Nearly 40 years after its release, Metallica‘s “Master of Puppets” finally has a video.
The metal legends have premiered a lyric video for the thrash classic, which originally debuted in 1986 as the title track off the third ‘Tallica album. The eight-and-a-half-minute clip, streaming now on YouTube, features imagery related to puppet strings and the field of crosses from the Master of Puppetscover artwork in between shots of a mysterious, sword-wielding figure.
The new visual comes amid renewed interest in “Master of Puppets” following its use in the season four finale of Netflix’s Stranger Things. After the episode’s premiere earlier this month, the song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time and gave Metallica their first appearance on the all-genre ranking in 14 years.
Metallica released a statement saying that they were “beyond psyched” and “totally blown away” by the placement of “Master of Puppets” in Stranger Things. They even released a TikTok of them shredding along to the scene in which the character Eddie Munson plays the song.
(NEW YORK) — Smokers and vapers are more likely to have a severe case of COVID-19 or die of the disease, a new study finds.
People who reported use of tobacco products prior to their hospitalization were 39% more likely to be put on mechanical ventilation than non-smokers.
What’s more, they were 45% more likely to die.
Although it’s well-known that smoking and vaping damages the lungs and suppresses the immune system, making people more susceptible to COVID-19 and less likely to fight off the illness, there is limited information on the link between smoking and COVID-19 severity.
For the study, published in scientific journal PLOS One, the team looked at data from the American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease registry including more than 4,000 people over age 18 who were hospitalized with COVID-19 between January 2020 and March 2021.
People were classified as smokers if they reported current use of traditional cigarettes or e-cigarettes. However, the study did not evaluate if there was a difference in risk level between those who vape versus those who smoke.
Researchers — from the AHA Tobacco Regulation Center and the University of Louisville, in Kentucky — found smoking or vaping were linked to more COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations regardless of the patients’ age, sex, race/ethnicity or medical history.
However, some subgroups were more likely to be at risk of death from COVID-19 than others.
Smokers between ages 18 and 59 were more likely to die from the diseases than those who are age 60 and older, despite COVID’s propensity to affect the elderly.
Additionally, white smokers had a higher risk of COVID death than Black and Hispanic patients, groups that have been disproportionately affected by the virus and its complications. However, Hispanic patients were more likely to be put on a ventilator.
Smoking was also linked to a higher risk of death among smokers with underlying conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and chronic kidney disease as well as those receiving anticoagulants before their hospitalization.
“In general, people who smoke or vape tend to have a higher prevalence of other health conditions and risk factors that could play a role in how they are impacted by COVID-19,” first author Dr. Aruni Bhatangar, a professor of medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Louisville, said in a statement. “These findings provide the clearest evidence to date that people who smoke or vape have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 and dying as a result of [COVID] infection.”
The team says its study has some limitations including lack of complete smoking history for participants and no information on how many cigarettes or other tobacco products the patients used per day or for how many years.
The study’s authors did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for comment.
(ST. PAUL, Minn.) — Two former police officers convicted on federal charges in the death of George Floyd were both sentenced Wednesday to prison terms.
Former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson in back-to-back hearings.
Magnuson, who noted that Kueng was a rookie cop at the time of Floyd’s death, sentenced him to serve three years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, according to St. Paul ABC affiliate KSTP.
In a separate hearing, Magnuson sentenced Thao, who had been a nine-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department at the time of Floyd’s death, to 3 1/2 years in prison, also followed by two years of supervised release, KSTP reported.
Kueng was sentenced first in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Prior to sentencing Kueng, Floyd’s cousin Sabrina Montgomery and his girlfriend, Courtney Ross, gave victim impact statements.
Ross addressed Kueng directly with compassion, telling him, “This sentence will not define you,” and urging him to “define your purpose,” KSTP reported.
“This does not mean you cannot find your footing to stand up for what’s right in the future,” Ross told Kueng.
Montgomery asked Magnuson to give both Kueng and Thao the maximum sentence.
“All of these men deserve to serve longer sentences,” Montgomery said, according to KSTP. “The system these officers operated in is flawed, but again, where is their humanity?”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Manda Sertich told Magnuson that Kueng, who was a rookie cop at the time of Floyd’s death, admitted during his trial testimony that he was aware that it was his duty to intervene, but he failed to act.
“All he had to do per MPD policy was attempt to intervene … but he didn’t say a word. Not one word,” Sertich said, according to KSTP.
Kueng declined to make a statement in court before he was sentenced. But his attorney, Thomas Plunkett, spoke on his behalf, telling Magnuson, “He’s a nice young man that attempted to help the community by taking on a difficult role … and now he’s being sentenced for that.”
Both Kueng, 28, and Thao, 35, were convicted by a federal jury in February along with their former police colleague Thomas Lane, 39, who received a sentence last week of 2 1/2 years in prison for violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Federal prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 6 1/2 years for Lane, which according to federal sentencing guidelines, was the maximum.
All three men were convicted of using the “color of the law,” or their positions as police officers, to deprive Floyd of his civil rights by willfully being indifferent to his serious medical needs.
During Thao’s sentencing hearing, Montgomery again asked for the maximum sentence. Ross also spoke at Thao’s sentencing, but did not offer him words of encouragement like she did when she addressed Kueng and called for a maximum sentence.
“Mr. Thao, as you watched my love being suffocated under the knee of your co-officer, I will never forget you saying to the onlookers, ‘This is why you don’t do drugs,'” said Ross, citing video played at the officers’ trial.
Thao’s lawyer, Robert Paule, described Thao as “a decent person who was just trying to do his job.”
Thao gave a statement in court, telling Magnuson he found God after being arrested in Floyd’s death and saying that he had learned to lean on his faith.
Prosecutors said Kueng, Thao and Lane, who was also a rookie cop, all failed to intervene as the handcuffed, unarmed 46-year-old Black man was pinned under the knee of their senior officer, Derek Chauvin, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, outside a Minneapolis convenience store where Floyd was accused of using a phony $20 bill to buy cigarettes.
Thao and Kueng were also convicted of violating Floyd’s right to be free of an unreasonable seizure by willfully failing to intervene to prevent Chauvin from applying bodily injury to Floyd.
Prosecutors had requested a “substantially higher” federal sentence than Lane’s, but far less than what Chauvin received.
Chauvin was sentenced on Thursday by Magnuson to serve 21 years in prison after pleading guilty in December to violating Floyd’s civil rights and admitting he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even after he became unresponsive. Chauvin also pleaded guilty to depriving a then-14-year-old boy of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by an officer, which resulted in bodily injury to the teen, according to the Justice Department.
Magnuson also sentenced Lane.
The length of the sentences for Kueng and Thao are lower than the recommended federal sentencing guidelines, which called for 4 1/4 years to 5 1/4 years.
“The facts of this case do not amount to second-degree murder under federal law,” Magnuson wrote in a ruling last week. “Defendants Kueng and Thao each made a tragic misdiagnosis in their assessment of Mr. Floyd.”
Magnuson noted that Kueng and Thao believed Floyd was suffering from a drug overdose and “excited delirium” — a syndrome in which a subject displays wild agitation and violent behavior that can sometimes lead to death.
Lane was the only police officer involved in Floyd’s fatal arrest to express concern for the man’s well-being. Police body-camera video played at the three former officers’ federal trial captured Lane asking twice if they should roll Floyd onto his side from a prone position to help ease his breathing.
Chauvin, 46, was also convicted in state court in April 2021 on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced in June 2021 by Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to 22 1/2 years in state prison.
Chauvin will serve his sentence in federal prison concurrently with his state sentence.
Lane also pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the top charge against him of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder. Lane is awaiting his sentence in state court.
Kueng and Thao are scheduled to be put on trial in state court on Oct. 24 on charges of aiding and abetting in murder and aiding and abetting in manslaughter. They have both pleaded not guilty.
Norman Lear, the legendary producer of TV classics like All in the Family, The Jeffersons and Good Times, turned 100 years old on Wednesday, and ABC is going to throw him a party.
The network has announced a one-night-only celebration called Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter, which will air on Thursday, September 22 at 9 p.m. ET and stream the next day on Hulu.
Special guests will be announced at a later date, but if recent Lear co-productions like live versions of Diff’rent Strokes and All in the Family are any indications, it will be a star-studded affair: Celebs like Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Hart and Oscar winners Jennifer Hudson and Jamie Foxx all took part in the past.
“Norman’s illustrious career is revered by so many, and we are honored to be celebrating his legacy with this special night of entertainment,” said Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich in a statement.
He continued, “We have been lucky to work with Norman on a number of projects over the years, and it’s only fitting that his centennial birthday be marked by the biggest names in Hollywood raising a glass to toast, and perhaps gently roast, the television icon.”
For his part, Lear said, “I’ve always believed music and laughter have added time to my life. I’ve seen a lot throughout my 100 years, but I would’ve never imagined America having a front-row seat to my birthday celebration.”
Benjamin Greene and Nazly Ortiz are seen in a video retweeted by the Harris County Sheriff’s Dept. The two people charged in a wild road rage shooting that was caught on camera. – Harris County Sheriff’s Dept./Twitter
(HOUSTON) — Two people have been arrested in Texas following an alleged road rage incident involving a 2-year-old on Tuesday just north of Houston on I-45.
Video of the encounter shows one man slamming his hands onto a silver Toyota Camry as a woman fired a gun into the car’s window while a man and child were inside.
As the car sped away, the woman was seen firing a second shot at the vehicle.
The suspects then rush to get back into their black pickup truck, the video showed.
Benjamin Greene and Nataly Ortiz were arrested and booked in Harris County Jail on Tuesday night, according to officials.
Greene has been charged with aggravated assault and Ortiz was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon later that day, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
The judge did not set bail for either suspect in probable cause court. He left the decision to the judge in the 182nd court, where both suspects are now assigned.
The victim told ABC News Houston station KTRK that a bullet grazed his head.
Gonzalez said the victim was taken to the hospital for the graze wound.
The victim told KTRK the 2-year-old inside the vehicle was his nephew, who was hit by shattered glass, but is OK.
Gonzalez said a nearby car dealership was also hit by one of Ortiz’s shots, but no one was injured.
It is not known when Greene and Ortiz will appear again in court.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
On Monday, an 8-year-old boy was injured in a road rage incident in a Dallas suburb. A suspect has not yet been identified by police.
(NEW YORK) — Deaf Broadway returns to Lincoln Center, following the 2021 production of Into the Woods, featuring an entirely deaf cast. This year they perform Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, the chilling story following “the demon barber of Fleet Street.”
Just as last year, they’ll perform the show completely in American Sign Language in front of a screen broadcasting a filmed version.
The cast takes the stage July 31, the final day of disability pride month, celebrating the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July 1990. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.
Miranda Hoffner works in the accessibility department of Lincoln Center.
“We’re excited to center that in the month of July and really focus on deaf and disabled artists and then how to make sure that anyone can go to anything they’re interested in at Lincoln Center at any time and have their needs met, but accessibility has been part of Lincoln Center story since its founding,” she said of her work at Lincoln Center.
Hoffner says the accessibility department prioritizes making their productions enjoyable for all people, regardless of disability. This season they employed “haptic feedback,” which allows audiences to feel the music through their skin.
“Audience members are able to wear a backpack that sort of goes along their spine, very lightweight, and then wristbands and ankle bands and they pulse all five octaves,” she said. “It’s like really, really amazing to be able to feel music and take in music in another way.”
Hoffner also shares that the halls of Lincoln Center are wheelchair accessible and that they offer captioning on personal devices and even visual descriptions for those who are blind.
This Sunday, they expect members of the deaf community, disability community and theatre and Sondheim fans alike to attend the production.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday night and again Wednesday morning and will end “his strict isolation measures,” according to the physician to the president, Dr. Kevin O’Connor.
The negative test comes less than one week after the president’s first positive test on Thursday morning.
Biden finished his five-day course of Paxlovid 36 hours ago, O’Connor wrote in a memo Wednesday morning that was subsequently released by the White House.
“His symptoms have been steadily improving, and are almost completely resolved,” O’Connor wrote.
In remarks later Wednesday morning from the Rose Garden, Biden called his recovery a “real statement of where we are in the fight against COVID-19.”
“Even if you get COVID, you can avoid winding up with a severe case. You can now prevent most COVID deaths, and that’s because of three free tools the Biden administration has invested in and distributed this past year: booster shots, at-home tests [and] easy-to-use, effective treatments. We got through COVID with no fear, I got through it with no fear, a very mild discomfort because of these essential, life-saving tools,” he said.
“COVID was killing thousands of Americans a day when I got here. That isn’t the case anymore. You can live without fear by doing what I did, get boosted, get tested and get treatment. At the same time, my administration remains vigilant. Right now, we have the tools to keep you from getting severely ill or dying from COVID, but we’re not stopping there,” he added.
His comments mark a continuation of the White House’s message that while the coronavirus is here to stay — something many public health experts have long been warning and fighting against — life can go largely back to normal for many, if not all, Americans.
“Let’s keep emerging from one of the darkest moments of our history with hope and light for what can come,” Biden said.
The president likely had the highly contagious BA.5 subvariant, and his symptoms had included a runny nose, cough, sore throat, a slight fever and body aches. O’Connor never reported any abnormalities in Biden’s pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate or oxygen saturation throughout his infection.
Biden told reporters Monday that all his test results were “good” and “on the button.”
Biden is ending his strict isolation measures after being confined to the White House residence since his diagnosis. He will continue to wear a “well-fitting” mask as needed for 10 days.
He worked while in isolation, posting a photograph on Twitter Monday of him and his dog, Commander, saying he “took some calls this morning with man’s best co-worker.”
The president tweeted a picture of his negative test on Wednesday and said that he’s returning to the Oval Office.
Biden “continues to be very specifically conscientious to protect any of the Executive Residence, White House, Secret Service and other staff whose duties require any (albeit socially distanced) proximity to him,” O’Connor wrote in his memo on Wednesday.
Biden will increase his testing cadence in light of the possibility of a Paxlovid “rebound,” O’Connor wrote, referring to a seemingly rare but increasingly reported phenomenon in which COVID symptoms recur or there is the development of a new positive viral test after having tested negative.
The president is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots, but at the age of 79 was considered to be at a higher risk for severe illness.
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, stressed after Biden’s diagnosis that all Americans should take advantage of vaccinations and treatments courses.
“This is a president who’s double-vaccinated, double-boosted, getting treatments that are widely available to Americans and has at this moment a mild respiratory illness,” Jha told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “This is really good news, and this is both vaccines and treatments that are available to everyone. Really important that people go out and get vaccinated and avail themselves of these treatments if they get infected.”
First lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both tested negative for COVID-19 after spending time with the president before his diagnosis.
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson, Alexandra Hutzler and Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.
Ed Sheeran is currently winning the race for the most popular artist on Spotify. The “Bad Habits” singer is now the first artist to hit 100 million followers on the platform.
Ed celebrated the fun news on Twitter, where he shared a hilarious video of him palling around his recent concert while wearing a white tee shirt that reads in all capital letters, “Ask me about my 100 million Spotify followers.”
The Grammy winner is undoubtedly proud of his latest milestone and narrates in the hilarious video, “So I just hit 100 million followers on Spotify and Spotify has sent me this tee shirt. So I’m going to walk around the stadium and ask people to ask me about my 100 million followers because they’re all going to be so excited for me!”
Ed films himself as he runs around backstage, greeting various people in hopes of being asked about his Spotify win. Despite all the chest puffing and physical gesturing, no one plays along and that causes the redhead to stalk away in defeat.
Eventually, Ed approaches singer Maisie Peters, who does seem genuinely interested in his latest achievement. She gives him a round of applause and exclaims, “Aw, well done, Ed Sheeran! Woo!” The two then share a hug.
The video ends with another person asking Ed about his tee shirt, to which the “Shivers” singer quips, “You’re not meant to ask!”
“Absolutely mental,” the video caption reads. “What an achievement Ed. Congrats!”
Ed is currently on his Mathematics Tour in support of his latest album, = (Equals). He is set to take over Paris on Friday.
The “Down” rockers have announced 311 Day at Sea, a concert cruise taking place March 8-13, 2023. While 311 has hosted many cruises before, 311 Day at Sea will be the first one to be sailing on the band’s annual celebration, which takes place on March 11.
311 Day at Sea will depart from Miami and will make stops in Harvest Caye, Belize and Roatán, Honduras. Along with three separate 311 headlining performances, the cruise will feature a lineup of bands and comedians, which will be announced at a later date.
Pre-sale tickets will be available beginning August 10 followed by the general sale on August 16. For more info, visit 311Cruise.com.
If you’d prefer to see 311 on land, you can catch their upcoming U.S. tour kicking off in September.
ABC’s CMA Fest special is fast approaching, hosted by Dierks Bentley and Elle King and featuring all the highlights from CMA Fest 2022.
Ahead of next week’s show, the Country Music Association is revealing the set list, and it’s a high-energy blend of classic hits, fast-rising new singles and megawatt duets.
Old Dominion is performing their latest single, “No Hard Feelings,” while Kane Brown’s rocking the stage with his brand-new “Like I Love Country Music” as well as his chart-topping “One Mississippi.”
Carrie Underwood and Cole Swindell are both bringing new songs to the stage, too. Cole will also be joined by Lainey Wilson for a performance of their hit, “Never Say Never.”
Meanwhile, lots of artists are revisiting old favorites from their catalogs. Dierks will perform “Drunk on a Plane,” Luke Bryan is dusting off “Kick the Dust Up” and Darius Rucker will treat fans to his modern-day country classic “Wagon Wheel.”
Every year, collaboration is a major highlight of CMA Fest, and that will be represented in the special, too: Wynonna Judd and Carly Pearce will share their performance of “Why Not Me,” and Lady A is teaming up with Breland for a rendition of “Need You Now.” Zac Brown Band will share the stage with Darius for “Chicken Fried,” and Elle and Ashley McBryde will come together for Elle’s hit, “Ex’s and Oh’s.”
CMA Fest airs on ABC on August 3 at 8 p.m. ET. It’ll be available to watch the next day on Hulu.
