Police drummer Stewart Copeland made a surprise appearance at Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder‘s solo concert in Los Angles this past Friday.
Vedder invited Copeland on stage for the show’s encore, which included a ramshackle cover of The Police’s “Message in a Bottle” — “Still practicing,” Eddie quipped at one point — and a closing performance of Neil Young‘s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
Copeland’s guest spot allowed Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, who’s been Vedder’s drummer for the tour, to take a breather during “Message in a Bottle,” but he returned to the stage to play guitar on “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
Fan-shot footage of the performance is streaming now on YouTube.
Vedder’s tour, which launched earlier this month in support of his new Earthling solo album, concluded Sunday in San Diego. For the run, Vedder was joined by his Earthlings solo band, which included Smith, ex-RHCP guitarist and current Pearl Jam touring member Josh Klinghoffer, Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, and producer and guitarist Andrew Watt.
The final trailer for Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man adjacent action film Morbiusjust dropped, showing star Jared Leto torn between his character’s horrific vampiric super powers, and his alter-ego’s dedication as a life-saving scientist.
An attempt to cure himself, and humanity, of a deadly disease, Dr. Michael Morbius’s treatment gives himself all the powers of a real-life bloodsucker, and more: Flight, inhuman speed and the ability to vanish are on full display in the trailer.
“Now, I face a choice,” Morbius tells a mentor, played by Jared Harris. “To hunt and consume blood, or die.”
“We all have monsters within us,” Harris’ character advises. “It’s up to us to control it.”
“What if I can’t?” Morbius replies.
While his anti-hero’s place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has not been confirmed, the trailer shows him sharing the screen with a baddie who is part of it, Michael Keaton‘s Adrian Toomes, was the heavy in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
“You’ve been given a gift,” says the guy who fought Spidey as The Vulture. “It’s time you let go of who you used to be, and discover who you’re meant to be.”
Matt Smith, plays this movie’s heavy, Loxias Crown, who also partook in Morbius’ treatment. He has other ideas for his life change: “Just accept who you are!” he tells him: “You’re the bad guy!”
Morbius, which also stars Tyrese Gibson and Bokeem Woodbine, opens April 1.
Brian Jones, the accomplished slide guitarist and multi-instrumentalist who founded The Rolling Stones, was born 80 years ago today, February 28, 1942.
Jones, who died at age 27 in July 1969, formed The Stones in 1962 to showcase the music of the American blues artists he loved, including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Elmore James. Brian came up with his band’s name, taken from the Waters song “Rollin’ Stone Blues,” and he initially was the group’s leader.
Jones’ slide guitar was a key element of the group, and he also played harmonica on many of the band’s recordings. However, the band’s leadership soon shifted to singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, as they emerged as The Stones’ main songwriting team.
As The Rolling Stones began exploring other musical styles, Brian’s ability to play almost any instrument allowed him to add interesting sonic flavors to many songs. Jones played the recorder on “Ruby Tuesday,” sitar “Paint It Black,” dulcimer on “Lady Jane,” marimba on “Under My Thumb” and “Out of Time,” Mellotron on most of 1967’s Their Satanic Majesties Request album, and autoharp on “You Got the Silver.”
However, as the 1960s progressed, Jones’ talents became increasingly hindered by drugs and his contributions began to wane. In June 1969, he was fired from The Rolling Stones. Less than a month later, he was found dead in the swimming pool at his house in Hartfield, U.K.
The coroner ruled Jones had died by drowning and later listed the cause as “death by misadventure,” noting that he had an enlarged liver and heart due to drug and alcohol abuse. Allegations that Jones had been murdered have circulated over the years, but a 2010 review by local police asserted that no new evidence had emerged to change the coroner’s original verdict.
(NEW YORK) — Delegations from Ukraine and Russia held talks Monday morning on Belarus’ border in an attempt to end Moscow’s invasion as Russian troops continue to attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to send a delegation to meet with Russian negotiators during a phone call Sunday with Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s president’s office announced.
The two sides began talks Monday at the Pripyat River on the border, north of Chernobyl, the spokesperson said, an area that is currently under Russian military control.
Roughly six hours after the talks began, they ended with both sides reporting back to officials in their respective capital cities ahead of a possible second-round to talks.
“The Ukrainian and Russian delegations held the first round of talks today, the main purpose of which was to discuss the issues of a ceasefire on the territory of Ukraine and hostilities. The parties identified a number of priority topics on which certain decisions were outlined,” Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the president of Ukraine, said in a statement following Monday’s talks.
Podolyak added, “In order for these decisions to get some opportunities for implementation, logistical solutions, the parties leave for consultations in their capitals. The parties discussed the possibility of holding a second round of negotiations in the near future, at which these topics will receive concrete development practice.”
Ukraine has said the key issue for the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops. Russia has signaled it wants to discuss Ukraine adopting “neutral status.”
The Ukrainian delegation included Podolyak; David Arahamiya, a member of the Servant of the People political faction; Oleksiy Reznikov, the minister of Defense of Ukraine; Andriy Kostin, the first deputy dead of the Ukrainian Delegation to the Tripartite Contact Group; Rustem Umerov, a member of the Parliament of Ukraine; and Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytsky.
Russia’s delegation includes officials from the foreign and defense ministries and presidential administration.
The talks are the first between the two sides since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion on Thursday, but Zelenskyy, in a televised address, said he had little hope of a breakthrough.
“I will be honest, as always: I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try,” Zelenskyy said. He added that if there was a “chance” to end the war, he should take part in the talks.
As the talks got underway, French President Emmanuel Macron and Putin spoke by phone.
According to Macron’s office, Putin purportedly agreed to halt all strikes against civilian targets, preserve civilian infrastructure and secure main roads, in particular, the road south of Kyiv.
During the call, Macron reiterated a request of the international community to end the Russian offensive against Ukraine and reaffirmed the need to implement an immediate ceasefire. Macron also called on Putin to respect international humanitarian law and the protection of civilian populations as well as the delivery of aid in accordance with a resolution brought by France to the United Nations Security Council.
According to a readout of the call released by the Kremlin, Putin told Macron Russia is open to negotiations with Ukrainian representatives and expects the talks will lead to the “desired results.” During the call, Putin denied that Russian forces are attacking civilian targets, according to the Kremlin’s readout.
The two leaders agreed to speak again in the coming days.
Ukraine had earlier rejected a proposal from Russia to hold the talks in the southern Belarusian city of Gomel, on the grounds that Belarus is directly involved in Russia’s attack, having hosted the Russian invasion force that is now moving south on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and letting Russia fire missiles from its territory.
The Kremlin has signaled it wants to hold talks where Zelenskyy will discuss “neutral status” for Ukraine, in effect hoping to negotiate Kyiv’s terms of surrender. But Zelenskyy’s administration has said while it wants talks to end the killing in Ukraine, it will not make concessions.
“We will not surrender, we will not capitulate, we will not give up a single inch of our territory,” Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said at a press conference.
While brokering the meeting, Zelenskyy said Lukashenko has promised that no missiles or aircraft would carry out strikes on Ukraine while the negotiations were underway. But in an unpromising sign for the talks, Ukrainian officials said Belarus had launched at least two Iskander ballistic missiles at Ukraine on Sunday after the agreement to meet was reached.
It was also Lukasheko who suggested that Russian and Ukrainian delegations meet at the Belarus-Ukraine border, Zelenskyy said, adding that though he is not optimistic a resolution will be reached, he does not want there to be any doubt that he did not try to stop the war.
The diplomatic effort came as Russian troops continued to try to press their attack in Ukraine but faced a fierce defense from Ukrainian forces. In Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, in the country’s northeast, Ukrainian defenders succeeded in beating back Russian units during street fighting.
The momentum of Russian forces in Ukraine appears to have been slowed by fuel and logistics shortages, as well as “stiff resistance,” a U.S. senior defense official told ABC News on Sunday.
The official also credited the slowdown of the Russian invasion to resistance by Ukraine.
(NEW YORK) — Russia’s military launched a long-feared invasion of Ukraine early Thursday, attacking its ex-Soviet neighbor from multiple directions despite warnings of dire consequences from the United States and the international community.
Thursday’s attacks followed weeks of escalating tensions in the region. In a fiery, hourlong speech on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was recognizing the independence of two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region: the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Russia has blamed Ukraine for stoking the crisis and reiterated its demands to NATO that Ukraine pledges to never join the transatlantic defense alliance.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 28, 11:59 am
Talks between Ukraine, Russia end after six hours
Talks between a Ukrainian delegation and Russian officials at the Belarus-Ukraine border have ended after six hours. Both sides will return to their capital cities for consultation ahead of a second round of talks.
Ukraine said it wanted a ceasefire and Russian withdrawal, while the Kremlin said it would not announce its position. Russia’s negotiators have talked of striking a deal that’s in the interests of both sides.
Feb 28, 11:47 am
Russian advance frustrated by resistance: US official
Russian forces are frustrated by their slow advance, but that could lead them “to be more aggressive and more overt in both the size and scale of their targeting of Kyiv,” a senior U.S. defense official said Monday, implying less discriminate attacks with more danger to civilian populations.
The Russians heading south to Kyiv continue to be slowed by fuel shortages and stiff Ukrainian resistance and have only moved about three miles since Sunday, leaving them about 16 miles away from the capital city, the official said.
“We believe they want to encircle Kyiv and it’s possible that they could adopt siege tactics there,” the official warned.
On Sunday the same official said there were indications Russian forces were adopting siege tactics around the city of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine.
So far, the Russians have fired more than 380 missiles, the official said.
Putin has committed about 75% of the more than 150,000 forces he had arrayed at the border to the invasion inside Ukraine, according to the official.
There’s no indication Belarusian forces are involved or are preparing to join Russia in the invasion, and Russia has not placed nuclear weapons in Belarus, according to the official.
Feb 28, 10:53 am
Putin tells Macron he’ll stop strikes against civilian targets
According to the Elysée, Russian President Vladimir Putin told French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday that he’ll stop strikes against civilian targets.
Putin also told Macron he’ll preserve civilian infrastructure to secure main roads, including the road south of Kyiv, according to the French government.
Macron and Putin will speak again this week, the Elysée said.
Feb 28, 10:18 am
IOC recommends no participation of athletes from Russia, Belarus
The International Olympic Committee said its executive board is recommending prohibiting athletes and officials from Russian and Belarus in international competitions.
The recommendation is “to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants,” the IOC said.
Feb 28, 9:57 am
Neutral Switzerland adopts EU sanctions targeting Russia
Switzerland is breaking from its longstanding policy of neutrality by adopting the packages of sanctions imposed by the European Union citing Russia’s continuing military invasion of Ukraine.
Switzerland, which has long been a safe haven for Russian assets, announced on Monday that it’s imposing financial sanctions targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov, and is targeting the assets of certain people and companies.
Switzerland also is imposing entry bans against individuals who have a connection to Switzerland and are linked to Putin and will be closing Swiss airspace to flights from Russia, with the exception of flights for humanitarian, medical or diplomatic purposes, officials said.
Switzerland will also extend a ban on imports, exports and investments concerning Crimea and Sevastopol, which has been in place since 2014, to the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Swiss officials said they are partially suspending the 2009 agreement on visa facilitation for Russian nationals, and those with diplomatic passports will continue to be allowed entry without a visa in an effort to continue diplomatic talks.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Feb 28, 9:01 am
US banning Russia’s central bank from accessing reserves in US
Senior administration officials on Monday provided more specifics on the sanctions against Russia announced over the weekend and emphasized the drastic nature of these steps, saying the “actions represent the most significant actions the U.S. Treasury has taken against an economy of this size, and assets of this size,” noting the Russian central bank is multiple times larger than Iran’s or Venezuela’s.
The U.S. has put into effect sanctions on Russia’s central bank that keep Moscow from accessing any of their more than $600 billion in reserves in the U.S., or in U.S. dollars in foreign countries. The sanctions also target Russia’s National Wealth Fund and the Ministry of Finance.
Officials said it was clear from the beginning of the invasion that Russian President Vladimir Putin was planning to use central bank assets to mitigate any sanctions.
“Today’s announcement that prohibit transactions with the Central Bank of Russia in the national wealth fund will significantly hinder their ability to do that, and inhibit their access to hundreds of billions of dollars in assets from our actions alone, they will not be able to access assets that are either in United States or in US dollars,” officials said.
“What we’ve done today is not only preventing them from using those dollars in the United States, but preventing them from being able to use those dollars in other places like Europe or Japan to defend their currency and prop up their institutions. And our goal was to make sure that not only would they not have access to dollars, but also not have access to other currencies,” officials said.
“Our strategy — to put it simply — is to make sure that the Russian economy goes backwards, as long as President Putin decides to go forward with his invasion of Ukraine,” a senior administration official said.
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky, Justin Gomez
Feb 28, 8:39 am
White House: ‘No reason to change’ US alert levels
After Russian President Vladimir Putin put Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces on a state of heightened alert this weekend, a White House official confirms the U.S. has not changed its own alert level.
“We are assessing President Putin’s directive and at this time see no reason to change our own alert levels,” a White House official confirmed to ABC News.
“We think provocative rhetoric regarding nuclear weapons is dangerous, adds to the risk of miscalculation, should be avoided, and we will not indulge in it,” the official added.
The official also noted that, as recently as June, when President Joe Biden met Putin face-to-face in Geneva, the two leaders affirmed nuclear war is tantamount to mutually assured destruction.
The leaders said in a joint statement in June, “Today, we reaffirm the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Feb 28, 8:21 am
US shutters embassy in Belarus, draws down embassy in Russia
The U.S. is suspending operations at the embassy in Belarus, where just half a dozen U.S. diplomats had been based, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.
The U.S. is also drawing down its embassy in Moscow, authorizing the departure of non-emergency staff and diplomats’ families, Blinken said in a statement.
He didn’t cite any specific threat but said the department took these steps “due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine.”
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
Feb 28, 6:47 am
Russia hikes key rate to 20% as ruble tumbles
Russia’s central bank on Monday raised its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5% in an apparent effort to slow the fallout from severe international sanctions.
The rate hike came as the Russian ruble tumbled, trading down as much as 30% against the U.S. dollar on Monday, according to Bloomberg. The currency traded about 17% lower midday in Moscow.
The Russian stock market reportedly closed for the day.
-ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki
Feb 28, 6:23 am
500,000 refugees have fled Ukraine, UN says
More than 500,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Thursday, the U.N. Refugee Agency said on Monday.
More than half have crossed the border into Poland, the agency said. Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, had said on Sunday that 368,000 people had fled to neighboring countries.
-ABC News’ Zoe Magee
Feb 28, 5:00 am
Ukraine delegation arrives for talks with Russia
The Ukrainian delegation sent for talks with Russia arrived Monday morning at the Belarus-Ukraine border, where the meeting will be held.
Ukraine has said the key issue for the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops.
Russia has signalled it wants to discuss Ukraine adopting “neutral status.”
The head of Russia’s delegation has said the two sides will meet within about an hour. They are meeting on the Pripyat River, north of Chernobyl.
The Ukrainian delegation includes the Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov, the head of Zelenskyy’s parliamentary party, as well as advisors to the president and MPs.
Russia’s delegation includes officials from the Foreign and Defense ministries, and the presidential administration.
The talks were agreed to on Sunday in a call between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Fighting continued throughout the night, as Russia attempted to advance and bombarded Ukrainian forces.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Julia Drozd
Feb 28, 3:29 am
Russian advance slows north of Kyiv, UK military says
The U.K. Ministry of Defence said on Monday that the advance of Russian ground forces had been slowed by Ukraine’s defense of an airport in Hostomel, about 19 miles north of Kyiv.
“Logistical failures and staunch Ukrainian resistance continue to frustrate the Russian advance,” the ministry said on Twitter.
(NEW YORK) — The International Olympic Committee on Monday said its executive board is recommending prohibiting athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus in international competitions.
The recommendation is “to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants,” the IOC said in a statement.
The recommendation comes just three days after the IOC urged sports federations across the globe to move or cancel any events they were planning to hold in Russia or Belarus.
The move was prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, which violated the Olympic Truce. Belarus also breached the truce by supporting the Russian government.
“The current war in Ukraine,” the IOC said in its statement Monday, “puts the Olympic Movement in a dilemma. While athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to continue to participate in sports events, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because of the attack on their country.”
“This is a dilemma which cannot be solved,” the committee continued, adding that after carefully considering the situation it issued its latest recommendation with “a heavy heart.”
After a four-year wait, DNCE fans can finally watch an all-new music video from Joe Jonas‘ band. They dropped their first new single “Dancing Feet” on Friday and, on Monday, followed up with its companion visual.
“Dancing Feet,” which features DJ Kygo, adopts a retro-vibe with the fashion the band rocks throughout the music video. The quartet works for the ultra wealthy at The Palm Tree Resort and run errands all day, such as parking people’s cars, playing tennis with them and supplying the music for a raging party. The group then blows off some steam from another hard day’s work by sneaking into an exclusive club and dancing the night away on a light up floor.
The single marks DNCE’s first since 2018 and Kygo’s first song of 2022. As for why the two joined efforts on the funk-fueled collaboration, the band explained in a press release, “We first met Kygo when we did some shows together in 2016. We’re excited to collab with him for the first time on ‘Dancing Feet’ and share this song with the world and lean into our funk & disco influences.”
Kygo added in his own statement, “Joe and I met years ago in Las Vegas and have wanted to find the right song to work on together for a while” and said he knew “Dancing Feet” was “a special song” when he started working on it. He adds of shooting the song’s visual, “It was also great to have the chance to shoot a fun music video in Miami with DNCE and perform the song with them during Super Bowl weekend.”
“Dancing Feet” is available to stream and purchase now.
Tyler Perry’s newest project, A Madea Homecoming, hit number one on Netflix this past weekend.
In a Sunday Instagram post, Perry, the creator and star of the Madea franchise, expressed his gratitude for the accomplishment and shared an image of the film sitting in the top spot that day.
“Well!! Y’all still got this old broad’s back!! What a blessing after all these years. Still number one!” the post read.
In the comedy film, released on Feb. 25, Madea welcomes her family who all come to town to celebrate her great-grandson’s graduation from college. But in Madea-like fashion, turmoil arises, threatening the happy homecoming.
Perry welcomed back many of the franchise veterans for the movie, like Tamela and David Mann, who play Cora and Mr. Brown.
“We’ve worked together for so many years on so many projects. We feel like family, like we were all born to the same family,” Perry said in a press release.
The film marks Perry’s 12th appearance as the crazy, outgoing, never-afraid-to-speak-her-mind Madea. It was 17 years ago on the release day of A Madea Homecoming, that his first-ever film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, was released — something Perry also noted in his Instagram post, adding, “Wow! What a run. What a blessing.”
The multi-hyphenate entertainer recently wrapped up his Madea’s Farewell Play tour in an effort to say goodbye to the franchise. From the looks and success of A Madea Homecoming, it may be much longer before the end of America’s beloved Black auntie. “Hallelujer!”
Brooks & Dunn are set to embark on an arena tour this year — and they’re bringing a slew of modern superstars with them.
Joining the legendary duo of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn when they setg off on the Reboot Tour are opening acts Jordan Davis, Jon Pardi, Walker Hayes, Gabby Barrett and Riley Green, along withTenille Townes, Morgan Wade, Dillon Carmichael and other rising stars.
The trek begins on May 5 in Evansville, Indiana and concludes on June 25 in Detroit and sees Brooks & Dunn headlining arenas for the first time in more than 10 years. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time.
Visit Brooks & Dunn’s official website for a full list of dates.
Jason and Brittany Aldean are proud parents to two adorable toddlers, four-year-old Memphis and three-year-old Navy. But although Navy’s the baby of the family, she’s technically older than her big brother, Brittany explains.
That’s because both kids were conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), as the couple struggled with infertility as a result of Brittany’s endometriosis.
The first of two rounds of IVF yielded five embryos, one male and four female. “I was set on having a boy first, so we transferred the one boy we had and he didn’t implant,” Brittany shares.
So they went for round two of IVF, producing two male embryos. The first once again did not implant, but the third and final male embryo resulted in Brittany’s pregnancy with Memphis.
For their second child, the couple implanted one of the embryos from the first round of IVF, “and were immediately pregnant with Navy,” Brittany continues.
“Sooooo…in a sense, she’s older, right?” the singer’s wife sums up, along with a mind-blown emoji.
No matter who’s technically older, one thing’s for sure: Both the Aldean tots are adorable. The two kids frequently appear in the pictures Brittany posts to social media, and Memphis even occasionally makes an appearance onstage at his famous dad’s concerts.
