The week-long Anti Social Camp, which aims to boost New York City’s music scene, is going on right now, and several big names are helping this year’s effort.
Billboardreports GAYLE teamed with the Anti Social Producers Club and about 150 other artists, writers and producers to create 100 new songs in the span of three days.
Aside from GAYLE, Rob Thomas, Walk The Moon, JP Saxe and many others will either attend in-person or virtual songwriting boot camps and other events that are dedicated to “putting the NYC music scene back on the map.”
In addition to music writing, the camp will feature a gala, a live concert, a panel dedicated to women in music, industry showcases, recording sessions, presentations and more. All the events are free to attend and open to musicians.
A master itinerary of the week’s events has been made public, which you can check out now on Google Docs.
The long-running syndicated program The Wendy Williams Show is coming to an end Friday, notes Variety, which also explains the show’s titular host won’t be there to mark the occasion.
There will, however, be “a video tribute to the iconic host,” a rep for the program tells the trade.
Health issues have kept Williams out of her throne-like hosting chair for the entirety of this season, with a rotating slate of guest hosts, including Fat Joe and Sherri Shepherd, taking up the slack.
Shepherd, who will be in the chair for the show’s final installment, is getting her own eponymous chat show in the fall, replacing The Wendy Williams Show‘s current time slot.
As reported, Williams has been locked in a battle with Wells Fargo after they reportedly denied her access to her bank account in February, claiming she needs supervision.
Last month, Williams appeared in a rambling Instagram Live interview with Fat Joe, during which she insisted she was “absolutely” ready to return to her program.
Fat Joe equated the situation to that of Britney Spears, whose past conservatorship previously denied her access to her assets. “Why did you just get up and leave?” Joe asked Williams about her show.
“Because somebody stopped giving me my money,” she said.
“…I need my money. I’ll talk about it when I get my show back. I have people that will get it done. I don’t feel like I will go away. I will get bigger and bigger and bigger, and bigger, and I’ll talk about it…”
(PHILADELPHIA) — In an effort to curb shootings and make going to and from school less dangerous for students, Philadelphia officials announced they will spend $1.8 million on installing security cameras near city high schools and middle schools in high crime neighborhoods.
Standing outside the John Bartram High School in Southwest Philadelphia, where a 17-year-old student was fatally shot in January after leaving campus, Mayor Jim Kenney and other city leaders said at a news conference Monday they hope the cameras will make criminals think twice about committing shootings around a school.
“We need to create a culture of if you’re going do something, somebody might be watching you,” city councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez said.
Cameras that can be remotely monitored will be placed along routes students frequently take to and from Bartram and 18 other schools, officials said.
Craig Johnson, the deputy chief of school safety for the School District of Philadelphia, said the schools were chosen for the program based on information regarding shootings around those campuses. The cameras will be linked to the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, where Philadelphia police monitor crime from real-time feeds.
“We hate to think that we have to have this environment where we have to have this coverage, but it’s a simple reality that people in the neighborhoods in the city of Philadelphia, they want us to do something,” Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke said at the press conference.
The move comes as shootings and murders in the City of Brotherly Love have climbed to record levels. Last year, Philadelphia set an all-time annual homicide record with 562 killings. As of Monday, the city has recorded 227 homicides this year, 18 fewer than this time in 2021, according to police department crime statistics.
More than 800 non-fatal shootings have occurred in the city this year as of Sunday, according to gun violence crisis data tracked by the city’s Office of the Controller. At least 95 young people 18 or younger have been shot in the city this year, according to the data.
Johnson said the need for the new security cameras is being prompted by the shootings of teenagers, many near their schools.
On May 17, a 16-year-old boy was shot seven times while sitting outside KIPP Philadelphia Charter School in the city’s Parkside neighborhood. Just seven days later, three students, ages 15 to 17, were shot and wounded after leaving the Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter in the city’s Tioga-Nicetown section.
In April, a 15-year-old boy was shot to death about a block from Tanner Duckrey School in North Central Philadelphia when a gunman fired at least 20 shots.
“Youth being shot or being murdered almost on a daily basis doesn’t even garner that much attention,” Johnson said. “It’s almost like it’s expected or normalized and that’s a really sad place to be.”
The announcement of the program comes less than a month after a teenager armed with an AR-15 rifle allegedly killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Clarke said he hopes the new cameras will also “create an environment where people feel a little more safe.”
“We need every child to be safe as they go to school, and come home later in the day,” Clarke said. “These cameras are a good start, and they’ll lend eyes to law enforcement officials working very hard to keep our kids safe from harm.”
(NEW YORK) — A third of the U.S. population will experience heat advisories on Tuesday and Wednesday as a week of record-breaking temperatures continues, according to the National Weather Service.
A “heat dome” is expected to bring triple-digit temperatures to portions of the Midwest, adding to the early onset temperatures already baking the Southwest.
From California to Virginia, approximately 100 million Americans are under heat advisories, heat warnings or heat watches.
St. Louis reported a record-high temperature of 100 degrees on Monday, and the heat index in parts of the Midwest neared 115 degrees.
From Raleigh, North Carolina, to Chicago, actual temperatures are expected to reach near 100 degrees on Tuesday.
As extreme heat has persisted in the Southwest and Midwest, the heat is moving East, with Detroit predicted to reach 97 degrees on Wednesday.
Wildfires are continuing in the Southwest amid the heat, igniting due to gusty winds and very dry conditions.
There are red flag warnings across Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma for increased fire danger.
A new heat wave is poised to hit the Southwest on Wednesday, with temperatures again surpassing 110 degrees from Southern California to Arizona.
Gusty winds are expected to continue, prolonging wildfire risks in the Southwest.
More than 27 major cities tied or broke day-of heat records on Saturday, with California’s Death Valley being the hottest place in America at 123 degrees.
Palm Springs, California, and Phoenix followed, tying at 114 degrees, marking the hottest day for Phoenix in a century.
Las Vegas reported temperatures of 109 degrees on Saturday for the first time since 1956.
Extreme heat causes more deaths in American than any other weather-related disaster, with the Environmental Protection Agency estimating that more than 1,300 deaths per year in the U.S. are due to extreme heat.
Warning signs of a heat episode include nausea, excessive sweating and rapid pulse.
Those who are at the greatest risk for a heat-related incident include young children, older adults, pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals.
If possible, the NWS encourages residents to take cool showers or baths, find pools to escape the heat, avoid physical activity during the daytime and high-heat hours and find a safe place with air conditioning.
Jay-Z had a little fun teasing Blue Ivy on their father-daughter outing to the NBA Finals game Monday night, where the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 104-94.
There were plenty of famous faces among the crowd. When the rap mogul appeared on camera, he wrapped his arms around Blue and pulled her into the picture as the announcer declared, “Back with us in the Bay at Chase Center tonight, 24-time Grammy award winner, the one and only Jay-Z!”
The 10-year-old played it cool and pretended to be unfazed by her father’s affection. Meanwhile, Hova continued to smile to himself. The entire exchange was shared on the NBA’s Instagram page.
Another video shows the “Run This Town” rapper wrapping an arm around Blue as they meet up with E-40 on the court. The NBA also snapped a photo of the two enjoying their father-daughter date.
Fans are marveling over how much Blue has grown, noting she’s looking more and more like her mom, Beyoncé.
The power couple welcomed Blue in January 2012. Bey and Jay also share twins, Rumi and Sir, who are now five years old.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 14, 1:20 pm
Russian, Belarusian tennis players can compete at US Open under neutral flag
Russian and Belarusian tennis players, who are banned from Wimbledon, will be allowed to compete in this year’s U.S. Open, but only under a neutral flag, the U.S. Tennis Association said.
The USTA said it “previously condemned, and continues to condemn, the unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine by Russia.”
Russian player Daniil Medvedev, the current No. 1 player in the world, won last year’s U.S. Open.
Jun 14, 6:37 am
Ukraine pleads for heavy weapons ahead of NATO meeting
The only way to end the war in Ukraine, either on the battlefield or behind the negotiation table, is a parity of weapons, Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said on Monday.
“Being straightforward — to end the war we need heavy weapons parity,” Podoliak said on Twitter.
According to the presidential adviser, Ukraine’s military wish list includes 1,000 howitzers, 300 multiple launch rocket systems, 500 tanks, 2,000 armored vehicles and 1,000 drones.
“Negotiations are possible from a strong position, which requires parity of weapons,” Podoliak said. “There is simply no other way.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed Podoliak’s plea for weapons on Monday in a tweet that recounted Ukraine’s recent military triumphs achieved with limited resources.
“Ukraine has proven it can punch well above its weight and win important battles against all odds,” Kuleba said, pointing at victories in the battles of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv. “Imagine what Ukraine can do with sufficient tools,” the Foreign Minister added. Kuleba urged Ukraine’s partners “to set a clear goal of Ukrainian victory and speed up deliveries of heavy weapons.”
Podoliak said a meeting of NATO defense ministers will be held in Brussels on June 15.
“We are waiting for a decision” on the weapons, Podoliak said.
The group, known as the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, will convene a meeting for the third time in a bid “to ensure that we’re providing Ukraine what Ukraine needs right now,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said at a press briefing in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.
Austin, who will be in attendance in Brussels, said that Ukraine needs support “in order to defend against Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked assault.” The secretary of Defense noted that looking ahead, Ukraine will require help “to build and sustain robust defenses so that it will be able to defend itself in the coming months and years.”
In his Monday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to tell people in the occupied territories “that the Ukrainian army will definitely come.”
“Tell them about Ukraine. Tell them the truth. Say that there will be liberation,” the president said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials played down threats of possible food shortages in the country due to the ongoing conflict. While Ukraine lost 25% of its sown area as a result of Russia’ full-scale invasion, the country’s food security was “in no way” threatened, Taras Vysotsky, the first deputy minister of Agrarian Policy, said at a press briefing for Ukrainian media on Monday.
“Despite the loss of 25% of sown areas, the structure of crops this year as a whole is more than sufficient to ensure consumption, which in turn also decreased due to mass displacement and external migration,” Vysotsky said.
The deputy minister added that Ukraine has “already imported about 70% of essential fertilizers, 60% of plant protection products and about a third of the required amount of fuel” before the war erupted in late February. According to Vysotsky, current sowing volumes are enough to ensure domestic consumption and even exports.
Jun 13, 9:26 am
Bodies of tortured men exhumed in Bucha
Another mass grave has been dug up in Bucha, uncovering the bodies of seven men who authorities believe were tortured and killed during the bloody occupation of the city in March.
Police told ABC News their hands were tied with ropes behind their backs and they were shot in the knees and head.
“They were killed in a cruel way,” police spokesperson Iryna Pryanyshnykova said. “These were civilian victims. The people here were killed by Russian soldiers and later they were just put into a grave to try to hide this war crime.”
It’s not clear why the men were killed, Pryanyshnykova said.
She said experts will analyze DNA to identify the victims.
-ABC News’ Britt Clennett
Jun 13, 6:24 am
Zelenskyy: Ukraine fighting for ‘every meter’ of Severodonetsk
Russian forces have pushed the Armed Forces of Ukraine out of the center of Severodonetsk, Ukrainian officials said.
“They are pressing in Severodonetsk, where very fierce fighting is going on — literally for every meter,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address on Sunday evening.
Russian forces now control about 70% of the city, as intense shelling makes mass evacuation and the transportation of goods impossible, Sergiy Haidai, another Ukrainian official, said.
Around 500 people, including 40 children, are sheltering in the city’s Azot chemical plant, Haidai said.
While the Ukrainians try to organize their evacuation, authorities of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic have given an ultimatum to Ukrainian troops in the city.
“They have two options: either follow the example of their colleagues and give up, or die. They have no other option,” said Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the People’s Militia Department of the DPR.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd and Tanya Stukalova
Jun 12, 5:33 pm
Zelenskyy sends virtual message to Sean Penn’s CORE benefit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the annual Hollywood fundraiser for actor Sean Penn’s nonprofit Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) Saturday night with a powerful video message urging people to continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“All of you have heard about the horrors that Ukraine is going through. Tens of thousands of explosions and shots, hundreds of thousands wounded and killed, millions who have lost their homes,” Zelenskyy said in his virtual speech. “All of this is not a logline for a horror film. All of this is our reality.”
Zelenskyy’s video message included footage showing missiles striking homes and apartment complexes in Ukraine, civilians dead in the streets of Ukrainian cities and children playing in parks amid the backdrop of bombed buildings.
Among those attending the CORE fundraiser, held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angles, were Penn and CORE co-founder Ann Lee, former President Bill Clinton, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, singer John Legend, and actors Patrick Stewart and Sharon Stone.
The group said the event raised more than $2.5 million for CORE’s disaster relief and preparedness work, including its urgent humanitarian response in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy noted that Penn traveled to Ukraine at the start of the Russian invasion and witnessed the atrocities firsthand. He thanked Penn and his group for the continued support for Ukraine.
“We have been resisting it for 107 days in a row,” Zelenskyy said of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. “We can stop it together. Support Ukraine, because Ukraine is fighting for the whole world, for democracy, for freedom, for life.”
Jun 12, 4:17 pm
Russia’s firepower superiority 10 times that of Ukraine’s in Luhansk: Military chief
Ukraine’s Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny said Sunday that he told his American counterpart, Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Russian firepower superiority in the Luhansk region is far greater than that of Ukrainian forces.
Zaluzhny said that during a briefing he told Milley that Russian forces are concentrating their efforts in the north of the Luhansk region, where they are using artillery “en masse” and their firepower superiority is 10 times that of Ukraine’s.
“Despite everything, we keep holding our positions,” Zaluzhny said.
Zaluzhny also said Russia has deployed up to seven battalion tactical groups in Severdonetsk, a city in the Luhansk region. He said Russian shelling of residential areas in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine has resumed.
Russian forces destroyed a second bridge leading into Severodonetsk and are now targeting a third bridge in an effort to completely cut off the city, Luhansk region Gov. Sergiy Haidai said Sunday. Ukraine’s army still controls around one third of the city, he said.
Haidai said that Ukrainian forces are still holding onto the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, where around 500 civilians are taking shelter.
If Severodonetsk falls, Lysychansk will be the only city in the Luhansk region that remains under Ukraine’s control.
Zaluzhny said that as of Sunday, the front line of the war stretched 1,522 miles and that active combat was taking place on at least 686 miles of the front line.
Zaluzhny said that during his briefing with Milley, he reiterated Ukraine’s urgent request for more 155 mm caliber artillery systems.
Jun 12, 12:48 pm
Russian cruise missile attack confirmed in western Ukraine
Russia claims a cruise missile strike destroyed a large warehouse in western Ukraine storing weapons supplied to the Ukrainians by the United States and European allies.
While police in the Ternopil region of Ukraine, where at least one cruise missile hit, told ABC News that no weapons were destroyed, the region’s governor said part of a military facility was damaged.
Ternopil’s governor Volodymyr Trush posted a video showing widespread damage from what he said were four Russian missiles launched Saturday from the Black Sea. Trush said 22 people were wounded, including a 12-year-old child, in the missile strikes.
In addition to the military facility, Trush said four five-story residential apartment buildings were damaged. One of the missiles hit a gas pipeline, he said.
Russia’s defense ministry said Kalibr high presicion sea-based, long-range missiles struck near Chortkiv in the Ternopil province and destroyed a large warehouse full of anti-tank missile systems, portable anti-aircraft missile systems and artillery shells supplied by the United States and European countries.
GIVĒON is heading out on tour this summer, and he says it’ll be his biggest one yet, as it’s in support of his debut studio album, Give Or Take.
Kicking off on August 16 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the “Heartbreak Anniversary” singer will embark on a 40-date trek across the U.S. and Canada. He’ll make pit stops in major cities such as Miami, Seattle, Chicago, Austin, Boston, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Toronto and many others.
“I am so excited to announce my Give or Take North American tour,” GIVĒON announced on Instagram. He further teased in an official release that this journey will be his “boldest, brightest, and best yet.”
Tickets go on sale starting this Friday, Jun 17 at 10 a.m. local time, and you can buy them on his official website, which also lists the full itinerary of tour dates.
Meanwhile, you can pre-save his forthcoming debut album, Give Or Take, so you can be the first to hear it when it drops on June 24.
Cole Swindell is heading “Back Down to the Bar” with a headlining tour this fall.
After concluding his Down to the Bar Tour in April, the country hitmaker couldn’t wait to get back out on the road, so he’s booked a string of dates on the Back Down to the Bar Tour, kicking off on September 23 in Texas.
The 19-date trek takes him and opening acts, Ashley Cooke and Dylan Marlowe, all across the country, including stops in Boston, Nashville, Tulsa, Orlando and other major cities before wrapping up on November 19.
“Well… we had so much fun on the Down to the Bar tour that we decided to do it all over again in the fall with my friends @theashleycooke and @dylanmarlowemusic,” Cole expressed on Instagram. “Can’t wait to see y’all out there and play this new music for you. It’s gonna be a hell of a time!”
Cole released his new album, Stereotype, in April. It features two consecutive #1 hits, “Single Saturday Night” and “Never Say Never” with Lainey Wilson.
Post Malone reached out to Kurt Cobain‘s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain,for her approval of his Nirvana tribute performance.
During an interview on The Howard Stern Show, the “Circles” artist shared that it was “important” for him to get Frances’ blessing.
“I loved Kurt so much,” Post said. “He’s been such an inspiration to me, musically.”
“I…never want to offend anybody by trying to show support, so I just wanted to make sure everything was OK,” he continued. “And it was OK.”
Post streamed the Nirvana tribute performance, which featured Blink-182‘s Travis Barker on drums, in April 2020. It was one of the first major streaming concerts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it helped raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts.
“We raised money for a good cause, and we got to play some of the most f***ing epic songs ever,” Post said.
In addition to Frances’ approval, Post also got a thumbs-up from Kurt’s widow, Courtney Love, who shared that the performance gave her “goosebumps.” Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic also said that he was “so proud” watching the stream.
You can still watch an archive of the stream now on YouTube. It currently has over 17 million views.
After coming back from their “extended period of rest” in early March, BTS is going on a hiatus so the group can focus on their solo careers.
The septet broke the news when celebrating their ninth anniversary at their annual FESTA dinner on Tuesday. The annual event sees the group chowing down on a mighty feast while recapping everything that happened over the past year and their fondest memories as a group, which is why they felt that was the best moment to break the news.
The Grammy nominees understood fans would be disappointed by the announcement. “We can’t help but think of our fans no matter what, we want to be the kind of artists that are remembered by our fans,” Jimin noted. “I think now we’re starting to think about what kind of artists we each want to be remembered by our fans.”
He added BTS is “going through a rough patch right now” and explained, “We’re trying to find our identity and that’s an exhausting and long process.”
RM spoke of why the hiatus is a good thing, telling fans, “I always thought that BTS was different from other groups, but the problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature. You have to keep producing music and keep doing something.”
“I don’t know what kind of direction our group has to take,” he added, but J-Hope expressed optimism the hiatus will let “BTS… become stronger.”
V chimed in that with this decision, “I think 90 percent of our fans would root for us no matter what kind of music or what kind of direction we choose.”
The group didn’t go into detail over a timeline of solo releases or when their hiatus will end.
