(WASHINGTON) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday that he’s tested positive for COVID-19 and is “experiencing mild symptoms.”
“I plan to work remotely while isolating according to CDC guidelines, and look forward to when I can safely return to the office and the road,” Buttigieg, 40, tweeted.
I have tested positive for COVID-19 and am experiencing mild symptoms. I plan to work remotely while isolating according to CDC guidelines, and look forward to when I can safely return to the office and the road.
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) June 6, 2022
(MINNEAPOLIS) — The state trial for two former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death was delayed until next year by a judge, who said a recent plea deal accepted by a third officer charged in the fatal arrest of the 46-year-old Black man could create the “reasonable likelihood of an unfair trial.”
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill ordered that the trial for Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng will be delayed until Jan. 5, 2023.
Thao and Kueng were expected to go on trial together beginning on June 13.
Both men are charged with aiding and abetting in murder and aiding and abetting in manslaughter.
Cahill denied a motion from defense attorneys for a change of venue, but cited two recent events in his decision to postpone the trial.
The judge noted that pretrial publicity over the plea deal struck with a third defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane, and the convictions in February of Lane, Thao and Kueng on federal civil rights charges, could make it difficult at this time to select an impartial jury.
“These two recent events and the publicity surrounding them are significant in [that] it could make it more difficult for jurors to presume Thao and Kueng innocent of the state charges,” Cahill wrote in his ruling.
The judge added that postponing the trial should “diminish the impact of this publicity on the defendants’ right and ability to receive a fair trial from an impartial and unbiased jury.”
Lane pleaded guilty in May to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In exchange for the plea, state prosecutors agreed to dismiss the top charge against him of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder.
Under the agreement, prosecutors and Lane’s attorneys will jointly recommend a sentence of 36 months in prison. Had he gone to trial and been convicted on all charges, he faced a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, according to the plea agreement.
(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 06, 9:05 am
Russia beefs up air defense on Snake Island
Russia has likely moved multiple air defense assets, including SA-15 and SA-22 missile systems, to Snake Island in the western Black Sea, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Monday in an intelligence update.
The move follows the loss of the Russian warship Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
“It is likely these weapons are intended to provide air defence for Russian naval vessels operating around Snake Island,” the ministry added. “Russia’s activity on Snake Island contributes to its blockade of the Ukrainian coast and hinders the resumption of maritime trade, including exports of Ukrainian grain.”
Russian forces captured Ukraine’s Snake Island in the early days of the invasion, memorably when Ukrainian soldiers defending the tiny islet told an attacking Russian warship to “go f— yourself.” Ukrainian troops have failed in their attempts to retake the previously inconsequential territory.
Meanwhile, in eastern Ukraine’s contested Donbas region, heavy fighting continues in the war-torn city of Sieverodonetsk, according to the ministry.
“Russian forces continue to push towards Sloviansk as part of their attempted encirclement of Ukrainian force,” the ministry said.
And in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Russian air-launched cruise missiles struck rail infrastructure Sunday in the early morning hours, “likely in an attempt [to] disrupt the supply of Western military equipment to frontline Ukrainian units,” according to the ministry.
Jun 05, 3:39 pm
Russian missiles target Kyiv
After five weeks of relative calm in Kyiv, Russian rockets hit Ukraine’s capital city on Sunday as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of strikes on “new targets” if the United States goes through with plans to supply Ukraine with longer-range missiles.
Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said the war is still in its “hot phase” and “capturing Kyiv is still Russia’s main goal.”
An ABC News crew visited Kyiv’s Darnytskyy district, where several Russian cruise missiles slammed into a railway repair plant. One building was still on fire when the ABC News crew arrived. Nearby, another missile strike left a creater on a cement path.
It took hours before Ukrainian authorities permitted media access to the site, saying the area needed to be cleared for safety first.
The Russians claimed the attack in Darnystskyy destroyed military vehicles and armaments. Ukrainian officials said the missiles hit a railway repair plant where no tanks were stored.
Speaking on Russian TV on Sunday, Putin issued a warning to the West on supplying the Ukrainians with high-powered rocket systems. He said if the West carried through with it, Russia would hit “new targets they had not attacked before.”
Jun 05, 7:05 am
Putin warns of strikes if West supplies longer-range missiles
President Vladimir Putin warned that Russian forces would strike new targets if the West began supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles.
“But if they [missiles] are actually delivered, we will draw appropriate conclusions and apply our own weapons, which we have in sufficient quantities to carry out strikes on targets we aren’t striking yet,” Putin told Rossyia 1 TV Channel in an interview on Sunday.
The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas is selling his music publishing catalog to the company Primary Wave Music.
According to a press release, Primary Wave now owns “a stake in Casablancas’ share of music publishing on all Strokes compositions, as well as his share of master copyrights and master royalties,” including songs such as “Last Nite,” “Reptilia” and “Someday.” The agreement is described as a “multimillion-dollar deal,” though an exact number was not published.
In addition to those multimillion dollars, Casablancas will also receive “access to the Primary Wave marketing and branding teams, as well as the publishing infrastructure which includes licensing and [sync] opportunities.”
“Primary Wave is thrilled to partner with Julian Casablancas for his works in The Strokes,” says Primary Wave Music’s David Weitzman. “Julian’s extraordinary talents as a songwriter, singer, and leader infuse the magic that is The Strokes. The Strokes are one of the most important bands of this century and are beloved by a multi-generational audience who have made them a global festival headliner.”
The Strokes are set to return to the stage as a global festival headliner this week after missing a few shows, including Boston Calling and Primavera Sound, due to a positive COVID-19 case within the band.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Imagine if Harry Styles was your date to prom. That actually happened to one Scottish fan who worked up the courage to ask the “As It Was” singer to accompany her to her high school dance.
Scottish Sun reports Anna Carty, of Glasgow, Scotland, tasked her local radio station — Capital Scotland — with helping her land her dream date. She hoped that, because Harry is set to perform at her city’s Ibrox Stadium the same weekend as her school dance, he’d agree. Anna’s dance is June 9 and Harry’s concert takes place two days later.
Radio station staff worked their butts off to make Anna’s dream come true and captured the moment they told her the wonderful news. Well, actually, they just played a message from Harry himself.
The “Watermelon Sugar” singer said the station “passed on your invite to the prom and I’m sure it’ll be a good Scottish party.” He remarked, “I would love to be there, so just send me the details and I’ll see what I can do!”
He signed off by telling Anna, “See you soon.” Of course, the fan couldn’t stop screaming and exclaimed, “I actually can’t think!”
As for the kind of dress Anna is planning for prom, she picked out a black and white dress, which means Harry should have no problem finding a matching tux.
The hit singer is extending his Party Mode Tour into the fall, with 11 new dates across the U.S. He’s booked two shows in Kansas and Oklahoma in July, followed by a pair of stops in Missouri and Georgia in August.
He also has a handful of new dates in September and October, beginning on September 9 in Flagstaff, Arizona, and concluding the trek on October 7 at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway, which is attached to the historic Fenway Park in Boston.
“Having too much fun on the Party Mode tour, so we’re keeping it going!” Dustin shares on Instagram.
The Tullahoma, Tennessee, native launched the tour, which is named after his current top 30 single on country radio, in March. He and MacKenzie Porter recently spent six weeks at #1 on the country charts with their hit duet, “Thinking ‘Bout You.”
Tickets for the new shows go on sale to the public Friday at 10 a.m. local time. Visit Dustin’s website for a full list of dates.
In a horrific tragedy, Metro Boomin‘s mother was reportedly killed by her husband in a murder-suicide.
On Friday night the producer’s mother, Leslie Joanne Wayne, was killed by her husband — not Metro’s biological father — who died by suicide after, according to TMZ. The outlet also reported that Metro received the news over the weekend, when his mother’s body was discovered by police outside of the Atlanta area, according to law enforcement sources.
Reps for the Metro confirmed Wayne’s death to TMZ and shared that the family is requesting privacy during this difficult time. An autopsy is currently underway to determine the exact cause of death.
Metro Boomin has produced some of the biggest hits for artists like Future, Kanye West, Travis Scott, Migos, Drake, and more.
In 2019, Sting won a Grammy for 44/876, an album he made with reggae/pop star Shaggy. Now the two have re-teamed for Come Fly wid Mi, a recently released album Sting produced of Shaggy doing reggae versions of Frank Sinatra tunes like “That’s Life.”
Sting first came up with the idea when he overheard Shaggy singing during a boat trip in Norway, but admits that the concept is definitely “insane.”
“He was singing along with the Frank Sinatra CD. I just heard something in it that appealed to me, because it doesn’t sound like Frank. He sounded like Shaggy, because he’s got an equally iconic voice. But there was some authenticity there,” Sting tells ABC Audio.
“And so the idea just kept coming back to me. And a year later I said, ‘We should do that crazy idea,'” Sting laughs. “It’s insane! But I’m so glad that it’s actually seen the light of day now and people are responding in the way I thought they would.”
The album includes well-known songs like “Fly Me to the Moon,” but Sting had Shaggy sing some lesser-known tunes, too. He claims he was “very strict” when it came to Shaggy “singing the correct melody,” but, Sting adds, “He’s a good pupil.”
Sting predicted that Come Fly wid Mi would bring people joy, and he was right. At the album launch in New York City, Sting says, “As soon as [Shaggy] started to sing…everyone in the club…had this wide grin…it just makes people smile. And what does the world need more than a smile at the moment? I don’t know! We need a smile!”
It’s unlikely Sting and Shaggy will be performing together in the near future, though, since Sting is currently doing his Las Vegas residency My Songs, followed by a European tour.
Shinedown, Korn and Five Finger Death Punch will headline the 2022 Rocklahoma festival, taking place September 2-4 in Pryor, Oklahoma.
“ROCKLAHOMA 2022! It’s time!!!” says Shinedown frontman Brent Smith. “We are so excited to announce that we will be one of this year’s headliners. We are bringing you guys and girls the biggest show of the year. We cannot wait to see you. LET’S GO!!!”
The bill also includes Evanescence, Megadeth, Seether, Three Days Grace, Jelly Roll, Cypress Hill, In This Moment, Skillet, Underoath, Ice Nine Kills, Motionless in White, Black Veil Brides and The Hu, among many others.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 10, at 10 a.m. CT. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit Rocklahoma.com.
