(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) — A blue-ribbon Army commission has recommended new names for nine Army bases named after Confederate leaders, including Fort Bragg, which will be recommended to be renamed Fort Liberty, according to a U.S. official, ABC News learned exclusively Tuesday.
Later Tuesday, the Army Naming Commission is expected to formally disclose its recommended names for the bases named after Confederate generals.
Last year, Congress passed legislation that required the renaming of U.S. military installations named after Confederate leaders by 2023.
Congress and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin must approve the nine naming recommendations.
Fort Bragg in North Carolina is currently named after Gen. Braxton Bragg, a senior Confederate Army general. It would be renamed as Fort Liberty, the only one of the bases named after a concept, with eight others being renamed mostly after individuals with ties to Army history.
The other bases to be renamed are Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Rucker in Alabama, Fort Polk in Louisiana, Fort Benning and Fort Gordon in Georgia and Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Lee and Fort Pickett in Virginia.
The panel has recommended that Fort Hood, Texas, be renamed after Richard E. Cavazos, the first Latino to reach the rank of a four-star general in the Army.
Fort Gordon, Georgia, will be renamed after Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Army general who led all allied forces in Europe during World War II and later became president.
Fort Lee, Virginia, will be named after two individuals: Arthur Gregg, a former three-star general involved in logistics — the only living individual for whom a base will be named — and Charity Adams, the first African-American woman to be an officer in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.
Fort Pickett, Virginia, will be named after Van Barfoot, who received the Medal of Honor for his heroism during World War II and is of Native American descent.
Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, will be renamed after Dr. Mary Walker, a physician and women’s rights activist who received the Medal of Honor for her service during the Civil War.
Fort Benning, Georgia, will be renamed after Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, a pioneer in the Air Cavalry whose Vietnam-era story was memorialized in the book and movie, “We Were Soldiers.”
Fort Rucker, Alabama, will be named after Michael Novosel, a Medal of Honor recipient who flew combat aircraft in World War II and the wars in Korea and Vietnam.
Fort Polk, Louisiana, will be renamed after William Henry Johnson, a soldier whose heroism in World War Two was not honored with the Medal of Honor until 2015.
(NEW YORK) — Lately, the stock market has taken a thrashing.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 have each fallen for seven consecutive weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fared even worse, dropping for eight weeks straight, the longest such losing streak for the index since the early years of the Great Depression, in 1932.
The losses on Wall Street owe in no small part to the wider economy’s most pressing problem: sky-high inflation, Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at broker OANDA, told ABC News. For months, strong consumer spending and snarled supply chains have sent prices soaring for everyday expenses like food and gas, as well as for materials like computer chips that many US companies rely upon.
In response, the Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate to a range of 0.75% to 1%, and the central bank has signaled a series of additional hikes.
The goal is to slow down the economy, which in theory should eat away at demand and slash inflation. But the approach all but ensures a downturn for stocks, and runs the risk of hitting the brakes on the economy so hard that it triggers a wider contraction.
“The stock market is down — I’m not surprised, that’s by design,” Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s, told ABC News.
But the rate hikes at the Fed could send the economy into a downturn, especially if an unexpected headwind puts further strain on the economy, Zandi said.
“The risks of this going off the rails are pretty high,” he said. “So we’re vulnerable.”
As the market and economy teeter, buzzwords like “correction,” “bear market” and even “recession” are coming back into the conversation, conjuring images of layoffs, foreclosures and bankruptcies.
But the definitions and implications of these terms can get lost in the tumult, stoking outsized panic in some cases and insufficient caution in others.
What is a bear market?
The S&P 500 made headlines last Friday when it briefly entered bear market territory, which generally means a 20% drop since the index’s most recent high over at least a two-month period. On Friday afternoon, the index had fallen 1.9% for the day, crossing the threshold for a bear market. But it rallied to end the trading day up 0.01% point, elevating it just barely outside of bear market territory. As of market close on Monday, it had ticked up even further.
For its part, the tech-heavy Nasdaq entered a bear market on March 7, and as of market close on Monday had fallen more than 30% since a record high in November.
The prospect of a bear market, and the pessimistic investment environment that it entails, carry disconcerting near-term implications. In the 26 bear markets since 1929, the S&P 500 — the index that most people’s 401(k)’s track — has lost an average of 35.6% of its value over a typical duration of 289 days or about 9 ½ months, according to a report from Hartford Funds.
In comparison with a bear market, a correction entails a milder stock market decline, amounting to a drop of 10% to 20% from the most recent high. The S&P 500 has been in correction territory since late February.
For some traders who jumped into the market during its pandemic boom — when the S&P 500 rose some 108% from March 2020 to its peak in early January — the current downturn may be their first. But a bear market is an expected part of the stock market cycle, especially in light of the pandemic stimulus that flooded the economy in the form of direct payments, low interest rates and other measures, Moya, the senior market analyst, told ABC News.
“We’ve seen a historic amount of support help stabilize the economy,” Moya said. “Also, what that did was inflate risky assets, which included the stock market.”
The currently depressed stock prices should appeal to patient traders, Moya added.
“If you’re a long-term investor, and you believe in the US. economy and that the froth is being taken out of the market,” he said. “These levels should be attractive.”
What is a recession?
The unrelenting market decline has raised fears of a recession.
Many observers define a recession through the shorthand metric of two consecutive quarters of decline in a nation’s inflation-adjusted gross domestic product, or GDP. A country’s GDP is the total value of goods and services that it produces.
U.S. GDP shrank at an annual rate of 1.4% over the first three months of this year, the worst quarterly performance since the recession brought about by the coronavirus in 2020. If the GDP contracts over the second quarter of the year, that would qualify the downturn as a recession in many people’s eyes.
The National Bureau of Economic Research, or NBER, a research organization seen as an authority on measuring economic performance, uses a more complicated definition that takes into account several indicators that must convey “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months,” the group says. This definition determines whether a downturn is formally designated as a recession, since the NBER is the official arbiter on the subject.
A report released last year by the NBER showed that the pandemic-induced recession of 2020 lasted only two months. By comparison, the organization said that the Great Recession spanned from December 2007 to June 2009, lasting 18 months.
“The R-word is something that triggers a lot of fear and panic for your average American because normally it suggests the job market is taking a turn for the worse and that consumer spending will weaken significantly,” Moya, the senior market analyst, said.
Zandi, the chief economist, put the odds of a recession over the next 12 months at 1 in 3. But he downplayed the severity of a potential recession, noting that he doesn’t see any “major imbalances” in the economy.
“It’s likely to be short and mild,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a reason to run for the bunkers but it’s a reason to be cautious.”
The first trailer has dropped for Netflix’s most expensive film to date, the spy thriller The Gray Man, starring Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling.
For the film, Evans reunited with Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors of four Marvel films, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.
The film has a mustachioed Evans getting the order to “locate and destroy” Gosling’s character, a secret agent so secretive he goes by the moniker The Gray Man.
“That could be fun,” Evans’ Lloyd says. “The man’s got some street cred.”
As proof, Gosling is shown dodging machine gun fire and RPGs, and dispatching henchmen in hand-to-hand fighting while obscuring himself with a smoke grenade.
“Are you hurt?” Ana de Armas’ character asks him. “I think my ego’s a little bruised,” Gosling says in true action hero fashion.
Gosling’s character is apparently in possession of a microchip MacGuffin; one scene in the trailer has a battered Gosling face to face with Evans. “You must be Lloyd,” he says. “What gave it away?” Evans’ character asks. “The trash ‘stache. It just leans ‘Lloyd,'” Gosling says, dropping a live grenade between their legs.
“Ballsy,” Evans smirks, as they both dive for cover.
The trailer also showcases some amazing stunt work, including cars, gunplay, explosions and more, as “every wet team from here to Reykjavik” hunts Gosling.
“I can kill anybody,” Evans later boasts to Billy Bob Thornton‘s character. “Maybe not ‘anybody,'” the Oscar winner replies.
The Gray Man, which also stars former Bridgerton heartthrob Regé-Jean Page, debuts in select theaters July 15 and on Netflix July 22.
Sadie Sink, star on Netflix’s horror show Stranger Things, is still pinching herself that she starred in the 10-minute music video for Taylor Swift‘s “All Too Well.”
Appearing Monday on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, the late night host noted that Taylor “wasn’t going to make [the music video] if you didn’t star in it. She really wanted you to star in this film.”
When asked if the two had known each other before the viral music video, Sadie insisted, “I didn’t know she knew I existed!”
“If she would have asked me to be a tree in something I would have said yes, like, in a heartbeat,” the actress added.
The 10-minute version of “All Too Well” also served as Taylor’s directorial debut, of which Sadie said the Grammy winner did an “amazing” job. “This was kind of like her first time at really directing actors,” she explained. “She can do anything … She was incredible at it.”
Fallon also whipped out a throwback photo of the first time Sadie met Taylor — which appeared to be at one of Taylor’s previous shows. “That [was taken] at one of her concerts. I, like, knew someone who could like get me into a meet and greet,” she said. “It was a big moment … But I was so upset.”
Sadie was not thrilled with the snap because, as she pointed out, “My eyes were, like, halfway closed and I looked like a drunk child.” She said she thought she “blew it.”
But it all worked out in the end, with the actress saying everything is “fine now” between them.
“All Too Well” also starred Teen Wolf alum Dylan O’Brien. Taylor previously said during the video’s premiere she was “elated” he and Sadie agreed to star because “I didn’t have backups in mind.”
(NEW YORK) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting an above-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic, with up to 21 named storms this year.
Ten storms could become hurricanes, the agency said. Three to six storms may reach category 3, 4 or 5.
2022 may also become the seventh consecutive above-average hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
“The increased activity anticipated this hurricane season is attributed to several climate factors, including the ongoing La Niña that is likely to persist throughout the hurricane season, warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, weaker tropical Atlantic trade winds and an enhanced west African monsoon,” NOAA said in a press release.
NOAA predicts a 65% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 25% chance of a near-normal season and a 10% chance of a below-normal season.
“As we reflect on another potentially busy hurricane season, past storms — such as Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the New York metro area ten years ago — remind us that the impact of one storm can be felt for years,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a statement.
Spinrad added, “Since Sandy, NOAA’s forecasting accuracy has continued to improve, allowing us to better predict the impacts of major hurricanes to lives and livelihoods.”
A young Limp Bizkit fan got to rock “Break Stuff” with the band during their recent concert in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Frontman Fred Durst invited the kid rocker onstage for the show’s encore, telling the crowd, “I promised this young man a little favor.” Bizkit then launched into “Break Stuff,” with the members of the tour’s opening bands moshing behind them.
In case you were wondering, the performance was very much not censored. In fact, the young vocalist seemed to relish singing each and every swear word.
You can watch fan-shot footage of the Kid Bizkit collaboration streaming now on YouTube. Durst also posted clips to his Instagram Stories, along with a shoutout to the guest singer, reading, “This young human accepted the challenge in Green Bay and crushed it.”
Limp Bizkit is currently on tour in support of the band’s new album, Still Sucks, which was released last October. The outing continues Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri.
Gwen Stefani recently took a trip down memory lane while sharing the sentimental video of her saying “Yes!” to her wedding dress, which was designed by the legendary Vera Wang.
The singer previously revealed she had set out to try on wedding dresses. The Vera Wang gown was “the second dress we tried on and we were like, ‘That’s the one!'”
Wang spoke to ABC Audio about the standout dress — a custom tulle high low gown that featured a plunging neckline and a cutaway back — which personified Gwen’s personality and love of fashion. “It was couture and made for her,” the fashion designer said.
Although the dress wasn’t specifically made for Gwen when Wang first designed it, the two embarked on a “great collaborative effort” to make it unapologetically hers. The 72-year-old designer adds she “wasn’t worried” about making the dress to suit Gwen’s needs because the singer “embraces fashion,” which she said “always makes it easier for the designer.”
“I’m a massive fan [of Gwen’s]. I think it’s hard not to love her. She’s such an honest person,” Wang said of the Grammy winner. “She’s just one of those people that radiates kindness and authenticity and who she is. And she is a fashion girl. She always has been.”
Wang is now looking ahead to wedding season, which is picking up speed after the pandemic forced many brides to postpone their nuptials. That is why she partnered with The Knot for an exclusive collection of wedding stationary, including save the dates and invitations along with free matching wedding websites, that embrace her iconic styles.
Speaking of her contributions to fashion and the wedding industry, Wang said, “That’s something I really love. It keeps me renewed. It keeps me creative, and it’s very organic for me.”
(NEW YORK) — As the search for the woman wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson continues, the suspect’s father said he does not think his daughter is capable of the alleged murder.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News’ chief national correspondent Matt Gutman on Good Morning America Tuesday, Michael Armstrong spoke directly to his daughter, Kaitlin Armstrong, saying, “We love you … and we are going to figure this out.”
“I know her and I know how she thinks and I know what she believes and I know that she just would not do something like this,” Michael Armstrong said. “I know her.”
Last week, Austin police issued a warrant for the arrest of Armstrong, 35, on a first-degree murder charge in the fatal shooting of Wilson, 25, who they determined was romantically linked to Armstrong’s boyfriend, professional cyclist Colin Strickland.
Wilson, a rising elite cyclist, was in Austin for a gravel bike race earlier this month when she was found bleeding and unconscious with multiple gunshot wounds at a friend’s home the night of May 11, hours after meeting up with Strickland, police said. Austin police said at the time that the shooting did not appear to be random and they had a person of interest in the incident.
A car resembling Armstrong’s 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee was captured on surveillance footage from a neighboring residence stopping outside the friend’s home the night of the shooting, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. The likelihood that the gun used in the shooting matched one of two guns Strickland told police he bought for himself and Armstrong was “significant,” the affidavit stated.
When police interviewed Armstrong about the shooting on May 12, she was “confronted with video evidence of her vehicle” but “she had no explanation as to why it was in the area and did not make any denials surrounding the statements,” the affidavit stated. After further questioning, Armstrong requested to leave, according to the affidavit.
Strickland told police he hasn’t seen Armstrong since May 13, according to the affidavit. Armstrong has since deleted her social media accounts and “has not been seen or heard from since this time,” according to the affidavit.
On Friday, U.S. Marshals announced they are helping in the “fugitive investigation” and asked the public’s help in finding Kaitlin Armstrong.
Michael Armstrong said he believes there are “a lot of unanswered questions” in the case.
“I know that she did not do this,” he said.
The U.S. Marshals believe Kaitlin Armstrong may still be in the Austin area, and that finding her Jeep will be key.
“She was a realtor. She was a yoga teacher. So she had personal relationships here in the Austin area,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla told Good Morning America. “We hope that eventually if she had some kind of plan, that maybe she would reach out to those associates, and we would receive a tip based upon that.”
Strickland said he has been cooperating fully with detectives in the investigation.
“There is no way to adequately express the regret and torture I feel about my proximity to this horrible crime,” Strickland said in a statement to ABC News Austin affiliate KVUE. “I am sorry, and I simply cannot make sense of this unfathomable tragedy.”
Strickland explained that after breaking up with Armstrong last year, he had a “brief romantic relationship” with Wilson before shortly resuming his relationship with Armstrong. His relationship with Wilson was “platonic and professional,” he said.
Wilson’s family said in a statement to ABC News that they are “devastated by the loss of our beautiful daughter and sister.”
“Her life was taken from her before she had the opportunity to achieve everything she dreamed of,” they said. “Our family, and all those who loved her, will forever miss her.”
ABC News’ Lissette Rodriguez contributed to this report.
Walter Hamada, the head of DC Films, took the stand virtually Tuesday morning in the Johnny Depp defamation case, and his testimony stuck a massive pin in one of Amber Heard‘s major claims.
Heard’s team yesterday claimed the actress lost out on a major raise for a sequel to Aquaman and, but for negative social media posts following her controversial op-ed, would have been as big a movie star as Jason Momoa.
For his part, Hamada threw water on the claims in less than 10 minutes on the stand. The movie executive said Heard’s salary for a second film was already set — what in Hollywood parlance is known as an “option.”
“Was Amber Heard’s compensation affected by anything said by [Depp’s then-lawyer] Adam Waldman?” one of Depp’s attorneys asked. Waldman had said various negative things about Heardin the press, including references to the notorious bed-pooping incident.
“No,” Hamada replied.
“What role if any did Ms. Heard’s dispute with Johnny Depp affect concerns casting her for Aquaman 2?” the attorney asked him. “None,” Hamada replied.
Hamada also agreed that there were conversations with director James Wan about replacing Heard in her role of Mera in the sequel.
“There was a concern of chemistry,” Hamada testified, adding, “… it took a lot of effort to get it to work” onscreen with Momoa.
“It’s movie magic, and with editing, and score,” you can “fabricate” chemistry, the exec said. “A good editor can put the right takes together.”
Having good chemistry is “what makes a movie star a movie star,” Hamada said, in the most pronounced swipe at Heard.
Earlier in the proceedings, Judge Penney Azcarate denied Depp’s team’s motion to dismiss Heard‘s counter-suit against the former Pirates of the Caribbean star, leaving it up to a jury to decide its merits.
R&B singer Jacquees announced that his new album will drop sometime this summer and that he called upon fellow hip-hop star Future to help bring the project to life.
The self-proclaimed “King of R&B” says his upcoming album will be executive produced entirely by the Atlanta rapper. He took to Instagram to share the news, emphasizing his desire to fulfill the promise he recently made to fans.
“BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: My new album drops This summer! Summer 22’ and its executive produced by @future Let’s Goooooooo,” he said.
The forthcoming project will serve as Jacquees’ third studio album and will arrive nearly two years after King of R&B. Speaking of the new album, Jacquees said in an interview, “It feels like a new beginning, and everything feels fresh, it feels new.”
He released his latest single “Say Yea” last Friday; it’s expected to appear on the upcoming album.
