Lady Gaga’s voice will be heard in the upcoming Tom Cruise action thriller Top Gun: Maverick. She announced Wednesday that she performed the track “Hold My Hand” after cryptically tweeting out its lyrics at the start of the week.
It all started on Monday, when the Grammy winner wrote, “Hold my hand everything will be ok I heard from the heavens that clouds have been grey.” The tweet energized her fanbase because the lyrics didn’t match any other her previous songs. Then, the next day, she tweeted out, “Why’d you take so long to tell me you need me.”
She kept the chain of mysterious lyrics going on Wednesday by sharing an image of handwritten lyrics, which spell out “I see that you’re bleeding / You don’t need to show me again.”
It then culminated with her exciting reveal, that she appears on the soundtrack for Top Gun: Maverick. Her song “Hold My Hand” arrives May 3 and is available to pre-save now.
Reports sparked last week that she wrote a song for the action flick after a fan stumbled upon a purported movie poster that credits Gaga in the “music by” section and shared a video of it to his Twitter. Her name was sandwiched between composers Harold Faltermeyer and Hans Zimmer.
(WASHINGTON) — Much of official Washington remembered former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the first woman to ever serve in that role, at her funeral Wednesday at Washington National Cathedral.
Albright, who had cancer, died in March at the age of 84.
She served as secretary of state from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton after serving as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. from 1993 to 1997.
President Joe Biden eulogized Albright, sharing a story of a speech he gave last month in Poland, where he said a crowd of hundreds cheered when Albright’s name was mentioned.
“Her name is still synonymous with America as a force for good in the world. Madeleine never minced words or wasted time when she saw something needed fixing, or someone who needed helping. She just got to work,” Biden said.
During her tenure as secretary of state, she focused on promoting the eastward expansion of NATO and pushed for NATO intervention in the 1999 war in Kosovo, according to the historical office of the Department of State.
Her approach to diplomacy and statecraft was colored by her own experiences as a refugee who fled what was then Czechoslovakia with her family in the aftermath of World War II.
She remained engaged with both American and international affairs until the end of her life, writing a book in 2018 warning about a resurgence of fascism and sounding an alarm about Russian President Vladimir Putin in a New York Times op-ed published just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“In early 2000, I became the first senior U.S. official to meet with Vladimir Putin in his new capacity as acting president of Russia… Flying home, I recorded my impressions. ‘Putin is small and pale,’ I wrote, ‘so cold as to be almost reptilian,'” Albright wrote in the Times. She added that “should he invade [Ukraine], it will be a historic error.”
Both former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were also slated to speak at the funeral, according to the Washington National Cathedral.
“Few leaders have been so perfectly suited for the times in which they served… Because she knew firsthand that America’s policy decisions had the power to make a difference in people’s lives around the world, she saw her jobs as both an obligation and an opportunity,” the former president wrote in a statement the day Albright died.
Her daughters, Anne, Alice and Katie, were also scheduled to speak.
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
Garth Brooks is bringing his Stadium Tour up to Canada. The singer just announced a stop in Edmonton, Alberta, which will be the only Canadian stop on his current tour.
Garth was most recently in Edmonton in 2017, when he played shows for more than 160,000 fans. This time around, he’s hitting the city’s Commonwealth Stadium, marking the first time he’s ever played that venue.
The show will take place June 25, following back-to-back dates in Salt Lake City. It’s also one of the only international dates currently listed on his Stadium Tour calendar, along with a whopping five sold-out shows in Dublin, Ireland that Garth’s got planned for September.
Tickets for the Edmonton show go on sale beginning May 6, and though the venue has a capacity of over 60,000, fans should hurry: Garth’s stadium shows have been selling out in record time. After his now-sold out June 18 Salt Lake City date went on sale, fans snapped up 50,000 tickets in just 45 minutes.
People magazine has finalized its list of the celebrities it says are the most beautiful inside and out, and among the names are Olivia Rodrigo, Adele and Selena Gomez.
For Olivia, the magazine hailed the 19-year-old singer for shaking up the Grammy Awards with her breakthrough debut album SOUR. “The process of making SOUR and putting it out in the world really challenged me, and I’ve grown so much, and I’ve learned so much more about myself,” she told the outlet. “I’m a more confident person because of it.”
Right behind her in the issue is Adele, who was highlighted for her massively successful fourth studio album, 30. The 15-time Grammy winner said making the heartbreak album “was all of our journey, not just mine,” and that she is “very proud of myself for sticking to my guns and putting out an album that was about something so personal to me.”
As previously reported, the pandemic delayed her hotly anticipated album and, despite its November release, it went on to become the best-selling album of 2021.
As for Selena, the 29-year-old makes the list because of her efforts to speak out against harmful beauty standards and their effects on mental health. She said of her Rare Beauty brand, “Beauty really does come from how you feel about yourself… I want to celebrate everyone’s uniqueness.” The Only Murders in the Building star was also saluted for her music and producing career.
The issue, which has Dame Helen Mirren gracing the cover, hits the newsstands on Friday. The magazine will also celebrate beautiful friendships, celebrity pets and more.
Testament has added a fall leg to the band’s Bay Strikes Back North American tour alongside Exodus and Death Angel.
The newly announced dates run from September 9 in Phoenix to October 15 in San Jose, California. The trek follows the ongoing spring leg, which concludes May 25 in Sacramento, California.
“We’ve all been having a killer time playing a lot of sold out shows for die hard metal fans across the U.S. and we wanna keep the party rolling!” says Testament frontman Chuck Billy.
As with the spring dates, Testament’s lineup for the fall leg will feature ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.
The trek is scheduled to get underway September 2 in Philadelphia and is mapped out through an October 3 show in Vancouver, Canada.
Tickets for the trek go on sale to the general public this Friday, April 29, at 10 a.m. local time. American Express card members in select areas will be able to buy pre-sale tickets starting today, April 27.
Crowded House is led by founding singer/guitarist Neil Finn, who also joined the touring lineup of Fleetwood Mac for that band’s most recent outing. The “Don’t Dream It’s Over” group now also features original bassist Nick Seymour, acclaimed producer Mitchell Froom on keyboards, and Neil’s sons Liam and Elroy, respectively, on guitar and drums.
“Crowded House are delighted at long last to be able to play shows in North America,” Neil says in a statement. “We have been picking up the pace recently as the world opens up and can’t wait [to] present the show with this band lineup in absolute top form to the good folk of North America, from sea to shining sea.”
Prior to the North American trek, Crowded House will be touring the U.K., Ireland and mainland Europe in June and early July. Check out the band’s full schedule at CrowdedHouse.com.
Keith Emerson in 1977; Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images
A new book celebrating the life and music of late Emerson, Lake & Palmer keyboardist Keith Emerson can be pre-ordered now.
The official book, titled simply Keith Emerson, features a bevy of rare photos, as well as recollections, tributes and anecdotes from Emerson’s musical collaborators, fans, friends and family members.
Among the notable artists interviewed for the book are ELP/Asia drummer Carl Palmer, ex-Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, Yes drummer Alan White, Yes/Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes, ex-Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and many others.
The book focuses an all aspects of Keith’s musical career, including his work with ELP, The Nice, 3 and his solo band, and also looks at his personal relationships and how his legacy has inspired other musicians.
The Keith Emerson book is available in two versions — a Classic Edition and the pricier Signature edition. The limited-edition latter version is signed by author Chris Welch and Keith’s son Aaron. It comes packaged in a clamshell box and includes an high-quality art print of a portrait of Keith, a CD featuring an unheard interview with Emerson, and specially created sheet music to his first-ever original composition, “Quatermass Boogie Woogie,” which he wrote at age 12.
(WASHINGTON) — Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas faced blunt questions from lawmakers on Wednesday about how the Biden administration is handling and preparing for the eventual end of pandemic-justified border restrictions that have reduced humanitarian relief options for asylum seekers at the border.
On Monday, a federal judge in Louisiana indicated he would pause the rollback of Title 42 — the Trump-era policy that allowed migrants seeking asylum along the southern border to be expelled under the public health emergency authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The Democratic Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, asked Mayorkas directly if he believes it’s time to end Title 42 and, as he has done before, Mayorkas deferred to the CDC.
“Our responsibility in the Department of Homeland Security is to implement the Title 42 authority of the CDC at our border and to implement it effectively and judiciously according to the law. We are mindful that the that there can be an increase in migratory flows encountered at our southern border should Title 42 come to an end, as the CDC has determined it needs to do by May 23. Our responsibility therefore, is to prepare and plan for that eventuality.”
The CDC rescinded the policy earlier this month, and it was expected to be phased out by May 23 before the federal judge announced his intent to block the recision.
Judge Robert Summerhays said he intends to issue a temporary restraining order in the case if the Justice Department and Arizona, Missouri and Louisiana, the three states that sued to pause the rollback, can come to an agreement.
A senior administration official told reporters the administration intends to comply with the temporary restraining order the judge intends to issue, but the administration disagrees with the premise of the restraining order. For now, the administration continues to prepare for the eventual end of Title 42. Mayorkas issued a memo on Tuesday outlining the objectives DHS plans to carry out regardless of when Title 42 comes to an end.
The six-part plan explains a variety of steps the administration has already started taking to prepare for a potential surge in migration. It involves surging resources to the border including medical supplies and personnel, speeding up case processing at CBP holding centers, working with NGOs to transition migrants from government custody to local communities and stepping up efforts to crack down on human smuggling organizations.
“I’ve been to the border approximately eight times and in my last visit I heard loudly and clearly the concerns of our heroic, incredibly dedicated Border Patrol agents about their need for additional support so that they can get out into the field and interdict individuals seeking to evade law enforcement and cross our border illegally,” Mayorkas told lawmakers.
The secretary testified that about 300 case processors have been contracted to increase capacity and move those who enter without authorization through the system.
“When the Title 42 public health order is lifted, we anticipate migration levels will increase, as smugglers will seek to take advantage of and profit from vulnerable migrants,” Mayorkas wrote in a prior memo titled, “DHS Plan for Southwest Border Security and Preparedness.”
DHS officials told reporters in March they could expect to see as many as 18,000 migrants along the southern border per day, when Title 42 gets lifted.
Mayorkas has stressed Title 42 is not an immigration policy, but rather born out of the public health crisis.
“We inherited an immigration system from the prior administration that had been studiously dismantled and so was unprepared to meet the challenges posed by the high numbers of non citizens arriving at our borders today,” according to a senior Administration official who briefed reporters on Tuesday.
In addition to the two hearings on Wednesday, Mayorkas goes in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Last week, Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, wrote to Mayorkas in anticipation of his testimony.
“The Biden Administration’s radical immigration policies have caused a humanitarian and security crisis along our southwest border,” Jordan wrote. “The American people deserve answers and accountability for the Biden Administration’s lawlessness along the southwest border.”
(CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis.) — Police said Tuesday they’ve arrested a suspect in connection with the death of a 10-year-old girl whose body was found on a Wisconsin walking trail.
Lily Peters, a fourth grader, was reported missing by her father on Sunday night, said police in Chippewa Falls, a city about 100 miles east of Minneapolis.
Lily had been at her aunt’s house on Sunday and never made it home that night, police said.
On Sunday night officers found Lily’s bike in the woods by a walking trail near her aunt’s house, police said.
Around 9:15 a.m. Monday, Lily’s body was found in a wooded area near the walking trail, Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said at a news conference.
On Tuesday evening, Kelm said the police arrested an unidentified juvenile suspect who was not a stranger to the girl. Kelm said that the suspect was known to the family.
“While nothing will bring back Lily Peters, we are grateful to deliver the news of an arrest to the family,” he said at a news conference.
The chief said the police received over 200 tips, and some were critical to the arrest.
The investigation was ongoing. Kelm had earlier said police are considering this a homicide investigation.
ABC News’ Matt Foster and Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.
The Greta Gerwig-directed live-action Barbie movie has been given a release date of July 21, 2023, and with Warner Bros.’ announcement came the first image of Margot Robbie as the titular toy come to life.
Oscar nominee Robbie, who produced the movie, is seen smiling in the driver’s seat of a classic pink Corvette, which, as you might imagine, is Barbie’s Dream Car.
As reported, Barbie also stars Ryan Gosling as Ken, as well as SNL‘s Kate McKinnon, tick…tick..BOOM!‘s Alexandra Shipp, Superstore‘s America Ferrera, Shang-Chi‘s Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, and And Just Like That… actor Hari Nef.
