(WASHINGTON) — Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for approximately 70 million Americans will increase 8.7% in 2023 as Americans deal with the highest inflation rates in decades.
The 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment will begin with benefits payable to more than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2023. Increased payments to more than seven million SSI beneficiaries will begin on Dec. 30, 2022.
This is the biggest increase since 1981, because this number is based on the 40-year highs the U.S. has seen in inflation.
(NEW YORK) — Pickleball has gone from the country club to one of the fast-growing sports in the world and now another athletic icon has hitched himself to the bandwagon.
Tom Brady announced overnight that he will become a Major League Pickleball owner.
“Look, I’ve been trying to find a way to extend my professional sports career beyond my 40s, even into my 50s, 60s, 70s, as long as I can right?” Brady said in the selfie video post on Instagram. “And I think I got the answer — pickleball.”
He continued, “I’m officially joining the MLP family.”
“You know how I do with competition, right? I love that’s it’s become such a popular neighborhood sport. It’s a great way to get out of the house, but I’m coming to win. I’m coming to the dominate the sport,” Brady, 45, said.
Brady’s team will be co-owned with Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters and a cadre of investors.
“Tom and I are very competitive. And, you know, we both come from professional sports. He’s still in it. And so we have that competitive spirit,” Clijsters said in a statement Wednesday. “[I’m] really excited about the team that we were able to combine.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champ and four-time major tennis champion are two of an estimated 4.8 million pickleball players in the U.S. As owners, the pair join a distinguished list of stars including LeBron James, Draymond Green and Kevin Love as well as future Pro Football Hall of Famer Drew Brees.
“For me, it was was a no-brainer when this investment came in front of me,” Clijsters told ABC News. “It’s a sport that, you know, is fun, that’s exciting, especially when — the four of you are up close to the net and you’re — having good, like good rallies and everything. Like, it’s exciting.”
Brady and Clijsters’ expansion team is expected to be 50% female-owned.
In the announcement about the pair’s plans, MLP also said “the expansion team is a part of a three-pronged growth plan for 2023, which will see 12 teams grow to 16, three events double to six, and player prize money and payouts surpass $2M.”
Former American tennis pro and coach Brad Gilbert weighed in on the hot new racket sport, telling ABC News, “I do see the sport growing because of how much quicker the learning curve is to play.”
“In tennis, sometimes movement is key,” he explained. “In pickleball, there’s not as much court to cover, which is a big thing potentially for older players.”
Speculation abounds regarding when Brady will retire from football. Whenever he does step away, Brady will move to the broadcast booth for a huge deal with Fox. But like many modern star athletes, he has an entrepreneurial streak.
“I do think a lot of these celebrities and athletes are saying, ‘Maybe it doesn’t cost billions of dollars like some of these other things,’ and they they see some potential and possibilities in [owning a pickleball team],” Gilbert said.
The 2022 MLP season concludes this weekend in Columbus, Ohio.
(BRISTOL, Conn.) — Two police officers were shot and killed and one is seriously injured after a gunman allegedly ambushed the officers at a Bristol, Connecticut, home, according to sources.
The Bristol police officers were shot while responding to a domestic violence emergency call at a home late Wednesday night, according to Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.
According to police sources, the gunman made a fake 911 call for a disturbance at his home then carried out an apparent ambush attack on the officers with an AR-15-style rifle.
The suspect was shot dead at the scene, police said.
The suspect’s brother was also shot and has been hospitalized in unknown condition, according to police.
“Our community has been rocked,” Bristol police chief Brian Gould said at a news conference.
Killed in the gunfire were Bristol police Sgt. Dustin DeMonte, 35, and officer Alex Hamzy, 34, Gould said.
DeMonte is survived by his wife and two children with a third child on the way, the chief said.
DeMonte “was assigned to our patrol division and was a school resource officer,” the chief said. “He was also an advisor for the Bristol police explorer cadet program. Throughout his career he has received several awards, including the Silver Star, officer of the month and co-recipient for Officer of the Year in 2019.”
Hamzy, a Bristol native, is survived by his wife, Gould said.
“Throughout his career, he received numerous letters of commendation and recognition. He was assigned to our central region Emergency Response Team and was also one of our cadet advisors,” Gould said.
The injured officer, 26-year-old Alec Iurato, underwent surgery for a severe gunshot wound and is recovering, Gould said.
“This is a senseless tragedy, and my prayers are with their families, loved ones, and fellow officers. I also ask the residents of Connecticut to keep in their prayers a third officer who was shot and is currently in the hospital with serious injuries,” the governor said in a statement. “This is a devastating reminder of the dangers that police officers face every day to protect our families and neighbors from all kinds of situations. These officers are heroes.”
Lamont ordered flags in Connecticut to be lowered to half-staff.
As of Sept. 27, there have been 49 officers killed in the United States this year — which is lower than the record last year (73), but higher than the complete year totals for 2020 and 2019, according to data from the FBI.
In the span of 24 hours, there was something of a he said-he said look at controversial former Glee star Lea Michele.
On Tuesday’s episode of The Michelle Collins Show, her former co-star on the one-time Fox musical phenomenon, Chris Colfer, was asked if he’d join the host in seeing Lea in her Broadway play Funny Girl.
Safe to say, he’s passing.
“Oh, no, are you seeing Funny Girl?” Colfer replied, with a huge laugh, adding, “Oh. My day suddenly just got so full.”
When Collins asked if he’d see the show at all, Colfer replied, sarcastically, “No, I can be triggered at home.”
Michele, of course, weathered accusations in 2020 from her former Glee co-stars Samantha Ware, Amber Riley and Alex Newell, that she was a bullying diva on the set of the hit show.
On the other hand, on Wednesday, Variety ran a glowing profile of Lea from her bestie, Frozen‘s Jonathan Groff, who called her “a force.”
Groff proclaimed in part, “When her undeniable star power lit up the stage in Funny Girl last month, the musical became the fifth-highest-grossing show on Broadway. By bringing big business back to Broadway, Lea isn’t just making audiences happy, she’s helping support the restaurants and hotels that thrive when Broadway draws a huge crowd.”
Michele apologized for the bullying accusations after they surfaced two years ago, and recently admitted to The New York Times that she can rub people the wrong way.
“I have an edge to me,” said Lea. “I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes. That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blind spots.”
Beyoncé, Drake, and The Weeknd are among the top nominees for the 2022 American Music Awards.
While Bad Bunny leads the pack with a total of eight nominations, Beyoncé and Drake and Taylor Swift are close behind with six nods a piece. The Weeknd is next up with five nominations, alongside Adele and Harry Styles.
Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor are all up for Artist of the Year, a category that also includes Adele, Harry Styles and The Weeknd. If The Weeknd wins the coveted award it would be his first win in that category.
Additionally, many artists received their first ever AMA nominations this year, including Tems and Jack Harlow, who each earned four, followed by Latto with three nods.
The AMA’s also added a new category, Favorite Afrobeats Artist, which Burna Boy, CKay, Fireboy DML, Tems, and Wizkid are all nominated.
Fan voting is open now at VoteAMAs.com and via Twitter in all award categories, except Favorite K-Pop Artist, voting for which begins November 1.
The American Music Awards air Sunday, November 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Here are the nominees in some of the major categories:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Adele
Bad Bunny
Beyoncé
Drake
Harry Styles
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
FAVORITE MALE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Drake
Future
Kendrick Lamar
Lil Baby
Lil Durk
FAVORITE FEMALE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Cardi B
GloRilla
Latto
Megan Thee Stallion
Nicki Minaj
FAVORITE HIP-HOP ALBUM
Future I NEVER LIKED YOU
Gunna DS4EVER
Kendrick Lamar Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Lil Durk 7220
Polo G Hall of Fame 2.0
FAVORITE MALE R&B ARTIST
Brent Faiyaz
Chris BrowN
GIVĒON
Lucky Daye
The Weeknd
FAVORITE FEMALE R&B ARTIST
Beyoncé
Doja Cat
Muni Long
Summer Walker
SZA
FAVORITE R&B ALBUM
Beyoncé Renaissance
Drake Honestly, Nevermind
Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak) An Evening with Silk Sonic
Summer Walker Still Over It
The Weeknd Dawn FM
FAVORITE R&B SONG
Beyoncé BREAK MY SOUL
Muni Long Hrs And Hrs
Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak) Smokin Out The Window
SZA I Hate U
Wizkid ft. Tems Essence
FAVORITE AFROBEATS ARTIST
Burna Boy
CKay
Fireboy DML
Tems
Wizkid
Bad Bunny continues his spectacular year by nabbing the most nominations for this year’s American Music Awards — a total of eight — while Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor Swift are close behind with six nods apiece. Taylor holds the record for the most AMA wins of all time, with 34.
Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor are all up for Artist of the Year, a category that also includes Adele, Harry Styles and The Weeknd. If Bad Bunny wins all eight of the categories in which he’s nominated, he’d tie both Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston for most awards in a single year.
Adele, Harry and The Weeknd all have five nods each. Among this year’s first-time nominees are Jack Harlow, with four nods; Latto, with three; and BLACKPINK with one. Among the new categories this year: Favorite K-Pop Artist, Favorite Rock Album, Favorite Rock Song and Favorite Afrobeats Artist.
Elton John is nominated for Collaboration of the Year for “Cold Heart” and for Favorite Touring Artist, making him the longest-recognized artist in AMA history: He was first nominated back in 1974, at the very first American Music Awards, for Top Pop/Rock Male.
Fan voting is open now at VoteAMAs.com and via Twitter in all award categories, except Favorite K-Pop Artist, voting for which begins November 1.
The American Music Awards air Sunday, November 20 at 8 p.m. EST/PST on ABC, live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Here are the nominees in some of the major categories:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Adele
Bad Bunny
Beyoncé
Drake
Harry Styles
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Dove Cameron
GAYLE
Latto
Måneskin
Steve Lacy
COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
Elton John & Dua Lipa “Cold Heart -PNAU Remix”
Future ft. Drake & Tems “WAIT FOR U”
Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow “INDUSTRY BABY”The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber “STAY”
FAVORITE TOURING ARTIST
Bad Bunny
Coldplay
Ed Sheeran
Elton John
The Rolling Stones
FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO
Adele “Easy On Me”
Bad Bunny ft. Chencho Corleone “Me Porto Bonito”
Harry Styles “As It Was”
Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow “INDUSTRY BABY”
Taylor Swift “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”
FAVORITE MALE POP ARTIST
Bad Bunny
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Harry Styles
The Weeknd
FAVORITE FEMALE POP ARTIST
Adele
Beyoncé
Doja Cat
Lizzo
Taylor Swift
FAVORITE POP DUO OR GROUP
BTS
Coldplay
Imagine Dragons
Måneskin
OneRepublic
FAVORITE POP ALBUM
Adele 30
Bad Bunny Un Verano Sin Ti
Beyoncé Renaissance
Harry Styles Harry’s House
Taylor Swift Red (Taylor’s Version)
The Weeknd Dawn FM
FAVORITE POP SONG
Adele “Easy On Me”
Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
Harry Styles “As It Was”
Lizzo “About Damn Time”
The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber “STAY”
FAVORITE DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST
Diplo
Marshmello
Swedish House Mafia
The Chainsmokers
Tiësto
FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK ELVIS Encanto Sing 2 Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 4 Top Gun: Maverick
FAVORITE K-POP ARTIST
BLACKPINK
BTSS
SEVENTEEN
TOMORROW X TOGETHER
TWICE
Taylor Swift, Adele, Harry Styles, Beyoncé and Latin superstar Bad Bunny are among the top nominees for this year’s American Music Awards.
Bad Bunny leads all nominees with a total of eight, while Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor Swift are close behind with six nods apiece. Taylor holds the record for the most AMA wins of all time, with 34. Adele, Harry Styles and The Weeknd each have five nominations.
Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor are all up for Artist of the Year, a category that also includes Adele, Harry Styles and The Weeknd. If Bad Bunny wins all eight of the categories in which he’s nominated, he’d tie both Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston for most awards in a single year.
Elton John is nominated for Collaboration of the Year for his Dua Lipa duet “Cold Heart” and for Favorite Touring Artist, making him the longest-recognized artist in AMA history: He was first nominated back in 1974, at the very first American Music Awards, for Top Pop/Rock Male.
Fan voting is open now at VoteAMAs.com and via Twitter in all award categories, except Favorite K-Pop Artist, voting for which begins November 1.
The American Music Awards air Sunday, November 20 at 8 p.m. EST/PST on ABC, live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Here are the nominees in some of the major categories:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Adele
Bad Bunny
Beyoncé
Drake
Harry Styles
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
FAVORITE MALE POP ARTIST
Bad Bunny
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Harry Styles
The Weeknd
FAVORITE FEMALE POP ARTIST
Adele
Beyoncé
Doja Cat
Lizzo
Taylor Swift
FAVORITE POP DUO OR GROUP
BTS
Coldplay
Imagine Dragons
Måneskin
OneRepublic
FAVORITE POP ALBUM
Adele 30
Bad Bunny Un Verano Sin Ti
Beyoncé Renaissance
Harry Styles Harry’s House
Taylor Swift Red (Taylor’s Version)
The Weeknd Dawn FM
FAVORITE POP SONG
Adele “Easy On Me”
Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
Harry Styles “As It Was”
Lizzo “About Damn Time”
The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber “STAY”
COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
Elton John & Dua Lipa “Cold Heart -PNAU Remix”
Future ft. Drake & Tems “WAIT FOR U”
Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow “INDUSTRY BABY”The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber “STAY”
FAVORITE TOURING ARTIST
Bad Bunny
Coldplay
Ed Sheeran
Elton John
The Rolling Stones
FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO
Adele “Easy On Me”
Bad Bunny ft. Chencho Corleone “Me Porto Bonito”
Harry Styles “As It Was”
Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow “INDUSTRY BABY”
Taylor Swift “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”
FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK ELVIS Encanto Sing 2 Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 4 Top Gun: Maverick
(BRISTOL, Conn.) — Two police officers were shot and killed and one is seriously injured after a gunman allegedly ambushed the officers at a Bristol, Connecticut, home, according to sources.
The Bristol police officers were shot while responding to a domestic violence emergency call at a home late Wednesday night, according to Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.
According to police sources, the gunman made a fake 911 call for a disturbance at his home then carried out an apparent ambush attack on the officers with an AR-15-style rifle.
“This is a senseless tragedy, and my prayers are with their families, loved ones, and fellow officers. I also ask the residents of Connecticut to keep in their prayers a third officer who was shot and is currently in the hospital with serious injuries,” the governor said in a statement. “This is a devastating reminder of the dangers that police officers face every day to protect our families and neighbors from all kinds of situations. These officers are heroes.”
Lamont ordered flags in Connecticut to be lowered to half-staff.
As of Sept. 27, there have been 49 officers killed in the United States this year — which is lower than the record last year (73), but higher than the complete year totals for 2020 and 2019, according to data from the FBI.
(WASHINGTON) — The consumer price index rose 0.4% in September on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.1% in August, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Prices rose 8.2% over the last 12 months, the department said. Increases in the shelter, food, and medical care indexes were the largest contributors. The food index jumped 0.8% over the month while the energy index fell 2.1%.
Thursday’s CPI numbers were slightly higher than anticipated; economists had predicted a rise of 8.1% in prices. Core-CPI prices increased 6.6% compared to a year ago — a new 40-year-high.
Stock futures fell after the CPI report was released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The latest data arrives weeks after the Federal Reserve escalated its fight against inflation with a third consecutive rate increase.
The Fed has put forward a string of aggressive interest rate hikes in recent months as it tries to slash price increases by slowing the economy and choking off demand. But the approach risks tipping the U.S. into a recession.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last month reasserted the central bank’s commitment to bring inflation down to a target rate of 2%, saying the Fed expects to put forward “ongoing increases” to its benchmark interest rate.
Lately, evidence has mounted that the Fed’s moves have put the brakes on some economic activity.
While the labor market remains robust, hiring has cooled. U.S. employers added 263,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.5% from 3.7%, according to government data released last Friday.
The September hiring total falls well below the average monthly jobs added of 420,000 so far this year and 562,000 per month in 2021, according to the Department of Labor.
Meanwhile, rent increases have sent mortgage rates higher and slowed the construction of new homes.
Current economic trends are sending mixed signals, said Amit Batabyal, an economics professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
“On the one hand, inflation is high by historical standards and that’s having a negative impact on people’s wallets,” Batabyal told ABC News. “On the other hand, the employment picture is generally positive.”
A further economic slowdown risks putting millions of employees out of work.
Rate increases will cause the unemployment rate to rise nearly a percentage point by the end of next year, according to the Fed.
Still, Powell has argued that the pain of an economic slowdown exceeds that of persistent inflation.
In a sign that consumers may be growing more optimistic about inflation, New York Federal Reserve data on Tuesday showed one-year-ahead inflation expectations fell last month by 0.3 percentage points to 5.4%. The figure marks the lowest reading for the measure since September 2021, according to the New York Fed.
Expectations for long-term inflation increased last month, though. Median five-year-ahead inflation expectations rose by 0.2 percentage points to 2.2%, the data showed.
The inflation rate will remain largely unchanged over the next year, even as the Fed pursues additional rate hikes, Batabyal said, adding that he doesn’t expect a recession “anytime soon.”
Deadline reports Discovery+ has ordered a three-part docuseries that will explore the real story behind Fox’s hit series, Glee. The series will “lift the curtain to reveal the highs and lows of the production and the on-set community and will also feature testimonials of close family and friends with never-heard-before stories” from “key cast and crew members, who will share first-hand stories of their time on the comedy drama series.” The yet-to-be-titled project will address the controversies surrounding Glee, including Mark Salling‘s suicide while awaiting sentencing for possessing images of child sex abuse, Cory Monteith‘s death from an accidental heroin overdose, and Monteith’s girlfriend, Lea Michele, who was accused of on-set bullying. Glee ran for over 100 episodes between 2009 and 2015…
Zooey Deschanel will be joining the cast of Apple TV+’s dark comedy Physical for season three, according to Variety. The series, set in the 1980s, follows Sheila Rubin — played by Rose Byrne — through her journey of self-discovery via teaching aerobics. Physical also stars Dierdre Friel, Della Saba, Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Sparks, Ashley Liao and Geoffrey Arend. Deschanel will play Kelly, described as “a former sitcom star who jumps into the burgeoning fitness industry,” per the streamer…
Comedy Central announced on Wednesday that Trevor Noah will host his final episode of The Daily Show on December 8th. Leading up to his last day, the Emmy-winning show will honor Noah’s seven-year run with a look back at his greatest moments. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and his comedic news team — including Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta, Desi Lydic, Dulcé Sloan, Roy Wood Jr., Lewis Black and Jordan Klepper — airs weeknights at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central and is available the following morning on Paramount+…
Novelist Amy Tan and Oscar-winning Rain Man screenwriter Ron Bass are teaming up for a sequel to The Joy Luck Club, according to Variety. The new film, Joy Luck Club 2, will see “the mothers become grandmothers and the daughters become mothers in their own right,” while “introducing a new generation exploring their own relationships with culture, heritage, love, womanhood and identity,” per the outlet. The original leading cast is in talks to reprise their roles, as mothers and grandmothers of their families. The original movie, which broke new ground for Asian American representation, opened in limited release in 1993 and grossed $28 million in North America…
Brian Tee, who plays Ethan Choi on Chicago Med, is leaving the NBC drama after eight seasons, according to Deadline. He’ll make his last appearance in episode nine, titled “Could Be the Start of Something New,” airing December 7. However, Tee will return for episode 16 of the show off-screen to make his directorial debut. Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC…
