The first trailer for the long-awaited Whitney Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, is finally here.
The teaser arrived Thursday and shows how British actress Naomi Ackie channels the late powerhouse singer. The trailer begins with how Whitney got her start, when Arista Records’ Clive Davis discovered her singing at a nightclub at the tender age of 19.
“My dream? Sing what I wanna sing. Be how I wanna be,” Ackie narrates as scenes of Whitney’s rising star status flash across the screen.
The trailer includes one of the most defining moments of Whitney’s career — the 1991 Super Bowl where the Grammy winner belted out the “Star Spangled Banner.”
The sneak peek also shows the dark undercurrents Whitney faced throughout her career, such as facing criticism that her music wasn’t “Black enough.”
“Look, I don’t know how to sing Black and I don’t know how to sing white, either,” Ackie’s voice continues to narrate as the camera pans to a sold-out stadium of fans excited to see Whitney perform. “I know how to sing.”
I Wanna Dance with Somebody is directed by Stella Meghie and written by Anthony McCarten, who penned the Oscar-winning Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. The movie arrives in theaters on December 21.
“The greatest voice of our time has an even greater story,” the movie’s official synopsis reads. “Discover the Whitney Houston you never knew.”
Whitney accidentally drowned in a hotel bathtub in 2012; drugs were found in her system. She was 48.
ABC Audio has confirmed that Ridley Scott, Oscar-winning filmmaker and the director of 1982’s Blade Runner, is bringing a sequel series to Amazon Prime.
Blade Runner 2099 will be a follow-up to Denis Villenueve‘s acclaimed 2017 film Blade Runner 2049, which Scott produced and which featured Ryan Gosling and Jared Leto, as well as Harrison Ford reprising his role as Rick Deckard from Scott’s groundbreaking 1982 original film.
Based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, 1982’s Blade Runner was set in the dystopian future of 2019 Los Angeles, with Ford’s character, an investigator known as Blade Runner, tasked with hunting down a rogue band of artificial humans known as replicants.
In a statement, Vernon Sanders, head of global television, Amazon Studios, noted, “The original Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is considered one of the greatest and most influential science-fiction movies of all time, and we’re…honored to be able to present this continuation of the…franchise.”
Sanders said he’s “confident…Blade Runner 2099 will uphold the intellect, themes, and spirit of its film predecessors.”
An anime series set in the same universe, Blade Runner: Black Lotus debuted last year on Adult Swim and the animation hub Crunchyroll, featuring the voice of The Gray Man‘s Jessica Henwick.
(NEW YORK) — New York City is “reassessing” longstanding procedures that stem from a law requiring the city to shelter undomiciled people.
It follows an influx of more than 11,000 asylum seekers who have been bussed from Texas, the mayor’s chief counsel said Thursday after touring the city’s first Asylum Seeker Resource Navigation Center.
“We are reassessing the city’s practices with respect to the right to shelter,” Brendan McGuire, the chief counsel, said. “It is important — because we don’t exist in a vacuum — to reconsider the practices that the city developed that flow from the right to shelter.”
McGuire declined to elaborate what, specifically, might need to change but the city’s prior practices involving mainly people experiencing homelessness “never contemplated the bussing of thousands of people into New York,” Mayor Adams said earlier this week. “We expect thousands more to arrive every week going forward. The city’s system is nearing its breaking point.”
The comments followed the failure of the city’s shelter system to offer beds to 60 men who arrived Monday at the men’s intake shelter on E 30 St.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, since early May, has been sending busloads of migrants out of Texas to cities with Democrat leaders, including New York City and Washington, D.C. The Republican governor says he started the busing programs in response to the Biden administration’s immigration policies which he claims inadequately secure the border, forcing states like his to bear the brunt of migrant waves.
Officials said Texas authorities have not coordinated with New York officials, meaning that officials are unaware of when buses will arrive or how many individuals will be on the buses.
“They’re not letting us know what are the needs of the people on the bus. They’re not giving us any information, so we’re unable to really provide service to the people en route,” Adams told ABC affiliate WABC earlier this summer.
The mayor and his chief counsel have each stressed the city is not reneging on the obligation to shelter itself, which the courts have guaranteed for three dozen years.
“There’s no ambiguity there, so it’s an important distinction. We are not reassessing the right to shelter. We are reassessing [the] practices around the right to shelter,” McGuire said.
Homeless advocates aren’t so sure and warned the mayor not to end any practice that would force people onto the streets.
“@NYCMayor challenging the right to shelter is dangerous. Without this right tens of thousands of people will be on the street,” the Safety Net Project of the Urban Justice Center wrote on Twitter.
Adams announced the opening of New York City’s first Asylum Seeker Resource Navigation Center on Thursday.
The center, according to the city, “will support individuals and families who have arrived in New York City on or after January 1, 2022. The center will serve as a central place where newly arrived asylum seekers will receive free and confidential help accessing a variety of important services and resources that will help them integrate and thrive in New York City.”
“Our city continues to welcome the thousands of families who have arrived in New York City in the last few months, but, today, we are announcing a one-stop-shop for those seeking asylum to receive free and confidential help accessing the important services and resources that will help them integrate and thrive in New York City,” Adams said Thursday.
“We are always willing to work with the City on ways to improve services for anyone in need of shelter, including asylum seekers, so long as any proposal complies with well-established court orders and New York State’s Constitution, which require the City to provide homeless individuals and families placement in a safe and accessible shelter,” The Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless said in a statement Thursday. “We were glad to hear City officials affirming their commitment to those obligations this morning.”
ABC News’ William Mansell, Briana Alvarado and Kyla Guilfoil contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Thursday took a political victory lap after railway companies and unions reached a tentative labor agreement overnight — averting a strike that threatened to paralyze the nation’s supply chain and transportation rail service.
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, Biden called the agreement a “big win for America” as the White House highlighted how he used his influence to avoid a crisis less than two months before the midterm elections.
“To the American people, this agreement can avert a significant damage that any shutdown would have brought,” Biden said. “Our nation’s rail system is the backbone of our supply chain.”
Biden said “every good you need” from clean water to food to liquefied natural gas gets delivered via rail.
“This agreement allows us to continue to rebuild a better America with an economy that truly works for working people and their families,” he said.
Before delivering remarks, Biden met with the negotiators who brokered the railway labor agreement in the Oval Office.
Administration officials hosted contract talks all day Wednesday hoping to broker a deal, negotiating for more than 20 consecutive hours, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said on Thursday. He described the deal as “hard-fought” and “mutually-beneficial.”
A White House official told reporters on Thursday that Biden called into Labor Department-led talks around 9 p.m. on Thursday to say a shutdown of railways was unacceptable and underscored the far-reaching economic consequences a strike would have. At 2 a.m., the official said, Walsh called the White House and said things were coming together. One union had to wake up their board to get sign off, the official added.
Biden thanked both sides for working in “good faith” to reach an agreement.
“In fact, the negotiators here today, I don’t think they’ve been to bed yet,” Biden said.
Unions will now vote on the agreement.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Trainmen (BLET) and the SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD) — the two largest rail unions and the final remaining union holdouts — confirmed the tentative agreement in a statement on Thursday.
The agreement includes one key sticking point throughout the negotiations: policies that allow workers to take a sick day or attend to a doctor’s appointment without being penalized.
“We listened when our members told us that a final agreement would require improvements to their quality of life as well as economic gains,” BELT and SMART-TD said in their joint statement.
Biden said on Thursday the workers “earned and deserved these benefits.”
“This agreement is validation of what I’ve always believed: unions and management can work together, can work together for the benefit of everyone,” he said.
Congress debated stepping into the fray to avoid the strike this week. Republican Sens. Wicker and Burr on Thursday attempted to push through a resolution that would have forced unions to accept the deal. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., blocked the measure, arguing workers have the right to strike over working conditions.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi applauded the tentative agreement on Thursday morning, stating Congress was ready to step in but “thankfully this action may not be necessary.”
“We congratulate the unions and railroads for coming to an agreement, because it is in the national interest that essential transportation services be maintained,” she said.
The 2022 Farm Aid Festival will once again broadcast live on the Circle Network. Featuring sets from Chris Stapleton, Willie Nelson & Family, Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crow, the event will air from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Hosted by Runaway June bandmate Natalie Stovall, the annual music, food and farm festival will air in live and pre-recorded segments. The Circle Network’s social channels will also livestream Farm Aid throughout the day.
It’s the second consecutive year that the network will bring Farm Aid to fans in real time. Other performers on the bill include Margo Price, Charley Crockett, Lukas Nelson, Brittney Spencer and many more.
Farm Aid is an annual benefit show that raises money for family farmers in the United States. Founders Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young debuted the event in 1985 and, like Matthews and Price, are still board members.
Dua Lipa will launch the second season of her podcast, Dua Lipa: At Your Service, with guest Monica Lewinsky.
The new season of the podcast — a companion to Dua’s Service95 newsletter — begins September 23. On that day, Dua will host a Twitter Spaces chat on the Service95s account to answer fans’ questions and talk about the new season.
In a statement, Dua says, “Recording At Your Service’s first season and getting to share those conversations with so many was one of the most rewarding experiences. I’m thrilled to be bringing that same curiosity and insight to Season Two, where we have a new crop of cultural icons and thought leaders to bring to you all.”
“I’m honored to have the resilient Monica Lewinsky as my first guest,” she adds. Guests on season one included Elton John, Megan Thee Stallion, activist Amal Clooney, actor Riz Ahmed and Russell Brand.
As for Dua’s Service95 newsletter, which you can subscribe to for free, it features writings on style, the arts, culture and society, as well as a peek into Dua’s life and some of her favorite things.
The Grateful Dead‘s “Meet-Up at the Movies” screening events are set to return this year for the first time since 2019.
The latest edition of the cinematic gathering, dubbed “Grateful Dead Meet-Up 2022,” will take place at select theaters around the world on November 1, with additional screenings to be held in the U.S., Canada and other locations on November 5.
This year’s event will feature film of an April 17, 1972 show at the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark — a performance that was part of the band’s legendary Europe ’72 tour.
Tickets for the screenings go on sale on Friday, September 23 at 10 a.m. ET at MeetUpattheMovies.com.
The 90-minute performance was The Grateful Dead’s first concert ever to be broadcast live and was shown on Danish television. The footage has been restored and color corrected in high-def, and the audio has been mixed and mastered from the original master tapes.
The Dead’s lineup at the time featured Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Donna Jean Godchaux and Keith Godchaux.
The set included the first live performance of “He’s Gone” as well as renditions of such other songs as “Ramble on Rose,” “Jack Straw” and “One More Saturday Night.” You can check out a video of the “One More Saturday Night” performance now on The Grateful Dead’s YouTube channel.
The “Grateful Dead Meet-Up 2022” event will bring to an end a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the band’s Europe ’72 live album. The commemoration also included the release of remastered versions of the original album as well as a 24-LP box set, exclusively available at Dead.net, that documents four full concerts from the trek.
John Sciulli/Getty Images for Amnesty International USA
Nick Cannon is a dad for the ninth time.
The TV personality took to Instagram with girlfriend LaNisha Cole to announce the arrival of their new baby girl, Onyx Ice Cole Cannon.
It is Cannon’s first baby with Cole; their happy news comes a month after he announced he was expecting baby #10, his third with model Brittany Bell. The pair also have a five-year-old son named Golden “Sagon” and a 19-month old daughter named Powerful Queen.
About his new baby girl, the Wild N’ Out star said, “Once again Today I am in Awe of the Devine Feminine! God has given me and @MissLanishaCole the privilege of hosting an Angel here on earth. I vow to protect, provide, guide and love this child to the best of my abilities.”
He added he was going to “to mute any low vibrational frequencies and only rejoice,” expressing, “I promise to love this little girl with all my heart.”
Nick also commented, “I’ve given up on attempting to define myself for the world or society but instead I’m doing the work to heal and grow into the infinite being God ordained me to be.”
Cannon, of course, is the dad of twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-wife Mariah Carey.
He also has 14-month-old twins Zion and Zillion from his relationship with Abby De La Rosa and a one-month-old son named Legend with model Bre Tiesi.
In December 2021, Nick and Alyssa Scott announced that their five-month-old son Zen passed away from brain cancer.
In Flames has announced a new album called Foregone.
The 14th studio effort from the Swedish metallers will arrive February 10, 2023.
“Going into the Foregone sessions, we wanted to make a record that was heavily guitar-driven, and that had a strong foundation between the bass and drums,” says frontman Anders Fridén. “We still approached our songwriting the same way, as we always have, as a juxtaposition between melody and aggression. That’s the DNA of our music. From the lyrical end of things, there was no shortage of inspiration to draw from, especially the concept of time.”
Forgone features the previously released songs “State of Slow Decay” and “The Great Deceiver.” A third cut, titled “Foregone Pt. 1,” is available now via digital outlets.
In Flames is currently on a U.S. tour, which continues through October.
Here’s the Foregone track list:
“The Beginning of All Things That Will End”
“State of Slow Decay”
“Meet Your Maker”
“Bleeding Out”
“Foregone Pt. 1”
“Foregone Pt. 2”
“Pure Light of Mind”
“The Great Deceiver”
“In the Dark”
“A Dialogue in B Flat Minor”
“Cynosure”
“End the Transmission”
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis has activated the Florida National Guard to address staffing shortages at the state’s correctional facilities.
“Members of the Guard have the training and capability to assist Florida’s correctional officers with certain duties, such as manning guard towers, perimeter patrols, and control stations, which will allow the correctional officers to concentrate on directly supervising and caring for inmates,” an executive order DeSantis signed Friday said.
The order said the Guard will remain in Florida correctional facilities on a “short term basis” and notes current hiring efforts have “shown early signs of success.”
Florida’s staffing shortage has resulted in the “temporary closure of 176 inmate dorms and suspension of 431 supervised work squads,” it said. “This shortage threatens the safety of officers, inmates, and the public.”
The Florida Department of Corrections is authorized to hire 20,000 correction and probation officers — nearly one quarter of the state’s employees.
There is a severe staffing shortage at federal prisons nationwide as well.
“The unprecedented and remarkable steps taken by Governor DeSantis in sending the National Guard to assist the Florida Department of Corrections is indicative of a profession in crisis with nationwide public safety implications,” Shane Fausey, President of the National Council of Prison Locals 33, the union that represents federal corrections officers around the country.
“The Bureau of Prisons, much like our state and county counterparts, have seen an ominous exodus from our agency, aggravated by serious difficulties in recruiting and hiring,” he said.
Fausey said the Bureau of Prisons saw a departure of nearly 3,000 correctional officers and employees in 2021, and is on course to lose an additional 3,000 by the end of 2022, nearly 20% of its total workforce.
The BOP declined to comment on staffing issues to ABC News.
“I implore executive action by the White House administration, coupled with emergency actions of Congress, be implemented immediately to address our inadequate pay bands, crippling staffing shortages, and incentivize the retention of our most experienced officers and employees,” Fausey said.
