Musician Dave Davies appears in a portrait taken on April 17, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Al Pereira/Getty Images)
The Kinks’ Dave Davies has responded to criticism dished out by musician Moby over their classic tune “Lola.”
In an interview with The Guardian, Moby revealed that the iconic tune was a song he could no longer listen to, noting, “’Lola’ by the Kinks came up on a Spotify playlist, and I thought the lyrics were gross and transphobic.”
He added, “I like their early music, but I was really taken aback at how unevolved the lyrics are.”
But Dave Davies took to social media to argue that the song isn’t transphobic at all.
“I don’t wanna show the guy up, but Moby should be careful what he says. the cockettes And their friends used to follow us around on tour,” he wrote on X, referring to the ’70s psychedelic hippie theater group formed in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. “We appreciated them.”
He added, “Why is Moby being so rude about this simple song? We’re not trans phobic. Why does he have to have a go at us?”
Dave Davies also posted a letter sent to him and brother Ray Davies, who wrote the song, from “trans icon” Jayne County on how meaningful the song “Lola” is to her. Dave Davies noted in the caption, “I am highly insulted that MOBY would accuse my brother of being ‘unevolved’ or transphobic in any way.”
“Lola,” released in June 1970, tells the story of a man’s encounter with a trans woman or cross-dresser. According to the lyrics, Lola “walked like a woman but talked like a man.” The song was a top-10 hit for the band.
Photo taken on Aug. 12, 2024 shows the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange NYSE in New York, the United States. (Liu Yanan/Xinhua via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Dow Jones Industrial average soared more than 1,000 points on Monday after President Donald Trump claimed “productive conversations” had been held between the U.S. and Iran.
The major stock indexes shed some of the morning’s gains by midday as a flurry of headlines about the Middle East conflict appeared to elicit volatile price fluctuations.
The peace talks — which Iranian officials denied — sent the price of oil plunging on Monday on hopes that negotiations could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end a weeks-long global energy shock.
The Dow surged 700 points or 1.5%, while the S&P 500 jumped 1.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 1.3%.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ZZ Top released their eighth studio album, Eliminator, which went on to be the band’s most commercially successful album, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Album chart.
The album, which used more synthesizers and drum machines than previous ZZ Top records, featured four hit singles: “Legs,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharped Dressed Man” and “TV Dinners.”
The success those songs — and the album — were helped by their popular accompanying music videos. They were in regular rotation on MTV, helping to attract a younger fan base.
Eliminator was the first of the band’s albums to become a worldwide success and went on to sell over 11 million copies in the U.S. It has been certified Diamond by the RIAA.
ARIRANG, the new album from the K-pop superstars, broke streaming records on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon when it was released on Friday. On Spotify, it was this year’s most-streamed album in a single day. On Apple, it set a new record for biggest pop album by a group, based on first-day streams.
On Amazon Music, it was the biggest first-day debut for a K-pop album.
On Saturday, BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE, the group’s first full concert since 2022, streamed on Netflix live from Seoul, South Korea. In front of some 100,000 fans, BTS performed 12 songs, including multiple tracks from ARIRANG, and hits like “Butter” and “Dynamite.” RM, who recently injured his ankle, had to sit on a stool while the rest of the group performed their signature choreography.
While onstage, SUGA told the crowd, “With this album, we wanted to show you the most honest side of the seven of us. We worked hard to show a more mature and evolved BTS, and I’m so happy to finally present it to you.” You can watch highlights on Tudum.com.
BTS will be in New York on Monday for a Spotify event for the group’s top listeners, followed by a two-night stint on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, Netflix will premiere BTS: THE RETURN, a documentary about the making of ARIRANG.
April 9 marks the kickoff of BTS’ world tour. Two of the first few concerts will be streamed live in movie theaters to give fans a taste of what they can expect from the trek, which is set to continue into 2027.
Barry Manilow, ‘What A Time.’ (STILETTO Entertainment)
What a time to be a Barry Manilow fan.
Earlier in March, Barry announced that his first album of new material in close to 15 years, What A Time, would be out June 5. Now, he’s released a new single from the project, which he’s made available for preorder.
The track, “Sun Shine,” arrives with a music video that shows a couple waking up, getting ready for their day and coming together to dance.
The album also features Barry’s current hit “Once Before I Go” as well as two guest appearances on the record: Sharon “Muffy” Hendrix, who’s worked with Barry for years, and saxophonist Dave Koz. Other collaborators include Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and his longtime co-writers Bruce Sussman and Adrienne Anderson.
After postponing multiple shows due to his lung cancer diagnosis, Barry is scheduled to return to the road April 13 with a show in Queens, New York.
Here’s the track listing for What A Time:
“Once Before I Go” “What A Time” “Sun Shine” “Another Life (2026)” “Touched By An Angel” “The Chosen One” “One More Chance” “Nobody Knows My Song” “When Somebody Says Goodbye” (Duet with Sharon “Muffy” Hendrix) “Don’t Trouble The Water” “Look At Me Now” (Featuring Dave Koz) “Nobody Told Me” “Coming of Age”
A mail-in ballot issued by Hudson County, New Jersey, for the 2024 U.S. general election is seen on September 22, 2024, in Hoboken, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn/ABC News)
(WASHINGTON) — In a case with potentially major ramifications for the 2026 midterm elections and all federal elections going forward, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday is considering a Republican Party bid to prevent states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day even if they were postmarked on or before.
Thirty states plus D.C. and several U.S. territories have laws allowing tabulation of some late-arriving ballots provided that they were timely cast and received within a specified post-election timeframe, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The case before the justices centers on Mississippi’s acceptance of absentee ballots up to five days after Election Day so long as they were received by the Postal Service on or before.
The Republican National Committee, which brought the lawsuit, alleges the policy violates federal law establishing the Tuesday after the first Monday in November as the day for election of members of the House, Senate, and presidential electors, in specified years.
Republicans argue that the term “election” means both “ballot submission and receipt” and that Congress intended that it be completed on a single day.
“Allowing states to count large numbers of mail-in ballots that are received after Election Day undermines trust and confidence in our elections,” said RNC chair Joe Gruters in a statement on the case. “Elections must end on Election Day.”
Mississippi and several voter advocacy groups defending the state law insist “election” has historically meant when voters make their “choice” by marking and submitting their ballots — not necessarily when they are received and counted.
“The weight of the law and the weight of the precedent is on our side,” said Marc Elias, a prominent Democratic election law attorney representing some of the parties defending the Mississippi law.
A Supreme Court decision in favor of the RNC could upend voting policies and procedures in dozens of states five months before voters head to the polls for the midterm elections.
Voting rights advocates also warn that an abrupt change in policy could lead to widespread rejection of ballots that were properly cast by well-intended voters but experienced unintended delivery delays by the Postal Service or other circumstances.
Hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots in the 2024 general election arrived after Election Day but were still legally counted that year across 22 states and territories with a post-election grace period, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Extended ballot receipt deadlines have also been aimed at helping active duty military service members and other Americans living overseas who cast their ballots from afar.
Elias said he believes the RNC suit — against a Republican-led state with minimal absentee voting — was part of a broader effort on the part of President Donald Trump and his allies to make it more difficult to vote by mail under the belief the practice favors Democrats.
“I don’t suspect that spending millions of dollars to affect the handful of ballots in the state of Mississippi that only allows excuse absentee voting anyway to be counted after Election Day is what the RNC is really after,” said Elias. “This is just a partisan effort to undermine mail-in voting.”
In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order that attempted to cut federal election funding to states that have mail ballot receipt grace periods, but it has largely been blocked by federal courts for now.
The president later said on social media that he is leading a “movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS,” claiming, without providing evidence, that they lead to voter fraud.
Trump has also been pushing Republicans in Congress to approve the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, which would — in part — outlaw voting by mail for anyone without a legitimate excuse, such as military service, illness, or disability, making it impossible to vote in person.
Data on which party would potentially benefit from changes to mail ballot rules is not clear.
Most Americans, 58%, support allowing any voter to cast a ballot by mail, according to a Pew Research Center survey late last year. But there is sharp division among parties, with 83% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters favoring mail-voting with 68% of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters opposed.
The Trump administration, which is not a party to the case, told the court in an amicus brief that it strongly supports a decision striking down Mississippi’s law and others like it.
“Ensuring all ballot boxes close on the same day eliminates incentives and opportunities for fraudulent abuse,” wrote Solicitor General John Sauer. “Leaving them open conflicts not only with the ordinary meaning of ‘election day,’ but also with the very integrity of the election.”
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a Republican, dismissed that claim in a filing with the court, arguing that neither ballot receipt nor ballot counting is part of the “election” and that both have historically extended beyond Election Day.
“Counting votes is not part of the election,” Fitch told the court. “That is why counting votes lawfully can and does occur after Election Day. So, too, with ballot receipt: it is vital — but it is not part of the election itself. So, states may do what the Mississippi legislature has done: make a ‘policy choice’ to require only that absentee ballots be mailed by election day.”
A decision is expected in the case by the end of June.
An undated photo of Sheridan Gorman who was shot and killed in Chicago on March, 19, 2026. (Courtesy of the Gorman Family)
(CHICAGO) — An undocumented immigrant from Venezuela has been arrested in the killing of a Loyola University Chicago student, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Sheridan Gorman, 18, was walking with friends near Tobey Prinz Beach Park, less than a mile from the university’s Lake Shore campus, in the early hours of March 19 when a man walked up to the group and shot Gorman, according to Chicago police.
“She had her entire life ahead of her — her education, her future, her family, the countless lives she would have touched,” Gorman’s family said in a statement. “All of that was taken in a moment.”
The suspect, Jose Medina, was arrested on Friday on charges including first-degree murder and is due at a detention hearing on Monday, police said.
DHS said it’s lodged an arrest detainer as the agency pushes for Medina to be kept behind bars.
DHS said Medina has been apprehended and released twice. He was first apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol and released in May 2023, and the next month, he was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago and released, DHS said. The Chicago Police Department said it doesn’t provide criminal histories.
Gorman “was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “We are calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods.”
Gorman’s family also commented on the immigration policies, saying, “We are gravely disappointed by the policies and failures that allowed this individual to remain in a position to commit this crime. When systems fail — whether through release decisions, lack of coordination, or unwillingness to act — the consequences are not abstract. They are real. And in our case, they are permanent.”
“Accountability must be complete,” the family said.
Parkway Drive performs live on stage at the annual Rock Am Ring festival at Nuerburgring on June 09, 2024 in Nuerburg, Germany. (Gina Wetzler/Redferns)
Parkway Drive has issued a statement regarding “someone we’ve been associated with” who has pleaded guilty to an underage sex offense dating back to 2002.
“This is appalling and we condemn it,” Parkway Drive writes in an Instagram post. “We’re gutted and we support the victim.”
The group continues, “This happened before we were a band, however we bear moral responsibility for contracting him from 2003, on and off over the years.”
The statement does not use anyone’s name.
“While he hasn’t toured with us since 2017, more recently he’s been part of our Australian online mech team,” Parkway Drive writes. “When the band heard about this, we terminated his contract immediately. He’s no longer involved with Parkway Drive in any capacity.”
“This is heartbreaking on a very human scale,” the post concludes. “This is still ongoing in the courts so we’re closing comments.”
Bruce Springsteen on Jimmy Kimmel Live!/(Disney/Randy Holmes)
Bruce Springsteen is joining the American Civil Liberties Union’s fight against Donald Trump’s attempt to do away with birthright citizenship.
The rocker has lent his iconic tune “Born in the U.S.A.” to a new 30-second ad that debuted ahead of Supreme Court hearing arguments in a case challenging Trump’s executive order attempting to alter the 14th Amendment, which grants anyone born in the U.S. to citizenship.
“We’re reminding President Trump what it means to be born in the U.S.A.,” reads the ad’s description. “We’re honored that the one and only Bruce Springsteen trusted us with use of his iconic anthem ahead of our landmark Supreme Court case Trump v. Barbara, where we’re challenging President Trump’s attempt to overturn birthright citizenship. The 14th Amendment speaks for itself.”
“Born in the U.S.A.” is the perfect song to capture what’s at stake in this Supreme Court case and how birthright citizenship is integral to America,” Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, tells Rolling Stone. “It’s a song that tells the story of a Vietnam veteran returning home to an America he knew was neglecting its people. The song calls on our nation to live up to its ideals.”
He adds, “Decades later, the song still reflects the struggle to hold onto the things that make us proud to be Americans today,” noting, “Even if you put the lyrics aside, the song basically makes you feel good. It makes you feel proud. It makes you feel bold. And that’s what our ad campaign captures.”
“Birthright citizenship is what makes America great, and we ought to be proud to defend it,” he continues. “It’s a reminder that we all have a role to play in fighting for a nation that follows our democratic principles.”
An Air Canada Express plane sits on the tarmac after it collided with a fire truck on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A regional Air Canada jet collided into a Port Authority airport vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, an on-the-ground crash that demolished the front of the airplane, killed two pilots, injured dozens of passengers and prompted the airport to shut down, law enforcement and aviation officials said.
At least 41 people were transferred to local hospitals Sunday night after the plane, which was operated by Jazz Aviation, struck a rescue-and-firefighting vehicle that had been “responding to a separate incident” at 11:47 p.m., a Port Authority spokesperson said.
The pilot and the co-pilot of the plane were killed in the crash, officials said. Two of the injured were Port Authority officers and the other 39 were passengers, officials said.
LaGuardia is closed until at least 2 p.m. Monday, the Port Authority said.
The collision happened shortly after the plane, Air Canada Flight 8646, which was carrying four crew members and 72 passengers, touched down from Montreal, according to Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia.
The ground vehicle — a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting — had requested permission and had been cleared by the air traffic controller to cross Runway 4 at taxiway Delta, according to audio recordings. Shortly after that permission was granted, an air traffic controller was heard telling the vehicle to stop several times right before the collision, according to the recordings.
Preliminary data shows the Air Canada plane was traveling between 93 and 105 mph when it impacted the fire truck, FlightRadar24 told ABC News.
All passengers have been accounted for, Garcia said, and an unaccompanied minor on the plane was reunited with their family.
Thirty-two of those who had been transferred were later released, Garcia said, adding that several others had serious injuries. Two Port Authority police officers who were injured — a sergeant and an officer — were in stable condition at the hospital, she said.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators have responded to the scene.
Teams from Air Canada and Jazz Aviation are also headed to LaGuardia. Canadian authorities will be involved as a party to the investigation as the plane was operated by a Canadian carrier, but the NTSB will be leading the investigation since the collision occurred in the U.S.
