The 44th annual Kennedy Center Honors special airs tonight on CBS, featuring star-studded tributes to Joni Mitchell, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. and Bette Midler, as well as Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and opera baritone Justino Diaz.
Among the performers and presenters who took part in the gala, which was held December 5 in Washington, D.C., were Paul Simon, Graham Nash, Stevie Wonder and many more.
Nash was featured as the narrator of a video presentation celebrating Mitchell, who was his one-time romantic partner. Among the performers who paid tribute to the legendary Canadian singer/songwriter were Herbie Hancock, Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard, Norah Jones, Brandi Carlile and Ellie Goulding.
Simon, a close friend of Michaels, performed his classic Simon & Garfunkel tune “America” in honor of Lorne. The segment also featured tributes from Steve Martin and various former and current SNL cast members, including Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Seth Meyers, Kevin Nealon, Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon, Michael Che and Colin Jost.
The event’s finale featured a salute to Gordy, which included musical tributes from Wonder and Smokey Robinson.
The Kennedy Center Honors special airs at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on CBS.
Back in October, Chris Martin told NME that Coldplay will stop making records after putting out their 12th album. Now, he’s put a date on that finish line.
Speaking with BBC Radio 2, Martin reveals that Coldplay’s “last proper record” will be released at the “end of 2025.”
“I think after that, we’ll only tour,” Martin says. “Maybe we’ll do some collaborative things, but the Coldplay catalog, as it were, finishes then.”
When host Jo Whiley asked if Martin was joking, he assured her he was not.
Coldplay just released their ninth album, Music of the Spheres, this past October. It includes the single “Higher Power” and the hit BTS collaboration “My Universe.”
Both The Wendy Williams Show and the Nick Cannon show have been shut down until the new year due to COVID-19. Announcements were made on their Instagram pages. Williams’ show will return with new live episodes on Monday, January 10 featuring guest hosts Michael Rapaport, Kym Whitley, Finesse Mitchell and Sherrie Shepherd. Wendy continues to recover from Graves disease and a thyroid condition
New episodes of the Nick Cannon show will resume Monday, January 3. Two weeks after losing his five-month-old son, Zen,Nick Cannon is finding some joy as he celebrated the first birthday of his daughter, Powerful Queen. Her mother, model Brittany Bell, posted several videos of their birthday party on her Instagram Story, as reported by People. The bash featured sledding on real snow, and a visit from Santa Claus. Nick was in the holiday spirit, wearing a necklace of large Christmas lights.
In other news, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Oprah Winfrey are teaming for a new reading project.
Will and Jada’s Family Foundation, the WILL Book Club, and Oprah’s Charitable Foundation are launching reading groups and events for young adults inspired by the King Richard star’s memoir, simply titled WILL.
For the memoir’s release in November, the former Fresh Prince created the WILL Book Club “to transform the path of youth around the world — deepening their love of reading, culture, self-expression, self-healing and self-awareness.”
(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack sent a letter on Wednesday to GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, requesting he appear for an interview with the panel about his communications with President Donald Trump on and before Jan. 6.
The request from Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., to the staunch Trump ally is the committee’s second such request to a GOP lawmaker.
On Monday night, the committee requested a meeting with Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., to discuss his communications with Trump Justice Department officials about false claims of election fraud and efforts to install Jeffrey Clark as the acting attorney general.
Jordan, who Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., has described as a potential “material witness” for the committee’s investigation, has said he spoke to Trump on Jan. 6 after the attack — after initially telling an Ohio news station he couldn’t remember when he communicated with Trump and Politico reported that they spoke twice.
Jordan, a leader and founding member of the Trump-aligned House Freedom Caucus, was among the GOP lawmakers who planned to challenge the election results on the House floor. He has said he had “nothing to do with” the attack on the Capitol.
After the election, the Ohio Republican focused most of his efforts challenging the legality of the pandemic-era voting changes in many states rather than some of the more outlandish and unproven theories of election fraud pushed by some Trump supporters.
The committee said it hoped to ask Jordan about his communications with Trump on Jan. 6 and any communications he may have had on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 with Trump’s legal team, White House officials, or any of the rally organizers and activists based at the Willard Hotel.
“We would also like to ask you about any discussions involving the possibility of presidential pardons for individuals involved in any aspect of January 6th or the planning for January 6th,” the panel wrote.
The committee also noted that it has obtained “testimony indicating that the president was watching television coverage of the attack from his private dining room adjoining the Oval Office during this time period,” which has been publicly reported.
A spokesman for Jordan did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The committee requested a meeting with Jordan in the first week of January but also said it would be “glad to explore travel arrangements” to meet with him at home in Ohio.
Jordan was among the House Republicans nominated to serve on the select committee by House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked him from being seated on the panel given his past false statements about the election results — which led McCarthy to withdraw all his selections to the committee.
The latest COVID-19 surge has claimed more Hollywood events.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that the Governors Awards, which usually serve as a kick-off to awards season, have been postponed.
“We have made the difficult decision to change our plans in hosting the Governors Awards in person on January 15,” the Academy says in a statement. “Given the uncertainties around the variants, and the impact this could have on our community, we feel this is the best and safest decision for our honorees and guests. Rescheduled plans will come at a later date as we continue to prioritize the health and wellbeing of all those involved.”
The Governors Awards were set to honor Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullman with honorary Oscars, and Danny Glover with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award.
Also postponed is a special screening event for the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff series The Book of Boba Fett, which was set to take place January 4 at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. According to Variety, it’s being rescheduled to February 8.
The Book of Boba Fett debuts on Disney+ December 29. Disney is the parent company of ABC News.
Lindsey Nicholson/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Urgent care chain CityMD announced it is temporarily closing more than a dozen of its 150 locations in New York and New Jersey amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and increased demands for testing.
The 19 shuttered clinics include 13 in New York City — impacting every borough except Staten Island — two on Long Island, one in Westchester County, and three in New Jersey.
“To preserve our ability to staff our sites, we are temporarily closing certain locations effective December 22,” a statement on CityMD’s website read. “It is our hope that closing sites now will best allow us to avoid future closures as this surge continues.”
It is not clear when the locations will reopen, with CityMD directing patients to visit nearby locations for testing in the meantime.
This is not the first time that CityMD has closed locations due to the pandemic.
During Thanksgiving last year, the urgent care chain announced all locations would close 90 minutes earlier, citing staff working longer hours than scheduled due to long COVID-19 testing lines
CityMD did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The closures come as states in the Northeast continue to report record-breaking numbers of COVID-19 cases.
On Wednesday, New York reported record-high infections for the fifth time over six days, with more than 28,000 people testing positive, state data showed.
Additionally, New York City has the country’s highest new case rate, with 1,019 cases per 100,000 people over the last seven days, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To meet the demand for testing, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city would be opening more than 20 testing locations this week.
Gov. Kathy Hochul also said the state intends to set up an online portal through which New Yorkers can order at-home rapid tests. The tests will mostly be sent to areas where vaccination rates are lagging and cases are rising.
New Jersey also reported a record number of COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with 9,711 confirmed infections.
The state already has a program in place for residents to request a free COVID-19 test kit in the mail. The sample is then sent back to a laboratory with results available within 48 hours.
Many fans have given or received Josh Groban‘s holiday album Noël as a Christmas gift, but as a kid, he says he had to work hard to get his parents to finally agree to get him his dream Christmas present.
“I lobbied for about four years for a drum set,” Josh said Wednesday on Live with Kelly & Ryan. Josh explained that it was a “big ask from Santa” because it’s such a noisy gift — but he was so determined to get it that he actually wrote an essay explaining why he should receive it.
“I wrote an essay [to Santa]…single spaced…about how every drum has its own story, every cymbal told a story, and how I would treasure it every day, and finally, I got the drum set,” Josh says. His neighbors were even cool with him practicing an hour a day.
“It changed my life,” Josh said of his drum set, which he played for 20 years before finally donating it to his old music school this year. Today, as a global star, he plays drums in his show, and he notes, “Whenever I play them in an arena or something, I think back to that kid.”
“Any parent who’s thinking of a gift…they’re not sure what they wanna get their kids — you can never go wrong with an instrument,” Josh advises. “Because you never know when that light bulb’s gonna go off and they’re gonna figure it out.”
Luke Bryan’s household is at it again, with their annual tradition of the 12 Days of Pranksmas ramping up like never before.
The holiday tradition finds Luke, his wife Caroline, his mom LeClaireand the rest of the family taking turns pulling pranks on each other during the holiday season. No one — not even the kids — is safe during Pranksmas, as evidenced by a hilarious new compilation video the singer’s wife shared on Wednesday.
“Hope these add a little razzle dazzle to your day!” wrote Caroline, alongside a montage of some of the most epic pranks that have been pulled so far. The country superstar himself shakes a port-a-potty (while it’s in use!), and wishes his wife a gloating “Happy Pranksmas!” after he pulls a prank on her during a ski trip.
This year, Pranksmas is getting an extra boost, as Caroline launched a contest in partnership for her Best Bad Influence clothing line. Fans are invited to submit their best pranks, and the Bryan family will choose the 10 best. Winners will receive a $200 Visa gift card.
The deadline to submit a prank is this Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT. Five winners will be announced on December 23, and five more on December 24.
Mariah Carey has finally given a much-needed makeover to the weird-looking Christmas ornament that famously annoyed her last year.
The ornament — which was supposed to look like Mariah but most certainly did not — hit Mariah’s radar after a fan showed off the sketchy new decoration on Twitter. The singer hilariously replied, “This is… Not approved” and gently added, “But it’s the thought that counts.”
Now, fans can finally hang an authorized Mariah Christmas ornament on their Christmas tree. Sharing a side-by-side comparison of the knockoff versus the real deal, the “Fantasy” singer declared on Twitter, “Fixed it!”
The new Mariah-approved ornament, which depicts cartoon Mariah dressed in a sexy Santa outfit, retails for $19.99 and is available at Target, along with the singer’s entire line of Christmas goodies, such as wrapping paper, Christmas stockings and more. The items are also available on Mariah’s official online store.
(RICHMOND, Va.) — A time capsule estimated to be more than 130 years old, unearthed from the base of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, was being opened Wednesday in Richmond, Virginia, and the artifacts showed a snapshot of life in the Confederate South.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam attended the opening of capsule by historians. Historians used tools to painstakingly open the corroded box. After hours of working to unseal the box, the team — clad in blue latex gloves — pulled the first artifact: a medium-sized maroon book.
“It’s very wet,” Kate Ridgeway said, a conservator with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources said as she peered into the rusted time capsule.
“We are trying to preserve what we can of this book,” Ridgeway said, after conservators took a thin maroon book from the more than hundred year old container.
Other artifacts were slowly pulled from the corroded box, another book and what one historian said looked like the coin.
Conservators pulled a few items from the box: what appears to be a coin, at least three books of varying size and color, what appeared to be an envelope and papers, some of which were difficult to identify given their condition.
Teams quickly worked to “stabilize” the artifacts, Ridgeway told reporters in the room, so that they could be worked on. As for how long it takes to stabilize them, historians said it depends on how wet the items are.
The time capsule was found by construction crews in early December. Crews taking apart the removed statue’s base came across an area that looked “different,” according to a release from Northam’s office, and chiseled out a section of the 2,000-pound granite block to reveal it.
The capsule is estimated by experts to date back to 1887. According to the governor’s office, records show that, “37 Richmond residents, organizations, and businesses contributed about 60 objects to the capsule, many of which are believed to be related to the Confederacy.”
The pedestal stood beneath a bronze statue of Lee on horseback that was removed in September 2021, following nationwide racial justice protests after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis.
The statue’s removal was slowed by lawsuits from some residents who opposed it being taken down, but the state’s Supreme Court okayed it.
As the capsule was opened, the state was making plans to create a new time capsule to reflect present-day Virginia.
“This monument and its time capsule reflected Virginia in 1890 — and it’s time to remove both, so that our public spaces better reflect who we are as a people in 2021,” Northam said in a September press release. “The past 18 months have seen historic change, from the pandemic to protests for racial justice that led to the removal of these monuments to a lost cause. It is fitting that we replace the old time capsule with a new one that tells that story.”
The state has selected 39 individuals to add artifacts to the 2021 time capsule, which are expected to include nods to the 2020 racial justice protests, as well as items, including face masks and vaccination cards, related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
