Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is moderating a panel at the upcoming Midsummer Scream horror convention.
Dubbed “The Original Monster Kids,” the event will find Hammett speaking with the children and grandchildren of various classic horror acting legends including Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. and Sr.
Hammett, of course, is a horror aficionado himself, and is known for his impressive collection of classic horror memorabilia.
Midsummer Scream takes place July 29-31 in Long Beach, California. Hammett’s panel will be held July 30. For more info, visit MidsummerScream.org.
In related news, Hammett has shared a preview of the video for his song “High Plains Drifter,” which will appear on his upcoming debut solo EP, Portals. The full clip premieres this Friday, April 22.
Portals, which consists of four original instrumental pieces, will be released April 23 as part of Record Store Day.
Tate McRae is the latest musician to have her tour schedule affected by a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
The “you broke me” star announced on Twitter that she has to postpone the first three shows of her European tour in Oslo, Norway, Stockholm, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark. “Hey guys, unfortunately, I have tested positive for covid,” she wrote.
Noting that she’s “asymptomatic,” Tate adds, “I am so sad and sorry i can’t be there with u guys…I will reschedule shows as soon as I can.”
The tour will continue as planned starting May 4 in Hamburg, Germany, a country where Tate has a lot of family.
The Canadian star will release her debut album, i used to think i could fly, on May 27. She recently wrapped up the North American leg of her tour; starting in September, she’ll be opening for fellow Canadian Shawn Mendes on his Wonder tour.
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Former Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes has filed a civil lawsuit against NBC Universal, Bravo, True Media, Andy Cohen and other parties responsible for the show. The complaint, filed in Atlanta on Wednesday, alleges the companies failed to address racism, after Leakes complained about the allegedly toxic workplace culture.
The lawsuit says that Leakes was the subject of racially offensive conduct while on the show, and specifically details the alleged difference in treatment between Leakes, a Black woman, and RHOA co-star, Kim Zolciak-Biermann, a white woman.
Instead of reprimanding Zolciak-Biermann for her racist behavior, the lawsuit says, she was rewarded with special perks and privileges that were denied to the Black housewives.
“NBC, and its Bravo network, maintain a corporate culture that is insensitive to black talent and fosters racially -offensive behavior that goes unpunished,” the lawsuit states.
Leakes, 54, has been part of Real Housewives of Atlanta for seven years. The lawsuit claims Lauren Eskelin, True Entertainment’s executive vice president of programming, who is also being sued, once declared “RHOA is not RHOA without [Mrs. Leakes].”
George Harrison‘s widow, Olivia Harrison, will publish an illustrated book of poetry called Came the Lightening on June 21, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Beatles guitarist’s death.
The book features 20 poems written by Olivia and dedicated to her late husband. The collection finds Olivia musing on her life with George and the emotional bond they shared, as well as reflecting on the loss of her husband and on the passing years.
Came the Lightening features an introduction by legendary director Martin Scorsese, who describes the book as “a work of poetic autobiography.”
To accompany the poems, Olivia has chosen a selection of photos and mementos, including pics of her with George. Among the images are previously unseen photos taken photographers including Henry Grossman, Sue Flood, Marcus Tomlinson and Paul McCartney‘s daughter, Mary. The book also features a drawing by artist and musician Klaus Voormann, a longtime friend of and collaborator with the members of The Beatles.
“I hope you enjoy these personal stories, recollections and reflections,” Olivia says in a statement. You also can check out a short video trailer for the book on YouTube featuring a voiceover from Olivia, who comments about putting out a collection of 20 poems 20 years after George’s passing, “I didn’t plan it that way, it just sort of happened.”
As a sign that things are getting better following the pandemic, a poll of more than 6,000 ticket-buyers say they’re headed back to the movies this summer.
The survey, part of Fandango’s second annual Moviegoing Trends & Insights Study, reveals 83% of moviegoers plan to see three or more films on the big screen during the summer.
Those polled also said Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — which opens May 6 — is their most anticipated movie of the summer, followed by another Marvel movie, the July 8 release Thor: Love and Thunder.
Coming in third in the most-anticipated summer movie poll is Jurassic World Dominion, opening June 10, followed by Top Gun: Maverick on May 27.
Minions: The Rise of Gru, which opens July 1, rounds out the top five.
Furthermore, 93% of respondents will see movies of multiple genres, not just superhero movies, and 93% look forward to buying concessions at the theater — up sharply from 84% from last year. No surprise, popcorn and soda rank as the most likely buy for those moviegoers.
Also, 89% of those polled said going to the movies is their favorite activity outside the home, outpacing shopping or sporting events. What’s more, 99% of those who have been to the already movies say they were happy with their visits to the theater this year, up from 93% in 2021.
“As film fans head back to theaters, we are starting to see growing signs of recovery as we make the turn towards a great summer of movies ahead,” said Fandango VP Domestic Ticketing Melissa Heller in a statement.
“Our study shows moviegoers are happier than ever to be back at the theater.”
(ATLANTA) — National vaccination coverage for kindergarteners during the 2020-2021 school year fell below the nationwide target of 95% coverage, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis.
This includes MMR, DTaP and varicella vaccines, which protect against multiple diseases including measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, whooping cough, tetanus and chickenpox. The analysis did not include COVID-19 vaccines, which were authorized for children 5 and older after the end of the 2020-2021 school year.
Although the drop was small — down to 94%, representing a 1% drop from the prior school year — the CDC says the new analysis underscores growing concerns that pandemic disruptions could inadvertently lead to a growing number of vaccine-preventable illnesses among children.
“This might not sound like much, but it amounts to at least 35,000 more children across the United States that entered kindergarten without documentation of complete vaccinations against common diseases,” said Dr. Georgina Peacock, director of the Division of Human Development and Disability at the CDC.
Researchers attributed the drop in vaccination rates to pandemic-related causes, including lower school enrollment, missed pediatrician appointments and lower data reporting from schools.
In addition to the 35,000 children who entered school without completed vaccinations, remote and in-person school enrollment was approximately 10% lower than the previous year, according to data from 48 states and Washington, D.C.
“This means around 400,00 fewer children entered kindergarten than expected. Those children also might not be up to date on their routine vaccinations,” said Peacock.
Mississippi had some of the highest vaccine coverage rates, with over 95% for MMR, DTaP, varicella, while Washington, D.C., had some of the lowest reported coverage rates, with 78-79% coverage per vaccine.
During the 2020-2021 school year, fewer states were able to report data back to the CDC due to pandemic-era capacity problems. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia contributed to the new analysis, but Alaska, Illinois and West Virginia did not report vaccination coverage data due to the impact of COVID-19 on data collection, and were excluded from the analysis.
Some states allowed for eased vaccination requirements for remote learners and reduced submission of documentation by parents. This meant less time for school nurses to follow-up with students missing documentation or vaccines, fewer staff members to conduct kindergarten vaccination coverage assessment and reporting activities, and lower response rates from schools.
“This is further evidence of how the pandemic-related disruptions to education and health care could have lingering consequences for children. The good news is, routine vaccination coverage remains high and we can recover ground loss during the pandemic,” said Peacock.
Despite concerns about rising vaccine hesitancy, the rate of children with religious or medical exemptions remained low, at 2.2%, and the percentage of exempt children actually decreased in 37 states.
The report noted that more than half of the states’ schools are allowing under-vaccinated children to attend school under provisional enrollment, which allows a student without complete vaccination or an exemption to attend school while completing a catch up vaccination schedule or with a grace period status, which is a set number of days during which a student can be enrolled and attend school without proof of complete vaccination or exemption, according to Dr. Shannon Stokely, associate director for Science at the Immunization Services Division of the CDC.
“[With] most schools back to in-person learning, extra effort is needed to catch up children who missed vaccines and to maintain high levels of routine childhood vaccinations and equitable coverage to help protect children, their families and their communities against vaccine preventable diseases,” said Peacock.
Dr. Grace Cullen is an internal medicine resident at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and a contributor on the ABC News Medical Unit.
(NEW YORK) — The numbers “421” have apparently eclipsed “420” at least in New Jersey, where cannabis consumers celebrated Thursday’s first day of legalized pot sales and toking up for adults.
Weed buyers lined up before sunrise outside seven recreational cannabis dispensaries across the Garden State waiting for the doors to open and lay down some green for some green for the first time without a medical excuse or legal risk.
The first customer in line outside the RISE dispensary in Bloomfield described the moment as “Christmas morning.”
“I didn’t even sleep tonight,” Chris, who was in line before 6 a.m., told New York City ABC station WABC. “I was, like, working a later night, and I just knew I had to be here. I just want to be part of that. Today is the day that we’re just free to do it without any consequences.”
The landmark day comes 17 months after New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to change the state constitution to allow for marijuana legalization.
State officials purposely chose April 21 for the inaugural day to legally light up to avoid dispensaries being overwhelmed with business on April 20, the traditional day pot smokers worldwide celebrate weed.
New Jersey becomes the 18th state in the nation to legalize the sale of recreational pot to consumers 21 and older. Vermont became the first state in 2018 to do so. Washington, D.C., and Guam, an unincorporated U.S. territory, also allow legal cannabis commerce.
“This is a historic step in our work to create a new cannabis industry,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said ahead of the launch.
State regulators approved permits for seven dispensaries that already sell medical marijuana to start retailing recreational weed on Thursday.
State officials said they are considering more than 300 applications for retail cannabis licenses. New Jersey is prioritizing granting licenses to dispensaries run by minorities, women and disabled veterans, especially those whose careers have been harmed by marijuana convictions on their records.
Cannabis dispensaries also opened Thursday in Patterson, Maplewood, Phillipsburg, Rochelle Park, Elizabeth and Lawrence Township. Most of the stores plan to stay open until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.
The dispensaries are only accepting cash purchases because under federal law marijuana is still considered a Schedule 1 drug, a status that discourages banks and credit card companies from extending services to cannabis operations.
The House of Representatives voted this month to approve legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and remove criminal penalties for certain cannabis-related offenses. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has vowed to make marijuana legislation a priority and is working on a separate bill with Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., expected to be introduced soon but would need all Democrats and at least 10 Republicans to pass the Senate.
Melissa Correa of Plainfield told WABC that the historic day in New Jersey was extra special because it falls on her 42nd birthday.
Waiting to make a purchase of some party favors at the RISE dispensary in Bloomfield, Correa said, “It looks great. It smells great.”
Weezer is performing at the 2022 NFL Draft, taking place April 28-30 in Las Vegas.
Rivers Cuomo and company will take the stage on April 28 following the conclusion of the draft’s first round. The set will stream in full on NFL.com, and via the NFL’s app, Facebook page and YouTube channel. You’ll also be able to catch selections from the performance during the NFL Draft television broadcast on ESPN and the NFL Network.
If you happen to be in Vegas that day, you can check out Weezer’s performance in-person for free by registering for the NFL OnePass.
You can watch the 2022 NFL Draft on ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network beginning April 28 at 8 p.m. ET.
Weezer, meanwhile, just dropped a new EP, SZNZ: Spring, last month. It’s the first entry in the band’s SZNZ project, a planned series of four seasonally themed EPs.
(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack is expected to meet with Donald Trump Jr. in the coming days, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
Trump Jr.’s appearance is voluntary and comes after the committee invited him to speak with their investigators, sources told ABC News. The panel has not subpoenaed him.
Trump Jr. would become the latest member of the Trump family to meet with the committee. In recent weeks, the panel interviewed Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, both of whom served as senior White House advisers to former President Donald Trump.
An attorney for Trump Jr. did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump Jr.’s fiance, met with the committee for a second time earlier this week in an interview that sources said was contentions at times and focused in part on the fundraising efforts around Trump’s “Save America” rally on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump Jr.’s text messages are among those that former chief of staff Mark Meadows turned over to the committee, sources said.
As ABC News has previously reported, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the vice chair of the panel, quoted extensively from text messages sent to Meadows during the riot from Fox News hosts, GOP lawmakers and Donald Trump Jr.
At the time, Cheney said the messages left “no doubt” the White House “knew exactly what was happening” at the Capitol during the riot.
“He’s got to condemn [the riot] ASAP,” Trump Jr. told Meadows in a text message, according to Cheney, saying that Trump’s tweet about Capitol Police “is not enough.”
“I’m pushing it hard,” Meadows replied. “I agree.”
“We need an Oval Office address,” Trump Jr. said in a follow up message. “He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”
The committee is expected to hold public hearings in June and eventually publish a report on their findings, ABC News has previously reported.
If you ever wondered what Madonna inspired her to write “Express Yourself,” look no further than Jennifer Grey. The Dirty Dancing star revealed she and Madge used to be close friends in the 80s.
“We did Bloodhounds of Broadway together,” Grey told People of the 1989 film. “She told me she wrote ‘Express Yourself’ about me breaking up with Matthew [Broderick],” whom Grey dated for four years after meeting on the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off set. She then dated Johnny Depp, whom she described as a “bonfire.”
Grey clearly remembers what happened when she first heard “Express Yourself,” saying Madonna “played it for me in her car. I was in my log cabin with Johnny and she said, ‘Come into my car.’ And I got in her Mercedes where she had a really good sound system and she was like, ‘Listen to this song I just did. It’s about you.'”
Grey said it made sense the song was about her, based on the lyrics alone. She also said that she may have been subtly shouted out in the 1989 hit, with Madonna mentioning the name of her Dirty Dancing character, Baby. Grey notes the lyrics “You deserve the best in life/ So if the time isn’t right, then move on/ Second best is never enough/ You’ll do much better, Baby, on your own.”
But, the actress isn’t convinced the song is entirely about her, adding she recently emailed Madonna about her in-the-car confession and asked, “Did you just tell that to everyone?”
Grey did say “Express Herself” taught her a valuable lesson, which was that back then, “I demanded second best.”
Grey later married Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor Clark Gregg, whom she divorced last year after 20 years together.
