The second of Foo Fighters‘ two tribute concerts honoring late drummer Taylor Hawkins takes place tonight, Tuesday, at the Kia Forum in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, Caliornia.
The first show was held at London’s Wembley Stadium on September 3. Many of the artists who performed at the London tribute will be making the trip back across the pond for the LA concert, including Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones, Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich, Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, The Police‘s Stewart Copeland, the Joe Walsh-fronted James Gang, Wolfgang Van Halen, David Bowie drummer Omar Hakim, Blink-182‘s Travis Barker, Queens of the Stone Age‘s Josh Homme, Kesha, session drummer Josh Freese and Hawkins’ cover band Chevy Metal.
The LA lineup also includes Def Leppard‘s Joe Elliott, Phil Collen and Rick Savage, Joan Jett, Heart‘s Nancy Wilson, The Cars‘ Elliot Easton, Mötley Crüe‘s Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx, Soundgarden‘s Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil, Black Sabbath‘s Geezer Butler, Nirvana‘s Krist Novoselic, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, Yes vocalist and Hawkins’ childhood friend Jon Davison, Miley Cyrus, Tool‘s Danny Carey, Alanis Morissette, ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach, Pink and Rage Against the Machine‘s Brad Wilk.
Additionally, Dave Grohl‘s daughter Violet and Hawkins’ son Shane will perform. Foo Fighters’ performance of “My Hero” with Shane on drums was widely considered to be the highlight of the six-hour London concert.
Like with the London show, proceeds from the LA tribute will be donated to MusiCares and Music Support. Unlike the London show, however, no streaming details have been announced for the LA concert.
Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett has opened up regarding the response to drummer Taylor Hawkins‘ death.
In an interview with The Plug podcast, Shiflett takes aim at “yahoo[s] on Twitter” spreading conspiracy theories about Hawkins and how he died.
“Especially right after [Hawkins] died, all these Twitter private investigators, they absolutely know what happened, and are sure of it, and it’s all wrong,” Shiflett says. “That’s been really strange to watch.”
“I understand people’s fascination with it, Taylor was this big character and he meant a lot to millions of people all over the world,” the guitarist continues. “But it’s, like, so much of what I’ve seen out there is so completely wrong.”
In addition to conspiracy theories on social media, Shiflett callsRolling Stone‘s article about Hawkins’ death “complete nonsense, for the most part.” The article, titled “Inside Taylor Hawkins’ Final Days as a Foo Fighter,” features quotes from artists — including Pearl Jam‘s Matt Cameron and Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith — claiming that Hawkins had expressed concern with the amount of touring he had to do with Foo Fighters leading up to his death. Both Cameron and Smith distanced themselves from the article and apologized for taking part.
In speaking about the reaction to Hawkins death, Shiflett seemingly suggests that another Foo Fighters album could be possible. When asked if he’s found in recent press interviews that people have been “awkwardly not asking” about the subject, Shiflett replies, “It probably will be when we ever get around to putting out another Foo Fighter record and go back into the promo boogie woogie.”
Shiflett recently released two singles with his solo country project. He’ll join Foo Fighters for the second of their two tribute concerts to Hawkins Tuesday in Los Angeles.
The second of Foo Fighters‘ two tribute concerts honoring late drummer Taylor Hawkins takes place tonight, Tuesday, at the Kia Forum in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California.
The first show was held at London’s Wembley Stadium on September 3. Many of the artists who performed at the London tribute will be making the trip back across the pond for the LA concert, including Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, The Police‘s Stewart Copeland, Joe Walsh‘s pre-Eagles band the James Gang, Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones, Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Wolfgang Van Halen, David Bowie drummer Omar Hakim, Blink-182‘s Travis Barker and Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich.
The LA lineup also includes Def Leppard‘s Joe Elliott, Phil Collen and Rick Savage, Heart‘s Nancy Wilson, Joan Jett, The Cars‘ Elliot Easton, Alanis Morissette, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, Yes vocalist and Hawkins’ childhood friend Jon Davison, Miley Cyrus, Nirvana‘s Krist Novoselic, ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach, Mötley Crüe‘s Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx, and Pink.
Additionally, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl‘s daughter Violet and Hawkins’ son Shane will perform.
Like with the London show, proceeds from the LA tribute will be donated to MusiCares and Music Support. Unlike the London show, however, no streaming details have been announced for the LA concert.
Shakira will stand trial in Spain after being accused of dodging roughly $14 million dollars in unpaid taxes.
A spokesperson in Barcelona for the Audiencia Nacional confirmed to ABC News that the Grammy winner has been ordered to stand trial. Shakira has been charged with tax fraud for allegedly not paying income taxes in Spain between 2012 and 2014. Prosecutors allege she owes the nation roughly 14.5 million euros or $14 million USD.
Spanish prosecutors allege Spain was Shakira’s primary residence during that time period, so she was obligated to pay the country’s income tax.
The “Objection (Tango)” singer denies any wrongdoing. In a recent interview with ELLE, the hitmaker addressed her legal woes and called them “false accusations.”
Shakira refuted the claim she mainly resided in Spain between 2012 and 2014, adding she was “busy fulfilling my professional commitments around the world.” She noted further, “I’ve paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit. So as of today, I owe zero to them.”
The singer also said she was advised by “one of the four biggest tax specialist firms in the world” at the time and is “confident” she was “doing things correctly and transparently from day one.”
She then accused prosecutors of intentionally harming her reputation by planting “salacious” stories about her in the press.
In all, Shakira believes she will be vindicated in court. “I’m confident that I have enough proof to support my case and that justice will prevail in my favor,” she declared.
If convicted, however, Shakira could spend up to eight years in prison and pay a hefty fine.
(NEW YORK) — As prices continue to climb on an array of goods due to inflation and increased production costs — like fuel for transportation — farm owners have warned that pumpkins could have a higher price tag this season.
With Halloween fast approaching, pumpkins used for jack-o’-lanterns and fall decor are up to $5.68 compared to $4.92 last year on average and may vary by location.
Farm owners from Texas to Maryland have seen a nearly 20% increase “mostly due to fuel costs increases,” Kama Bozeman of YesterLand Farm told Tyler, Texas, ABC News affiliate KTLV.
“The price of fuel has affected everything, the fertilizer for … pumpkins has been, you know, unbelievable,” Tammy Adkins, a farmer in Salisbury, Maryland, told ABC News affiliate WMDT. “It seems that everything has gone up and of course parents see that at the grocery store so it’s affected us as well.”
In addition to the rising costs, farmers have reported that drought conditions have also impacted some crops.
“We didn’t have much rain in August, so the hot weather — where it gets above 90 degrees — we didn’t get the pollination we should’ve got,” Gaylon Adkins the owner of Adkins Farm Market said. “So we’re looking at about probably a half a crop of pumpkins.”
The summer of dry weather has forced farmers like Adkins to get creative.
“I’ve already bought a few of pumpkins up in Delaware, I’ll probably get some in Pennsylvania,” Adkins continued. “I really need to finish picking my field and see what I got but I know I probably will not have enough.”
At Happy Day Farm in New Jersey, owner Tim Stockel said families can still get their hands on fall crops but said they may look different this year.
“Pumpkins this year are a little bit smaller due to the lack of rain,” Stockel told ABC News. “But they are healthy and we do have an abundance of amount to pick from.”
With Americans set to spend a record $10.6 billion celebrating Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation, and $3.4 billion of that on decorations, consumers will need to find ways to save without compromising on the staple squash.
Dr. Kerri Camp, a marketing professor at the University of Texas at Tyler, suggests “purchasing from local farms — because transportation costs will have less of an impact on the actual pumpkin prices.”
Earlier this year, Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine told ABC Audio that a Las Vegas residency was something the band would “absolutely love” to do. Well, now their wish has come true.
The band has announced a residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM starting Friday, March 24, 2023. Called M5LV The Residency, it’ll be custom-designed for the 5,200-seat theater. Right now, the residency has 16 performances scheduled: four in March, four in April, two in July and six in August.
Tickets go on sale Monday, October 3 at 10 a.m. PT via Ticketmaster; a fan pre-sale starts Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT. In addition, members of MGM Resorts’ loyalty program, plus Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers, will get pre-sale access on Friday at 10 a.m. PT.
James told ABC Audio that one reason the band wanted to do a residency was because, “It opens up possibilities for production, because if you’re doing that many shows in a row in the same place, you can get a little bit more creative on different elements that you can bring to the show.”
As for what sort of elements they’d like to have, James laughed, “Adam [Levine] has been lobbying to get me to fly above the crowd since day one. So maybe that’s finally going to happen in Vegas!”
(NOTE LANGUAGE) If you’d like to book Jon Hamm for your podcast, now’s your chance. In a chat with Sirius/XM’s Pop Culture Spotlight with Jessica Shaw, the Emmy-winning Mad Men star admits he’s a pushover for the right project.
Hamm explained that he said yes to his comedic turn in Bridesmaids after getting on “like a house on fire” with Kristen Wiig when he hosted Saturday Night Live. She all but begged him to be in the movie, and he agreed.
Suffice it to say, his agents weren’t too happy, the Top Gun: Maverick co-star star recalled.
“I did that movie before there was a part, before there was a script, I said ‘yes’ to it. And [my] agents went, ‘Oh, well, s***. How do we, you know, ask for money?’ And I was like, ‘Don’t worry about it. It just, let me let go have fun with friends.”
Hamm’s instincts were spot-on, as the 2011 comedy went on to make $288.3 million at the global box office.
“Mostly I drive [my agents] crazy because I say yes to everything, you know?” Hamm says. “I’m always showing up for people’s podcasts or what have you. But that’s what I like doing. I like engaging with the people that I work with and I’ve had some tremendous, fun experiences doing that.”
The Confess, Fletch actor adds, “And things like that turn into other things. And, you know, those are the kinds of things you can’t measure.”
(NEW YORK) — Social media accounts with ties to users in China and Russia posed as Western media outlets in an attempt to manipulate users and spread “inauthentic” content related to high-profile, politically charged issues including the invasion of Ukraine, Meta employees told reporters on Monday.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and other services, said that the accounts tied to both countries were taken down manually, though for more in-depth investigations and bigger networks an automated feature for takedowns is also used.
The accounts, as a whole, did not reach nearly the same scale as past documented efforts on social media to spread politically related messages to U.S. users and others.
But the operations, as described by Meta, are some of the latest examples of what both the company’s officials and top U.S. lawmakers have said is a concern: how countries use social media to secretly sway public opinion. (The American government has reportedly employed a similar digital strategy abroad — to influence opinion of the U.S.)
In response to this scrutiny about foreign actors on their platforms, Meta and other leading internet companies have taken steps, they say, to curb the spread of suspicious and misleading information.
The coordinated Chinese operation that Meta revealed on Monday targeted users primarily in the U.S. and Czech Republic, Meta said, and it was running fake accounts and websites across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and two petition platforms in the Czech Republic.
According to the company, the accounts impersonated Americans by sharing online messages in both Chinese and English about issues including Second Amendment rights and abortion. Accounts in this network spanned both sides of the political aisle, supporting both conservative and liberal causes.
Messages were also directed to a more global French and Chinese-speaking audience, Meta said. The group operated between November 2021 and September 2022. This was the first Chinese-based effort that Meta disrupted that focused on U.S. political issues and major topics ahead of the midterms, a distinct shift in Chinese-based interference, according to Meta.
However, the operation was relatively short-lived and did not receive much engagement from real users, Meta said, with 81 Facebook accounts with 20 collective followers, one Facebook group with 250 members and two Instagram accounts with less than 10 followers between them.
On a number of occasions, Chinese-originated entities would post various Russian state-linked content, Meta said. While the two countries overlapped in their goals and mutually reinforced each other, there was no visible coordination between the two. Meta officials also noted a notable time lag between the two operations.
The Russian operation in May was the largest and most complex since the war on Ukraine started, spanning over 60 websites, using multiple different languages, impersonating credible and legitimate Western websites and news organizations, according to Meta. Its presence spanned Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Twitter, YouTube and other European sites.
The network mainly targeted users in Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, Ukraine and the U.K, Meta said. The narratives focused on the war on Ukraine and its impact in Europe. The messages criticized Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees and pushed the narrative that U.S. sanctions would backfire.
Meta said it disrupted misinformation campaigns that targeted Ukrainians and exploited Ukraine’s tensions with Russia in February. The company’s security team removed about 40 users they found “inauthentic,” officials said Monday.
The Russian operation had 1,633 Facebook accounts with 1,500 collective followers, 29 Instagram accounts with 1,500 followers between them and generated around $105,000 in ad sales, Meta said. The company will not return the ad revenue and will use it to build their security teams.
Meta previously removed a Russian network of users in 2020 for violating their policy of foreign interference. The users were connected to an online trolling group that attempted to interfere with the 2016 election, the company has said.
Meta has also emphasized that fake sites will continue to pop up.
The company stressed on Monday that its view is that its security work is on deception rather than the content itself and that it did not punish Russian government platforms that had content from either of the operations because they were not directly contributing.
Meta officials said the company remains on alert for more threats, including monitoring potential actors as the election season progresses. They will not be implementing any new tactics ahead of the midterms, officials said Monday.
Meta said it has also shared its findings and threat indicators with the media and other platforms, law enforcement and the government.
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Ian strengthened to a Category 3 storm on Tuesday as it made landfall in Cuba on its path to Florida.
The hurricane is forecast to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast or Panhandle by midday Thursday, though there is uncertainty about the hurricane’s track and intensity.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a “state of emergency” for the entire state, with storm conditions “projected to constitute a major disaster.”
The National Hurricane Center has advised residents of Cuba, the Florida Keys and the Florida Peninsula to have a hurricane plan in place and to closely follow forecast updates.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Sep 27, 8:25 AM EDT
Latest forecast shows landfall in Tampa Bay area
The forecast has shifted significantly east, now with landfall expected in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday night into early Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane.
This would mark Tampa Bay’s first direct hit from a major hurricane since 1921.
Slow-moving Ian is expected to drop more than 15 inches of rain from Tampa to Orlando.
Major flooding is possible in Orlando, Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Sep 27, 5:00 AM EDT
Hurricane Ian makes landfall after strengthening to major storm
Hurricane Ian made landfall over western Cuba early on Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.
“Satellite and radar data indicate that the center of Ian has made landfall just southwest of the town of La Coloma in the Pinar Del Rio Province of Cuba at 4:30 a.m.,” the center said.
Ian’s winds at landfall were estimated at a maximum of 125 mph, making the storm a Category 3 hurricane.
Sep 26, 11:35 PM EDT
Ian strengthens as winds grow to 105 mph
Hurricane Ian continued to intensify Monday night, with maximum sustained winds now at 105 mph.
The hurricane is about 105 miles east-southeast of the western tip of Cuba, which is expected to see significant wind and storm surge impacts soon.
The storm is expected to become a major hurricane overnight or Tuesday morning.
Sep 26, 9:47 PM EDT
Tampa International Airport to close as Ian approaches
Tampa International Airport will stop all operations starting 5 p.m. Tuesday to secure its airfield and terminals ahead of Hurricane Ian’s expected landfall later this week.
Sep 26, 7:14 PM EDT
HHS secretary declares public health emergency for Florida
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public health emergency for the state of Florida.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra made the declaration Monday to address the possible health impacts for Florida residents once Hurricane Ian nears the state.
“We will do all we can to assist Florida officials with responding to the health impacts of Hurricane Ian,” Becerra said in a statement. “We are working closely with state, local, and tribal health authorities, as well as our federal partners, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support.”
HHS has pre-positioned two 15-person health and medical task force teams from its National Disaster Medical System, as well as a 13-person incident management team and two pharmacists to assist with the response in Florida.
“These teams are highly trained and ready to respond if, when, and where they may be needed following the storm,” HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency on Saturday. That declaration was approved by President Joe Biden on Sunday.
Sep 26, 6:59 PM EDT
Hurricane warning issued for Tampa Bay area
The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane warning for the Tampa Bay area just after its 5 p.m. advisory for Hurricane Ian.
The hurricane, currently a Category 2, is forecast to strengthen before it slows down as it approaches land. It is then expected to hover off the coast of Tampa from Wednesday into Thursday before making landfall.
A hurricane watch has also been issued for Big Bend, Florida, near the panhandle, and tropical storm warnings are in effect for much of southwest Florida.
Tropical storm watches are in effect for Orlando toward the northeast portion of the state, from Fort Pierce to Jacksonville.
-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin
Sep 26, 6:21 PM EDT
Florida utility company to use remote grid technology to restore power during the storm
The emergency response from Florida Power & Light is “well underway” as Hurricane Ian approaches, the utility company announced Monday.
FP&L has mobilized 13,000 workers, as well as supplies, to ensure the response is conducted as safely and quickly as possible after the storm hits, according to a press release.
As the hurricane begins to bear down on the region, FP&L will use remote grid technology to restore power remotely during the storm, as long as it is safe to do so, the company said. After the storm passes and winds drop below 35 mph, FP&L will continue restoration and conduct damage assessments with field crews.
The utility company also urged customers to make preparations and take safety precautions.
“As this storm approaches Florida, we know our customers are counting on us and we are determined to meet this challenge,” said Eric Silagy, chairman and CEO of FP&L in a statement. “We are mobilizing and pre-positioning our restoration workforce, so these brave men and women can quickly start working as soon as it is safe to do so.”
-ABC News’ Matt Foster
Sep 26, 3:58 PM EDT
Florida State University cancels classes
Florida State University has canceled classes Tuesday through Friday as Hurricane Ian approaches.
“The cancellation of classes on Tuesday is to allow students to travel safely out of the area if they so choose,” the university said. “Students who choose to stay in Tallahassee will be advised via the FSU Alert system to follow a ‘shelter in place’ protocol during the storm.”
Sep 26, 3:38 PM EDT
St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport to close
The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport will close at 1 p.m. Tuesday due to the mandatory evacuation orders in Pinellas County. The airport will stay closed until the evacuation order is lifted.
Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for coastal parts of Hillsborough County, Florida. Over 300,000 people are expected to evacuate, officials announced Monday, with emergency shelters opening at 2 p.m. Monday.
Hillsborough County could face up to 15 feet of storm surge and 30 straight hours of tropical storm force winds, Florida Emergency Management Director Tim Dudley said.
County Administrator Bonnie Wise added, “We did not make this decision easily, but the storm poses a serious threat, and we must do everything we can protect our residents.”
Some residents of Sarasota County and Manatee County are also under mandatory evacuation orders.
-ABC News’ Alex Faul
Sep 26, 2:01 PM EDT
7,000 National Guardsmen deployed to help
Five-thousand members of the Florida National Guard have been activated to help during Hurricane Ian. Another 2,000 guardsmen from Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina are also coming to help, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
Nearly 300 ambulances and support vehicles are being deployed to areas bracing for Ian’s landfall, DeSantis said.
-ABC News’ Alex Faul
Sep 26, 12:43 PM EDT
Tampa may shut down airport
In Tampa, where residents are bracing for 10 feet of dangerous storm surge, the Tampa International Airport may shut down parts of its airfield and facilities over the next day or two, airport officials announced.
The airport is in an evacuation zone, but because it’s critical infrastructure, it’s “exempt from the storm evacuation order and will stay open until a closure is necessary,” airport officials said in a statement.
It’s been 101 years since Tampa last had a direct hit from a major hurricane.
Sep 26, 11:36 AM EDT
Sarasota, Tampa-area schools close
Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa will be closed Monday through Thursday due to the storm. Instead, some schools will operate as storm shelters, the district said.
In Sarasota County, schools will be closed on Tuesday.
Sep 26, 11:34 AM EDT
First mandatory evacuation orders issued
Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for coastal parts of Hillsborough County, Florida. Over 300,000 people are expected to evacuate, officials announced Monday, with emergency shelters opening at 2 p.m. Monday.
Hillsborough County could face up to 15 feet of storm surge and 30 straight hours of tropical storm force winds, Florida Emergency Management Director Tim Dudley said.
County Administrator Bonnie Wise added, “We did not make this decision easily, but the storm poses a serious threat, and we must do everything we can protect our residents.”
Sep 26, 10:43 AM EDT
NASA rolling Artemis rocket back off launch pad
NASA said it will roll the Artemis I rocket off the launch pad and back to the vehicle assembly building on Monday night due to the storm.
“Managers met Monday morning and made the decision based on the latest weather predictions associated with Hurricane Ian, after additional data gathered overnight did not show improving expected conditions for the Kennedy Space Center area,” NASA said in a statement. “The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families and protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system.”
Sep 26, 10:08 AM EDT
Floodwater safety tips to remember
As Ian approaches, here are a few commonsense strategies to help avoid unnecessary risk from floodwaters:
–Before flooding, look up your neighborhood’s flood zone and determine if your home or business is prone to flooding. Come up with an evacuation plan and make sure your car has a full tank of gas. Stock up on non-perishable foods.
–After flooding, ensure your drinking water is sanitized and wash your hands thoroughly after contact with floodwaters. Disinfect objects that have come into contact with floodwater before offering them to children or toddlers.
–Try to avoid exposure with floodwaters for long periods of time to prevent physical injury. Wear waterproof boots if you have them. Do not attempt to drive over flooded streets as it could damage the car and strand passengers.
Sep 26, 10:01 AM EDT
White House closely monitoring Ian
The White House is “closely monitoring” the hurricane, a White House official told ABC News.
President Joe Biden approved Florida’s emergency assistance request this weekend “as soon as he received it,” the official said.
“He also directed his team to surge Federal assistance to the region well before landfall,” the official said. “FEMA has already deployed staff there and pre-positioned food, water, and generators.”
Biden was scheduled to travel to Florida on Monday but that trip has been postponed due to the storm.
-ABC News’ Karen Travers
Sep 26, 8:23 AM EDT
Hurricane watch issued for Tampa, Fort Myers, Naples
Ian is expected to become major Category 3 hurricane Monday night with winds of 115 mph.
As Ian passes Cuba, it’s expected to rapidly intensify, becoming a Category 4 hurricane as it moves through the Gulf. Hurricane warnings are in effect for Cuba and the Cayman Islands.
Models are split when it comes to Ian’s landfall in Florida; impacts could be as far north as Panama City and as far south as Fort Myers.
Some models forecast landfall by Wednesday afternoon between Tampa and Fort Myers, while other models predict landfall at the end of the week near Panama City or Apalachicola.
Hurricane watches have been issued in Tampa, Fort Myers and Naples.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
Sep 26, 5:20 AM EDT
Storm becomes Hurricane Ian
The National Hurricane Center declared Ian a hurricane on Monday, as the storm gained strength on its way toward Florida.
“A Hurricane Watch has been issued along the west coast of Florida from north of Englewood to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay,” the center said on Monday.
– ABC News’ Max Golembo
Sep 25, 10:19 PM EDT
NASA to reconvene on whether to take Artemis rocket off launchpad
NASA hasn’t decided whether to leave its Artemis I rocket on the launchpad as it monitors Tropical Storm Ian’s path toward Florida, the agency said Sunday.
The federal space agency’s mission managers will continue discussions on Monday about the next steps as its rocket was delayed again.
On Saturday, NASA scrapped its third planned launch attempt of Artemis I because of weather concerns. Artemis I was scheduled to launch on Sept. 27.
Engineers will decide if the rocket needs to roll back off the launch pad. If they do not roll it back, the next possible launch date is Sunday, Oct. 2.
Tropical Storm Ian is forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane as it nears Florida.
NASA had to scrub the first launch attempt on Aug. 29 because of a faulty temperature sensor and the second attempt on Sept. 3 due to a liquid hydrogen leak.
If the Oct. 2 launch doesn’t happen, the rocket will be taken back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center until the team decides on the next date.
-ABC News’ Gina Sunseri, Mary Kekatos and Nadine El-Bawab
Sep 25, 10:27 PM EDT
Ian strengthens once again, forecast to become hurricane on Monday
Tropical Storm Ian has strengthened with maximum sustained winds at 60 mph and is expected to get stronger throughout the night as atmospheric conditions become more favorable for the storm.
Ian is forecast to become a hurricane on Monday, becoming even more intense likely into Tuesday.
Ian is moving to the northwest to the Northwest at 12 mph, with the center located 160 miles away from Grand Cayman.
Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are expected to experience heavy rain, a heavy surge and possible flash flooding over the next 24 hours.
-ABC News’ Dan Peck
Sep 25, 5:45 PM EDT
Ian weakens slightly but will regain strength overnight
Tropical Storm Ian has weakened slightly, but it is expected to not only strengthen but rapidly intensify overnight as it travels over warm waters in the Caribbean.
As of 5 p.m. ET, the storm system had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and was moving west-northwest at 12 mph, with the center located about 220 miles away from Grand Cayman.
Dry air ahead of the storm has delayed the strengthening trend so far. But the rapid intensification is expected to occur Monday into Tuesday as the system continues across the northwestern Caribbean and closes in on western Cuba.
Over the next 24 hours, the outer bands will impact Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, bringing rounds of heavy rain, possible flash flooding and storm surge. Later Monday and into Monday night, Ian will be closing in on western Cuba and will likely bring significant wind and storm surge impacts to the region.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Grand Cayman and portions of western Cuba. A tropical storm watch has been issued for portions of western Cuba, as well as the lower Florida Keys, including Key West.
As of 5 p.m., the forecast track was nudged slightly eastward. Overall, the forecast guidance variability and uncertainty will remain high, and the track for where the storm will be from the middle to the end of the week will continue to shift over the next 24 to 48 hours.
After calling it quits in 2020, The Bachelor‘s Peter Weber and Kelley Flanagan are back together, a source tells Us Weekly.
The two, who met while filming season 24 of The Bachelor “rekindled their romance this summer and have been spending a lot of time together since then,” says the supposed insider.
Weber, 31, and Flanagan, 30, have been planning “fun dates” and having “a lot of fun together” since reconnecting earlier this year, the source shares, adding, “Peter wants to be in a serious committed relationship and his feelings for Kelley never went away…They’re both happy and looking forward to where things go this time around.”
Flanagan was the fifth runner-up during Weber’s The Bachelor season.
The pilot first proposed to Hannah Ann Sluss before breaking things off to pursue Madison Prewett. After that relationship went south, he and Flanagan went official in April 2020.
After dating for almost a year, they each took to social media to announce the breakup on December 31. After trying to “get back together” and “work on things” in January, Flanagan told Kaitlyn Bristowe in March 2021 on her Off the Vine podcast that their brief reunion came to an end after Valentine’s Day.
