Elton John and ABBA are among the artists who received nominations for the 2022 BRIT Awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Grammys.
Elton’s collaborative hit with British pop star Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart,” which appears on his new album The Lockdown Sessions, received a nod for Song of the Year.
ABBA, which released its first new studio album in 40 years, Voyage, in November, is among the nominees for the International Group of the Year prize.
Receiving the most 2022 BRIT nominations are Adele and Ed Sheeran who both scored four, including nods for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.
Notably, gender-based categories have been removed.
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association voted Saturday on the best films and performances of 2021, with Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Japanese Oscar entry Drive My Car taking Best Picture and Best Screenplay. The Power of the Dog‘s Jane Campion walked off with Best Director honors, with Red Rocket‘s Simon Rex taking Best Actor and Parallel Mothers‘ Penélope Cruz grabbing Best Actress. The award for Best Documentary went to Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s Summer of Soul. The complete list of winners can be found at LAFCA.net…
HBO Max has pulled the plug on its Head of the Class reboot after one season, according to Deadline. Based on the sitcom that aired on ABC from 1986-91, Head Of the Class revolved around a group of overachieving high school students whose teacher, Alicia Gomez, played by Isabella Gomez, urges them to focus less on grades and more on experiencing life. The reboot also starred Jorge Diaz, Jolie Hoang Rappaport, Gavin Lewis, Dior Goodjohn, Brandon Severs, Adrian Matthew Escalona and Katie Beth Hall. Original Head of the Class alum Robin Givens reprised her role as Darlene Hayward…
Trevor Noah, host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, is suing The Hospital for Special Surgery and a doctor after they allegedly botched a surgery the comedian underwent in 2020. Noah says the defendants “were negligent and careless in failing to treat and care for [him] in a careful and skillful manner,” according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by People. It further accuses the defendants of “failing to use approved methods in general use in the care and treatment,” failing “to prescribe proper medications,” failing to “discontinue certain prescription medications,” and failing “to use proper tests and examinations in order to diagnose the conditions” from which he “was suffering.” Noah, 37, claims to have suffered “serious personal injury” from which he was “rendered sick, sore, lame, and disabled.” The hospital has denied the claims, People reports. The surgery Noah underwent wasn’t specified…
(NEW YORK) — Along the East Coast, residents are waking up to the coldest morning of the winter so far.
The wind chill — or what temperature it feels like — plunged to 16 degrees in New York City, 7 in Boston, 17 in Philadelphia and 24 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Northeast will stay cold through Tuesday morning, with temperatures 5 to 10 degrees below normal, before the region warms up for the rest of the week.
Some models predict Christmas Day temperatures reaching 52 degrees in Chicago, 60 in Washington, D.C., and 51 in New York City.
Meanwhile, the West Coast is bracing for a series of storms. Up to 10 feet of snow is expected in the Sierra Nevada mountains while flooding will threaten a large swath of California, from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.
The heavy rain is expected Tuesday through Thursday, which could cause flash flooding, mudslides and debris flow, especially in the wildfire burn scar areas.
By Christmas Day, the Sierra Nevada mountains will have 5 to 10 feet of fresh snow.
Jennifer Lopez is shutting down reports that she’s mad at Ben Affleck over comments he made about his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
“This story is simply not true,” Lopez, 52, told People. “It is not how I feel.”
She added, “I couldn’t have more respect for Ben as a father, a co-parent, and a person.”
Affleck made headlines last week after doing an interview on Sirius XM’s The Howard Stern Show where he told Stern that he felt “trapped” in his marriage and that he “probably still would have been drinking” if he were still married to Garner. He later clarified his comments on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and added, “I would never want my kids to think I would ever say a bad word about their mom.”
The Way Back star was married to Garner from 2005 until 2018. They share daughters Violet, 16, and Seraphina, 12, and 9-year-old son Samuel.
Spider-Man: No Way Home spun a staggering web at the box office, scoring the biggest opening weekend ever for Sony and earning an estimated 507.2 million dollars worldwide — the third-biggest global opening of all time.
An estimated $253 million of that global tally came from domestic ticket sales, making Spider-Man: No Way Home also the third-biggest domestic opening in history and the biggest-ever December debut. Spider-Man: No Way Home — starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jacob Batalon — was also the first pandemic-era film to bow with more than $100 million.
Coming in at number two at the box office was Disney’s Encanto, delivering an estimated $6.5 million in its fourth week of release. It’s now collected a total of $81.5 million stateside to go with $94 million overseas, bringing its worldwide tally to $175.5 million.
West Side Story grabbed third place, earning a little more than 3.4 million in its second week. Stephen Spielberg‘s modern take on the classic Broadway musical has pulled in $18 million domestically so far and an estimated $9.1 million overseas to date, bringing its worldwide total to $27.1 million.
Finishing a close fourth behind West Side Story was Ghostbusters: Afterlife, delivering an estimated $3.4 million in its fifth week of release.
Rounding out the top five was another new major release, director Guillermo del Toro’s dark psychological thriller Nightmare Alley, pulling in an estimated $3 million. The film — starring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Toni Collette — hasn’t opened internationally yet.
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — Just months after sustaining serious injuries in a car accident, Tiger Woods made his return to competitive golf on Friday.
Woods, who suffered comminuted open fractures to his right tibia and fibia in February, hit the links with his 12-year-old son, Charlie.
The father-son duo finished in second place behind John Daly and his son John Daly II at the PNC Championship, a tournament in Orlando, Florida, that allows former major champions to compete alongside their family members.
“To be out here with my son like this, it’s the best,” he said in an interview with the Golf Channel. “We’re here to have fun.”
Woods played with his son in the tournament for the first time last year, finishing seventh out of 20 pairs.
Woods, 45, told Golf Digest last month that the idea of playing with Charlie has been a motivating factor in his recovery. Charlie is the golfer’s youngest child with his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren; the former couple also share a 14-year-old daughter, Sam.
For Woods, who has won the Masters five times and the PGA Championship four times, seeing his son follow in his footsteps has been a gratifying experience. He’s also been able to impart some of the wisdom he’s picked up from his years as a golfer.
“I went to golf tournaments to watch him play, and I’m looking at some of these scores he’s shooting and I said, ‘How the hell are you shooting such high scores? I gotta go check this out,'” he said. “So I’d watch him play and he’s going along great. He has one bad hole, he loses his temper, his temper carries him over to another shot and another shot and it compounds itself.”
Woods continued: “‘Son, I don’t care how mad you get. Your head could blow off for all I care just as long as you’re 100% committed to the next shot. That’s all that matters. That next shot should be the most important shot in your life. It should be more important than breathing. Once you understand that concept, then I think you’ll get better.’ And as the rounds went on throughout the summer, he’s gotten so much better.”
(CHICAGO) — When Autumn Carver was in her darkest days fighting off complications from COVID-19, which she contracted while pregnant with her third child, she said she still had hope she would make it home to see her kids and husband.
Now, the 35-year-old is savoring every moment of being home with her family after being discharged from the hospital in time for Christmas.
“We have a lot to be thankful for, for Christmas and celebrating the birth of Jesus and us being together,” she told Good Morning America. “It’s not so much about the presents and all that jazz, we’ll just be happy to be able to be all together for Christmas.”
Carver, of Indiana, was hospitalized in August with COVID-19 and gave birth on Aug. 27 in an emergency C-section while 33 weeks pregnant.
Her son, Huxley, was born healthy, but Carver would not meet him for the first nearly two months of his life.
Shortly after giving birth, Carver was placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, machine, which removes carbon dioxide from the blood and sends back blood with oxygen to the body, allowing the heart and lungs time to rest and heal.
She spent around two months on the machine, and was only taken off of it in late October, when she was also finally able to meet her son for the first time.
“That day was precious,” she said, recalling the day she met Huxley.
Several weeks later, on Dec. 1, Carver left Northwestern Medicine in Chicago and returned home for the first time in 100 days.
It was the first time she was able to see her older daughters, ages 5 and 4, since being hospitalized, and it was the first time ever the Carvers were together as a family of five.
“It’s been awesome, better than expected,” said Carver, adding that her daughters were “shocked” to have her home. “The kiddos are still young enough that they’re resilient, but it’s taking them some time still to adjust,” she said.
Carver’s husband, Zach, spent nearly all the past 100 days of her hospitalization by her side while both sets of grandparents took care of their three children.
“Having my whole family under one roof for the first time was, I don’t have words to put on that,” he said. “Happy and joyful, they don’t compare to what I really feel. We’re just all so happy to be together, especially right before Christmas.”
The Carvers said they are especially grateful for every day that Autumn Carver is at home because of all the near-death moments she faced during her battle with COVID-19.
Carver’s husband said he was told multiple times over the 100-day journey that his wife may not make it. Just weeks ago, the couple said they were preparing for Carver to undergo a lung transplant.
“We would just pray together and use that to stay motivated,” said Carver. “We would look forward and we were just taking one day at a time.”
When Carver was discharged on Dec. 1, she was able to walk out of the hospital on her own and did not need oxygen support.
“I think using the word ‘miraculous’ is a very appropriate word,” said Dr. Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery at Northwestern Medicine, who treated Carver. “She’s not going to get her lung function back to where it was before COVID hit her, but she’ll be able to lead a normal life.”
Carver’s lung capacity is currently at 40% due to the damage done by COVID, according to Bharat.
“Even though her recovery has been miraculous, she’s still 40% and that’s significant,” he said. “It’s a reminder that this virus can affect anybody, whether you’re young or healthy, and you cannot take this lightly.”
Carver had no preexisting conditions and was doing CrossFit workouts right up until she started feeling COVID-19 symptoms. She said she hopes to be strong enough to workout again at some point, but her focus is getting strong again for herself and her family.
“We just totally have a renewed outlook on life,” said Carver. “As much as nobody wants to get up in the middle of the night [with kids], it’s easier for us to just count it as a blessing.”
Speaking of how it’s changed them as parents, she added, “We just take the time and sit down and do whatever they want us to do because we missed that so much for so long.”
Carver said her experience has also changed how she lives her own life daily, noting that she gives more hugs to the people she loves and tells them she loves them.
“I tell our girls every morning to be kind and to make somebody smile,” she said. “Our world could use a lot more kindness and forgiveness and joy.”
(NEW YORK) — With a rise in COVID-19 cases across the nation alongside spread of the new omicron variant, several major events this week have been rescheduled or canceled.
New York and Washington, D.C., on Friday and Wednesday, respectively, reported the most COVID-19 cases in a single day, breaking their pandemic records.
The NBA announced Sunday it has postponed five upcoming games “because of players and staff members entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols.”
Postponed games include three on Sunday, Denver Nuggets at Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ers. Monday’s game between the Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors along with Tuesday’s Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets matchup were also postponed.
The NFL on Friday rescheduled three games, including moving Saturday’s contest between the Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Raiders to Monday at 5 p.m. ET.
All members of the organization who recently tested positive were vaccinated, according to a statement from Cleveland Browns Senior Vice President of Communications Peter John-Baptiste.
Sunday’s games between the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles and between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks were postponed to Tuesday.
In a statement, the NFL said they made these schedule changes “based on medical advice” after “seeing a new, highly transmissible form of the virus.”
This trend is observable in other sports as well, as the NHL earlier announced it was rescheduling all games for the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers through at least the Christmas weekend amid a COVID-19 outbreak.
The organization pointed to rising positive cases within the last two days and the continued spread of COVID-19 as a concern.
The Calgary Flames, which has already had six games postponed, will now not play through Dec. 23.
On Saturday, the NHL also announced that the Boston Bruins’ and Nashville Predators’ games will be postponed through at least Dec. 26 due to rising COVID-19 cases. The move impacts four Bruins games and three Predators games.
Additionally, Saturday night’s Toronto-Vancouver game and Sunday’s Arizona-Vancouver and Toronto-Seattle games have been postponed after “a number” of Toronto and Vancouver players entered COVID-19 protocols over the past two days, the league said.
On Sunday, the NHL announced that all games between U.S. and Canadian teams scheduled for Dec. 20 to Dec. 23 will be postponed and rescheduled.
Several college basketball games this weekend were also canceled, including No. 18 Tennessee vs. Memphis, Iona vs. No. 16 Seton Hall, No. 4 UCLA vs. North Carolina, No. 23 Colorado State vs. Tulsa and No. 15 Ohio State vs. No. 21 Kentucky. No. 2 Duke actually had two games canceled after it tried to schedule matchups against Cleveland State and then Loyola (Maryland), but each fell through due to virus concerns. Seton Hall, enjoying one of its best seasons in decades, has already forfeited its conference opener against rival St. John’s on Monday as well due to a shortage of healthy players.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 806,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 61.4% 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:
Dec 20, 9:16 am
Dr. Jha on omicron surge, holiday travel, his prediction for next year
The omicron surge is so dangerous due to a combination of higher transmissibility and the variant’s ability to make vaccinated people mildly sick from the disease, Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said on “Good Morning America” Monday.
While there are still a lot of unknowns about omicron’s severity, Jha said cases with this latest variant’s surge are “doubling in numbers about every two to three days.”
“That’s unlike anything we’ve seen,” he said.
Jha said, “I do think lots of people are going to get [omicron].”
“It’s an incredibly contagious variant. I think people should understand that the goal cannot be to avoid infection at all cost — that’s an unrealistic goal,” he said. “The goal should be: prevent deaths and severe illness, which vaccines will do, [and] keep our hospitals from getting crushed, which again, vaccinations and testing can help with. This is very contagious. Lots of Americans will end up getting it. Let’s just make sure that they don’t get very sick from it. “
For people traveling over the holidays, Jha said airplanes are pretty safe, but he recommended wearing a high-quality mask because airports don’t always have great ventilation.
Looking forward, Jha said, “I think we’re going to be in much better shape next year.”
Dec 20, 5:15 am
Moderna says booster increases omicron neutralizing antibodies
Moderna on Monday said its current vaccine booster increased neutralizing antibodies against omicron within a month of getting the shot.
“The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant is concerning to all. However, these data showing that the currently authorized Moderna COVID-19 booster can boost neutralizing antibody levels 37-fold higher than pre-boost levels are reassuring,” Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, told ABC News. “To respond to this highly transmissible variant, Moderna will continue to rapidly advance an Omicron-specific booster candidate into clinical testing in case it becomes necessary in the future. We will also continue to generate and share data across our booster strategies with public health authorities to help them make evidence-based decisions on the best vaccination strategies against SARS-CoV-2.”
Moderna’s current booster approved by the Food and Drug Administration is a 50-microgram dose. A 100-microgram dose would increase neutralizing antibodies by 83 times, the company said on Monday.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 806,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 61.4% 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:
Dec 20, 5:15 am
Moderna says booster increases omicron neutralizing antibodies
Moderna on Monday said its current vaccine booster increased neutralizing antibodies against omicron within a month of getting the shot.
“The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant is concerning to all. However, these data showing that the currently authorized Moderna COVID-19 booster can boost neutralizing antibody levels 37-fold higher than pre-boost levels are reassuring,” Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, told ABC News. “To respond to this highly transmissible variant, Moderna will continue to rapidly advance an Omicron-specific booster candidate into clinical testing in case it becomes necessary in the future. We will also continue to generate and share data across our booster strategies with public health authorities to help them make evidence-based decisions on the best vaccination strategies against SARS-CoV-2.”
Moderna’s current booster approved by the Food and Drug Administration is a 50-microgram dose. A 100-microgram dose would increase neutralizing antibodies by 83 times, the company said on Monday.
