(AUGUSTA, Maine) — A Maine resident has died from a rare but potentially dangerous tick-borne illness, health officials said.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday it has confirmed a fatal case of Powassan virus, an illness spread by the bite of infected deer (aka black-legged) or woodchuck (aka groundhog) ticks.
The person, a resident of Waldo County in south-central Maine, developed neurologic symptoms and died in the hospital, according to the Maine CDC. The person likely became infected in Maine, health officials said. No further details on the case were provided.
“Ticks are active and looking for a host to bite right now,” Nirav D. Shah, director of the Maine CDC, warned residents in a statement. “I urge Maine people and visitors to take steps that prevent tick bites.”
Cases of Powassan virus are very rare, with about 25 reported each year in the U.S. since 2015, according to the Maine CDC. Since 2010, Maine has identified 14 cases, the agency said.
Though rare, the number of reported cases of people sick from the virus has increased in recent years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most cases occur in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions from late spring through mid-fall, it said.
Many people infected with Powassan virus do not get sick, according to the Maine CDC. Symptoms can start one week to one month after the bite and can include fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, loss of coordination, memory loss, slurred speech or seizures. The virus can also cause serious neurologic problems, like brain inflammation, known as encephalitis, which can be deadly.
There is no vaccine to prevent Powassan or medicine to treat the disease. The best protection against any tick-borne disease is to prevent tick bites in the first place.
Health officials advise avoiding tick habitats — wooded and bushy areas with tall grass — whenever possible and to stay in the middle of trails when hiking. People can further protect themselves with EPA-approved repellants on skin and clothing.
During tick season, people should perform tick checks on themselves every day, especially after leaving a tick habitat and upon returning home. They should also check their clothing, gear and pets for ticks.
(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 now launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 22, 9:30 am
European Council president holds call with Putin
European Council President Charles Michel and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a call Friday. Michel said afterwards on Twitter that he “strongly urged for immediate humanitarian access and safe passage from Mariupol and other besieged cities all the more on the occasion of Orthodox Easter.”
Michel also said he “firmly reiterated” the EU’s support for Ukraine and “condemnation and sanctions for Russia’s aggression.”
According to the Kremlin’s readout of the call, Michel asked Putin to have direct contact with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Kremlin said Putin “reaffirmed the well-known position on this matter, noting that such a possibility depends, in particular, on concrete results in the ongoing negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, during which the Ukrainian side is showing inconsistency and is not ready to seek mutually acceptable solutions.”
Apr 22, 8:15 am
UK to reopen embassy in Kyiv
The United Kingdom announced Friday that it will soon reopen its embassy in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
The U.K. Embassy in Kyiv, in northern Ukraine, was forced to temporarily close in late February due to Russia’s invasion. A contingent of British staff remained in western Ukraine to provide humanitarian and other support. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Friday that the embassy will reopen next week, “dependent on the security situation,” according to a press release from the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
“The extraordinary fortitude and success of President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people in resisting Russian forces, means we will shortly be re-opening our British Embassy in Kyiv,” U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement. “I want to pay tribute to the bravery and resilience of the Embassy team and their work throughout this period.”
The embassy premises in Kyiv are currently being made secure before staff return, starting with U.K. ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons. The U.K. continues to advise its citizens against all travel to Ukraine, according to the FCDO.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Apr 22, 7:58 am
Russia aims to ‘contain Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol,’ UK says
Russia’s decision to blockade a steel plant in Mariupol “likely indicates a desire to contain Ukrainian resistance” in the strategic port city “and free up Russian forces to be deployed elsewhere in eastern Ukraine,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Friday in an intelligence update.
The Azovstal Iron and Steel Works plant is the last holdout for Ukrainian fighters in besieged Mariupol.
“A full ground assault by Russia on the plant would likely incur significant Russian casualties, further decreasing their overall combat effectiveness,” the ministry said.
Meanwhile, heavy shelling and fighting continues across eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region as Russian forces seek to advance further toward settlements including Krasnyy Lyman, Buhayikva, Barvinkove, Lyman and Popasna, “as part of their plans for the region,” according to the ministry.
“Despite Russia’s renewed focus they are still suffering from losses sustained earlier in the conflict,” the ministry added. “In order to try and reconstitute their depleted forces, they have resorted to transiting inoperable equipment back to Russia for repair.”
Apr 22, 6:34 am
Putin to speak with European Council president
Russian President Vladimir Putin will have a telephone conversation with European Council President Charles Michel on Friday before meeting with permanent members of the Russian Security Council, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“Putin will now have an international conversation,” Peskov told reporters Friday. “It will be the President of the European Council, Michel. And then during the day, Putin is scheduled to have an operational meeting with the permanent members of the Security Council.”
The U.S. has assessed that the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol remains contested, and that Russian airstrike activity remains focused there and on the Donbas region, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday.
Russia now has 85 battalion tactical groups, each made up of roughly 800 to 1,000 troops, inside of Ukraine, the official said. More of these groups are headed to the Donbas region, the official said.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Detroit 3, NY. Yankees 0
Cleveland 6, Chi White Sox 3
Toronto 3, Boston 2
Minnesota 1, Kansas City 0
Oakland 6, Baltimore 4
Texas 8, Seattle 6
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NY. Mets 6, San Francisco 2
Arizona 4, Washington 3
Miami 5, St. Louis 0
Pittsburgh 4, Chi Cubs 3
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Memphis 104, Minnesota 95 (Memphis leads 2-1)
Dallas 126, Utah 118 (Dallas leads 2-1)
Golden State 118, Denver 113 (Golden State leads 3-0)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Buffalo 5, New Jersey 2
Florida 5, Detroit 2
Carolina 4, Winnipeg 2
Pittsburgh 4, Boston 0
Philadelphia 6, Montreal 3
NY Rangers 6, NY Islanders 3
Minnesota 6, Vancouver 3
Tampa Bay 8, Toronto 1
Calgary 4, Dallas 2
Los Angeles 4, Chi 1
St. Louis 3 San Jose 1
If you have a sneaking suspicion you may be borderline umbilical with your phone, Eva Longoria and Matt Walsh say their new movie, Unplugging, is for you.
The movie stars the two as a husband and wife more married to technology than to one another, so they embark on a digital detox weekend to revive the spark in their marriage. But vacationing in an ultra-remote area with minimal cell service forces the two to address the issues their phones helped them avoid.
Walsh, who wrote and stars in the film, told ABC Audio his message is simple: relationships are more important than technology. “It’s about just investing in the relationships we have by creating a boundary around screen time that lets us be connected, look each other in the eyes, go to nature together… to reset us and reinvigorate us and remind us why we why we’re fortunate to have those people in our lives,” he says.
“We do monitor screen time for kids, but not for ourselves,” Longoria adds. “Digital detox, I think, is a great idea for people to take — even if it’s a little mini break.”
The Desperate Housewives star added she “jumped at the chance” to work on the film because the the plot was so “fun to explore.”
That said, how do Walsh and Longoria rate their screen time habits? Out of a scale of one to 10 — with one representing complete addiction — Longoria said she’s “a two.”
“I’m not addicted to Instagram,” she attested. “I’m working here! I’m working and I have a child, so I need my phone.”
Jason Aldean completes an album long in the making this week with the release of Georgia, the second half of his 10th studio album.
The first half of the double project, Macon, came out in November. Though it’s now been several months since he put out the first half of his project, Jason says all the music for the two-part album was actually recorded at the same time.
“We finished the double album and really didn’t know what the plan was for it at the time,” the star tells ABC Audio. “We didn’t know if we were gonna put it out all at once, or how we were gonna do it. And we decided to break it up.”
As for the process of selecting singles, his approach is a little bit unconventional there, too.
“It’s different, for sure,” Jason acknowledges. “We’re kind of bouncing back and forth between records. The first single came off the Macon side. Second single’s Georgia. And now for the third one, I don’t really know where that’s gonna come from yet.”
He might not decide for sure what’s next until he gets feedback from a live audience. Jason’s Rock n’ Roll Cowboy Tour starts this summer, so he’ll get plenty of opportunity to bring the songs from his double album to the stage.
“For me, a lot of times, it’s trying some of these songs out live, seeing the reactions it gets, things like that,” Jason explains. “We go back out in July, so we’ll have a chance to start playing some of the new stuff.”
The Who launches its The Who Hits Back! tour tonight in Hollywood, Florida, which sees the British rock legends returning to the road for the first time since wrapping up their Moving On! trek in October 2019.
As previously announced, the band’s 2022 North American tour features two legs, with the first wrapping up May 28 in Bethel, New York, and the second running from an October 2 concert in Toronto through a November 4-5 engagement in Las Vegas.
Notable stops on the outing’s first leg include an April 30 headlining performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and a May 15 show at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium. The latter gig will mark the first time in 43 years that the band will play Cincinnati, the site of the tragic 1979 incident in which 11 people were killed at Riverfront Coliseum when fans rushed the doors of the venue ahead of a Who show there.
Meanwhile, just in time for the start of the tour, The Who have announced the lineup of artists that will be opening for them at most shows. The support acts for the first leg include singer/songwriter Leslie Mendelson, soul singer Amythyst Kiah, Texas roots rockers Los Lonely Boys, veteran singer/songwriter Willie Nile, and contemporary British rock band The Wild Things.
Opening for The Who during the second leg are ex-Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page, Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell and his current band The Dirty Knobs, and, again, The Wild Things, who will perform at the two-show finale in Las Vegas.
Like the Moving On! tour, the new trek will feature The Who accompanied by an orchestra at all shows.
Visit TheWho.com to check out the band’s full tour schedule and which support act will be performing at each concert.
Pop Evil has premiered a new song called “Eye of the Storm.”
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, at some point we all face a situation beyond our control,” Pop Evil says of the track. “The wind howls at your door as darkness fills the sky and everything you know is being tested. You don’t know if you can survive it. At times, it feels hopeless, but it’s not.”
“There is a path through the chaos and a way out of the confusion,” the band adds. “You are stronger and closer than you think you are. The storm will pass. Don’t let it bury you.”
You can listen to “Eye of the Storm” now via digital outlets, and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.
“Eye of the Storm” follows Pop Evil’s 2021 album Versatile, which features the singles “Breathe Again,” “Work” and “Survivor.”
The first two episodes of the new reality music competition show No Cover have premiered online.
No Cover, which was first announced in 2020, finds a panel of judges — including Alice Cooper, Bush‘s Gavin Rossdale and Halestorm‘s Lzzy Hale — searching to discover the next best unsigned bands.
Each week, the competing artists perform for the judges live at the iconic Troubadour club near Los Angeles. Kellin Quinn of Sleeping with Sirens co-hosts the show. The other judges are alt-pop singer/songwriter Bishop Briggs and prog-metal guitarist Tosin Abasi.
As opposed to shows like American Idol or The Voice, the No Cover contestants only perform original material, hence the show’s title.
The winner of No Cover will earn a recording contract with Sumerian Records, and a slot at a festival produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, the company behind the Aftershock, Welcome to Rockville and Louder than Life festivals. The victorious act also will get signed to a management and booking agency, and will receive a whole lot of gear.
Billie Eilish broke out into the music scene with her 2016 hit, “Ocean Eyes,” when she was just 14 years old. And she says when she sought out potential managers then, most were very condescending to her.
“There were a lot of people that we did meet that treated us like children,” Billie, now 20, told Billboard about the many meetings she had to sit through.
Her brother, FINNEAS, revealed they ultimately selected managers Danny Rukasin and Brandon Goodman to represent them, because “they were never condescending to us ever.”
“I think our managers communicating openly with us and treating us like peers even though we were children at the time that we started working with them [was beneficial,]” he continued.
“Especially at the beginning when we didn’t know what the f*** was going on,” added Billie. “They didn’t make us worried or scared or feel out of place or like we were doing something wrong, which was really nice.”
The “bad guy” singer also explained that Danny and Brandon also had a good sense about where her career needed to go, and guided her.
“There was a period where I was 16 or 17, and I was like, ‘I want to make a three-song EP, and I want to drop it right now.’ And I was so certain that that was the best idea possible, and they were like, ‘Well, here’s why maybe this is a better idea,'” she recalled. “And they were right for sure.”
Billie’s massive career now spans two albums and multiple awards, but the singer admits she’s still earning her sea legs. For example, she revealed she was extremely intimidated at the Oscars, where she and FINNEAS won Best Original Song for “No Time to Die,” revealing she felt like “a god**** nobody.”
A collection of rare recordings by 10cc co-founders Kevin Godley and Lol Creme from the late 1960s will be released on June 10.
Frabjous Days — The Secret World of Godley & Creme 1967-1969 includes tracks that the duo made under the name Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon for a planned 1969 album for British music impresario Georgio Gomelsky‘s Marmalade label that was never released.
The compilation also features a 1969 solo track that Godley and Creme’s future 10cc band mate Graham Gouldman recorded for Marmalade called “The Late Mr. Late,” and two unreleased songs written by Gouldman that the duo recorded in 1969 — “Hot Sun” and “Virgin Soldiers.”
Other tracks on the album include two songs from a January 1968 single that Godley and Crème released under the moniker The Yellow Bellow Room Boom, and two unreleased tracks from a June 1968 acetate recording.
Frabjous Days comes packaged with a 28-page booklet featuring a new essay, as well as rare photos and memorabilia.
“These songs sound like they were written and recorded before we were born…and in a sense they were,” Godley says. “It’s the sound of two young art students messing around at weekends, stringing chords and words together for the sheer, explosive buzz of hearing what happens. There’s a thrill in not knowing what you’re doing but aiming high anyway and that, I believe, is exactly what’s going on in these recordings.”
The Marmalade Sessions 1969
1. “I’m Beside Myself” (album version)*
2. “Chaplin House”*
3. “Cowboys and Indians”*
4. “It’s the Best Seaside in the World”*
5. “Fly Away” (Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon LP version)*
6. “Take Me Back”*
7. “Today”*
8. “Hot Sun”*
9. “Virgin Soldiers”*
10. “The Late Mr. Late” — Graham Gouldman
11. “To Fly Away” (Marmalade sampler LP version)
12. “I’m Beside Myself” (single version)
13. “Animal Song”
Bonus tracks (recorded 1967-1969)
14. “Seeing Things Green”
15. “Easy Life”
16. “One and One Make Love”*
17. “Over and Above My Head”*
18. “Hello Blinkers”
19. “Goodnight Blinkers”
1-7: Unreleased Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon album, recorded circa September 1969
8-9: Unreleased acetate of Graham Gouldman songs performed by Godley and Creme, recorded circa July 1969
10-11: From label sampler Marmalade – 100% Proof, released June 1969
12-13: Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon single, released September 1969
14-15: The Yellow Bellow Room Boom single, released January 1968
16-17: Unreleased acetate, recorded circa July 1968
18-19: Promo vinyl pressing for Blinkers nightclub, circa late 1969
