Even amid all the throwback artists on the When We Were Young festival lineup, Jimmy Eat World is something of an elder statesman of the scene. Having formed in 1993, the Arizona rockers spent many years playing tiny venues and basement shows leading up to their early 2000s breakout with “The Middle.”
Given their long history and the nostalgic vibes of the festival, When We Were Young seems like a fitting place to bring out an early cuts Jimmy Eat World set. However, as frontman Jim Adkins tells ABC Audio, he’s not sure that’d be such a good idea.
“If we did go with a set of, like, what we would be playing at a basement gig in ’97, I don’t know if people are really gonna dig that,” Adkins shares. “I mean, there’d definitely be some people [thinking], ‘Yeah, cool,’ but I don’t know if enough of those people would spread the love to win over an audience.”
Still, longtime Jimmy Eat World fans can expect to hear a few deep cuts at When We Were Young.
“We’ll definitely include some of the older songs that we don’t normally play, or don’t play all that often, especially at a festival,” Adkins says. “I don’t know if we’ll make a whole set out of it, though.”
Adkins adds that he and his bandmates will “definitely change” up the set list between each of their performances over When We Were Young’s three days.
“I think there might be some people that go to multiple gigs, which is wild,” Adkins says.
When We Were Young takes place October 22, 23 and 29 in Las Vegas. The bill includes My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Bring Me the Horizon, A Day to Remember and Avril Lavigne, among many, many more.
Twenty years ago this Saturday, Santana followed up their massively successful 1999 comeback album Supernatural with another chart-topping and collaboration-filled record: Shaman.
Released on October 22, 2002, Shaman debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. The album featured one major Billboard Hot 100 hit, “The Game of Love,” featuring pop singer/songwriter Michelle Branch, which peaked at #5.
The song, which was co-written by New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander and hit-making songwriter Rick Nowels, went on to win a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
Like Supernatural, Shaman paired guitar legend Carlos Santana with various performers from different genres, including pop/R&B singers Seal and Macy Gray, Chad Kroeger of the rock band Nickelback, nu-metal group P.O.D., pop singer Dido, multicultural rock outfit Ozomatli, roots rocker Citizen Cope, hip-hop artist Melky Jean and opera legend Plácido Domingo.
Kroeger appears on a song titled “Why Don’t You & I” that he wrote. Since Nickelback’s label didn’t want the track to be released as a single, Santana rerecorded the tune with vocals by Alex Band of the group The Calling and issued that version, which ended up reaching #8 on the Hot 100.
Matchbox Twenty‘s Rob Thomas, who co-wrote and sang the Supernatural smash “Smooth,” also lent his songwriting talents to two tracks on Shaman.
Original Santana drummer Michael Shrieve co-wrote and played on a track titled “Aye Aye Aye.”
Shaman has been certified two-times Platinum by the RIAA for sales of 2 million copies in the U.S.
Here’s the full track list of Shaman:
“Adouma”
“Nothing at All” — featuring Musiq (Rob Thomas, Cori Rooney)
“The Game of Love” — featuring Michelle Branch (Gregg Alexander, Rick Nowels)
“You Are My Kind” — featuring Seal (Rob Thomas)
“Amoré (Sexo)” — featuring Macy Gray
“Foo Foo” — featuring Tabou Combo
“Victory Is Won”
“Since Supernatural” — featuring Melky Jean & Governor
“America” — featuring P.O.D.
“Sideways” — featuring Citizen Cope
“Why Don’t You & I” — featuring Chad Kroeger
“Feels Like Fire” — featuring Dido
“Aye Aye Aye”
“Hoy Es Adiós” — featuring Alejandro Lerner
“One of These Days” — featuring Ozomatli
“Novus” — featuring Plácido Domingo
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is 34 days away, and this year it’ll feature a new, interactive balloon honoring the beloved Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. This is the third balloon for protagonist Greg Heffley, who will make his 13th appearance at the world-famous parade.
Author Jeff Kinney gave ABC Audio the exclusive on the new balloon: “We’re going back to the basics … This time we’re really focusing on Cheese Touch.”
The Cheese Touch is a superstition originating in the first book that said touching the moldy piece of cheese laying on the school’s outdoor basketball court would curse kids and turn them into social pariahs.
“This balloon has an element that’s something that Macy’s has never done before,” Kinney explained, noting there will be a car driving ahead of the newly redesigned Greg balloon that’ll look like that infamous moldy piece of cheese.
“We’re going to have green fog coming off the cheese. So it will look like it smells. So that’s going to be really fun,” said Kinney, adding the Greg balloon will spend the entire parade trying to touch that stinky slice. He added, “We really want to push the envelope with this balloon and I think it will be really special.”
Kinney, who also illustrates the Wimpy Kid books, continued, “To be able to sketch something on the back of a napkin and then see it in three dimensions and then see it on the parade route. It’s so exciting … [these books] have been life-changing for me.”
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has sold over 275 million copies since first being published in 2007.
The 96th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade steps off Thursday, November 24, at 9 a.m. ET. It’ll air on NBC and Peacock.
(LOS ANGELES) — Making his first public comments since a recording of council members making racist and offensive comments was released online, Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin De León said he does not plan on stepping down from his position, apologizing to his constituents for not stepping up and shutting down the conversation.
“I’m so sorry to the city of L.A. for not stepping up and being the leader that they expect me to be,” De León said in an interview with CBS News Los Angeles. “I’m sorry to my constituents. I’m sorry to my colleagues. I’m sorry to the family of Mike Bonin, to my family, to all those who have supported me.”
The city council has been the subject of public outcry and protests after a recording posted to Reddit earlier this month captured former City Council President Nury Martinez making allegedly racist and offensive comments about her colleagues and about a council member’s son while discussing redistricting. The Los Angeles Times reviewed the recording and confirmed it as authentic.
ABC News has not independently confirmed the authenticity of the recording.
The recording has prompted the California Department of Justice to open an investigation into the city’s redistricting process in an effort to restore public trust.
Martinez resigned from her leadership position and from the council last week, under pressure from protesters and officials.
While the alleged comments were not made by De León, there has been public outcry from protesters and fellow council members, calling on him and council member Gil Cedillo, who was also on the recording, to resign from the council. Calls for their resignations have gone as high up as President Joe Biden.
During the interview, De León apologized several times, but remained adamant that his district deserves representation, saying he plans to continue to do so.
“I have to do the really damn hard work to repair and to restore the breach of trust that I have lost with so many folks,” De León said.
De León said the meeting captured on the recording was called by Martinez and that he had attended it to be a voice for his district.
In statements released on Monday and Tuesday, Martinez apologized to her colleagues, Bonin and his family.
In the Wednesday interview, De León said he called Bonin to apologize, but it went to voicemail.
The LA Council resumed its meetings Wednesday, closing the chambers to members of the public after protesters caused delays and prevented a meeting from starting last week.
The council also named a new president on Tuesday.
De León did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(NEW YORK) — Eggo has a new product this holiday season that you won’t find in the frozen foods aisle.
Kellogg’s waffle brand collaborated with Sugarlands Distilling Co. to craft a sweet churned cream, rum, cinnamon and nutmeg boozy beverage that they’re calling Eggo Nog Appalachian Sippin’ Cream.
This new “Eggo-inspired eggnog liqueur” is said to pair perfectly with the beloved frozen waffles and gives grown-ups a chance to “L’eggo during the most chaotic time of the year.”
Sugarlands master distiller Greg Eidam told ABC News’ Good Morning America they amped up the recipe for the classic holiday drink to set their product apart.
“We use a rum base for our Eggo Nog, which has a slightly sweeter profile than some traditional boozy eggnogs,” he said. “Our team worked very hard to ensure the taste was reminiscent of classic eggnog, while also complementing the flavors you expect from an Eggo waffle. … Plus, ours pairs naturally with a perfectly toasted Eggo waffle.”
Eidam said the frozen waffles are a household staple for his grandkids as well as himself.
“They’re one of my favorite indulgences after a late night at the distillery,” he said, adding that “collaborating with Eggo to create Eggo Nog was a great deal of fun” — both personally and as a business opportunity for the Tennessee-based distilling company.
According to early tasters, Eidam said the response so far “has been tremendous.”
“We hope parents enjoy the product and find fun ways to incorporate it into their evening ‘me time,’ this holiday season,” he said, with just over 60 days to go until Christmas.
Eggo Nog will be available in select retailers nationwide throughout the holiday season. Consumers can locate a retailer online here.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Houston 3, NY Yankees 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Milwaukee 90, Philadelphia 88
LA Clippers 103, LA Lakers 97
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 6, Los Angeles 1
San Jose 3, NY Rangers 2 (OT)
Montreal 6, Arizona 2
Ottawa 5, Washington 2
Columbus 5, Nashville 3
Boston 2, Anaheim 1 (SO)
Toronto 3, Dallas 2 (OT)
New Jersey 4, NY Islanders 1
Minnesota 4, Vancouver 3 (OT)
Edmonton 5, Carolina 4
Buffalo 6, Calgary 3
Vegas 5, Winnipeg 2
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Arizona 42, New Orleans 34
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Philadelphia 1, Cincinnati 0
LA Galaxy 0, Los Angeles FC 0 (Tie)
(NEW YORK) — A spooky species of orchid at risk of disappearing forever as climate change worsens natural disasters, could soon garner conservation protections from the federal government.
The “ghost orchid,” an elusive species in the orchid family that primarily resides deep in the swamps of South Florida, was announced as a candidate to receive protections under the Endangered Species Act on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Protections for the critically endangered flower are of the utmost importance because its survival is at risk every time a hurricane blows over Florida, Melissa Abdo, a regional director of the National Parks Conservation Association, told ABC News.
Historically, hurricanes have severely impacted communities of ghost orchids. After Hurricane Irma hit Southwest Florida in 2017, the high winds caused the destruction of 30% of ghost orchids’ host trees, along with 30% of ghost orchids within the Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge alone. Between 2017 and 2018, nearly 50 mature ghost orchards in the preserve were lost, Abdo said.
There are fewer than 750 mature orchids left in the wild in the U.S., Abdo said, and conservationists have not even had a chance to survey damage to the flower’s population caused by Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm that decimated parts of Southwest Florida last month.
They destruction could be extensive, she added.
“Park staff and conservationists alike want to do all they can to protect this really rare and beautiful plant, but they need more help,” Abdo said.
When in bloom, the long spurs at the bottom of the ghost orchid resemble some popularized versions of cartoon ghosts. However, most of the time, all that is visible in the rare plant are the tangled jumble of green roots clinging to the trunks of its host trees.
The rare flowering then occurs during the peak of the hot, humid summer in Southwest Florida, Abdo said.
Although the species is “incredibly iconic,” they are only found in a tiny pocket of Southwest Florida, Abdo said. The current range of ghost orchids in Florida includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and additional conservation and tribal areas in Collier, Hendry and possibly Lee counties. The flower is also found in Cuba.
The ghost orchids live in such remote locations that it took six months of searching through deep swamps of the Everglades for Abdo to find one in the wild for the first time, she said, describing the places where the flowers choose to bloom as “habitats truly out of fairy tales.”
Climate change and poaching are the biggest threats to the species, Abdo said. In addition to the increase of frequency of intense storms that climate change is expected to bring, drought continues to dry up the swampy marshes of the Everglades, leaving less habitat for the ghost orchids to thrive.
“The situation has been dire for some time,” she said.
In addition, because the flower blooms so infrequently, it has an overall slow reproduction rate — imperiling it even more, Abdo said.
“The ghost orchid is a testament to how biodiversity can have a monumental impact on our collective spirit and imagination,” said Elise Bennett, Florida director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Its rare and cryptic beauty has captivated authors, photographers and filmmakers alike. I really hope federal officials make haste and protect this gorgeous specter of our swamps before it’s too late.”
(NEW YORK) — Family members of Irene Gakwa, a 32-year-old Black woman who went missing in Wyoming, are still seeking answers to what happened to her over 7 months into the search.
“It gets harder and harder each day,” Chris Gakwa, her older brother, said in an interview with ABC News.
Before she went missing, Irene Gakwa, a native of Kenya, spoke daily to her mother and father who reside in Kenya through Whatsapp, but those conversations came to an end Feb. 24 – the last time her family says they heard from her. Her brothers filed a missing person’s report March 20 after not hearing from her for almost a month.
Irene Gakwa moved to the United States from Kenya in 2019 in hopes of attending nursing school, her family says. She had attended the College of Western Idaho and “did well,” according to her brother.
“When she first moved here, it was a little different. It took her a little while to get used to everything,” Kennedy Wainaina, her oldest brother told ABC News. “It was good to see her let loose and make friends with people.”
Wainaina and Chris Gakwa who both reside in Idaho, say they would see their sister almost every weekend until she met her boyfriend, Nathan Hightman.
“We’re a very close family,” Chris Gakwa told ABC News. “She would come to hang out with us…she had some friends and would hang out, but things didn’t go well when she met Nate…That’s when things started going downhill and I feel like Nate is the one who kind of pushed her away from the family.”
Her brothers say they only met Hightman a couple times after Irene Gakwa met him on Craigslist – adding they were not aware how long the couple were dating. Irene moved over 700 miles away from Boise, Idaho, to Gillette, Wyoming, with Hightman without her family’s knowledge, her brothers say.
“From day one when I met him, I just didn’t like him to tell you the truth but I never told her,” Chris Gakwa told ABC News. “I just knew he was trouble.”
He says the couple had a rocky relationship and Irene Gakwa would call Chris’ wife when they were having issues.
At one point, authorities in Gillette, Wyoming, investigated claims by Hightman that Irene Gakwa “stole money” to purchase airline tickets to Kenya, according to the Gillette Police Department. But police found no merit to the allegations and dropped the case against her, they said.
In April, almost a month after Irene Gakwa’s disappearance, Hightman became “a person of interest,” according to a press release from the police department in Gillette, Wyoming. The press release stated Hightman had been charged with a handful of felonies – including two counts of theft, one count of unlawful use of a credit card and two counts of crimes against intellectual property. Irene Gakwa was listed as the victim of these crimes. The press release also stated, “Irene went missing under suspicious circumstances.”
Hightman was arrested for these charges, but later released on a $10,000 bond, Gillette Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson said in the press release. Hightman pleaded not guilty to the charges, Wasson said.
Hightman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News. Current attorney information for Hightman was not immediately available.
His former attorney Steven Titus told the Gillette News Record in May that “he had not had time to talk with Hightman at length” about the five felony charges and that his client has consistently said he had nothing to do with Irene Gakwa’s disappearance. Titus also told the paper that police did not have enough probable cause to charge Hightman for her disappearance, which brought on the five non-violent charges instead.
Irene Gakwa’s brothers and Stacy Koester, a volunteer from Gillette who leads a search team to find the woman, claim they have not been updated by police as often as they said they should’ve been.
“Every time we reach out to them, they give us the same answers,” Koester, who never met Irene Gakwa and updates her brothers regularly on the search, told ABC News. “They keep saying there are no updates to provide and they’ll keep working on the case…it’s like we’re going in circles.”
The Gillette Police Department did not comment on the family’s claims regarding their response, but Wasson provided ABC News with a press release about an Oct. 13 search of Hightman’s residence.
“Analysis of evidence has led to the development of additional cause to return to the residence that Irene shared with Nathan Hightman. Detectives applied for and were granted additional search warrants to further the investigation,” the release said.
No further updates on the search were provided by Wasson and no arrests have been made since then.
“I’ve had several deaths in my family…my mother and two sisters, so I know what missing a family member feels like,” Koester said regarding her interest in the search.
Koester says she has reached out to and tried to schedule meetings with Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, unsuccessfully. Despite her failed efforts, Koester says she leads a search team of 15 to 20 people for Irene weekly. They search for any evidence that may help find her – including a 55-gallon metal drum that police said they believe was burned in Hightman’s backyard around the time she was reported missing and that they have asked for public assistance in locating.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Dusty Martin, the owner of Gillette car dealership Auto Scene, says Hightman and Irene Gakwa sold her silver Acura in January right before she was reported missing.
“The whole encounter was very odd,” Martin told ABC News in an interview. “Nathan was an odd character and I thought it was weird because Irene had to okay everything with him. Every move she made, she had to look at him,” Martin said.
The couple sold the car to Martin for $2,000, he says. Hightman was “very persistent” in selling the car although it was registered and titled in her name, according to Martin. Irene Gakwa said they were going to trade her car in for a new one, so Martin says he insisted on showing some cars he had in his lot, but Hightman told Martin they had already found one.
As the search for Irene Gakwa continues, Koester says she ‘s been trying to draw attention to the case through social media, creating a TikTok dedicated to bringing the missing woman home. The account has garnered over 62,000 likes.
“I just feel like if Irene was white with blonde hair and blue eyes, police would be having a press conference every week,” Koester, who is white, told ABC News. She noted the law enforcement response to the disappearance of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old white woman who went missing last year and was later found dead. “I feel personally that [Irene’s] case didn’t get the attention it deserved.”
Despite the lack of media coverage that Irene Gakwa’s family and supporters say the case has been receiving, they won’t be giving up on the search anytime soon. The family created a website detailing what they say is a timeline that led up to her disappearance.
“I wish I could do more, but we try to do the best we can,” Wainaina said.
“I’ve never met her, but I want to help find her and help her family in any way that I can,” Koester said.
(FULTON COUNTY, Ga.) — A federal appeals court on Thursday denied Sen. Lindsey Graham’s request to block a subpoena from the Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The ruling means Graham must testify before the panel.
Graham has been fighting the subpoena since he was served over the summer.
In his appeal to the 11th Circuit Court, Graham had argued that his actions surrounding the 2020 election were protected by the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, which grants members of Congress legal protection while performing their duties.
However in its ruling Thursday, the court found that the specific activity that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis seeks to question Graham about would not violate that clause.
That includes questions regarding “communications and coordination with the Trump campaign regarding its post-election efforts in Georgia, public statements regarding the 2020 election, and efforts to ‘cajole’ or ‘exhort’ Georgia election officials,” the ruling said
“Sen. Graham has failed to demonstrate that this approach will violate his rights under the Speech and Debate Clause,” the ruling said.
A lower court had already slightly limited the scope of the questions prosecutors can ask Graham during his appearance.
A representative for Graham did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Willis has been investigating whether former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies broke the law when they pressured Georgia officials to try to alter the results of the election in Trump’s favor. The probe was sparked in part by a phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he pleaded with him to “find 11,780 votes,” the exact number Trump needed to win Georgia.
Trump, who has denounced the probe, has repeatedly defended his phone call to Raffensperger, calling it “perfect.”
The special grand jury does not have the ability to return an indictment, and can only make recommendations concerning criminal prosecution.
(JACKSON, Miss.) — The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it will open a federal civil rights investigation looking at Mississippi’s use of federal funds in Jackson and if the majority Black residents were discriminated against by not funding improvements to the water supply.
The EPA investigation will look into if Mississippi’s Department of Health and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality “discriminated against the majority Black population of the City of Jackson on the basis of race in the funding of water infrastructure and treatment programs and activities in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
In August, historic flooding in Mississippi severely damaged a major pump at the main water treatment facility in Jackson, leaving about 150,000 of the city’s mostly Black residents without drinkable water. Jackson is 82.5% Black and white Jackson residents only account for 16.2 % of residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Thursday’s announcement comes nearly a month after the NAACP filed a Title VI Complaint for Investigation with EPA Administrator Michael Regan, requesting “an immediate investigation into the use of federal funds related to drinking water in Jackson and to seek the rapid adoption of comprehensive enforcement remedies.”
The NAACP in its complaint claim that state officials held a “decades-long pattern and practice of discriminating against the city of Jackson when it comes to providing federal funds to improve local water systems,” according to a statement on Thursday.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson, a Jackson resident who was one of several residents named in the initial EPA complaint, applauded Regan and the Biden administration for opening an investigation.
“This action is only the first step. NAACP and its partners will continue to press the Biden Administration and Congress to hold state officials accountable and ensure that Jackson officials and residents are active participants in the decision-making that will be required to fix the unacceptable problems with Jackson’s water,” Johnson said in a statement.
Liz Sharlot, Director of Communications for the Mississippi State Department of Health and the Agency spokesperson, told ABC news in a statement that compliance had been adhered to for all residents.
“The Mississippi State Department of Health is a regulatory agency that ensures compliance, offers education and guidance, and protects the public health safety of all Mississippians,” Sharlot said.
“The Agency also works with all eligible public water systems needing funds to improve their plants through the State Revolving Loan Fund,” she added.
