(PHILADELPHIA) — Across the country, police forces are scrambling to keep their roll call numbers at full staff, but officials said they’ve been hit with challenges.
Burnout, low morale, and dejection have caused many cops, both long-time veterans and newcomers, to quit and change careers and recent public backlash against excessive police force has resulted in a drop in new applications, according to police officials.
In Philadelphia, the police force is facing a shortage of 600 officers, roughly 10% of its full force.
“It’s critical now,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw told ABC News of her force’s staffing levels. “It’s already critical, was critical a year ago.”
Outlaw and other police chiefs said the nation’s officer turnover issue is coming at a crucial time with crime on the rise and they’re working hard to get officers on the streets.
Several other cities have also reported officer shortages during the last two years.
Los Angeles’ police force is down roughly 500 officers and New Orleans’ police department has 300 fewer officers this year compared to 2021, according to data from the departments and local media reports.
A survey released two weeks ago by the Police Executive Research Forum found that three out of every four police departments have warned that their number of new applicants have declined over the last five years.
Kevin Davis, the police chief for the Fairfax County Virginia police, told ABC News that exit interviews show officers are leaving because they’re not feeling valued and can find better opportunities elsewhere.
“They’re going into IT, they’re going into sales, they’re teaching,” he told ABC News. “We’ve even had a person leave to go be a farmer.”
Anthony Carapucci told ABC News that he turned in his badge and gun after about a decade with the Philadelphia police department this year because he felt burned out.
“Yes, it’s a good job. It’s an honorable job, but it’s almost not worth it,” Carapucci, the son of two police officers, said.
Outlaw acknowledged the increased toll that her officers are facing, especially since they’re needed to take on extra duties to fill the voids.
The retention issue has also created a grave safety concern, she said. While Philadelphia police still respond quickly to 911 calls for shootings, homicides, and other serious crimes, the commissioner said it may take longer for officers to respond to lower-priority calls.
Philadelphia saw a record-breaking 562 homicides last year, according to police statistics. More than 460 people have been murdered in the city so far this year, statistics show.
Some Philly residents have said they’ve seen a difference in the lower police presence.
Kanitra Scott, who runs Nuvo’s Glam and Glow Hair Salon in Germantown, told ABC News that there have been a number of shootings outside her store since a patrol car stopped coming to patrol.
“All the killings started from the summer until now,” she said.
Police officials said that some of their officers have been discouraged by the public criticism following instances of police brutality.
When asked to respond to critics who say law enforcement may have undermined its own credibility and discouraged some potential recruits from pursuing a career in law enforcement, Outlaw rejected that notion adding “the same people who raised their voices against misconduct were the same ones “that will call 911 and will file a complaint if we don’t get there quickly enough.”
Still the commissioner and other chiefs said that the best way to tackle this issue is to convince communities that policing is still a “trusted profession.”
“Examine your heart, do you want to serve? Do you want to make your community better and your family safer and your neighbor safer and your friends safer?” Fairfax County’s Davis said.
(WACO, Texas) — A woman accused of helping Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen’s suspected killer dismember and dispose of her body pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges on Tuesday, weeks before her trial was scheduled to start.
Cecily Aguilar, 24, was indicted last year on 11 federal charges. She pleaded guilty to four of them in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Waco — one count of accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of false statement or representation.
Aguilar faces a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Several of Guillen’s family members traveled to Waco to attend the hearing in person.
“Please God. Let justice prevail. Give my self & my parents the strength we need as we face her in court …” her sister, Mayra Guillen, tweeted beforehand, calling Aguilar a “monster” in another tweet.
Mayra Guillen said she was surprised by the guilty plea and had expected Aguilar to “keep fighting back.”
“Still a lot of mixed emotions — it’s both anger and frustration,” she told reporters following the hearing. “Now we have to wait for the actual sentencing.”
When asked what she was hoping for as far as the sentencing, Mayra Guillen said, “I comfort myself in knowing that she will be locked up for most of the rest of her life.”
“I hope she has time to sit down and think about what it is that she did and how she impacted our life,” she said. “Not only our life, but a lot of people that know Vanessa’s name.”
ABC News did not immediately receive a response to an email seeking comment from Aguilar’s attorneys.
Aguilar was indicted by a grand jury on the charges a month after a Texas judge denied her attorneys’ motion asking that her confession in the crime be thrown out. She previously entered a plea of not guilty during an arraignment in August 2021. A jury trial in the case had been scheduled to start in January 2023.
Vanessa Guillen, 20, was a Fort Hood Army specialist who disappeared in April 2020. Her remains were found two months later near the Leon River in Belton, Texas.
Fellow soldier Aaron David Robinson — Aguilar’s boyfriend at the time — was one of the last people in touch with Vanessa Guillen based on cellphone records, according to court documents.
The indictment accused Aguilar and Robinson of dismembering, destroying and concealing Vanessa Guillen’s body, then making false statements to prevent themselves from being charged with any crime.
Prosecutors said Vanessa Guillen was bludgeoned to death with a hammer by Robinson in the armory of the Killeen, Texas, military base, on April 22, 2020, according to the criminal complaint.
An attorney for Vanessa Guillen’s family has said investigators told her that Vanessa Guillen and Robinson had an argument after she discovered his relationship with Aguilar, the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier.
Robinson told Aguilar that he killed Vanessa Guillen with a hammer, transferred her body off the Army base, and then the two of them dismembered, attempted to burn and buried her remains near the Leon River, according to the complaint.
While searching Robinson’s phone records, investigators found that Robinson had called Aguilar multiple times on the night Vanessa Guillen vanished. The calls raised suspicion, as Robinson initially told investigators he had been with Aguilar all night. Aguilar later changed her story, claiming that she and Robinson went on a drive to look at the stars that night, according to court documents.
During the investigation into Vanessa Guillen’s disappearance, Aguilar ultimately made “four materially false statements to federal investigators,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said.
When investigators found Vanessa Guillen’s remains near the Leon River on June 30, 2020, they confronted Aguilar, after which they say she confessed.
Robinson died by suicide in July 2020 when confronted by police.
Months before Vanessa Guillen was killed, her family said she told them she was being sexually harassed by a superior.
A U.S. Army investigation determined that Vanessa Guillen was sexually harassed by a supervisor, and that the leaders in her unit did not take appropriate action after she stepped forward.
The family has been seeking to reform the way the military handles sexual assault and harassment cases since her death.
Natalie Khawam, the attorney for the Guillen family, called Aguilar’s guilty plea “another step on the long path toward justice for Vanessa, my client and her courageous family.”
(CHESAPEAKE, Va.) — A Virginia community is reeling after a man armed with a handgun shot and killed six people and injured several others in a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake.
Survivors said the gunman walked into a break room and opened fire on Nov. 22.
The suspect, a current employee, died at the scene from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Two victims remain in the hospital and two have been released, Walmart said Tuesday.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 29, 7:29 PM EST
Employee complained about suspect’s behavior months before shooting: Lawsuit
In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, a Walmart employee accused the company of being negligent by continuing to employ suspected shooter Andre Bing despite a written complaint the employee submitted about Bing’s alleged disturbing behavior more than two months before the shooting.
Donya Prioleau, an employee who had worked at Walmart for more than a year and was in the room during the shooting, alleged Walmart knew or should have known about Bing’s “violent propensities” and accused the company of failing to “enact any preventative measures to keep Walmart customers and employees safe,” according to the suit.
Prioleau is seeking $50 million in damages.
Walmart said that it’s reviewing the complaint and “will be responding as appropriate with the court.”
-ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Luke Barr
Nov 29, 6:47 PM EST
Walmart to close store for the ‘foreseeable future’
Walmart has announced plans to close the Chesapeake store for the “foreseeable future.”
“All associates will continue being paid regardless of planned schedules,” CEO John Furner wrote in an email to staff on Tuesday.
The company is supporting the victims’ families with funeral, travel and other expenses, and the Walmart Foundation intends to contribute $1 million to the United Way of South Hampton Roads’ Hope & Healing Fund, “which will support those impacted by the shooting and the broader Chesapeake community,” Furner added.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Nov 25, 12:18 PM EST
Identity of 16-year-old killed in shooting revealed
The 16-year-old victim killed in the Walmart shooting is Fernando Chavez-Barron, according to the City of Chesapeake. His identity had been previously withheld due to his age.
“We are saddened to announce the names of those we lost on Tuesday evening at the shooting at Walmart on Sam’s Circle but hope that with this information we can honor their lives in our community,” city officials said in a statement Friday.
“The City of Chesapeake has always been known as the ‘City That Cares’ and now, more than ever, we know our City will show up and care for those who need it most. Please join us in praying for the family and friends of these community members who we have lost,” the statement continued.
Nov 25, 10:32 AM EST
Gunman purchased gun day of shooting, left note on his phone
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, released messages found on the gunman’s phone and the 9 mm handgun that Andre Bing legally purchased on Tuesday, just hours before the shooting.
In the note, Bing complained about his colleagues, referred to murder and asked for forgiveness. Bing claimed his coworkers made fun of him and compared him to Jeffrey Dahmer, even naming some he said would mock and laugh at him.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Beatrice Peterson and Arthur Jones II
Nov 24, 3:35 PM EST
Walmart employee spends Thanksgiving traumatized at home
There are those in Chesapeake, Virginia, who haven’t celebrated a moment of Thanksgiving. Jessie Wilczewski, who’d only been on the job at Walmart for five days, told ABC News she is still haunted by images of the shooting.
“When I sleep like it still plays, bits and pieces, so I can’t run away from it, like I had to sit there on the floor and in front of me watch my coworker have her last moments,” she said, with tears in her eyes.
The shooter spared Wilczewski’s life, she said. Wilczewski believes the attack was targeted and she was let go because she had not worked with the shooter long.
“I looked at him after I got up from under the table and he saw it was me. And he had the gun pointed at me [gesturing] and he went like this and put the gun up. And then he just looked at me and said, ‘Jessie go home,'” Wilczewski said.
A mom of a 15-month-old boy, Wilczewski spent her Thanksgiving traumatized at home. The shades are drawn. Too many cars on the street can terrify her. Her biggest goal since the shooting was going to 7/11, which she accomplished on Thursday.
There are countless families in Chesapeake now facing this reality, reeling from tragedy on this holiday and preparing for a holiday season that won’t feel the same.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Beatrice Peterson and Arthur Jones II
Nov 24, 3:29 PM EST
Walmart hosts Thanksgiving for store employees, families at Delta Hotel
Walmart hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for shaken store employees and their families at a Delta Hotel in Chesapeake, Virginia. Counselors and faith leaders were on hand to talk people through the shooting’s immediate aftermath.
Whole families were seen going into counseling sessions together.
Six families in Chesapeake are without loved ones this Thanksgiving. Seven others have relatives in the hospital. And, countless people in the Chesapeake community are celebrating a holiday that will never be the same, after a store manager at a local Walmart opened fire on staff during a meeting Tuesday night.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Beatrice Peterson and Arthur Jones II
Nov 24, 12:09 PM EST
2 victims remain hospitalized in critical condition
Two of the injured victims from Tuesday night’s mass shooting at a Chesapeake Walmart remain hospitalized in critical condition, officials said.
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, just north of Chesapeake, is continuing “to treat two patients who remain in critical condition,” a spokesperson told ABC News on Thursday.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Nov 24, 6:48 AM EST
Governor orders flags to fly at half-staff through Sunday
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff over the state Capitol and all local, state and federal buildings and grounds across the commonwealth “in respect and memory of the victims of the Chesapeake shooting, their families, and the entire Chesapeake community.”
“I hereby order that the flags shall be lowered immediately on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 and remain at half-staff until Sunday, November 27, 2022 at sunset,” Youngkin said in a statement.
Nov 23, 7:25 PM EST
Victims of shooting identified
Five of the victims of the shooting have been publicly identified by Chesapeake officials as Lorenzo Gamble, Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Randall Blevins and Tyneka Johnson.
The name of the sixth victim — a 16-year-old boy — has not been released due to his age.
Nov 23, 7:14 PM EST
‘He had a real big heart’: Mother of victim Brian Pendleton
Brian Pendleton, one of the six people killed in the shooting, would have turned 39 next week, his mother said in an emotional phone interview Wednesday.
“He had a real big heart,” his mother, Michelle Johnson, said. “Anybody that wanted to laugh, or just want company, he’d buy you lunch. He’d buy you anything in a minute.”
Pendleton worked at the Walmart for nearly 11 years as a custodian and “loved his job,” she said.
“He was just a hard worker and a good kid,” she said.
When a family friend called and told her there had been a shooting at his Walmart, Johnson’s husband went to where families had been told to convene for reunification. He was told Brian had been transferred to Norfolk General Hospital, so Johnson and her husband drove there, she said.
“We waited, and then the police came out with a nurse and they took us to a side room and that’s when they told us that he didn’t make it,” Johnson said, choking up.
“That’s when they said that he didn’t make it,” Johnson said, sobbing. “I just wondered, was he afraid at that time? I know my son. I didn’t want him to be afraid, and I didn’t want him to hurt.”
Pendleton had a condition called congenital hydrocephalus. Johnson has it too, she said, but they had both been “blessed” not to have a severe case.
“We’re fighters, and we trust the Lord,” she said.
This was Pendleton’s favorite time of year, with Thanksgiving and his birthday on Dec. 2, said Johnson.
“I don’t understand why, what happened, happened,” she said.
“I will never go near that Walmart again,” she added.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Nov 23, 6:21 PM EST
‘We will get through this together’: Chesapeake mayor
Chesapeake Mayor Rick West offered words of support in a brief video statement Wednesday evening.
“I know this community, and I know it well, and I know that we will come together and lend a helping hand to the victims’ families,” West said. “We’ll share this burden together and we’ll be stronger for it.”
The mayor promised to share more information on the incident.
“Until then, please know that we will get through this, and we will get through this together, and we will never forget those that we have lost,” he said.
Nov 23, 9:28 AM EST
Employee recounts hiding during shooting
Walmart employee Kevin Harper told ABC News he arrived to work early Tuesday night. He was sitting in the break room when he said something didn’t feel right — so he left.
Moments later, Harper said he heard around three or four muffled gunshots and he ran into a clothes hanger to hide.
“I couldn’t tell you how long I hid in there. Time just stopped at that moment,” he said.
He said he then ran as fast as he could out of the employee entrance. On his way out, he said he saw two people on the floor, including one woman covered in blood.
“I’m just praying for my Walmart family,” Harper said.
Nov 23, 9:15 AM EST
‘Very, very proud of the response,’ city manager says
Chesapeake City Manager Chris Price said Wednesday that he was “very, very proud of the response of our public safety team” after the mass shooting at a Walmart.
“You hope a day like this never comes, but you train for it,” Price said during a press conference. “We practice, we talk about it, we discuss, we learn lessons from other places, we try to put those lessons to good use, hoping those lessons will never have to be put to good use.”
Price described Chesapeake as a “wonderful place” where the community comes together “when times are good” and “when times are difficult.”
“I know it pains all of us to be together today on this day of incredible tragedy and unimaginable sadness,” he added.
Price then read a statement from Chesapeake Mayor Rick West, who tested positive for COVID-19 and could not attend the press conference.
“I am devastated by the senseless act of violence that took place late last night in our city,” Price said, quoting West’s statement. “My prayers are with all those affected — the victims, their family, their friends and their coworkers. I am grateful for the quick actions taken by our first responders who rushed to the scene. Chespeake is a tighknit community and we are all shaken by this news. Together, we will support each other throughout this time. Please keep us in your prayers.”
The mayor as well as the city council have all been fully briefed on the shooting and the response, according to Price.
Nov 23, 8:52 AM EST
Seven people dead, four others injured, police say
In addition to the seven fatalities, four people were wounded in Tuesday night’s shooting at a Chesapeake Walmart, according to police.
“While our investigation continues we can tell you the following: six victims have died, four victims are in area hospitals with conditions unknown at this time and the suspect is dead from what we believe is a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky said during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
While police believe the suspect was a current employee of the store, Solesky would not confirm whether the victims were all employees as well. He told reporters that it’s unclear whether the shooting was a targeted or random attack.
Nov 23, 8:42 AM EST
Gunman may have been a store manager, sources say
Preliminary information indicates a gunman walked into the break room of a Chesapeake Walmart and opened fire at people before shooting himself, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The suspect was an employee of that store and, possibly, a manager, according to the sources.
Law enforcement sources also told ABC News that authorities are investigating whether the shooting was a case of workplace violence.
Nov 23, 8:24 AM EST
Police confirm deceased suspect was an employee
The suspect in Tuesday night’s mass shooting at the Walmart on Sam’s Circle in Chesapeake is believed to be a current employee and appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky.
“We have reason to believe that there’s no risk to the public at this time,” Soleksy said during a press conference on Wednesday morning. “We cannot tell you the identity of the shooter because his next of kin has not been notified.”
Police received the initial 911 call at 10:12 p.m. local time. Officers responded to the scene within two minutes and entered the store at 10:16 p.m. local time, where they found the deceased suspect and multiple victims. The scene was declared safe by 11:20 p.m. local time, according to Soleksy, who described the shooting as “senseless violence.”
“This investigation is still ongoing, so there’s no clear motive at this time,” he told reporters. “We’ll be processing that scene for days.”
Greta Van Fleet has announced the rescheduled dates for the concerts postponed due to frontman Josh Kiszka‘s ruptured eardrum.
The shows will now run from March 6 in Jacksonville, Florida, to March 28 in Sacramento, California. Tickets purchased for the originally scheduled dates will be valid.
As previously reported, Kiszka suffered the injury during GVF’s October show in Bangor, Maine. After several postponed concerts, Kiszka and company returned to the stage in late October, only to postpone more dates in November as the vocalist’s condition persisted.
Greta Van Fleet has been touring throughout the year in support of the group’s new album, The Battle at Garden’s Gate, which dropped in 2021. They’ll close out 2022 opening for Metallica‘s Helping Hands benefit concert, which takes place December 16 in Los Angeles.
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Tuesday approved legislation to codify protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, marking a historic win for Democrats anxious to secure the rights amid growing concern that a conservative Supreme Court majority could take them away.
The final vote was 61 to 36.
“What a great day,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said soon after passage. The bill sparked rare applause on the floor.
The Respect for Marriage Act would not require any state to issue a marriage license contrary to its laws but would mandate that states recognize lawfully granted marriages performed in other states, including same-sex and interracial unions.
The bill had been largely expected to pass after it earned essential support from 12 Republicans during a key test vote just before Thanksgiving, putting it on a glide path to President Joe Biden’s desk later this month. The bill next heads to the House, which is expected to vote on it next week — as early as Tuesday — before Biden signs it. In a statement Tuesday night, he said he would “promptly and proudly” do so.
“The United States is on the brink of reaffirming a fundamental truth: love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love,” he said.
Codifying same-sex marriage into federal law became a top priority for Democrats in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overrule its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing a constitutional right to abortion nationwide.
In floor remarks Tuesday afternoon, Schumer celebrated the bill, which he said ensures rights of LGBTQ people won’t be “trampled.”
“In many ways, the story of America has been a difficult, but inexorable march toward greater equality. Sometimes we’ve taken steps forward, other times, unfortunately, we’ve taken disturbing steps backward, but today, after months of hard work, after many rounds of bipartisan talks, and after many doubts that we could even reach this point, wea re taking the momentous step forward for greater justice for LGBTQ Americans,” Schumer said.
Schumer and other Democrats have argued that a concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in the June decision, in which he said the court “should reconsider” granting a nationwide right to gay marriage, put the rights of LGBTQ Americans in question.
For Schumer, and other senators with loved ones who are a part of the LGBTQ community, the matter is personal. Schumer’s daughter is married to her wife. On Tuesday, he appeared on the Senate floor wearing a tie that he said he wore at his daughter’s wedding.
Schumer said that after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died two years ago, his daughter was concerned her marriage could be in jeopardy. Now, two years later, and with the Congress poised to act, his daughter is expecting a child.
“I want them to raise their child with all the love and security that every child deserves,” Schumer said. “And the bill we are passing today will ensure their rights won’t be trample upon simply because they’re in a same-sex marriage.”
The original 12 Republicans from the first procedural vote stuck with their decision on Tuesday, despite pressure to reverse course from conservative groups and other lawmakers.
Those 12 were: Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Mitt Romney of Utah, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Todd Young of Indiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
“I know that it’s not been easy but they’ve done the right thing,” Collins, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said Tuesday of her GOP colleagues ahead of the final vote.
Lummis, largely seen as one of the bill’s most surprising supporters, described the days since her initial yes vote as a “painful exercise in accepting admonishment and fairly brutal self soul searching.” She took pains to explain that while her personal religious beliefs preclude same-sex marriage, but said she still intends to support the bill.
“For the sake of our nation’s today and its survival, we do well by taking this step, not embracing or validating each other’s devoutly held views but by the simple act of tolerating them,” Lummis said.
GLAAD celebrated the passage, with its president and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, saying in a statement that it “sends a message of equal protection, dignity, and respect for all same-sex and interracial couples who want to share in the love and commitment of marriage.”
The Respect for Marriage Act would “require the federal government to recognize a marriage between two individuals if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed,” according to a summary from the bill’s sponsors, including Congress’ first openly bisexual woman in the Senate, Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., along with Collins, Portman and Tillis.
The legislation comes after months of behind the scenes coalition-building between Democrats and a group of Republican negotiators. Despite the crucial GOP support, the legislation was opposed by a large contingent of Republicans, some who have deemed it unnecessary.
“I think it’s pretty telling that Sen. Schumer puts a bill on the floor to reaffirm what is already a constitutional right of same-sex marriage, which is not under any imminent threat, and continues to ignore national security and not take up the defense authorization bill,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said earlier this month.
During the pre-Thanksgiving test vote, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell voted with the majority of his party to oppose the bill — and vote no again on Tuesday.
The House passed a similar version of this legislation earlier this year, with 47 Republicans supporting it. The Senate version includes new language to ease some GOP concerns about religious freedom.
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Robert Zepeda contributed to this report.
BTS’ Suga teased his new talk show Suchwita. A teaser trailer features Suga hanging out with bandmate RM and declaring, “Suchwita… time to drink with Suga.” It appears the show is about Suga inviting friends to share drinks and chat. The show premieres December 5 at 10 p.m. Korean time.
Speaking of BTS, the group celebrated the fifth anniversary of its Love Myself campaign, which launched in 2017 with UNICEF. Billboardreports the charity aims to help children and teens who were exposed to violence, providing tools so they may have a better life. The campaign has raised over $3.4 million, and the #BTSLoveMyself hashtag has been used over 15 million times.
The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber‘s “Stay” was Apple Music’s biggest song of 2022. Other songs making this year’s top 10 were Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” Adele’s “Easy on Me,” Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves,” Jack Harlow‘s “First Class,” GAYLE‘s “abcdefu” and “Cold Heart” by Elton John and Dua Lipa.
Speaking of Dua, more than 200,000 fans attended her final Future Nostalgia tour concert in Tirana, Albania, on Monday, reports Pop Base. The free concert coincided with Albania’s 110th anniversary of independence and Dua being granted Albanian citizenship.
Adeleisn’t a fan of filters. Entertainment Tonight shared a fan’s video of Adele reacting to her digitally enhanced features. “Oh my god, what have you done to my face?” Adele remarked. “Whoa girl, get that filter off my face. That’s so weird!… Why do you use filters like that? We don’t look like that, darling.”
TikTok star Stephen Sanchez announced his 2023 headlining tour, which kicks off February 3 in Dallas. Tickets for the 27-date tour go on sale Friday, December 2, at 10 a.m. local venue time on his official website, which also maps out the tour’s complete schedule.
Michael Bublé helped Kylie Jenner get into the holiday spirit. Jenner shared a video of the massive Christmas tree being set up in her foyer and soundtracked it to Michael’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” He shared it on his Instagram Story and added a heart and Christmas tree emoji.
Josh Groban loves his father’s cooking and called him a “grill master.” Josh told Yahoo Life, “I don’t eat a lot of red meat, but food is love… If my dad is cooking it, I’m eating it.” He also saluted his mother’s chili and his family’s Jewish background. “I learned to love matzo balls and pickled fish,” he declared.
Pentatonix released the official video for their “Kid on Christmas” duet with Meghan Trainor. The video throws it back to a ’70s holiday variety show and recreates the lavish outfits, decorations and ultra stylized microphones singers used.
Harry Styles’ “As It Was” was the second-biggest song on Apple Music this year, reports Variety. Other songs making this year’s top 10 were Adele’s “Easy on Me,” Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” and “Cold Heart” by Elton John and Dua Lipa. Justin Bieber‘s “Stay” collab with The Kid LAROI was the #1 song for this year.
Speaking of Dua, more than 200,000 fans attended her final Future Nostalgia tour concert in Tirana, Albania, on Monday, reports Pop Base. The free concert coincided with Albania’s 110th anniversary of independence and Dua being granted Albanian citizenship.
Adele isn’t a fan of filters. Entertainment Tonight shared a video a fan took of Adele reacting to seeing herself digitally enhanced. “Oh my god, what have you done to my face?” Adele quipped. “Whoa girl, get that filter off my face. That’s so weird!… Why do you use filters like that? We don’t look like that, darling.”
Netflix has another hit show on its hands: Wednesday, the Addams Family-adjacent series starring Jenna Ortega in the title role, managed to break the streaming service’s record previously set during the debut of the fourth season of Stranger Things.
The Tim Burton-directed series, which also stars Gwendoline Christie, Luis Guzmán and Catherine Zeta-Jones, debuted in the #1 spot on the streamer’s English-language TV chart with 341.23M hours viewed from November 21-27.
By comparison, Stranger Things Season 4 debut week scored 335.01 million hours during its debut week of May 30-June 5.
Netflix says more than 50 million households have checked out Wednesday and notes the series was #1 in 83 countries — tied with Stranger Things‘ fourth season.
Fans of Baz Luhrmann’s movie Elvis may one day have more of it to love. The director tells Indiewire that he hopes to release a concert cut featuring all the musical performances star Austin Butler shot for the film.
“It’s a directors’ assembly. It’s not a cut,” he says. “There’s a whole lot of material that adds up to four hours, but I have gone on record now to say not today, not tomorrow, but at some point I would do [it].”
Luhrmann says Austin shot full concerts for the film noting, “it was an out of body experience to watch him do those full concerts, so one day I will cut those full concerts together.”
Janis Ian recently earned her 10th Grammy nomination, and she’s in the mood to celebrate. The singer announced she’s holding a massive merchandise and memorabilia sale in honor of her latest album, The Light at the End of the Line, earning a nomination for Best Folk Album.
The sale runs through December 20, and one of the things fans can get their hands on is a remastered version of her 1975 Grammy-winning album, Between the Lines. There’s also a signed vinyl edition of The Light at the End of the Line.
Other items available during the sale include a variety of music in all forms as well as signed and unsigned items, including laminates, VIP passes, test pressings and promotional singles, plus clothing, books, videos/DVDs, sheet music, bumper stickers and more.
A percentage of the proceeds from the sale will go to the Janis Ian Archives Fund at Berea College, with the archives set to open in late 2023.
