Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s live album and documentary film focusing on a previously unheard and unseen 1970 concert at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall both got their release today.
The album, titled At the Royal Albert Hall, is available on CD, cassette, 180-gram vinyl and digital formats.
The film, Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall, premiered today on Netflix. As previously reported, the movie, which is and is narrated by Jeff Bridges, includes footage of CCR’s entire April 14, 1970, concert at the Royal Albert Hall. It also features archival interviews with all four Creedence members, scenes of the band touring Europe in 1970 and a look at the group’s history.
“Of the live performances that we have recorded, that was the best performance,” CCR drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford tells ABC Audio of the Royal Albert Hall show.
Clifford says he got a kick out of watching footage of the gig, noting that the movie is Creedence’s first and only concert film.
“It’s really a funny thing. I know that’s us and I know that’s me on the drums … but when I look at it, it’s like it’s another band,” Cosmo says. “You know, I’m watching somebody else pound away on the stage.”
Regarding Bridges’ participation in the film, Clifford says, “I’m a big fan of his, for sure … I can’t think of a better narrator than Jeff.”
Meanwhile, the Travelin’ Band film will be available on Blu-ray as part of a super deluxe At the Royal Albert Hall box set that will be released November 14. The package also will feature CD and two-LP vinyl versions of the album, a bonus CD containing music that’s featured in the movie, a booklet and more.
Here’s the album’s full track list:
“Born on the Bayou”
“Green River”
“Tombstone Shadow”
“Travelin’ Band”
“Fortunate Son”
“Commotion”
“Midnight Special”
“Bad Moon Rising”
“Proud Mary”
“The Night Time Is the Right Time”
“Good Golly Miss Molly”
“Keep On Chooglin'”
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday denied the Department of Justice’s request for a partial stay of her ruling that enjoined the FBI from using roughly 100 documents seized from Mar-a-Lago with classification markings in its ongoing criminal investigation of Donald Trump — and mandated they be handed over to a special master for review.
Cannon has also appointed Raymond Dearie, senior district judge for the Eastern District of New York, as special master.
In a filing last week that amounted to a line-by-line rebuke of Cannon’s ruling, DOJ prosecutors wrote that they would seek intervention by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals if she declined to act on their request for a partial stay by the end of Thursday.
Prosecutors cited the potential for “irreparable harm” to national security — not just from the FBI having to halt their criminal investigation of the recovered records but from the uncertainty her ruling had separately caused, leading the intelligence community to pause its own separate review of whether the classified records, or any intel sources or methods, have been compromised.
“In order to assess the full scope of potential harms to national security resulting from the improper retention of the classified records, the government must assess the likelihood that improperly stored classified information may have been accessed by others and compromised,” the DOJ counterintelligence chief, Jay Bratt, wrote in the filing, specifically referencing the dozens of empty folders with classified banners on them taken from Trump’s estate and the need to assess whether documents that were previously in them were compromised or remain missing.
This is a developing story. Please return for updates.
(LONDON) — The life of Queen Elizabeth II, who died Sept. 8 at age 96, will be celebrated in a funeral service Monday after more than a week of tributes honoring the long-reigning monarch.
The queen’s funeral — which she played a large role in planning — will take place at Westminster Abbey.
Here are all the details we know so far.
When and where the funeral will take place?
A state funeral for the queen will begin at 11 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) on Monday, Sept. 19.
The funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey, making the queen the first sovereign to have a funeral there since 1760.
Westminster Abbey normally holds 2,200 congregants, but extra seating can be arranged to accommodate more than 8,000 people, as it did at the queen’s coronation.
The day of the queen’s funeral will be a public holiday in the U.K.
How the queen’s coffin will arrive at Westminster Abbey
Just after 10:30 a.m. local time on the day of the funeral, a procession will begin to transport the coffin from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey for the funeral.
The queen’s coffin will travel on the State Gun Carriage, which was also used for the funeral of the queen’s father, King George VI, as well as the funerals for King Edward VII, King George V and Winston Churchill.
The vast procession will include musicians, members of the military and members of the royal family, including King Charles III; Anne, the Princess Royal; Princes Edward, Andrew, Harry and William; and Peter Phillips, who will all walk behind the coffin.
Who is expected to attend the funeral?
Members of the royal family will all be in attendance at the funeral, including the queen’s four children, her eight grandchildren and their spouses.
It is not yet known whether the queen’s great-grandchildren, such as Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, will attend with their parents.
Other mourners at the queen’s funeral will include heads of state and dignitaries from around the world, including President Joe Biden, who has confirmed that he plans to attend.
Also in the audience at Westminster Abbey will be some of the 15 U.K. prime ministers who served during the queen’s reign, including current Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was the last public official to meet with the queen in person before her death.
How the queen’s coffin will be adorned
The queen’s coffin is draped with the Royal Standard, the flag representing the sovereign and the U.K. During her reign, the Royal Standard was flown on her car and aircraft on official journeys and at royal palaces when the queen was in residence.
The wreath atop the coffin is a collection of white roses, white dahlias and foliage from the gardens at Balmoral and Windsor.
Also atop the coffin, on a velvet cushion, lies the Imperial State Crown, the crown the monarch wears upon leaving Westminster Abbey after the coronation.
The crown — which contains 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls and four rubies — was made in 1937 for the coronation of the queen’s father, according to Historic Royal Palaces, the organization that oversees the Tower of London, where the crown jewels are held.
The 317-carat Second Star of Africa, also known as the Cullinan II, is the most valuable stone in the crown, which the queen wore at her 1953 coronation, along with the St. Edward’s Crown.
The queen’s coffin is also adorned with the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross and the Sovereign’s Orb, both part of the coronation regalia.
The sceptre has been used at every coronation since 1661 and features the 530-carat Cullinan I diamond, the largest gem-quality uncut diamond ever found. The diamond was discovered in a South African mine in 1905 owned by its namesake, Thomas Cullinan.
The orb, described as a “golden globe surmounted by a cross,” is given to the monarch when they are crowned to remind them “that their power is derived from God,” according to Historic Royal Palaces.
With the crown jewels back in the spotlight following the queen’s death, there have been renewed calls for some of them to be returned to their countries of origin.
The Cullinan diamond was purchased by the government in Transvaal, South Africa, where it was found, and “presented (1907) to the reigning British monarch, King Edward VII,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica
The Royal Collection Trust states that the diamond was presented to the king “as a symbolic gesture to heal the rift between Britain and South Africa after the Boer War.”
How long will the funeral last?
The tightly choreographed service is expected to last just over one hour. The service will be led by the Very Reverend Dr. David Hoyle, the dean of Westminster.
Among those reading and saying prayers at the service are the archbishop of York, the U.K. prime minister and the secretary general of the Commonwealth, and the cardinal archbishop of Westminster.
Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, will deliver the sermon.
Near the end of the service, at around 11:55 a.m. local time, two minutes of silence will be observed inside Westminster Abbey and throughout the U.K.
The service will end with the singing of the national anthem.
How to watch the funeral
The queen’s funeral will be broadcast by television networks around the world and livestreamed online.
What members of the royal family will wear at the funeral
As working members of the royal family, Charles, Anne, Edward and William will be dressed in military uniform at the queen’s funeral, according to Buckingham Palace.
Andrew and Harry, the queen’s son and grandson, respectively, will not be in uniform as they are no longer working royals.
Other members of the royal family, including Camilla, the Queen Consort; Kate, the Princess of Wales; Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex; and Sophie, the Countess of Sussex, will wear black, as they have since the queen’s death was announced.
Female family members will also likely follow tradition in wearing black veils, known as mourning veils, covering all or some of their faces.
Where the queen’s coffin will be taken after the funeral
Following the funeral, the queen’s coffin will travel in a procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner.
Charles will again join his siblings Anne, Andrew and Edward, and his sons William and Harry, as well as his nephew Peter Phillips, in walking in the procession.
From Wellington Arch, the state hearse will drive the queen’s coffin to Windsor, with members of the royal family following by car.
Once in Windsor, the state hearse will carry the coffin along the Long Walk, with Charles and royal family members joining the procession by foot at the Quadrangle.
The procession will take the coffin to the queen’s final resting place at St. George’s Chapel, on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
What the queen will be buried with
At St. George’s Chapel, a committal service will be held, attended by members of the royal family and personal staff who work or have worked for the queen.
During the final hymn of the service, the Imperial State Crown, orb and sceptre will be removed from the queen’s coffin and placed on the altar.
Charles will place the Grenadier Guards’ Queen’s Company Camp Colour — a smaller version of the Royal Standard — on the coffin.
Before the coffin is lowered into the royal vault, Lord Chamberlain Andrew Parker — the most senior official in the queen’s royal household – will “break” his Wand of Office and place it on the coffin, signifying the end of the reign.
Where the queen will be buried
The queen will be buried at the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St. George’s Chapel, alongside Prince Philip, her beloved husband, who died last year at the age of 99.
The burial service will be private, attended only by members of the royal family.
(JACKSON, Miss.) — Mississippi ended its boil water notice for all of Jackson’s residents on Thursday, the state’s health department announced.
The news comes nearly two weeks after water pressure returned to the state capital’s residents after days of a water shortage crisis that impacted thousands of Jacksonians.
A boil water notice was in effect in Jackson since July 29, with the city saying that it needed “two rounds of clear samples” before it could lift the notice, adding: “We will alert residents as soon as this happens.”
“On Tuesday, the Mississippi State Department of Health began officially conducting tests of the water quality. They collected 120 samples for two consecutive days,” Gov. Tate Reeves said at a press conference on Thursday. “We can now announce we have restored clean water to the city of Jackson.”
Last month, at least 180,000 people went without reliable drinking water in Jackson after pumps at the main water treatment plant failed.
Reeves declared a state of emergency on Aug. 30 to address the issue.
At Thursday’s press conference, Reeves touted Mississippi’s efforts in fixing the water issues in Jackson, including increasing how much water is produced, restoring water pressure and installing an emergency pump at the water treatment facility.
City and state officials have been helping to distribute drinkable and non-drinkable water to residents.
The state distributed nearly 12 million bottles of water, but distribution will end soon since the boil water notice has been lifted, Stephen McCraney, the executive director of the state Emergency Management Agency, said at the press conference.
There was a time when an Alice in Chains concert was the perfect place for a rom-com meet-cute.
That time was 1992, and that rom-com was Singles, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this Sunday. At the time, the Cameron Crowe-directed movie was simply the story of a group of 20-somethings looking for love, but has since become a touchstone of the grunge era thanks to its Seattle setting, fashion and, of course, the music.
Singles was filmed in 1991, before Nirvana made “grunge” a household term when Nevermind was released later that year. By the time Singles was released in ’92, bands including Nirvana and Pearl Jam were among the biggest names in music.
Thanks to being on the Singles set, actor Bill Pullman had a head start on the grunge craze.
“I got cued in [to grunge] by doing the movie and saying, ‘What is this?'” Pullman tells ABC Audio.
“I think I have a line in there — I can’t remember — ‘What is this music, this “grudge” music?'” the Independence Day star continues. “And that was new, that whole grunge thing, that was kinda catching the wave.”
The soundtrack for Singles, which was released ahead of the film, features Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden; members of all three grunge titans appear in the movie. PJ’s Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament portray members of Citizen D***, the band fronted by Matt Dillon‘s character, Cliff Poncier, whose song “Touch Me I’m D***” is a play on grunge pioneers Mudhoney‘s track “Touch Me I’m Sick.”
Singles also produced Chris Cornell‘s fabled Poncier EP, a collection of songs he’d written for the movie, including the solo track “Seasons” and the future Soundgarden classic “Spoonman.” The Poncier songs were included in the 2017 deluxe Singles soundtrack reissue.
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden White House on Thursday condemned Republican governors who this week escalated their strategy of busing — and now flying — migrants to Democratic cities in protest of the administration’s border policies.
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis sent two planes of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard late Wednesday evening, surprising state and local officials. Two buses sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott carrying roughly 100 migrants were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’s Naval Observatory residence early Thursday morning.
DeSantis said the confrontational moves were a message to President Joe Biden and Harris to do their “damn job” and secure the border.
The White House and Democrats are calling the moves cruel, accusing the GOP leaders of creating “chaos.”
“There’s a legal way of doing this — for managing migrants,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during Thursday’s briefing with reporters. “Republican governors interfering in that process and using migrants as political pawns is shameful, is reckless, and just plain wrong.”
Jean-Pierre criticized the governors for appearing to give no notice to leaders on the ground.
“The fact that Fox News and not the Department of Homeland Security, the city or local NGOs (non-governmental organizations) were alerted about a plan to leave migrants, including children, on the side of a busy D.C. street makes clear that this is just a cruel premeditated political stunt,” Jean-Pierre said.
Two buses carrying roughly 100 migrants were dropped off in front of Harris’ official Naval Observatory residence early Thursday morning. They were met by immigration advocates from the SAMU First Response, a humanitarian nonprofit foundation in Washington, which said the migrants are receiving food, clothing and hygiene care.
Tatiana Laborde, the managing director of SAMU, told ABC News the migrants were “extremely confused and disoriented ” when they landed on the sidewalk of the residential drop-off location.
Geoff Freeman, the director of Martha’s Vineyard airport, told ABC News in a phone call “nobody on the island was informed” of the planes’ arrivals.
“No local officials knew of this event until after it happened,” Freeman said.
Lack of coordination between communities regarding bussing of migrants “can wreak havoc and do harm, to individuals and those communities” said a Homeland Security spokesperson.
“That is the case here,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson explained migrants encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border continue to be expelled under Title 42. Anyone not expelled under Title 42 are either given expedited removal proceedings or are issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge and monitored through ICE alternatives to detention. DHS continues to work closely with nonprofit organizations and local governments on efforts to facilitate voluntary migrant transportation, the spokesperson said.
“Failure to coordinate is irresponsible and creates unsafe conditions for vulnerable migrants as well as the receiving jurisdictions,” they added.
DeSantis said sending migrants to Democrat-led states was a response to their previous “virtue signaling” by declaring themselves sanctuary jurisdictions during former President Donald Trump’s years in office.
“We’re not a sanctuary state,” he said at Florida at a news conference.
Border state Republicans praised the migrant vans, arguing the crisis at the border is a problem that should be shouldered by the entire country.
“This is a national responsibility, it should be a national burden,” said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Border crossings reached a peak in May as U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 239,416 migrants along the southern border — the largest number of migrants ever.
Encounters dropped slightly in June and July, but experts estimate the agency will cross 2 million apprehensions by the end of the fiscal year ending this month.
Harris was tapped by President Joe Biden last year to lead the administration’s effort to tackle challenges at the border and work with Central American countries to address the root causes of the problem. Republicans have long criticized Harris’s absence at the southern border since taking on the role.
Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, tweeted: “If our “Border Czar” won’t visit the border, the border will visit her.” Several GOP members of Congress on Thursday posted similar sentiments on social media Thursday.
Harris declined to comment when asked by ABC News’ Justin Gomez if she had any reaction to the migrants that were dropped off in front of her residence.
The White House defended its immigration policies on Thursday while also acknowledging there’s more work to be done.
Jean-Pierre pointed to steps to advance border technology, add more immigration judges and provide record funding to the Department of Homeland Security as proof the administration is committed to fixing what she described as a “decimated” immigration system left behind by the Trump administration.
“We are fixing a broken system,” she told ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce when asked about the influx of migrants at the border. “It is not like turning the light switch on. It is going to take some time.”
Jean-Pierre said Republicans in Congress should instead focus on passing a long-term, comprehensive legislation to reform the immigration system.
“They deserve better than being left on the streets of D.C. or being left in Martha’s Vineyard,” the press secretary said of the migrants who’ve been transported. “They deserve a lot better than that.”
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin, Briana Stewart, Miles Cohen and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Robert Packer, the Jan. 6 rioter seen in photos wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt, to 75 days in prison.
Packer had previously pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of demonstrating inside the U.S. Capitol building.
The black-hooded sweatshirt Packer donned during the riot, prosecutors said, showed “Camp Auschwitz” and “Work Means Freedom” with a skull image on the front, and “STAFF” written on the back. Underneath his sweatshirt, he wore another Nazi-inspired t-shirt, they said.
The prosecution argued that although Packer did not post on social media, he broadcasted his beliefs on his clothes.
The defense countered that if Packer had short hair, no beard, and was wearing a different shirt, he might be viewed differently.
When Judge Carl Nichols asked why Packer was wearing the shirt, the defense said he “cannot explain” why he was wearing it, but that it was a “free speech” issue.
“I just don’t think it is appropriate to make him serve more time because he is wearing that shirt, because he is allowed to wear it,” his lawyer said.
Packer’s attorney further claimed Packer takes offense to being called a white supremacist, because he “does not see himself that way at all.”
In delivering his sentencing decision, Nichols said “although he did not carry a sign, he wore a distinctive and incredibly offensive shirt.”
The judge said he can infer Packer wore the shirt for a reason, although he does not know that reason, because Packer has not told the court.
While Packer was charged with a misdemeanor, the prosecution requested 75 days of incarceration, followed by three years of probation and 60 hours of community service.
The prosecution noted that Packer’s actions should be considered within the context of the violence of Jan. 6. Although he himself did not perpetuate any acts of violence, they said, the mob would not have succeeded in overwhelming the police, breaching the Capitol, and disrupting the proceedings without his actions, alongside others who did the same.
The judge stated that Packer’s presence, although not inherently violent, “prevents police from dealing with people who are.”
Prosecutors added that the sentencing should deter crime generally, “the most compelling reason to impose a sentence of incarceration.” Because the Jan. 6 rioters directly interfered with democracy, they said, “the gravity of these offenses demands deterrence.”
They said they were justified asking for prison time because Packer ignored police barricades, ignored police officers telling rioters to stop, watched assaults on police officers and Capitol property without leaving or trying to stop them, entered the speaker’s hallway and Statuary Hall, and has not expressed remorse for his actions.
“He was just walking around, looking, to me,” the defense countered. “He is as close to a bystander as you can get in this case.”
“He shouldn’t have stayed there for as long as he did; the question is does he need to go to jail for it,” his defense lawyer said.
Prosecutors added that Packer has been a “habitual criminal offender for 25 years with 21 convictions for mostly drunk driving, but also for larceny, drug possession, and forgery.” He was incarcerated for several previous offenses, they said.
The defense said that his record does not stem from an “evil mind” but a “disease” of alcoholism.
Packer did not make any comments to the court during his sentencing.
Lil Baby will be honored with the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award at the second annual Music in Action Awards Gala.
The event, hosted by the Black Music Action Coalition, will be held September 22 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, according to Variety.
BMAC is celebrating artists, executives, businesses, entrepreneurs, activists and companies that have utilized their platforms to effect social change over the past year.
Lil Baby is being recognized for fighting for racial and social justice inside and outside of the music industry.
The Grammy winner recently hosted his third-annual Back to School Fest for over 3,000 children in Atlanta.
“The Bigger Picture” rapper also established the $150,000 My Turn scholarship program for students at his former high school in the A-T-L.
Last year, the Weeknd and H.E.R. received the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award.
Lil Baby is featured on DJ Khaled’s new God Did album and will release his third album, It’s Only Me, on October 14.
His 2018 collabo with Gunna, “Drip Too Hard,” was certified Diamond this week
The sold-out event, which will include headlining performances from Farm Aid board members John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Willie Nelson, will be broadcast live for the second consecutive year on the Circle Network.
The festival will air starting at 7 p.m. ET, and the broadcast will feature live and prerecorded segments. The Circle Network’s social channels will also livestream Farm Aid throughout the day.
Other artists on the bill include Sheryl Crow, Chris Stapleton, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. Matthews will be playing as a duo with his longtime collaborator Tim Reynolds.
Farm Aid is an annual benefit show that raises money for family farmers in the U.S. Founders Nelson, Mellencamp and Neil Young debuted the event in 1985. Young has dropped off the festival’s performance lineup for the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oprah Winfrey is paying tribute to the late Sidney Poitier as the producer of the new documentary Sidney, which premiered September 10 at the Toronto Film Festival.
Winfrey was a close friend of the iconic actor who became the first Black man to win an Academy Award for best actor in 1964 for his role in Lilies of the Field.
“I learned from watching him, Maya Angelou, and Quincy Jones what it means to be a real star. The bigger the star, the more humble you are with everyone else,” Oprah told BET.
“I’ve seen nothing but humility in his personal and professional life. I’ve learned to ground myself with everything around me because he was my counsel, friend and advisor,” she added. “He was a steady force of humility and integrity.”
Working with director Reginald Hudlin, the 19-time Emmy winner says her goal for the documentary is for the public “to see the best of what it means to be a real man and what the measure of a man is.”
“To this day, Poitier’s daughters still see him as a dad because he had great stories to tell them and gathered them as a family unit,” Oprah continued. “Reginald and I wanted audiences to see their hope and possibility through the light of Sidney Poitier’s magnificent life.”
Sidney features interviews with Denzel Washington, Harry Belafonte, Quincy Jones, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee, Morgan Freeman and many more.
The documentary will be shown in select theaters and will debut on Apple TV+ Friday, September 23.
