(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.) — The DOJ and lawyers for former President Donald Trump faced off in a Florida court Thursday on whether there should be a special master review of the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago.
Lawyers for the Justice Department and former President Donald Trump faced off in a Florida courtroom Thursday over whether there should be a judge-ordered independent review of the documents the FBI seized last month at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump’s lawyers had said the third-party review was needed to deal with matters involving potentially privileged materials, including both attorney-client and executive privilege.
But the Justice Department has said a previously-established “filter team” has already finished its review of potentially attorney-client privilege materials that were seized in the raid. They have also urged Judge Aileen Cannon to reject any claims by Trump of executive privilege over the items, noting that his status as a former president means he has no right to continue to possess the documents.
At the end of Thursday’s hearing, Judge Cannon said she would not be ruling from the bench and would enter a written order in due time. She did not give a timeline.
But she indicated she is seriously considering appointing a “special master” to review the documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, an order that would put on hold investigators’ review of the materials.
Cannon, a federal judge nominated by Trump, indicated that if she were to appoint a special master it would not have an impact on the current ongoing assessment by the intelligence community.
The judge asked to hear from one of the lawyers on the government’s filter team that has already gone through the documents. The filter team has not shared what it has deemed to be potentially privileged with investigators.
During the arguments, Trump lawyer Jim Trusty equated Trump’s refusal to return documents to the National Archives and Records Administration to an “overdue library book,” adding that the ongoing dispute with the Archives “has been transformed into a criminal investigation.”
Christopher Kise, who was just recently added to Trump’s legal team, referenced the “significant lack of trust between the parties” and said that the “temperature is very high,” telling the judge that there is a “public lack of faith” in the Justice Department and “real or perceived lack of transparency.”
“We need respectfully to lower the temperature of both sides. We need to take a deep breath,” Kise told the judge.
“This is not a case about some Department of Defense staffer stuffing military papers” in a bag and sneaking out in the middle of the night, Kise said, arguing the documents Trump had in his possession were presidential records in the possession of the president of the United States.
Justice Department lawyer Jay Bratt took issue with that, saying , “He is no longer the president and because he was no longer the president he did not have the right to take those documents.”
“They aren’t his,” Bratt said, referring to the seized documents.
“They have put forth no evidence that there was any disregard for the former president’s rights,” Bratt said.
He told the judge the appointment of a special master would hinder their investigation. He said that doing so could give people access to the documents who didn’t have a right to see them — in other words, back in the hands of the former president.
Bratt said investigators would have no idea where they would be stored and the documents would be given back to people who don’t have the right to access them.
(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on newly-updated COVID-19 booster shots Thursday night, giving the final clearance shots to be administered soon after.
The new booster shots have been updated to target two different COVID strains in one shot — the current omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, which make up 99% of new cases in the U.S., and the original strain of COVID-19.
This is the first time current COVID-19 vaccines have had a major upgrade. In the future, experts expect the vaccines could be updated periodically to match current strains — akin to the way the flu shot is slightly different each year.
Walensky urged eligible Americans to get the shot.
“The updated COVID-19 boosters are formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating COVID-19 variant. They can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection against newer variants,” she said in a statement.
Public health officials directed the vaccine companies to create a bivalent vaccine — a vaccine that targets two different strains — in the hopes that the compilation will provide broader protection against COVID this fall and winter, as infections could rise with flu season, the cold weather and more time indoors.
The Pfizer bivalent booster will be available to everyone over 12, while the Moderna bivalent booster will be available to everyone over 18.
Earllier Thursday, the panel of CDC advisors publicly reviewed the data before taking the vote. Thirteen members approved the measure while one voted no and there was some debate ahead of the vote over the lack of available data.
In order to roll the vaccines out by next month and offer people protection this fall and winter, the companies submitted data to U.S. Food and Drug Administration without full clinical trial data.
Some members of the CDC panel were concerned about the precedent that it set to recommend a vaccine without data from human trials.
“Ultimately, I really don’t want to establish a precedent of recommending a vaccine that we don’t have clinical data for,” Dr. Pablo Sanche said.
Other members said they were comfortable with the risk-benefit analysis.
“I just would like to remind the committee that every year we use influenza vaccines that are based on new strains, without clinical studies being done. This is what we do every year,” Dr. Melinda Wharton said.
Appointments could ramp up in earnest after the holiday weekend.
The U.S. government has purchased about 171 million shots, between contracts with Pfizer and Moderna.
Both bivalent vaccines are authorized for use two months after people have received either their primary vaccine series or their last booster shot.
The Moderna vial will have a dark blue cap and a label with a gray border, while the Pfizer vial will have a gray cap and a label with gray border.
The CDC’s vote came a day after the FDA issued its emergency use authorization for the updated booster shots.
“It is matched to what is currently circulating. And the hope here is that by increasing the amount of antibodies we have to that particular variant, we will restore the kind of protection that we had when we first saw these vaccines launched in the late part of 2020, early part of 2021 where we had very good protection against symptomatic disease,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday morning.
“We don’t know for a fact yet whether we will get to that same level — but that is the goal here. And that is what we believe the evidence that we’ve seen helps point to,” Marks said.
Marks also emphasized that it’s not only about boosting antibodies to beef up immediate protection, but about working toward annual shots rather than boosters every few months.
He said he’s hopeful that rolling bivalent boosters out now will tamp down an incoming winter wave and “hopefully bring us the protection we need through October, November, December to prevent yet another way that shuts down things like holiday plans.”
Marks was hesitant to give an exact timeline on when the shots would be authorized for people under 12, but said he expected more data in a few months.
“I can’t promise an exact timing, but we expect to start seeing … that drop down into the younger age ranges within the next one to two months,” Marks said.
“And so as we get submissions from the companies, we will act on them with all due diligence, because we’re aware that there are, particularly in the slightly older age ranges of children, some children that are coming due for boosters,” he said.
Currently, everyone over the age of five is eligible for a booster shot five months after their primary vaccine series. People who are over the age of 50 or immunocompromised can get a second booster dose four months after their first booster.
Should the CDC director sign off, people who are under 50 and have gotten their first booster could now get a second. But anyone who hasn’t gotten a booster shot at all could also get the bivalent booster as their first booster — something officials urged.
“Regrettably, only about half of eligible Americans have received their first booster dose,” Dr. Bob Califf, FDA commissioner, told reporters in the same press conference.
“CDC data indicate that those who are up to date on their vaccines have a 13-fold lower risk of dying from COVID compared to those with no vaccination, and a three-fold lower dose of dying than those who only had one booster compared to two. So this is a remarkable opportunity to improve our life expectancy and reduce the toll of mortality in our population,” Califf said.
Unlike the original vaccines and boosters, these new shots will not go through a lengthy clinical trial process where thousands of Americans are dosed with the vaccines to test their safety and long-term effectiveness. However, federal health officials stress that these new shots will still be just as safe as the original vaccines because the underlying vaccine platform, mRNA, is the same, and has been through many varying clinical trials.
Part of that review was an evaluation of a clinical study of a different updated booster shot that vaccine companies had made during an earlier omicron wave. The clinical trial of that booster shot, which targeted the BA.1 variant and the original strain of COVID, was considered relevant enough to the bivalent vaccines targeting the BA.4/BA.5 variant and the original strain of omicron.
Officials also said that the decision not to use time-consuming clinical trials for each new shot is a strategic move, in an effort to keep vaccines up to date with the rapidly evolving variants — a process that will likely mimic how the flu vaccine is altered each year.
“If we waited for all the proof to come in, the wave will have already passed us by and the damage will have been done,” Califf said.
“It’s fair for people to raise questions. But this really is the best consensus that we have among the experts that this is the best way to go,” he added.
Marks also repeatedly defended the data FDA used to make this authorization — clinical trial data on a bivalent vaccine that targeted a different omicron subvariant and the original COVID-19 strain, making it very similar to this booster shot that targets the BA.4 and 5 subvariant along with the original COVID-19 strain — as well as real world data of millions of people who have gotten the mRNA vaccines and boosters globally.
“I think we’re pretty confident that what we have is very similar to the situation that we’ve done in the past with influenza strain changes where we don’t do clinical studies for them in the United States,” Marks said.
“We know from the way the vaccine works, and from the data that we have, that we can predict how well our vaccine will be working,” he added.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
Tenacious D will be livestreaming their upcoming show in Philadelphia in support of Rock the Vote.
The concert is set to broadcast via the streaming platform Nugs.net on September 11. Proceeds will be donated to Rock the Vote toward the organization’s voter registration, education and rights efforts.
You may recall that the D previously linked up with Rock the Vote ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election to release a cover of the Rocky Horror Picture Show classic “Time Warp.” The recording’s accompanying video, which has been viewed over 3 million times on YouTube, features cameos from Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sarah Silverman, Phoebe Bridgers and original Rocky Horror star Susan Sarandon, as well as politicians Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg.
The Cars‘ Greg Hawkes and Squeeze‘s Chris Diffordare among a variety of guest artists featured on an upcoming concept album called Circus of Wire Dolls by the prog rock-influenced collaborative group Rocking Horse Music Club.
Circus of Wire Dolls will be released as a two-CD set September 16, while a two-LP vinyl version is due out October 21.
The album is a rock opera that combines a wide range of musical genres, including prog rock, ’60-influenced baroque and symphonic pop, glam rock, ’80s new wave, gospel, jazz fusion, folk and musical theater.
“On the surface, the record tells the story of a man who creates a miniature circus out of wire, string, and cloth,” explains Rocking Horse Music Club producer/songwriter Brian Coombes, “but it’s really about a man looking back at his life, his work, the people who entered and exited his world, his successes, his failures, his regrets.”
Hawkes contributes alto sax to the album, while Difford sings on one of the tracks. Other guest singers and musicians featured include former Manfred Mann’s Earth Band vocalist Noel McCalla, ex-King Crimson violinist David Cross, current Squeeze pedal-steel guitarist Melvin Duffy and Dream Academy multi-instrumentalist Kate St. John.
Rocking Horse Music Club has plans to perform Circus of Wire Dolls live on March 17 and 18 in Fletching, England.
The album is a follow-up to 2019’s Which Way the Wind Blows, a tribute to original Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips.
Here’s the full Circus of Wire Dolls track list:
“Prologue: Riverside”
“Circus of Wire Dolls”
“Packed Up” — featuring Noel McCalla
“Senseless Sky”
“Animate in 5/8” — featuring Noel McCalla & Caroline Carter
“To Reach the Other Side”
“Will You Be My Downfall?” — featuring Caroline Carter
“So Little Left” — featuring Tim Bowness
“It’s Not About You”
“Trapeze Waltz” — featuring Amy Birks
“Burn” — featuring Caroline Carter
“Cut from a Different Cloth” — featuring Chris Difford
“Face of Rain”
“0300”
“SY22”
“Lost a Piece of Me”
“House Party at Jack’s”
“Flowers in November”
“Every Show Must End” — featuring Noel McCalla
“All Shall Be Well” — featuring Evelyn Cormier
“Circus Waltz” — featuring David Cross
“Coda: Slide Down the Cellar Door”
(NEW YORK) — NASA kicked off Monday its plan to send an unmanned space capsule into the moon’s orbit, marking the initial launch in an ambitious plan to establish a long term presence on the moon for scientific discovery and economic development.
The space capsule, called Artemis I, will travel for roughly 40 days — reaching as close as 60 miles from the moon, and then 40,000 miles above the moon when orbiting over its dark side — before landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.
After the launch was scrubbed, the next attempt will occur Sept. 3.
Sep 01, 6:57 PM EDT
Artemis launch attempt still a-go for Saturday
The Artemis I launch attempt is still planned for Saturday from 2:17-4:17 p.m. ET, NASA officials said during a press conference Thursday.
“We’re comfortable with our risk posture,” Artemis mission manager Mike Serafin said. “That said, there’s no guarantee that we’re going to get off on Saturday, but we’re going to try.”
If not Saturday, the next launch attempt would be Monday from 5:12 p.m.-6:42 p.m. ET, officials said. Tuesday could also be an option, after which the next earliest launch attempt would be Sept. 19, Serafin said.
Sunday is no longer a backup option because the spacecraft would fly into an eclipse scenario, which would not allow it to get the power it needs from the sun.
If the launch is Saturday, the mission will be 37 days long, with the splashdown on Oct. 11, Serafin said.
-ABC News’ Gio Benitez and Meredith Deliso
Aug 30, 7:40 PM EDT
Artemis not launching Friday due to weather, NASA says
NASA officials said the Artemis I new launch date that was initially scheduled for Friday had to be moved due to bad weather.
The weather is 60% no go for Friday but looks to be more favorable Saturday.
“Looking forward to Saturday, weather would be a little bit different than what we experienced yesterday,” Mark Berger, launch weather officer with the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron, said during a media briefing Tuesday. “We will have a fairly strong onshore flow, and so that does favor showers and possibly a few thunderstorms moving in from the coast during the morning and early afternoon hours.”
He added, “I’m optimistic that we’ll have at least some clear air to work with during the afternoon to count on Saturday.”
The window for launch on Saturday kicks off at 2:17 p.m. ET and ends at 4:17 p.m. ET. If need be, the launch can be pushed back to Monday.
If the launch does not occur by Monday, Artemis I will have to roll back to the Vehicle Assembly Building and won’t be able to launch until later in September.
This is because the flight termination batteries, which allow Artemis to be blown up if it veers off course, run low after 25 days.
-ABC News’ Gio Benitez and Gina Sunseri
Aug 30, 7:05 PM EDT
Problem with Artemis engine may have actually been faulty sensor: Officials
The issue with an engine on Artemis I that led to the launch on Monday being scrubbed may not have been an engine issue at all.
NASA officials said Monday that engine three did not chill down to a temperature of 500 degrees Rankine, or 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which is needed for ignition, compared to the other three engines.
However, John Honeycutt, manager of the Space Launch System Program from Marshall Space Flight Center, said the problem may have actually come from a faulty sensor, rather than the engine not cooling down enough.
“I think we’ve got enough data to put the story together but we’ve still got to go put the pieces together,” Honeycutt said Tuesday.
Aug 30, 6:23 PM EDT
NASA moves Artemis launch date to Saturday
NASA officials announced Tuesday that they’ve moved the launch of Artemis I to Saturday.
Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, told reporters during a media briefing that the mission management team met earlier in the day and agreed on the new date.
“We agreed on what was called option one, which was to operationally change the loading procedure and start our engine chill down earlier,” he said.
One of the reasons for the scrub on Monday was because engine three did not cool down enough to the point needed for ignition, he explained yesterday.
“We also agreed to do some work at the pad to address the leak that we saw and we also agreed to move our launch date to Saturday, September the 3rd,” Sarafin added. “We are going to reconvene the mission management team on Thursday, September the 1st, to review our flight rationale and our overall readiness.”
Aug 29, 1:21 PM EDT
NASA administrator says launch scrubs are normal
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said it’s normal for launches to be scrubbed after the Artemis I launch was delayed Monday for multiple reasons.
“I am very proud of this launch team. They have solved several problems along the way and they got to one that needed time to be solved,” he told reporters.
“I want to say, understand that scrubs are just a part of this program on the space flight,” Nelson said.
Nelson spoke about the seventh mission of Space Shuttle Columbia, which he flew in January 1986.
“We scrubbed four times on the pad,” Nelson said.
He added, “It was the better part of a month and, looking back, after the fifth try got off to a perfect mission. It would have not been a good day had we launched on any one of those four scrubs. So when you’re dealing in a high-risk business and spaceflight is risky, that’s what you do.”
Aug 29, 2:11 PM EDT
Engine does not need to be replaced on Artemis, NASA says
NASA officials said there is no sign one of the engines needs to replaced on the Artemis I rocket after the launch was scrubbed.
During a media briefing Monday, Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, told reporters engine three did not cool down enough to the point needed for ignition.
“Do we need to remove and replace an engine? There is no indication we are at that scenario at this point,” he said.
Aug 29, 1:51 PM EDT
NASA breaks down details behind Artemis launch scrub
NASA officials on Monday offered more details behind the decision to postpone the Artemis I launch.
Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, explained engine three was not cooling down enough to the temperature needed before ignition.
“I don’t recall exactly where the engines were but engines one, two and four were pretty close to that. Three was not getting there,” he told reporters during a media briefing Monday afternoon.
Sarafin said there were other issues earlier in the day including tanking — filling the rocket with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen — being delayed for about an hour after the Kennedy Space Center went into a lightning alert as well as a hydrogen leak, although both were resolved.
“So the combination of not being able to get engine three to reach chill down and then the vent valve issue that they saw at the inner tank really caused us to pause today and we felt like we needed a little more time,” he said.
Sarafin added that he is hopeful about the second launch opportunity on Sept. 2.
“There is a non-zero chance we have a launch opportunity on Friday,” he said.
“But we need time, we really need time to look at all the all the information, all the data and, you know, we’re gonna play all nine innings here and we’re not ready to give up yet,” Sarafin continued.
Aug 29, 1:21 PM EDT
NASA administrator says launch scrubs are normal
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said it’s normal for launches to be scrubbed after the Artemis I launch was delayed Monday for multiple reasons.
“I am very proud of this launch team. They have solved several problems along the way and they got to one that needed time to be solved,” he told reporters.
“I want to say, understand that scrubs are just a part of this program on the space flight,” Nelson said.
Nelson spoke about the seventh mission of Space Shuttle Columbia, which he flew in January 1986.
“We scrubbed four times on the pad,” Nelson said.
He added, “It was the better part of a month and, looking back, after the fifth try got off to a perfect mission. It would have not been a good day had we launched on any one of those four scrubs. So when you’re dealing in a high-risk business and spaceflight is risky, that’s what you do.”
Aug 29, 10:20 AM EDT
VP Harris praises NASA team behind Artemis launch
Vice President Kamala Harris praised the NASA team behind the Artemis I mission after the launch had to be scrubbed Monday due to an engine problem.
Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff had been visiting the Kennedy Space Center before the launch was postponed.
The scrubbed launch was “about showing the great work that happens here,” Harris told reporters.
“These exceptional public servants, these exceptional skilled professionals who have the ability to see what is possible and what has never been done before. How exciting is that?” she said.
According to a White House official, Harris and Emhoff will continue with their visit under a revised itinerary.
“She met with astronauts at NASA Operations Support Building II and will proceed to a tour of Artemis II and Artemis III hardware as planned. The Vice President will gaggle following the tour and then depart,” the official said.
Aug 29, 9:40 AM EDT
‘We don’t launch until it’s right,’ says NASA administrator
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson defended the scrubbing of the Artemis I launch, saying the launch shouldn’t take place until the team is sure it’s ready.
“We don’t launch until it’s right,” he said during an interview on NASA TV Monday morning.
“There are certain guidelines. And I think it’s just illustrative that this is a very complicated machine, a very complicated system, and all those things have to work, and you don’t want to light the candle until it’s ready to go,” he said.
Nelson said the engineers will continue to “stress” and “test” the rocket to make sure it’s ready by the next attempt, which is Sept. 2.
Earlier in the day, Nelson had welcomed several Biden administration officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, to the Kennedy Space Center ahead of the launch.
He said the vice president has been briefed and the White House will continue to receive regular updates.
Aug 29, 8:48 AM EDT
NASA scrubs Artemis I launch
NASA announced a few minutes after Artemis I was initially scheduled to lift off that the launch has been scrubbed.
Engineers said the problem came from a liquid hydrogen line that was not chilled enough inside one of the rocket’s four core-stage engines, which needs to occur before they can be ignited.
The next attempt will occur on Sept. 2.
Aug 29, 8:31 AM EDT
Artemis launch delayed due to storms, rocket troubleshooting
Artemis I will likely not be launching at 8:33 a.m. ET as originally planned after NASA ran into several delays in its preparation to send it into space.
The process of tanking, which includes filling the rocket’s core stage with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, was delayed due to some passing storms and lightning in the area, NASA said.
Moreover, a leak was discovered in the hydrogen fuel line, which NASA quickly resolved. The leak concentration was “at an acceptable level,” NASA said.
Engineers also discovered a potential crack in the inner stage flange, which connects two of the rocket’s cylinders.
The countdown clock is currently paused at T-40 and the launch can go as late as 10:33 a.m. ET If that window passes, the next attempt at launch will be Sept. 2.
Following a protest from the Prince estate, a judge has ruled that an energy drink cannot trademark the name “Purple Rain.”
Billboardreports a judge said Bang Energy could not trademark their drink’s name because it is “uniquely and unmistakably” connected to the late singer.
Following the ruling, Bang Energy CEO Jack Owoc explained to Billboard that he was “a big fan” of the iconic artist and would not appeal.
“We greatly respect Prince and his estate and will not ‘rain’ on their parade. Maybe we can negotiate a deal in the future that is mutually beneficial to both parties,” he said.
Attorney Londell McMillan, who represents one group of Prince heirs, told Billboard he was pleased the trademark application was rejected.
“Prince’s music, art and trademarks hold a special place in our society and culture. Purple Rain is a Prince mark and brand known worldwide,” he continued. “Please respect these unique assets or suffer at your own peril.”
Purple Rain earned an Oscar in 1985 for Best Original Song Score plus Grammy Awards for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen starred opposite Jason Momoa in the billion-dollar-grossing Aquaman as the baddie David Kane/Manta, but he says superhero movies ironically don’t require a lot of heavy lifting — at least from an acting perspective.
“Everything should be about getting to the truth. But sometimes you got to know which movie or genre you’re in,” he tells Vulture.
“Something like Aquaman, that’s clown work,” he says, comparing another one of his films. “Aquaman is not The Trial of the Chicago 7. You gotta get over yourself.”
That said, the star says that like any good villain does, even a comic book gig can let an actor hide some good tricks up his sleeve.
“In order to survive and to do it well, you have to play that game and then be crafty about when you want to surprise the audience, the director, or yourself with a little bit of ‘Wow, I didn’t expect to see a Chekhovian thing or August Wilson and Aquaman, but I did,” he continues.
Abdul-Mateen is debuting soon on Broadway with the revival of Suzan-Lori Parks‘ Pulitzer-winning Topdog/Underdog opposite Straight Outta Compton‘s Corey Hawkins. In 2023, he’ll appear again as Manta in the sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Chris Cornell Estate
The Pretty Reckless‘ tour stopped in Seattle Wednesday, and the show featured a surprise guest befitting of the grunge capital.
Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil joined Taylor Momsen and company onstage during the concert to rock the TPR track “Only Love Can Save Me Now” as well as the Soundgarden song “Loud Love.”
Momsen posted a photo and video clip of the live collaboration on Instagram along with a caption thanking Thayil.
“I’m once again humbled to share the stage with you my dear friend, what an amazing human being,” Momsen wrote.
The studio version of “Only Love Can Save Me Now,” which appears on the new Pretty Reckless album Death by Rock and Roll, also features Soundgarden and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron. Momsen, who’s a big Soundgarden fan, previously performed with Thayil, Cameron and bassist Ben Shepherd at the 2019 Chris Cornell tribute concert.
A piece of wall from The Ed Sullivan Show‘s set, signed by all four Beatles members when they made their historic first appearance on the program on February 9, 1964, is going up for bid as part of a Fab Four memorabilia auction this month.
The auction, which will feature over 20 Beatles-related collectibles, will take place on September 24 at Heritage Auctions’ Dallas location and at HA.com.
The 16-inch-by-48-inch wall section features the autographs of Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison and “Uncle” Paul McCartney along with doodles drawn by each Beatle.
“Put simply, no other autographed piece of Beatles memorabilia is as historic and well-documented as the wall from The Ed Sullivan Theater,” says Heritage Auctions executive Garry Shrum. “It’s … a treasure from the day music changed forever.'”
According to the 2016 publication The Beatles Book, a Sullivan Show stagehand named Jerry Gort asked the band to sign the wall before they played their second set. Then, in September of ’64, the wall section wound up in a bin that was set to be dumped, but Gort rescued the historic item. He later gifted it to a wheelchair-using Beatles fan named Lofton Sproles, and the wall section was eventually sold multiple times in the ensuing years.
Bidding for the historic item will start at $600,000.
Also going on the block as part of the auction is a pair of Beatle boots owned and worn by Harrison, who gifted them to Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom in 1985 when they both were working on the album Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session.
The boots, which feature an opening bid of $40,000, also feature Harrison’s humorously signed dedication “to Slim Jim with love from Fat George.”
Lindsay Lohan‘s second project in her deal with Netflix has just been announced. The streaming service behind LiLo’s upcoming holiday film Falling for Christmas just announced she will star in a romantic comedy called Irish Wish.
Lohan will reteam with her Christmas movie director Janeen Damian for the project. She’ll take on the role of Maddie, who sees the love of her life getting engaged to her best friend.
“Maddie puts her feelings aside to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in Ireland,” the producers explain, but just before the pair are set to marry, “Maddie makes a spontaneous wish for true love, only to wake up as the bride-to-be.”
“With her dream seeming to come true, Maddie soon realizes that her real soulmate is someone else entirely,” Netflix teases.
In February of this year and with her legal troubles in the rearview mirror, Lohan told Good Morning America she was ready for a comeback. “I think it takes time — just really a lot of soul-searching and taking time for you,” she explained. “And really, a lot of it was change of scenery, people, places and things — a lot of that made a big difference.”
Lindsay added, “Not filming for so long and not, you know, making movies for a long time, especially during the pandemic, that really made me appreciate it more and miss it so much more that I knew I was ready to come back.”
