MTV might be experiencing “New Coke” backlash after its original stars of Jersey Shore cried foul about an all-new reboot.
TMZ reports Jersey Shore 2.0 was about to get going when production was suddenly stopped, and all camera gear was removed from its New Jersey shooting location.
MTV only told the gossip site that the production has been “paused,” without linking it to a joint statement of disapproval back in May from the original folks who introduced us to phrases like “Gym, Tan, Laundry,” and, well, the name Snooki.
A message shared across the social platforms of Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Pauly “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Vinny Guadagnino, Angelina Pivarnick and Deena Nicole Cortese read, “As a cast that took a chance with a network in need, we put our most vulnerable moments on television for the world to see.”
“We gave our all over the past 13 years, became a family and continue to open our lives for the world,” said the reality stars, referencing their occasional reunions on Jersey Shore Family Vacation.
“So please understand that we are not in support of a version that will exploit our original show, our hard work and authenticity to gain viewers,” the message concluded.
For what it’s worth, the online reaction to the message see-sawed between support for the OG Shore gang and backlash against the stars for taking shots at the network that made them famous.
(WASHINGTON) — Scientists at the nation’s top health agencies are looking into expanding vaccine eligibility so that more Americans can get a second booster shot during the latest COVID-19 wave, White House officials said on Tuesday.
“I know that the [Food and Drug Administration] is considering this, looking at it. And I know [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] scientists are thinking about this and looking at the data as well. The decision is purely up to them,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID coordinator, said at a briefing with reporters on Tuesday morning.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, said conversations about booster eligibility have been going on for a while. But he also reiterated that the final call lies with the FDA and CDC.
“We always talked about it, it’s not something new, but we all recognize what the lines of authority are and that’s what we’ll be depending on,” he said.
In May, FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks told ABC News that internal discussions were underway about second boosters for all adults.
Currently, everyone over 5 is eligible for an initial booster shot at least five months after their initial vaccination series. Everyone over 50 is recommended to get a second booster shot four months after their first, as is anyone who is immunocompromised.
But officials were clear on Tuesday that despite the potential for opening up second boosters to a wider population, there has been very low uptake among the older Americans who are already eligible — a problem because they are the most vulnerable to the virus.
“For people who are 50 years of age or older, my message is simple: If you have not gotten a vaccine shot in the year 2022 — if you have not gotten one this year — please go get another vaccine shot,” Jha said. “It could save your life.”
Jha also pushed people to start testing before gathering at big events, getting treatment like Paxlovid or monoclonal antibodies if infected with COVID and upping their use of face masks.
BA.4 and BA.5, the latest dominant COVID strains to spread in the U.S., are substantially more evasive of prior immunity, both from infection and from vaccines. Together, they currently account for around 80% of cases.
“The vaccine effectiveness against severe disease, fortunately for us, is not reduced substantially or at all compared to other omicron subvariants,” Fauci said Tuesday.
Jha said the White House was closely monitoring the subvariants and their impact.
“We’re encouraged that serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths have remained relatively low based on the level of infections. That’s not by coincidence, by the way. It’s not random,” Jha said, going on to tout “our successful vaccination program, our efforts to get people boosted and our incredibly focused effort on making sure that treatments and testing are widely available.” (The administration had faced criticism last year that testing wasn’t easily accessible nationwide.)
Still, Jha noted Tuesday that hundreds of people — far too many — were dying every day.
“We are experiencing about 300 to 350 deaths a day. That is unacceptable. It’s too high. And we will continue to use the infrastructure we have built and the tools we have to lower suffering and death as we manage BA.5,” he said, “and it is clear that with every American doing their part, we can get through the BA.5 infections together.”
What Americans can do to protect themselves
While Jha, Fauci and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky were all clear in their recommendations on Tuesday for the public to get up-to-date on their vaccines and boosters to fend off variants, the reality is murky for many Americans who have recently had COVID.
The CDC’s guidance is that people can wait up to three months after infection to get a shot — but reinfection with BA.5 could happen sooner than three months. Because the omicron subvariant is still new, there’s a lot scientists are still scrambling to learn.
“The overall principle is that we know immunity wanes with coronaviruses, whether that is infection or vaccination, and so if you’ve been infected or vaccinated and your time comes for a boost, that’s when you should go and get the boost,” said Fauci, who recently recovered from COVID.
“And I might say myself, having been someone who’s been vaccinated and infected, when we get the next round of having vaccines available, months later, I will be in line to get another boost after that,” he added.
The other factor many Americans are weighing is the new, omicron-specific vaccine that will be available beginning in October. Officials were adamant that anyone who gets a booster now will again be able to get one in the fall. But booster fatigue or hesitancy to get boosted twice within a span of a few months might prevent people from making that decision.
To that, officials said the benefit was worth it.
“People say, ‘Well, why do I want to get a prototype vaccine booster now, when I’m gonna have a variant-specific vaccine in four months or five months?'” Jha said.
“The biggest thing, and the data on this is very clear, is if you’re over 50, that extra booster dramatically lowers your risk of getting into the hospital, going into the ICU and dying. And there are very few things we do in medicine that have the kind of benefit that we see from that extra shot,” Jha said.
“And let me be clear: If you get vaccinated today, you’re not going to be ineligible to get the variant-specific vaccine as we get into the later part of fall and winter. So this is not a trade off,” he said. “We’ve got plenty. It’s a great way to protect yourself.”
Muni Long and Saweetie have dropped the playful new video for their single, “Baby Boo.”
In the clip for the catch tune — inspired by the 1995 hit “My Boo” by Ghost Town DJ’s — Muni and Saweetie use the dating site Blk to get with some hot guys. Muni matches with a dude who drives a truck that sells candy and ice cream and rides around with him while enjoying some popsicles. Meanwhile, Saweetie plays basketball in her bedroom with another guy before collapsing on the bed with him.
The clip ends with the two judging what seems to be an impromptu dance contest, where squads of women and men dance to “Baby Boo” on a makeshift outdoor stage.
Muni, aka Priscilla Renae, has co-written songs for Rihanna, Fifth Harmony, Pitbull, Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande among others. She made her BET Awards debut last month to perform her hit “Hrs & Hrs” as well as her popular track “Time Machine.”
After dropping their Through the Madness Vol. 1 EP back in January, Maddie & Tae have announced the next half of the project: Through the Madness Vol. 2 will be available in September.
“The story continues September 23,” the duo shared on social media. “Through the Madness Vol. 2 has a little something for all your feels. We can’t wait for you to hear these songs!”
Volume one of the project included personal tracks like “Madness” and “Woman You Got,” which reflects on recent life changes ripped straight from their lives: Both Maddie Font and Taylor Kerr got married within the last few years.
The duo have experienced “madness” throughout the album release process in other ways, too: They had to postpone their scheduled early 2022 tour after Taylor, who was pregnant, was placed on bed rest. After being hospitalized for a month, the singer gave birth to her daughter, Leighton, significantly early. The baby spent 53 days in the newborn intensive care unit, went home and has been thriving since.
The video opens with Harry waking up in his bed and reaching over for someone, only to realize the space next to him is empty. He then sees a pile of clothes on top of his speaker and begins searching around his bed before diving into the covers and traveling through a portal lined with billowing white sheets.
The tunnel leads to multiple beds and increasingly interesting scenarios — Harry is seen lying on a giant red bed lined with numerous people, and waking up in a museum, as critics walk around and inspect the art installation he’s now a part of.
And it turns out the video does contain footage of Harry rolling down the streets of London on a giant, ornate metal bed. Fans spotted the Grammy-winner shooting this particular scene in February; he apparently held up traffic as the bed was towed down the street and toward Buckingham Palace.
Harry vanishes from each bed after spending time with its residents. The video ends with him standing on a brass bed that’s plummeting from the sky. Harry finally makes peace with his situation and lays down on the bed, relaxing as clouds race up past him.
“Late Night Talking” is the latest single from Harry’s House to get the music video treatment. After the clip was posted, he took to his Instagram Story to share a behind-the-scenes clip, which teases the amount of work that went into creating the music video.
(NEW YORK) — As U.S. policymakers walk a tightrope in an attempt to dial back sky-high prices while averting an economic recession, new inflation data on Wednesday showed a significant acceleration of price hikes.
Prices rose even faster in June, jumping at the highest rate in four decades and prolonging a bout of inflation that has strained household budgets nationwide, according to data released by the federal government.
The consumer price index, or CPI, stood at 9.1% in June, a significant increase from 8.6% in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is the largest 12-month increase since December 1981.
On a monthly basis, the consumer price index rose 1.3% in June, far outpacing the 1% rise seen in April, according to the bureau.
The new data arrives as the Federal Reserve pursues a series of rate hikes that aim to tackle inflation by slowing down the economy and slashing demand. The moves, however, risk tipping the economy into a recession.
The high inflation figure could spur the Fed to seek a more aggressive approach to raising interest rates. The new inflation data comes days after employment data showed stronger than expected hiring last month, suggesting that employers remain undeterred by borrowing cost increases from the Fed.
“The million dollar question is how hard the Fed has to apply the brakes,” Hernan Moscoso Boedo, an economist at the University of Cincinnati, told ABC News.
Inflation data that shows continued acceleration of inflation “will put more pressure on the Fed to increase the interest rate more than expected, and that increases the possibility that the U.S. is going to enter a recession,” Moscoso Boedo added.
President Joe Biden, in a statement on Wednesday, called the new inflation data “unacceptably high” but downplayed the report as “out of date.” Gas prices, which made up almost half of the monthly increase in inflation, have declined since last month, Biden said. “Those savings are providing important breathing room for American families,” he added.
Over the past month, the national average gas price has decreased about 35 cents, reaching $4.65 a gallon, according to data from AAA.
But more needs to be done to bring down inflation, which remains “the most pressing economic challenge,” Biden said.
“Tackling inflation is my top priority,” he added. “We need to make more progress, more quickly, in getting price increases under control.”
At a Fed meeting last month, just days after the release of inflation data for May, the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate 0.75%, its largest rate hike since 1994. The increase brought the interest rate to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%
At a meeting later this month, the Fed is expected to raise the interest rate again. Fed officials are considering a 0.50% or 0.75% hike at the next meeting, according to minutes from the past meeting that were released July 6.
(NEW YORK) — More than 300 damaging storm reports came from Maine to Arkansas, as severe storms moved through.
More than 100,000 people in Virginia and Maryland were left without power on Tuesday night, as storm damage left its mark on homes, power lines and cars. Particularly, fallen trees were captured smashing into cars and parts of homes.
Heavy rains, up to 4 inches in some areas, caused flooding into Wednesday morning in the Dollywood theme park area in Tennessee.
Officials reported that over a dozen people were rescued Tuesday night after flash flooding in Greenbrier Campground in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
The Gatlinburg Fire Department responded to a call just before 11 p.m. that 14 people were trapped at the campground due to flooding, officials said.
Throughout the night, the Sevier County Emergency Management Agency continued to monitor the situation, first posting at 11:10 p.m. that anyone in the Greenbrier Island area and anyone downstream of Pigeon River should seek high ground, due to rapidly rising water with recent heavy thunderstorms.
As reports emerged of displaced people in the area, a temporary evacuation shelter was opened at Pittman Center Elementary School around midnight, SCEMA said.
At 2 a.m., SCEMA said that the water was continuing to recede, but that roads and low-lying areas were expected to remain submerged for the next several hours.
Farther south and out West, this summer’s extreme weather continues to manifest in dry, scorching heat.
Texas cities including Austin, San Antonio and Tyler, saw record-high temperatures on Tuesday, coming in at 109, 105 and 106 degrees, respectively.
For Wednesday, Austin is set for a heat index of 110 degrees.
According to the National Weather Service, the heat isn’t going anywhere, and will likely spread to the Midwest, the Great Lakes and parts of the East by next week.
For Phoenix, the heat will also stay steady through the end of the week, forecasted at 112 and 113 degrees for the end of the week.
Heat alerts have been issued for Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Montana.
Heat advisories have been issued for much of Texas, as well as in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Colorado and parts of Montana.
An excessive heat warning has been enacted in the Salt Lake City area.
Out West, the extreme heat coupled with dry weather, maintains the region’s fire risk.
The Washburn Fire continues to burn in southern Yosemite National Park as it reaches 3,516 acres burned and is 17% contained.
Hot and dry weather will continue in the area.
Red flag warnings have been issued for dry lightning and gusty winds, making the perfect circumstances for fire, from northern California to Nevada, including parts of southern Colorado.
To add to the eastern floods, southern heat and western fire, the Gulf Coast may be hit with tropical moisture and heavy rain.
Flash flooding from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, may come as rains could reach half a foot in a short period of time on Wednesday.
As the weather across the U.S. remains extreme, remember to stay safe in life-threatening situations such as high temperatures. Learn more about hot weather safety here.
(NEW YORK) — Five men were killed in separate shootings that erupted on the streets of New York City during a violent four-hour streak, police said.
The slayings occurred between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 1 a.m. Wednesday, including three in the city’s Brooklyn borough and two in the Bronx, according to the New York Police Department.
No arrests have been announced in any of the homicides.
The latest killing occurred just after 1 a.m. Wednesday in the Fordham Heights neighborhood of the Bronx when police said two gunmen on dirt bikes opened fire on a 34-year-old man standing in front of his apartment building, police said.
Officers called to the scene found the man shot in the torso and unconscious, according to the NYPD. The victim, identified as Melquan Cooper, was taken to Saint Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
About a half-hour earlier, a 24-year-old man was found shot in the torso outside a home in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn, police said. The man, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, police said. No further details were released on the homicide.
The string of fatal shootings started around 9:13 p.m. Tuesday, when police officers were called to investigate a report of shots fired in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn and found a 26-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the chest outside a New York City Housing Authority complex, according to the NYPD. The man was taken to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, where he died, police said.
The man’s name was not immediately released and homicide investigators were working Wednesday to identify suspects.
More gunfire rang out at 10:46 p.m. Tuesday outside an apartment building in the Wakefield neighborhood of the Bronx, police said. Officers, who responded to a 911 call of a person shot, discovered a 31-year-old man unconscious and with a gunshot wound to the torso, according to the NYPD. The victim was pronounced dead at Saint Barnabas Hospital, police said.
The victim’s name was not immediately released, pending notification of his relatives.
Another fatal shooting happened about 11:10 p.m. Tuesday outside an apartment building in the Ocean Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, police said. Officers discovered a 29-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg.
The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
The latest NYPD crime statistics show that as of Sunday, 222 homicides have occurred across New York City this year, a nearly 8% decrease from the same period as last year.
(AKRON, Ohio) — Jayland Walker’s funeral took place Wednesday, as Akron, Ohio, recognizes an official citywide day of mourning for the police shooting victim declared by city officials days earlier.
Services began midday Wednesday with musical performances. Singers and speakers were flanked by photos of Walker in the Akron Civic Theatre.
“Jayland was a kind and gentle soul who loved to make others laugh,” said Pastor Marlon Walker. “A true family man, Jayland cheers the time he spent with his mother, sister and grandmother. He had a zeal for life and love, traveling with his beloved fiancee. He loved underground music and basketball. He was just beginning to live his life, saving money to become a successful entrepreneur with aspirations of starting a business.”
Speakers took to the stage to not only honor Walker’s life, but also call for accountability in his death.
“One of the things that we cannot do, we must not do, is — we must not normalize this,” said Bishop Timothy Clarke. “We cannot make the deaths of our sons and daughters at such an early age the normal thing. … We should not be here and Jayland should not be in that box.”
The ceremony will be followed by a press conference with representatives of the family, who plan to discuss Walker’s death.
Walker’s sister previously told Good Morning America about how she remembers her brother as a funny, kind brother who looked out for his family and had big goals for his future.
“It’s hard to just talk about somebody who you expect to live your life out with,” Jada Walker said.
The 25-year-old unarmed Black man was fatally shot by officers of the Akron Police Department on June 27.
Officials said they attempted to pull over Walker for a traffic violation and an equipment violation with his car. He allegedly refused to stop, which set off a chase that ended in his death.
Officials said a flash of light seen in body camera footage appeared to be the muzzle flash of a gun coming from the driver’s side of Walker’s car.
In a second body camera video, officers are heard radioing that they heard a shot being fired from Walker’s car. The footage shows the officer following Walker’s Buick off Route 8 and continuing the pursuit on side streets.
At one point, Walker slowed down and jumped out of the passenger side door before it came to a full stop. As Walker ran away from police, several officers simultaneously fired several bullets, fatally shooting him.
The officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation being led by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, officials said.
His death has prompted weeks of protests across the city.
“Tomorrow, Jayland Walker, a beloved son, brother, nephew, and friend will be laid to rest,” said Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan on Tuesday. “I want to thank Akron City Council for passing this resolution declaring tomorrow a day of mourning, in support of Jayland’s family and friends and to respect them in their time of grief. I know our entire city is also grieving. I offer my sincerest condolences to Jayland’s mom, sister, family, and friends during this difficult time.”
The citywide day of mourning aims to address ongoing unrest concerning Walker’s death.
“The City encourages robust discussions about difficult topics and supports advocacy to change unjust laws, and supports those who press for meaningful change, by engaging their local, state, and federal legislatures,” the resolution to enact the honorary day reads.
In it, officials also call for peaceful protesting and healing throughout the community: “The City urges that the friends and family of Jayland Walker, and the entire Akron community, be surrounded with love and peace, and that the City would begin to heal.”
Yungblud has canceled a batch of upcoming North American headlining concerts scheduled for September and October.
The affected dates include September 13 in Montreal, September 15 in Toronto and October 4 in Salt Lake City. Refunds are being issued at the point of purchase.
“My family in Toronto, Montreal and Salt Lake City, due to unforeseen circumstances, my shows this fall are going to be canceled,” Yungblud says in a statement. “You now how much I hate canceling shows, it breaks my f***ing heart but this is way beyond my control.”
“I promise I will be back soon and have massive plans,” the U.K. rocker adds. “All will be made clear soon. It’s gonna be…mental.”
The headlining shows fell in the middle of a run of U.S. festival dates, including sets at Riot Fest, Louder than Life and Firefly, which Yungblud is currently still scheduled to play.
Yungblud is gearing up to release a new, self-titled album on September 2. It includes the single “The Funeral” and the WILLOW collaboration, “Memories.”
