lists.

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Stax Records co-founder Jim Stewart dead at 92

Stax Records co-founder Jim Stewart dead at 92
Stax Records co-founder Jim Stewart dead at 92
(L-R) Otis Redding, Jim Stewart, Rufus Thomas, Booker T. Jones, Carla Thomas (seated); Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Jim Stewart, co-founder of the highly influential record label Stax Records, has died at age 92.

Stax, which Stewart first launched in 1957 alongside his sister Estelle Axton as Satellite Records, helped shape the “Memphis Sound” of the 1960s and ’70s while releasing records by iconic musicians including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave and the Staple Singers, often backed by the Booker T. & the M.G.’s house band.

“Today we lost an important piece of American music history,” says Michele Smith, Vice President of Estate & Legacy Brand Management at Craft Recordings and Stax Records. “Mr. Stewart’s legacy will live on through the Stax Records label that he founded, and the artists, musicians, and fans worldwide that love Stax music.”

Following its decline in the mid-70s, Stax went into bankruptcy before becoming a reissue label in the early ’80s. It was eventually revived in the mid-2000s, and has released albums by artists including Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.

Stewart was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

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Ice Cube says Warner Bros. is holding up additional ‘Friday’ films

Ice Cube says Warner Bros. is holding up additional ‘Friday’ films
Ice Cube says Warner Bros. is holding up additional ‘Friday’ films
Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Ice Cube wants more Friday films just as much as fans do, but he says that Warner Bros. is holding things up.

“I’ve written two scripts,” the rapper shared while on the Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast Dec. 2. “One of them they said the timing wasn’t right, but it was totally right and then the next one they just kind of put it in what we call development hell.”

“They holding on to the classics and they don’t want to go forward,” he adds, “I don’t know if it’s personal or not.”

Friday, released in 1995, spawned two sequels with 2000’s Next Friday and 2002’s Friday After Next. A fourth Friday installment is tentatively titled Last Friday.

Elaborating on the situation, Ice Cube explained that he can’t move forward with another film because Warner Bros. has distribution control.

“Warner Brothers is weird right now. I don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t know what they’re doing,” he said. “We’d love to have it back. I think it’s going to be close to a time when we get it back. So, we’ll either wait for that time, or we’ll keep trying to convince them that they need to let us control the movie. It’s my movie, but they have distribution control.”

As for whether the rapper and actor would consider purchasing the rights from Warner Bros., Ice Cube refuses.

“I ain’t putting s*** up for it. F*** no,” he said. “They need to give it to me, and they gon’ make money. I’m not about to pay for my own stuff, that’s stupid…They need to do the right thing, get it to us, let us turn it into more money, and make the fans happy…We can do a lot with it.”

(Video contains uncensored profanity) 

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Idaho police zero in on movements of two victims who went to frat house before killings

Idaho police zero in on movements of two victims who went to frat house before killings
Idaho police zero in on movements of two victims who went to frat house before killings
Heather Roberts/ABC News

(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Moscow, Idaho, police are looking for more information on the movements of University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were at the Sigma Chi fraternity house in the hours before they were killed along with two other Idaho students last month.

Police said the couple, both 20 years old, was believed to be at Chapin’s frat house from 9 p.m. on Nov. 12 to 1:45 a.m. on Nov. 13.

Chapin and Kernodle’s timeline “seems to be one of the larger areas that we don’t have a lot of information in,” Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell told ABC News. “So, being able to locate what they did that night, and maybe who they contacted, maybe any routes that they took home, that would be important for the investigation.”

Police are also looking for any details that could be relevant in the case overall, saying in a statement Monday: “We believe someone has information that will add context to the picture investigators are creating of what occurred. … Your information, whether you believe it is significant or not, might be one of the puzzle pieces that help solve these murders.”

Chapin, Kernodle and two of Kernodle’s roommates, 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves and 21-year-old Madison Mogen, were all stabbed to death in the girls’ off-campus house on Nov. 13. Officials believe the attacks were between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.

No suspects have been identified.

Two surviving roommates — who police said are not suspects — were home at the time and likely slept through the attacks, according to authorities. They were on the ground floor while the four students killed were on the second and third floors.

Police said Monday it’s not clear where Goncalves’ dog was during the killings, but when officers arrived there was no indication the animal had been in the rooms where the victims were attacked.

“We have not determined if the dog was inside the residence during the murders or not,” Snell said. “What we do know is that the dog was inside when officers arrived. The dog did not appear to have any evidence on it.”

“We don’t believe that there was any appearance of forced entering into the home,” Snell added.

Authorities also said Monday that they’re still “looking into information about Kaylee having a stalker.”

Police said they’ve spoken to two men who may have been the “stalker” Goncalves mentioned to friends and family. In October, the men were seen at a local business, and one of the men appeared to follow Goncalves into the store and then follow her as she headed to her car, according to police. The man never made contact with the college student, police said.

These men have since told police they were trying to meet women at the business, police said.

The authorities said there’s no evidence these men were involved in the murders.

Police said “information about a potential stalker or unusual occurrences should go through the Tip Line.”

Police urge anyone with information to upload digital media to fbi.gov/moscowidaho or contact the tip line at tipline@ci.moscow.id.us or 208-883-7180.

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Kim Kardashian wins restraining order against alleged stalker

Kim Kardashian wins restraining order against alleged stalker
Kim Kardashian wins restraining order against alleged stalker
ABC News

Kim Kardashian was awarded a restraining order against an alleged stalker who showed up at her house multiple times and claimed to be armed, according to TMZ.

Andre Persaud is prohibited from contacting Kim and must stay at least 100 yards away from her for the next five years, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.

Persaud allegedly showed up at Kardashian’s home at least three times back in August. The reality star and mogul says she’s never met him, but worried he might be capable of physical violence in light of his claims of being armed.

The documents go on to says that Persaud allegedly shared several posts on social media, including one in which he claimed to have been communicating “telepathically” with Kim.

Persaud, per the order, is also prohibited from owning or possessing a gun and must surrender any firearms he already has to law enforcement.

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In Brief: ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ sequel gets new director, ‘Flash’ taking final lap, and more

In Brief: ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ sequel gets new director, ‘Flash’ taking final lap, and more
In Brief: ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ sequel gets new director, ‘Flash’ taking final lap, and more

Ghostbusters: Afterlife co-writer Gil Kenan is set to helm the yet-to-be-titled sequel, according to Deadline. Insiders tell the outlet that the Afterlife cast, which includes Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon, is on board to return as well. Jason Reitman, who directed the previous film, will move into the writer-producer role, alongside co-writer Kenan and Jason Blumenfeld. Details about the sequel are being kept under wraps, but sources say it will be set in the iconic New York City firehouse made famous in the original Ghostbusters films. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is slated for a December 2023 release…

Variety reports that HBO Max has pulled the plug on FBoy Island after two seasons. The series, hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, follows “three women who move to a tropical island where they’re joined by 24 men — 12 self-proclaimed ‘Nice Guys’ looking for love and 12 self-proclaimed ‘FBoys,’ there to compete for cold, hard cash,” per the streamer. The news isn’t a shocker given that much of HBO Max’s programming is seemingly up in the air since the closing of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger in April. HBO Max’s remaining unscripted slate — which includes Selena + ChefLegendaryThe Big BrunchSweet Life: Los Angeles and Kraftopia — have yet to be renewed since the merger…

The CW announced on Monday that the ninth and final season of The Flash will debut February 8. Season 9 will be shortened, consisting of only 13 episodes, after which, the midseason premiere of Kung Fu will takeover its 8 p.m. ET time slot. The show, part of CW’s “Arrow-verse” of DC Comics heroes, was one of its most-watched shows of the 2021-22 season, in addition to being popular on streaming. The Flash season 9 is currently in production in Vancouver…

Oscar-winning Parasite director Bong Joon Ho’s next film, the sci fi thriller Mickey 17, starring Robert Pattinson, will hit theaters March 29, 2024, according to the teaser trailer released on Monday. The story, adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, is described by publisher St. Martin Press as a “high concept science fiction thriller starring Pattinson as an ‘expendable,’ — a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Nifheim — who refuses to let his replacement clone take his place.” Steven YeunNaomi AckieToni Collette and Mark Ruffalo also star…

 

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Colorado Springs Club Q shooting suspect to appear in court on Tuesday

Colorado Springs Club Q shooting suspect to appear in court on Tuesday
Colorado Springs Club Q shooting suspect to appear in court on Tuesday
Marilyn Nieves/Getty Images

(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — The suspect accused of killing five people after opening fire in an LGBTQ nightclub last month in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.

A hearing is scheduled for Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, at 8:30 a.m. local time at the El Paso County Judicial Building, according to the court.

Aldrich was arrested and held on charges that included five counts of first-degree murder, according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office booking report.

The charges against Aldrich may change. The suspect was also being held on five counts of ethnic intimidation causing bodily injury, as the mass shooting was being investigated as a hate crime.

A judge ordered Aldrich held without bond during a first court appearance on Nov. 23.

Public defenders assigned to Aldrich said in a court filing that the suspect identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns they/them.

Investigators and witnesses said the suspect allegedly opened fire as soon as they walked into Club Q in Colorado Springs at about midnight on Nov. 19. Patrons at the venue tackled Aldrich, subduing them until police arrived, according to witnesses.

Five people were killed in the mass shooting and 17 others were injured, police said.

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