Anthrax and Black Label Society have announced a co-headlining U.S. tour set.
The joint outing, which also features Hatebreed on the bill, will launch July 26 in Phoenix, and will wrap up August 28 in Philadelphia.
“[BLS frontman] Zakk [Wylde] has been a friend and an inspiration to me as a guitar player, songwriter, and beard grower since we met in 1988,” says Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian. “We’ve had the privilege to share festival stages with Zakk and BLS around the world, and it’s always been a head-banging mutual admiration society between the two bands.”
“Now we get to share the stage every night on what is easily going to be the heaviest tour of 2022 — the ultimate pounding one-two combination of bands,” Ian adds. “Oh, and did I mention we’ve got f***ing Hatebreed with us as our special guests? Holy crap, it’s going to be the night of 1000 crushing riffs.”
Anthrax will be celebrating their 40th anniversary on the tour, while Black Label will be supporting their new album, 2021’s Doom Crew Inc.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 22, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Anthrax.com.
(HONG KONG) — China has reported its first three deaths linked to the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai, as the country battles its worst surge of infections since the pandemic began.
According to a statement on Monday from the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, the people who died on Sunday were aged between 89 and 91. All of them were unvaccinated.
As Shanghai’s 25 million residents enter a third week of lockdown, the city on Monday recorded 22,248 new cases, 2,417 of which were symptomatic.
The official death toll, which is remarkably lower than those in other major cities, has fueled skepticism of the official data coming out of China.
Some experts suspect that China is attributing underlying health conditions to COVID deaths. Yanzhong Huang, a Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations pointed to a Shanghai study that estimates there were more than 2,000 excess diabetes deaths in Shanghai associated with the lockdown.
Anger over the country’s hardline “Zero COVID” approach to the pandemic has been swelling in the country, particularly in Shanghai where residents have experienced food shortages and delivery difficulties.
The economic costs are also growing as the lockdown impacts the flow of goods to major shipping ports, posing disruptions to global supply chains.
On Monday, China’s State Council Vice-Premier Liu He, an economic advisor to Chinese President Xi Jinping, said that China must stabilize its supply chains with the help of local governments.
Meanwhile, Shanghai’s Economic and Information Technology Commission announced plans to resume production and ease controls on manufacturers.
Data released on Monday showed a significant slowdown in the country’s economic activity in March. Shanghai contributes to about a third of China’s gross domestic product.
“We should solve outstanding problems one by one in key regions,” Liu said, according to Xinhua News Agency. Liu said the government will establish a so-called “white list” of companies that require assistance in recovering from disruptions.
Speaking with ABC News, Huang also voiced concern that prolonged lockdowns could hurt China’s competitiveness in the lockdown.
“When other countries are now learning to coexist with the virus and their economy and the manufacturing capacity is recovering, China’s export sector will be affected,” Huang said.
Huang added that it’s time for China to move away from its 2020 tactics: “Over the past two years, the Zero COVID strategy was effective in sustaining extremely low levels of infection in helping China fight this, to boost its reputation as a success by pandemic response. But now this approach are showing diminishing returns. The social economic costs associated with the approach are rising rapidly and exponentially.”
Billie Eilish‘s Coachella set featured a surprise appearance by Blur and Gorillaz frontman DamonAlbarn.
The “bad guy” artist invited Albarn on stage for a joint performance of her song “Getting Older,” as well as rendition of the Gorillaz classic “Feel Good Inc.”
For the “Feel Good Inc.” performance, Eilish and Albarn were also joined by Posdnuos of hip hop trio De La Soul, which provided the iconic rap verses on the original song.
Albarn is an Eilish fan, and has covered “Getting Older” himself. In the infamous Los Angeles Times interview where he claimed Taylor Swift “doesn’t write her own songs,” Albarn called Eilish a “really interesting songwriter.”
Lorde is scheduled to perform at New York’s Radio City Music Hall Monday night but it remains to be seen if she will, since she had to postpone her last two shows due to laryngitis.
The first show scrapped was her April 15 gig in Uncasville, CT. In a statement on the venue’s website, Lorde said, “These past couple days I’ve been pushing through some horrendous laryngitis, and I regret to inform you that my voice hasn’t sufficiently recovered to be able to play the show for you…I’ve tried everything, and unfortunately it’s physically impossible for me to sing much of the set.”
The second affected was Saturday’s gig in Washington, D.C. Lorde said in a tweet, “Unfortunately, due to continued illness, I am postponing our show. I am so, so sorry. My voice is still a wreck, and I don’t want to give a less-than-great performance. I love playing in DC, and I’m gutted it’s you guys I’m letting down.”
The D.C. gig has been moved to August 29, while the Connecticut show has been moved to August 25.
Lorde’s Monday and Tuesday night shows at Radio City were still listed on the venue’s website as of Monday morning.
Mariah: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images; Gwen: Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Over the weekend, Mariah Carey and Gwen Stefani got visits from the Easter Bunny — but in Gwen’s case, it was actually her husband, Blake Shelton, dressed in a giant pink bunny suit.
”hoppy #Easter from me + the easter blakey,” wrote Gwen on Instagram, captioning a video of Blake in his bunny suit walking down the hallway with their dogs. He accessorized the bunny suit with a pair of bunny slippers. On his own Instagram, Blake shared another video of his Bunny debut, and wrote, “Happy Easter everybody. You’re welcome.”
Gwen also shared a photo of her son Apollo posing with her father, as well as a throwback photo of her two older sons, Kingston and Zuma, posing with the Easter Bunny — not Blake — when they were much younger.
As for Mariah, her Instagram video showed the Bunny walking up her driveway and sneaking into her palatial mansion, where he left huge baskets for her twins Roc and Roe. He also tip-toed into Mariah’s bedroom and woke her up, and then dropped off some more baskets in the front yard before leaving, as Mariah blew him kisses from her balcony.
In a conversation with the Palm Beach Daily News, stand-up legend and former Tonight Show host Jay Leno sounded off on the infamous Will Smith Oscar incident.
Leno noted, “To me, the thing that’s most disturbing wasn’t the slap, because he was kind of smirking after he slapped [Chris Rock],” Leno said. “It was the yelling of the obscenities. Then you go, ‘Whoa. What’s going on here?’ This is real anger.”
Leno noted how out of character the situation seemed for Smith, who he called a “good guy.” Jay also cracked wise about the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ investigating the slap, before deciding to ban Smith for 10 years.
“What are you investigating?” Leno asked.
“It had to be the most recorded assault in history. I saw the back of his shoe, I saw Chris’ ear. There were so many cameras on this incident. What are you investigating? I know sometimes things are just what they appear to be.”
Tom Hanks‘ throwing out the first pitch of the Cleveland Guardians’ home opener on Friday night reunited him with a former big-screen co-star. Hanks was introduced to the fans along with Wilson the volleyball, one of his only screen partners in the 2000 hit Cast Away. As reported, longtime Cleveland fan Hanks threw his pitch to Larry Doby Jr., whose father was the first Black player in the American League…
We’ve lost another Seinfeld mom. Just weeks after the passing of Estelle Harris, who played George Costanza’s mother on the ‘90s sitcom, comes news of the death of Liz Sheridan, who played Jerry Seinfeld’s mom on the show. Her manager confirmed to KABC’s George Pennacchio that she died of natural causes early Friday morning at age 93. Sheridan also had a recurring role on ALF and appeared in numerous Broadway shows. She chronicled her romance with James Dean in her 2000 book, Dizzy & Jimmy. Sheridan is survived by her daughter and son-in-law…
Saturday Night Livehas announced that ThePower of the Dog Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch will return to Studio 8H to host on May 7, the day after Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness opens in theaters. Arcade Fire will be the musical guest, their sixth turn on the long-running sketch show…
Netflix and DreamWorks Animation have a new trailer to another entry in the Boss Baby franchise. Once again, Alec Baldwin voices the business-suited title role in the animated series Boss Baby: Back in the Crib. In this follow-up to 2021’s film The Boss Baby 2: Family Business, Baldwin’s Theodor Templeton is accused of embezzlement. The film debuts May 19…
(WASHINGTON) — It’s a “hoppy” day at the White House — as the Easter Egg Roll returns Monday.
Following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden continue the tradition of welcoming families to the South Lawn for the famed Easter Egg Roll on Monday, although COVID cases are, once again, on the rise with the BA.2 variant.
Jill Biden, a longtime educator who has continued her job teaching community college while serving as first lady, created and curated this year’s theme: “EGGucation!” Her husband is scheduled to give remarks at 10:15 a.m.
The White House said the public will see the South Lawn “transformed into a school community” — with plenty of events to entertain the thousands of kids expected to attend. The day will feature a reading nook, talent show, farm station and an obstacle course, among other activities.
The tradition of inviting families to the South Lawn to hunt for colorful eggs and roll them on wooden spoons dates to 1878 — but its return after two years risks being overshadowed by the very reason it was paused. It’s unclear if all those attending are required to submit a negative COVID test, but it is expected that children under five — still unauthorized to receive the vaccine — will be on-site in scores.
The White House said 30,000 people were invited to take part in this year’s outdoor event “including thousands of military families, and the crew members and families from the U.S.S. DELAWARE, the U.S. Naval Submarine, for which the First Lady is the sponsor.”
An online public lottery was also held to distribute tickets to families across the country as it’s set to be the largest event held at the White House since Biden took office.
The White House said special guests include Jimmy Fallon, Ciara, Kristin Chenoweth, 2021 National Teacher of the Year, Juliana Urtubey, an elementary teacher in Las Vegas. Sports fans can expect to see the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders and the Washington Spirit. And costumed characters will be roaming the grounds, including Disney’s Doc McStuffins, Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat, Sonic the Hedgehog, Snoopy and Charlie Brown, Cookie Monster, The Minions and the Washington Nationals’ Racing Presidents.
Announcing the theme on Twitter last week, the first lady said, “As a teacher, my heart is always in the classroom.”
To mitigate crowds, Monday’s event will be broken into five sessions starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 6:30 p.m. Still, it comes amid concerns the president himself could catch COVID as some in his circles in Washington, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have tested positive in recent weeks. The White House has shifted its messaging to acknowledge the president could get COVID but argued the concern for illness is lessened since he’s vaccinated and double boosted.
Former President Donald Trump’s White House canceled the event in 2020 “out of an abundance of caution,” and Biden canceled it last year when vaccines weren’t yet widely available. The tradition dating back to Rutherford B. Hayes’ White House has also been canceled in its 144-year history in wartime and inclement weather.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, opened in the number-one spot at the box office, earning an estimated $43 million over the weekend. Overseas, the fantasy film — brought to life by an ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Ezra Miller and more, and with Mads Mikkelsen replacing Johnny Depp as the villainous Gellert Grindelwald — racked up $150 million, bringing its global total to just over $193 million.
Last week’s number-one film, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, dropped to second, earning an additional $30 million domestically during its second weekend in theaters, surpassing the $100 million mark domestically and doubling that internationally, with an estimated $231.8 million total.
Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum‘s rom-com The Lost City held on to the third spot at the box office, securing another $6.5 million in its fourth week of release, bringing its global tally to $88.2 million.
Earning an additional $6.2 million over the holiday weekend was Everything Everywhere All at Once. Its international total now sits at $18 million.
Rounding out the top five is the Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg-led Father Stu, which earned opened to $5.7 million domestically, for a grand total of $8 million since last Wednesday.
(NEW YORK) — Actor Brian Austin Green is opening up about his experience with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease that affects the inner lining of the digestive tract.
In a recent Instagram post, Green said he had been dealing with the disease for about “six, six-and-a-half weeks,” and that the illness had left him “bedridden for a while.”
Ulcerative colitis, or UC, most commonly affects young adults 15 to 30 years old, but also tends to crop up among adults starting around age 50. Green is 48 years old.
“Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact cause of ulcerative colitis,” said Dr. Lea Ann Chen, director of inflammatory bowel disease translational research at Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine at Rutgers University. It is potentially “caused by abnormalities of the immune system,” Chen said.
Roughly 600,000 to 900,000 people in the U.S. have ulcerative colitis, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Here are six things to know about this common disease.
1. Symptoms might not be obvious at first
“The most common symptoms include diarrhea, sometimes bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain. The symptoms can overlap with a number of other conditions.” Chen said.
Some associated symptoms may be bowel urgency, bowel incontinence, weight loss, fever and weakness, according to the NIH. There may be periods that someone with UC will not have symptoms and they will return.
2. Straightforward diagnosis, lifelong treatment
To diagnose ulcerative colitis, colonoscopies and biopsies are most common.
“There are features of inflammation both in the colonoscopy and microscopically, that help us to distinguish ulcerative colitis from other conditions,” Chen said.
Many treatment options exist, and it requires lifelong care.
“It depends on the severity and how symptomatic patients are,” Chen said of choosing a treatment plan. Pills, like mesalamine or sulfasalazine, and injections and infusions called biologics can be administered.
If you stop your medication, even when you feel great and have no symptoms, it can cause serious health problems. Flare-ups may occur and require hospitalizations or even surgery.
3. There is no prevention
“Unfortunately, there is not anything specific you can do to protect yourself,” Chen said. A healthy diet of fresh fruit and vegetables is a start, however, “it’s not clear that this would protect you from developing ulcerative colitis,” Chen said.
The most independent risk factor is a family history of the disease. If you have a first-degree relative with the disease, you have a four times higher risk.
4. Increased risk of colorectal cancer
“Some people get joint pains or inflammation in their eyes. Occasionally, some get primary sclerosing cholangitis, which is inflammation in the biliary system. Less than half of people will get these conditions,” Chen said.
It can also lead to abscesses, toxic megacolon, further bleeding for your gastrointestinal tract and other infections.
“Unfortunately, ulcerative colitis and the inflammation that it causes in the colon over time can increase a person’s colon cancer risk,” Chen said.
The risk of getting colon cancer is roughly 2% after 10 years of diagnosis, according to StatPearls research.
5. Regular follow-ups are important
“Patients, after they’ve been diagnosed [with UC] for a number of years will be put on a schedule [with their doctor] for more frequent colonoscopies. Within the first eight years the colonoscopies are to help look at the location of the disease and to check response to therapy. After eight years, the gastroenterologist may recommend annual colonoscopies to every other year. Depending on the severity and the duration, that somebody has had UC,” Chen said.
Regular follow-ups with your gastroenterologist are important.
“One thing patients can do to lower that risk [of colon cancer] is to get good control of their disease,” Chen said.
You should also discuss any concerns you have with your doctor.
Raffaele Macri, M.D., is an emergency medicine and family medicine resident physician at Jefferson Health Northeast in Philadelphia and member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
