We’re less than two weeks out from Valentine’s Day — BTW, it’s February 14, Romeos and Juliets — so why not spend the big night cuddled up with a romantic movie?
Fandango’s on-demand streaming service Vudu surveyed 2,000 people, and 82% said watching a movie with their main squeeze is their favorite Valentine’s-themed activity.
With that in mind, Vudu has released a list of its most-streamed romantic movies of all time.
A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, took the top slot, followed by the hit Crazy Rich Asians with starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding, while The Twilight Saga, with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, took third.
Other entries on the list are classics you might expect like Titanic, The Notebook, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and The Princess Bride — though it should be noted that the far naughtier Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy is right up there, at number four.
Vudu even made it easy for you to set the mood, with a playlist of its most-watched romantic movies. What’s more, through February 6, you can get $40 off the purchase of select bouquets from The Bouqs Company if you rent or purchase any films on Vudu, or buy movie tickets through Fandango — so all you have to do is arrange some dinner, and you’re good to go.
“Certain movies age like fine wine, and you need to break them out for special occasions,” says Fandango correspondent Nikki Novak.
Oh, and while you’re at it, maybe don’t skimp on the wine.
Here’s Vudu’s list of the top 25 most-streamed romantic movies:
1. A Star is Born (2018)
2. Crazy Rich Asians
3. The Twilight Saga
4. Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy
5. Beauty and the Beast (2017)
6. Love and Monsters
7. Titanic
8. The Notebook
9. Trainwreck
10. The Proposal
11. Last Christmas
12. Warm Bodies
13. Dirty Dancing
14. Overboard (2018)
15. The Shape of Water
16. Crazy, Stupid Love
17. Silver Linings Playbook
18. La La Land
19. How Stella Got Her Groove Back
20. The Princess Bride
21. Pretty Woman
22. What Men Want
23. Love, Simon
24. Yesterday
25. Sweet Home Alabama
Slash is one of the most recognizable people in rock today, but when he was growing up, he often pretended to be someone else. Specifically, someone old enough to get into rock clubs.
During an interview on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!Wednesday night, the Guns N’ Roses icon recalled creating fake IDs when he was a teenager.
“I was pretty good at it,” Slash said. He then told a story of when he and his future GN’R band mate Steven Adler used fake IDs to get into a particular club, but while the doorman let Adler in, he rejected Slash.
“I was just crushed,” Slash shared. “So I went home, and I put on a bunch of makeup and put on some of my mom’s clothes — I was really drunk, you have to understand — and I went back up there. It was Ladies Night, so I went back and I got in.”
Slash’s initial thought was he was going to mess with Adler — “Steven would screw anything,” he joked — but soon realized that the drummer had since left the club.
“This whole black cloud of reality came down,” Slash remembered. “I felt the most vulnerable I’d ever felt, ever. Still to this day, I’ve never felt like that.”
After the interview, Slash and his solo band Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators performed their new single “The River Is Rising.” The track will appear on the upcoming Conspirators album 4, due out February 11.
Those toiling away at Fortnite can now level up while listening to Silk Sonic. The popular battle royale game announced Thursday that they’ve teamed with the Grammy-nominated duo for its brand new “Icon Radio.”
According to a press release from Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, cars that players drive in-game will now come equipped with the station “Icon Radio.” It even has its own on-air host, ’70s funk legend Bootsy Collins, who will entertain players between playing tracks from the An Evening With Silk Sonic album.
Bootsy is jazzed about his latest venture and said in a statement, “Back in the day I was crazy about arcade games, so being able to bridge the worlds of music and gaming with Fortnite is very exciting.”
That’s not the only Silk Sonic-flavored update coming to the game. Both Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak also helped design brand new outfits and accessories that players can purchase in-game.
Jokes Bruno in a statement, “When Fortnite asked me if I wanted to create an outfit for the game, I asked, ‘Are CGI muscles off the table?’ They said ‘no.’ I said ‘deal.'” Anderson cheekily chimed in, “When Fortnite agreed to give Bruno CGI muscles, I said, I’m in. He could use the help, so I support it. And it makes me cool. Win, win.”
In addition, Fortnite is hosting a “Silk Sonic Cup” tournament for a chance at more branded goodies.
This isn’t the first time Silk Sonic dipped their toes in Fortnite. Anderson performed an in-game “Spotlight Concert Series” in September 2020 and, in April 2021, Bruno contributed an emote styled after his appearance in “Leave the Door Open.”
Founding Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has teamed up with author Mala Gaonkar to create an immersive sensory experience called Theater of the Mind, which will premiere August 31 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Off-Center.
The production, which originally was scheduled to debut in 2020 but was postponed because of COVID-19, takes place in a 15,000-square-foot historic warehouse and, according to an official description, brings audience members on “an immersive journey of self-reflection, discovery, and imagination, inspired by and grounded in neuroscience.”
The show uses stories from Byrne’s and Gaokar’s own lives to shape a narrative that attendees will be able to see, feel, taste and hear.
At each show, 16 audience members will follow a “Guide” through various environments and will have the opportunity to try a number of sensory experiments devised to make attendees question how they perceive their own beliefs, memories and identities.
Byrne explains that Theater of the Mind was inspired by a series of neuroscience experiments in which both he and Gaonkar participated.
“We began referring to the project as a Neuro Funhouse, but as we worked on it we came to realize that it was evolving to be something more than that,” he notes. “It has made us rethink some of our own beliefs and assumptions, to see ourselves and the world in a different way, and we hope that it might have a similar effect on our audience.”
Theater of the Mind begins previews on August 31, and officially opens on Septmber 13. The production will run through December 18. Tickets will go on to the general public on May 20, while pre-sale tickets will be available to all Denver Center for the Performing Arts subscribers starting May 6.
(NOTE LANGUAGE)On Thursday’s installment of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Oscar winner Halle Berry explained how her youngest son, Maceo, has just picked up cursing as a habit — and demonstrated where he could have learned the F-word.
Berry explained the little one is going through a cursing phase. She demonstrated — with much use of the TV’s show’s “beep” button — how her son with ex-husband Olivier Martinez routinely salts up his favorite kids book. However, when Ellen shifted gears to Berry’s current boyfriend, musician Van Hunt, Berry proved pretty deft with the F-bomb herself.
Ellen explained that both Hunt and Berry appeared on Ellen‘s first season, but on different installments. Berry said she told Hunt, “You mean you could have found me 20 years ago and saved me all this misery I’ve been through?”
“Why didn’t you arrange that, Ellen?” Halle protested. “It would have saved me from three f***ing marriages!”
“But then you wouldn’t have had that f***ing kid,” Ellen shot back, cracking up the actress and the audience.
Berry said, “No, I woulda had two other f***ing kids that I wouldn’t have to share two f***ing daddies with, and I’d be f***ing happier!” she said to laughs. “So it’s your f***ing fault, Ellen!”
“I am so f***ing sorry,” Ellen said, before noting of her final season, “This is how I should go out, my last three months, just cursing.”
Moonfall star Berry also has a 13-year-old daughter, Nahla, with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry. Other than Martinez, Halle was previously married to former baseball star David Justice and musician Eric Benet, but didn’t have kids with them.
Dolly Parton is set to host this year’s ACM Awards. The Academy of Country Music broke the news this week, also adding that yet-to-be-announced co-hosts will join her in the gig.
The 2022 ACMs will take place on March 7 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. For the first time ever, the show will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. It’s the first time a major country awards show has moved to a streaming-only format instead of airing on a TV network.
“I am so excited to be hosting the ACM Awards on March 7 from Vegas,” Dolly said in a statement. “Watch for us because we’re going to have some fun.”
In addition to details about Dolly’s co-hosts, fans should be on the lookout for the nominees list. The ACMs will reveal this year’s nominees next week.
It’s been a banner week for Dolly, who was also revealed Wednesday as a nominee for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
(NEW YORK) — A massive winter storm is pushing east, blasting the Midwest with snow and the South with ice — and now taking aim on the Northeast.
Over 4,000 flights have been canceled as of Thursday morning — the biggest flight cancellation day of the year. Dallas, Chicago and Austin are the most impacted cities.
The snow has already pummeled Chicago and St. Louis. Governors in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kentucky have declared states of emergency.
More heavy snow is expected from St. Louis to Indianapolis to Cleveland on Thursday. Six to 12 inches of snow is forecast for Indiana and Ohio.
Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky could see a thick layer of ice and possible power outages.
In Texas, officials are urging residents to stay home as ice and snow accumulate on roads. More than 50,000 customers are without power in Texas and the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has suspended operations as the state tackles a winter storm dropping snow, sleet and ice.
The snow is also stretching into western Pennsylvania, New York state and northern New England. Ice accumulation is expected in Pennsylvania, the Hudson Valley and southeastern New England where some power outages are possible.
On Friday, the storm heads to the Interstate 95 corridor. Freezing rain and falling temperatures could cause very icy roads in Boston and the New York City area.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Thursday, in remarks from the White House, gave details to the nation about a dramatic U.S. raid overnight in Syria he said had killed the leader of ISIS.
“Last night, operating on my orders, the United States military forces successfully removed in a major terrorist threat to the world, the global leader of ISIS, known as Haji Abdullah. He took over as leader of ISIS in 2019 after the United States counterterrorism operation killed Al Bhaghdadi,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room. “Thanks to the bravery of our troops, this horrible terrorist leader is no more.”
Amid reports of women and children killed, Biden said he directed the Department of Defense “to take every precaution possible to minimize civilian casualties.”
“Knowing that this terrorist had chosen to surround himself with families, including children, we made a choice to pursue a Special Forces raid at a much greater risk than our to our own people rather than targeting him with an airstrike,” Biden said. “We made this choice to minimize civilian casualties.”
“We do know that as our troops approached to capture the terrorist — in a final act of desperate cowardice he, with no regard to the lives of his own family or others in the building, he chose to blow himself up — not just in the vest but the blow-up that third floor, rather than face justice for the crimes he has committed, taking several members of his family with him. Just as his predecessor did,” Biden said, describing the raid.
Earlier in the day, the White House tweeted a photo it said showed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the Situation Room watching as the raid took place.
The Pentagon also confirmed U.S. special operations forces carried out a what it called a “successful” counterterrorism mission in northwest Syria Wednesday, but provided few other details.
“U.S. Special Operations forces under the control of U.S. Central Command conducted a counterterrorism mission this evening in northwest Syria. The mission was successful. There were no U.S. casualties,” said John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, in a statement. “More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
One of the helicopters used in the mission experienced a mechanical problem and then had to be blown up on the ground by U.S. forces, according to a U.S. official.
No details were provided on whether the operation involved ground troops and helicopters, as was claimed in a flurry of social media reports emerging from Syria on Wednesday night.
Social media posts reported possible U.S. military activity in Idlib province, a town in far western Syria, close to the border with Turkey. Some posts included videos that seemed to show night scenes where the sounds of gunfire and low-flying helicopters could be heard near the towns of Atmeh and Dar Ballout.
The opposition-run Syrian Civil Defense, first responders also known as the White Helmets, said 13 civilians were killed as a result of the fighting and blasts that occurred at the raid site, including six children and four women.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war watchdog group based in the United Kingdom, said in a press statement that nine people, including at least two children and a woman, were killed during Wednesday’s mission. The group cited local sources.
A U.S. official, meanwhile, told ABC News that the reported civilian casualties were not the result of U.S. military fire, but occurred when the target of the raid detonated an explosive device at the beginning of the operation.
There are approximately 1,000 U.S. military troops operating in eastern Syria to support the mission against ISIS.
American troops do not operate in government-controlled areas in northwestern Syria, especially in Idlib province, which was an extremist safe haven for much of the last decade. But they have sporadically carried out counterterrorism missions in Idlib, targeting various Islamic extremist groups with drone strikes.
The highest profile mission was a ground raid that killed ISIS’ top leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who was hiding out in a house close to the border with Turkey, on Oct. 27, 2019.
Lady Gaga‘s performance in the movie House of Gucci continues to rack up award nominations.
The star just received her second career BAFTA nomination — the U.K. equivalent of the Oscars — for her role as Patrizia Reggiani in the Ridley Scott film. She’s the only member of the cast who’s nominated; the movie itself is up for Best British Film, as well as Best Makeup and Hair.
Gaga was previously nominated for Best Actress in 2018 for her role in A Star Is Born, but lost to Olivia Colman. Colman was expected to be nominated again in the same category this year for her role in The Lost Daughter, but surprisingly, she wasn’t. Another musician-turned-actor was, though: Alana Haim of the group HAIM is up for her role in Licorice Pizza.
The BAFTAs will be handed out March 13 at London’s Royal Albert Hall, at a ceremony hosted by Rebel Wilson. Next week, Gaga will find out if she’s received an Oscar nomination for House of Gucci.
(WASHINGTON) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 894,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 63.9% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 03, 9:46 am
Medicare to start paying for at-home COVID-19 tests
Medicare will cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 testing kits starting this spring, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Thursday.
It will be the first time that Medicare has covered an over-the-counter test at no cost to beneficiaries. The new initiative will enable payment from Medicare directly to participating pharmacies and retailers to allow beneficiaries to pick up the at-home testing kits for free, according to CMS, a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that administers the Medicare health insurance program and works in partnership with state governments to administer the Medicaid assistance program.
CMS said it “anticipates that this option will be available to people with Medicare in the early spring.”
Last month, the U.S. government began requiring health insurers to pay for at-home COVID-19 tests. But that directive did not initially extend to Medicare, which provides health insurance coverage for Americans ages 65 and up, as well as some younger individuals with disabilities.
Feb 02, 4:49 pm
White House prepping to send out COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5
Vaccines will be made available to the 18 million kids between the ages of 6 months and 5 years “in short order” if they’re authorized and recommended by FDA and CDC later this month, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said at Wednesday’s White House briefing.
“We’ve already secured ample doses and the necessary needles and supplies specially made for kids in this age group. Following FDA authorization, we would immediately begin packing and shipping doses to states and health care providers,” Zients said. “And in short order following CDC recommendations, parents will be able to get their kids under 5 vaccinated.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, said parents should feel confident that the FDA would only approve the vaccine if it was effective and safe.
“We are anticipating that we will get a good efficacy signal for the use of vaccines in children under 5 years old,” he said, adding, “But let’s wait for the FDA determination and, ultimately, the CDC recommendation.”
Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday asked the FDA for emergency use authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5. Pfizer and BioNTech said they’ve submitted data for two doses but expect the vaccine to be a three-dose series, and that the data for the third dose will be provided in the coming months.
The FDA’s advisory committee will meet on Feb. 15 to review the Pfizer vaccine for use in children under the age of 5. The advisory committee is an independent group whose vote is nonbinding, but the FDA takes it into consideration when making a final decision.
The vaccine would then need to be authorized by the FDA. The CDC advisory committee would then need to meet for recommendations, and it would also need to be approved by CDC director Rochelle Walensky.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Feb 02, 4:05 pm
More than 100,000 Americans have died from COVID since Thanksgiving
Since Thanksgiving, there have been more than 100,000 confirmed COVID-19-related deaths in the U.S., according to federal data.
The U.S. is reporting an average of nearly 2,300 new COVID-19-related deaths each day, the federal data show.
However, the nation’s death toll remains significantly lower than last winter when the U.S. peaked at about 3,400 deaths per day.
About 126,000 Americans with COVID-19 are currently in hospitals — down from 160,000 patients at the nation’s peak 13 days ago.
But 14 states are struggling with ICU capacities of 15% or less: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Feb 02, 3:10 pm
US Army will ‘immediately’ discharge unvaccinated soldiers
The U.S. Army “will immediately begin separating Soldiers from the service who refuse to be vaccinated,” the Army announced in a press release.
“Army readiness depends on Soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,” Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said. “Unvaccinated Soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness. We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for Soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on an exemption.”
The Army was the last of the military services to say it would remove service members who didn’t comply with the Secretary of Defense’s mandatory vaccination order. In the fall, the Army issued temporary guidance that soldiers who didn’t get vaccinated would be “flagged” so they would lose a command, not be promoted or would only remain until their contracts expired.
Under the earlier flagging policy, six commanders were removed from command, and 3,073 soldiers received reprimands. Wednesday’s announcement begins the discharge process for those 3,073 soldiers.
According to Army statistics, 96% of the Army’s approximately 475,000 soldiers are fully vaccinated, and 97% have received at least one dose.
