Tyler Perry is giving fans a sneak peek of his upcoming Netflix film, A Jazzman’s Blues.
Set in the deep South during the 1940s, the movie follows “a sweeping tale of forbidden love” between young Black couple Bayou (Joshua Boone) and Leanne (Solea Pfeiffer), a wealthy Black woman whose mother would prefer she find a mate within her class.
Released Tuesday, the trailer — soundtracked to Ruth B‘s “Paper Airplanes” — captures the hardships the star-crossed lovers face as outside parties try to break them up and teases a promising end with the words “true love will guide you home.”
A Jazzman’s Blues has been in the making since 1995, when Perry met playwright August Wilson at a party after attending one of his shows. After 27 years, he is now “ready for the world to see it.”
“I feel like it’s all that I wanted it to be and more,” Perry told Variety earlier this month at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. “I’m excited about the world seeing a different side of me.”
The movie — set to premiere next month at the Toronto International Film Festival — features songs arranged and produced by Grammy-winner Terence Blanchard, music from Aaron Zigman and choreography by Debbie Allen. It also stars Amirah Vann, Austin Scott, Milauna Jemai Jackson, Brent Antonello, Brad Benedict, Kario Marcel, Lana Young and Ryan Eggold.
Police say the suspects accused of robbing Mariah Carey‘s Atlanta home while she vacationed in New York and Italy have been apprehended.
TMZ reports police have arrested three men. Jeremy Caldwell, Terryion Anderson and Jalen Huff — all 24 years old — were located and taken into custody in Miami.
Mariah, whose home was broken into on July 27, is reportedly relieved the culprits have been apprehended. A source tells the outlet she is “so grateful for the detectives who arrived on the scene immediately.”
It should be noted the Grammy winner had posted to Instagram that she was on vacation and, shortly after, her home was burglarized. Authorities believe the criminals saw the post and knew her home was empty.
It has not been made clear what was taken, if anything, from the multimillion-dollar home.
Mariah is reportedly rattled by the incident and is now said to be working with authorities to ensure such an incident never happens to her again.
The Sandy Springs Police Department says the three suspects are believed to have been operating a crime ring that targeted celebrity homes. They are also accused of multiple armed robberies, burglaries and home invasions. A man was shot during an incident linked to the three suspects.
(NEW YORK) — As airlines announce cutting hundreds of flights a day in the fall, industry experts warn ABC News that this situation will become the new normal as air travel demand recovers from the pandemic and deals with a piloting shortage.
But they also cautioned that the airlines may not leave people stranded as they quickly adapt their operations to accommodate for these conditions.
The major airlines have scheduled 574,489 departures in October and 555,515 in November, according to recent data from Airline Data Inc. This is a far cry from the 677,882 departures in October 2019 and 639,248 in November 2019, according to the data.
“These large volume cuts are new. They haven’t occurred in the previous several years,” Jeff Pelletier, the managing director for Airline Data Inc., told ABC News Monday.
Despite the cuts, which Pelletier said haven’t been seen since after Sept. 11, he and other industry watchers say the airlines will be working nonstop to ensure that passengers aren’t stranded.
“These cuts are, right now, placeholders,” Brett Snyder, the president of Cranky Concierge travel assistance, told ABC News. “Typically, airlines plan out their flights about 100 days out, but those can change based on demand and other factors.”
Still, he said the situation should push the industry to rethink the way it plans out its future flights.
The cuts to flights for both October and November vary from airline to airline, according to data.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines saw the biggest decreases in planned departing flights from October 2019 to October 2022, according to Airline Data Inc. The three airlines combined have roughly 95,000 fewer flights in October compared to the same period in 2019 the data showed.
American, Delta and United plan to fly, combined, 79,000 fewer flights in November compared to November 2019, the data showed.
American Airlines said in a statement Monday that its planned October and November departure cuts are in line with its operating procedures prior to the pandemic. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told investors in July that the airline expects its full-year capacity to be down approximately 7.5% to 9.5% versus 2019.
“We’re sizing the airline for the resources we’ve available and the operating conditions we face, and we’ll make other changes as needed. Even with these adjustments, American still offers customers the largest network of any U.S. airline with an average of more than 5,400 daily departures,” Isom told investors in July.
Pelletier said it will be several years before new pilots can be hired and brought online so, in the meantime, the airlines are adapting in the most efficient way possible. The carriers are using “up to date booking curves” to allocate their aircraft to destinations with more bookings while also lowering the number of flights to destinations that haven’t been popular around this time of the year.
“They’re using that time, that opportunity to say, ‘You know what? Let’s remove an aircraft where there’s lower bookings. Let’s put it where the passengers really want to go that way,'” he said.
“This is going to be the new norm, I believe, for at least the next couple of years,” he added.
Snyder also noted that the fall typically sees a decrease in planned flights in October and November, even before the pandemic, and these new numbers reflect the fact that the industry is still recovering.
He added that passengers looking to book a flight during those two months shouldn’t worry because airlines have, in the past, added extra flights closer to departure based on demand and timing.
“I would bet we would see more flights added around Thanksgiving,” he said.
On Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote a letter to carriers, calling on them to improve their customer service. He warned airlines that new rules may be coming to better empower travelers who face flight disruptions within the airlines’ control.
Roughly 24% of domestic flights of U.S. airlines have been delayed and 3.2% have been canceled during the first six months of this year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“Americans expect when they purchase an airline ticket they will arrive at their destination safely, reliably and affordably,” Buttigieg wrote.
Airlines for America, or A4A, the group that lobbies on behalf of all major U.S. airlines, responded to the letter and said its members are “committed” to working with stakeholders to overcome these challenges.
Carriers noted that increased demand and staffing issues were factors behind the disruptions. A4A also cited data that indicated 63% of the cancellations for the first five months of 2022 were caused by weather and the National Airspace System (NAS) collectively.
Pelletier said anyone who purchased a ticket for a flight in October or November should check with their airline to make sure there weren’t any last second scheduling changes. For passengers who haven’t booked their flight, he warned that they should be prepared for timing issues but reiterated that they would be able to make their destination.
“Maybe you need to travel a day before, [or] a day after,” he said. “At this point, everybody needs to be flexible, both the airlines and as they try to accommodate as many passengers as they can and the traveling public in order to get from point A to point B. They’ll get there.”
Snyder agreed that the airlines do not want to lose the revenue or their customers’ trust as they continue to rebound from the pandemic and will do everything they can to accommodate their request. He added that the situation should prompt the carriers to come up with a new system where they schedule their flights more accurately in advance to avoid any more problems that can occur from outside factors.
“They need to create a better placeholder, but that’s been hard because demand has been so variable since the pandemic,” he said.
ABC News’ Sam Sweeney and Barbara Friedman contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump allegedly had more than 700 pages of classified material in his possession, according to a May 10 letter from the National Archives to a lawyer representing Trump.
The purported text of the letter was posted by conservative journalist John Solomon on Monday evening
The 700 pages of classified material referenced were found in the 15 boxes that the Archives retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in January, according to the letter.
Trump had authorized Solomon as one of his liaisons to the National Archives to review documents from his presidency.
The posted version of the letter confirms ABC News’ previous reporting that documents with the highest levels of classification, including some labeled “Special Access Program” were found.
“As the Department of Justice’s National Security Division explained to you on April 29, 2022: There are important national security interests in the FBI and others in the Intelligence Community getting access to these materials. According to NARA, among the materials in the boxes are over 100 documents with classification markings, comprising more than 700 pages,” the letter reads.
“Some include the highest levels of classification, including Special Access Program (SAP) materials. Access to the materials is not only necessary for purposes of our ongoing criminal investigation, but the Executive Branch must also conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take any necessary remedial steps.”
While Solomon framed this as President Joe Biden taking a more direct role than previously known in Justice Department’s investigation of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago, the letter actually shows how Biden deferred all decisions regarding executive privilege assertions entirely to top DOJ lawyers.
The Archives did not respond to ABC’s request for comment on the letters’ authenticity. A lawyer for Trump also did not respond. The White House did not immediately return ABC’s request for comment.
The letter provides insight into the back and forth between Trump’s team and the National Archives and shows that even though the original 15 boxes were retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in January, federal investigators did not ultimately gain access to them until months later because of negotiations with Trump’s lawyers.
The letter also reveals that DOJ and National Archives determined that there is no basis to assert privilege over the 15 boxes of records obtained.
The letter also makes clear that Trump’s representatives for the Archives must have the proper level of security clearance to review documents they request to review.
(NEW YORK) — Tesla will split its stock on Wednesday, joining giant firms like Amazon and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, which have chopped up shares this year as a means of reducing their price and making them more accessible to investors.
The stock split has largely fallen out of fashion in corporate America. Shares, however, usually rise over the year following a split, according to a study conducted by Nasdaq.
Here’s what a stock split means and why it matters:
What does the stock split entail?
Tesla is set to split its shares 3 to 1, meaning the current holder of a single share will receive two additional shares for a total of three. Each of the three shares will be valued at a third of the price of an investor’s original share, leaving the total value of a shareholder’s stock unchanged.
Investors who held Tesla stock on Aug. 17 will be eligible to receive the additional shares.
As of Tuesday morning, the stock price stood at about $875, so if that price holds, a 3 to 1 split would leave shares at about $291.
What does the stock split mean for Tesla?
Typically a stock split signals optimism in a company. It also indicates confidence that the share price will eventually rise to a level near or surpassing where it stood before the split.
Recent performance of Tesla shares support such an interpretation. Over the past month, Tesla stock has surged, rising more than 6% as of early trading on Tuesday. Prior to a drop over the past week, the stock had risen more than 13% since a month ago.
The company last month reported mixed second quarter earnings, which showed a decline in profit of nearly one-third from the previous three-month period in part due to production slowdowns at a factory in Shanghai amid COVID lockdowns.
When compared with the same quarter a year ago, Tesla profit had doubled and revenue had grown 42%, signaling strong growth over the long term.
Still, on the whole, the company’s shares have suffered a difficult 2022, falling more than 18% since the outset of the year. That drop is in line with each of the three major stock indexes, which have plummeted this year.
What usually happens to a stock after a split?
Stock splits usually trigger a rise in the price of shares, according toa Nasdaq study that examined stock splits at large companies between 2012 and 2018. Even the mere announcement of a stock split yielded an average 2.5% price increase for a stock, the Nasdaq found; and a year after a stock split, shares saw an average price hike of nearly 5%.
Billie Eilish is very vocal about her concerns for the environment, and regularly speaks out about climate change and the benefits of switching to a vegan diet — but she didn’t develop these views out of the blue.
Her mother, Maggie Baird, has been an outspoken climate activist for over 40 years and helped set Billie on her path. Now, her advocacy is going to be recognized by the Environmental Media Association.
Both Billie and her mom will be honored with the EMA Missions in Music Award during the EMA Gala on October 8. The two are being celebrated “for their incredible work as role models for sustainable behavior.”
Previous winners of this award include Alanis Morissette, Adam Levine, Dave Matthews and Willie Nelson.
Billie has used her platform to advocate for sustainably sourced clothing and food. She recently released a sustainably sourced and recyclable shoe with Nike, and the Gucci dress she wore at the Met Gala was made of upcycled materials.
As for her mother, she’s behind the charity Support + Feed, which is aimed at tackling both hunger and climate change by utilizing plant-based food.
“I’m thrilled to accept the EMA Missions in Music Award this year alongside my daughter,” Baird said in a statement. “I’m so proud that Billie uses her voice to inspire a younger audience and advocate for change.”
“It’s a dream come true that Billie and I share the same passion in tackling the climate crisis. We are stronger together and I know that she’ll continue to make a tremendous impact on this Earth for the next generation,” she closed.
The 32nd annual EMA Awards gala takes place October 8.
Parkway Drive has premiered a new song called “Darker Still,” the title track off the band’s upcoming album.
The nearly seven-minute track begins as a soft ballad while building up to a giant guitar solo, after which frontman Winston McCall‘s singing changes from clean vocals to harsh screams.
“Love. Time. Death. The great defining elements that make up our existence,” McCall says. “This song begins with the simplest of human sounds and represents these elements as the musical journey grows to reach its souring crescendo before facing the inevitable conclusion of its journey.”
You can listen to “Darker Still” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.
Darker Still the album arrives September 9. It also includes the previously released songs “Glitch” and “The Greatest Fear.”
(NEW YORK) — Marijuana and hallucinogen use among young adults has reached a new high.
Use of marijuana and hallucinogens by 19- to 30-year-olds reached their highest levels since tracking began in 1988, according to a new Monitoring the Future panel study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
In 2021, 43% said they’d used marijuana in the last year, which was up 34% from five years ago and 29% compared to 10 years ago. More than 1 in 10 said they now use marijuana every day, according to the study.
Eight percent of young adults reported using hallucinogens in the past year in 2021, up from 5% in 2016 and 3% in 2011, the study showed.
Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told Good Morning America that this data provides a window into young adults’ substance use patterns.
“Certainly the consumption of marijuana has been going up across all of the country and it is driven by the legalization,” she said.
In a statement released with the study, Volkow explained that as the drug landscape shifts over time “we need to know more about how young adults are using drugs like marijuana and hallucinogens, and the health effects that result from consuming different potencies and forms of these substances.”
Recreational marijuana use is legal for adults in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Many advocates claim marijuana is as safe if not safer than alcohol, which is believed to contribute to tens of thousands of deaths a year. Alcohol remained the most-used substance among adults in the study, and binge drinking — having five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks — rebounded in 2021 after a historic low in 2020.
Researchers said they have seen some negative effects of marijuana.
Dr. Maria Rahmandar, medical director for substance use and prevention at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, told GMA that the results of this study are “particularly concerning for teenagers and young adults who have developing brains that are particularly susceptible to the negative effects.”
She continued, “Pretty much everybody who ends up having a problem with substance use started as a teenager and continued use as a young adult.”
One trend that has grown increasingly popular are beverages infused with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
Cannabis data company BDSA reported sales of cannabis beverages increased 65% from 2020 to 2021 in the 12 markets it tracked.
Doctors urge caution, saying you may not know exactly what’s in the drink or how it could affect an individual, and say the beverages are both understudied and underregulated.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration “is aware that some companies are marketing products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds in ways that violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and that may put the health and safety of consumers at risk.”
The agency said on its website that it is committed to improving “regulatory pathways for the lawful marketing of appropriate cannabis and cannabis-derived products.”
The legal battle between Megan Thee Stallion and her record label, 1501 Certified Entertainment, continues. According to People, the rapper is demanding a hefty $1 million in relief for the label’s “unconscionable” failure to release her from her contract.
In court documents obtained by the publication, Meg’s attorneys cited the “long and tortured history of disputes” between their client and 1501, noting they’ve been able to work through most of the issues regarding the release of Meg’s music. However, an unresolved issue — and a main reason for the litigation — is whether the rapper fulfilled the requirements of her contract.
Meg believes her contractual obligations were met with the release of her last two albums, Something for Thee Hotties and Traumazine, but the label begs to differ. Steven M. Zager, attorney for 1501, claims the formerfell short of what the label considers an “album” because it featured spoken word and archival material and was released too soon after her debut, Good News.
As for Traumazine, Zager says it’s currently being evaluated and shut down the “preposterous” allegations that the label was behind the LP’s leak. He believes Meg owes “one more album, at least” and insists that 1501 wants the rapper to win despite their current disagreements.
“For a host of reasons, we feel that our position is justified and based on the contracts,” Zager told People. “We’ve tried to work with Megan, and we want Megan to be successful.”
Most people like to enjoy a slice of cake and maybe some ice cream for their birthday, but Kacey Musgraves made a more unconventional choice to ring in her 34th year.
The singer was on a trip to Japan on her big day, and she celebrated by taking in all the breathtaking sights and one-of-a-kind cultural experiences the country has to offer. Among those was a restaurant that had fried insects on the menu, so of course Kacey had to test them out.
“What if they jump out?” the singer says on an Instagram Stories slide she posted about the experience, nervously leaning toward a plate with a small bowl placed upside down in the center of it.
Of course, underneath it were the crickets — but they didn’t hop out. Finally, Kacey got up the nerve to try one, and it turned out they weren’t that bad. “Nothing!” the singer said.
She also posted a slide of the full menu of insects, also including fried scorpions and tarantulas. You can follow along for the rest of Kacey’s birthday activities over on her social media.
