Eric Clapton has won a court case he brought against a 55-year-old German woman who put up for sale on eBay a CD featuring a bootlegged performance of a concert Clapton played in the U.S. during the 1980s.
German news website DW.com reports that a regional court in Dusseldorf sided with Clapton in issuing an injunction stopping the woman from selling the disc after Eric sent an affidavit that said the recordings were illegal.
According to the German newspaper Bild, the woman, who was identified only as Gabrielle P., was ordered to pay legal fees of 3,400 euros, or about $3,850 U.S.
The woman, who was selling the CD for 9.95 euros — about $11.30 — claimed that she had inherited the disc from her late husband, recalling that he told her he’d purchased it at a well-known department store, and that she didn’t realize the disc was bootlegged.
The court ruled that it didn’t matter that the defendant was unaware of the status of the CD. Bild also reports that if the woman continues to try to sell the disc on eBay, she could face a fine of 250,000 euros — about $283,000 — or six months in prison.
ABC Audio has confirmed that fan favorite Sam Waterston will be back as Jack McCoy on NBC’s revival of the original Law & Order.
The actor, who earned six Emmy nominations for playing the dogged district attorney on Dick Wolf’s series, will be back in action when the series returns for its 21st season on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. ET. The revival will be part of a crossover event with spin-offs Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Waterston joined the long-running legal drama in its fifth season and stayed on until season 20, when NBC pulled the plug.
NBC has previously announced that black-ish star Anthony Anderson will also return, reprising as NYPD Det. Kevin Bernard. The series has also cast Burn Notice‘s Jeffrey Donovan and Camryn Manheim, late of ABC’s The Practice.
(ATLANTA) — The CDC’s advisory committee recommended Thursday that people who have a choice should get an mRNA vaccine, either Pfizer or Moderna, over the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine after a review of new CDC data on rare blood clots linked to J&J.
The rare blood clots are not a new safety concern, and the J&J vaccine has already become far less common in the U.S. after it was given an FDA warning label about the clotting condition. But more data that confirmed a slightly higher rate of clotting cases and deaths than was previously reported caused the CDC and FDA to take another look at the data this week.
The CDC has now confirmed a total of at least 54 cases and nine deaths from the severe clotting event, which is called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia or TSS, out of the 17 million people who have gotten the J&J vaccine in the US.
Though it’s very rare, the data led CDC experts to favor mRNA vaccines by comparison, particularly because there are so many mRNA vaccines available in the US and people are less likely to be limited.
There could also be more cases and deaths, because TSS is under-diagnosed and could be underreported, the CDC said.
The clotting is more common among women in their 30s and 40s but has also been seen in adult men and women of all ages.
The experts were very clear, however, that the J&J vaccine should not be taken off the shelves and is still far more beneficial than not getting any vaccine at all.
In certain parts of the U.S., particularly among prison populations, people dealing with homelessness, or rural parts of the country, the J&J vaccine is most common. And outside of the U.S., J&J has played a huge role in vaccinating populations in low-income countries — a growing priority as it becomes clear that variants will continue to emerge until vaccination is widespread around the globe.
“In the setting where there are no alternative COVID-19 vaccines, the benefits of the J&J vaccine outweigh the risk. This is important in global situations where there may not be other COVID vaccines available,” CDC’s Dr. Sara Oliver said in a presentation to the committee on the cost-benefit analysis of J&J vaccines.
With the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, though, the protection against COVID was considered better and the side effects less severe, the CDC analysis found.
“Due to both higher vaccine effectiveness of the mRNA vaccines and the severity of safety issues seen with J&J vaccines, in the setting of widely available mRNA vaccines in the U.S., the benefit-risk balance of the mRNA vaccines is more favorable than for the Janssen vaccine,” she said.
There was also discussion about the recovery from TSS, which often leads to brain bleeding and can be a harder recovery than myocarditis, the heart inflammation condition linked to the mRNA vaccines that is also a rare safety concern.
“It’s important to note that there are differences in the severity of these vaccine associated events. In myocarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccines … at a three-month follow up, over half reported no symptoms and over 90% were fully recovered by cardiologist or health care provider, and there have been no confirmed deaths,” Oliver said.
“For TTS after the Janssen COVID vaccines, there’s around a 15% mortality rate and 17% required discharge to a post-acute care rehabilitation facility,” she said.
The experts on the committee were largely in agreement with the recommendation, supporting a push toward Pfizer or Moderna over J&J when available but continuing to offer J&J as opposed to no vaccination.
“I recognize the drawbacks of the Janssen vaccine. However, I look at this as an issue of the trolley problem in ethics, where you’re driving the trolley and you have to decide whether you’re going to go down one track and have one person die or go down a different track and have 10 people die,” said Dr. Jamie Loehr, a doctor in Ithaca, New York.
“If we take away the Jansen vaccine, and people … cannot get the mRNA vaccine, we have all these complications from getting COVID disease. And so even though there are significant risks to the vaccine, if it’s the only one that is an option, I want it to be available,” he said.
Dr. Beth Bell, a professor of public health at the University of Washington, said she thought the “preferential recommendation” would make it very clear that experts were concerned about the side effects but wanted to maintain individual choice.
“I would not recommend the Janssen to my family members. On the other hand, I think we do have to recognize that different people make different choices and if they are appropriately informed, I don’t think we should remove that option,” she said.
Some were more determined to avoid it, however.
“I just have a real problem with a recommendation for anyone to give a vaccine that 1 per 100,000 women ages 30-49 years old will have a condition with a case fatality rate of 15%,” said Dr. Pablo Sanchez, a pediatrician at The Ohio State University Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
“And so I really have a problem. I’m not recommending it to any of my patients’ parents and I tell them to stay away from it,” Sanchez told the committee.
For its part, J&J said it remained very confident in the positive impact of its vaccine, particularly in low-income countries.
“Let me just state at the outset that based on the data we are confident in the positive benefit-risk profile of our vaccine. It is saving lives here in the U.S. today and on every continent around the globe,” Dr. Penny Heaton, global head of vaccines for J&J, said at the meeting.
“Our vaccine is different, it’s long lasting, it offers high levels of protection and it provides breadth of protection. Our vaccine has flexible dosing, it’s easy to store and transport. In many low- and middle-income countries, our vaccine is the most important and sometimes the only option, even in the U.S.,” Heaton said.
After ribbing Justin Bieber over his partnership with Tim Hortons, Michael Bublé finally decided to see what the hype was all about.
The Grammy-winning Canadian crooner shared a hilarious video on Thursday and shows him taking an eco-friendly ride on his scooter to the local Tim Hortons and ordering some of Justin’s Timbiebs — a.k.a. the chain’s Bieber-themed version of the donut holes that they call Timbits.
“Now that I’m home in Vancouver for the holidays, there’s something I have to do,” Michael says dramatically at the start of the video while zipping up his puffer jacket. After scooting off to Canada’s beloved coffee chain and ordering a “big box of Timbiebs,” he sits down on the sidewalk to feast.
He also is comically singing Justin’s “Holy” as he reaches into the box and takes a bite, only to exaggeratedly belt out the “Good God!” part, as if to convey he finds the treat absolutely delicious. He continues to sing-talk incoherently as he chews before breaking down into a fit of giggles.
“Beliebe the hype,” Michael captioned the video.
Justin’s Timbiebs are available to purchase now through December 28 at Tim Hortons and come in the limited-edition flavors of chocolate white fudge, sour cream chocolate chip and birthday cake waffle.
Måneskin, Blink-182‘s Travis Barker, Avril Lavigne and AJR will be ringing in 2022 on the West Coast.
All four artists are performing during the LA Party segment of the Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2022 special on ABC.
Måneskin will be playing their viral cover of The Four Seasons‘ “Beggin’,” as well as their latest single, “MAMMAMIA.” Barker will join Lavigne for renditions of her new tune “Bite Me” and her classic “Sk8ter Boi,” while AJR will perform their hit “Bang!” and their collaborative song with Daisy the Great, “Record Player.”
The Rockin’ gets to startin’ December 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
Nash and Taylor, both of whom were romantically involved with Mitchell back in the day, are among a variety of artists who’ll pay tribute to Joni at the event by performing her classic songs.
The bill also includes Herbie Hancock, Brandi Carlile, Jon Batiste, Leon Bridges, country star Mickey Guyton, Pentatonix, singer/songwriter Maggie Rogers and Black Pumas.
“We are crafting a once-in-a-lifetime evening in honor of Joni,” says MusiCares executive director Laura Segura. “I thank each of these artists for lending their talents to celebrate Joni and her impact on the music community.”
Carlile and Batiste also will serve as the evening’s artistic directors. Earlier this month, Carlile and Hancock were tapped to pay tribute to Mitchell at the 2021 Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C.
Hancock’s album of Mitchell covers, River: The Joni Letters, was named Album of the Year at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
In addition to the tribute concert, the MusiCares Person of the Year gala features a dinner and a silent auction offering VIP experiences, celebrity memorabilia and more. The event benefits the MusiCares Foundation, which provides medical, financial and personal assistance to in-need members of the music community.
Sandra Bullock plays Loretta Sage, a famous but reclusive romance novel writer, and Channing Tatum appears as her Fabio-like book cover model in the trailer for the upcoming action comedy The Lost City.
The movie sees Sage kidnapped by Daniel Radcliffe‘s villain, an eccentric billionaire who is searching for a real-life treasure that he’s convinced the author can find, based on a map in her book The Lost City.
Tatum’s Alan, who is a hero only in the pages of the books, steps in to prove his mettle and come to Sage’s rescue, but he quickly shows why his abilities are better left to make-believe.
Based on outtakes posted of the pair trying to introduce the trailer, it’s pretty clear Bullock and Tatum had a blast on the set of the movie, which also features a kooky cameo by one of Sandra’s other pals, Brad Pitt.
The Lost City opens in March from Paramount Pictures.
Doja Cat is walking away from controversial producer Dr. Luke, who for years has been embroiled in a tense legal battle with Kesha.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Doja said she hadn’t “worked with [Luke] in a very long time,” and also hinted that he may have taken more credit than he was due for her success.
“There’s s*** that he’s credited for, where I’m like, ‘Hmm, I don’t know, I don’t know if you did anything on that,'” she told Rolling Stone. “The point is he’s gotten some credit for s***. And, y’know, it’s whatever. I don’t think I need to work with him again. I don’t think I need to work with him in the future.”
She quipped, “It was definitely nice of me to work with him.”
Doja later walked back those comments in an email to Rolling Stone, in which she noted that she “may have said something that someone could interpret as me saying that [Dr. Luke] had taken credit on things he didn’t deserve to.”
She continued, “I just want to be clear that I have no firsthand knowledge of that being the case and I don’t want to participate in the rumor mill. The credits on my music are accurate, and I don’t want to imply anything else.”
Doja added that she made her original remarks due to “sensitivities in the past about certain people attributing my general success to the work of others — in particular, men.”
Doja’s debut EP Purrr! and her two subsequent albums, Pink and Planet Her, came out on Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records. Luke was nominated for a Grammy in 2020 for Doja’s breakout single “Say So,” and has three nominations this year for Planet Her.
Kesha has accused Dr. Luke of sexual, emotional and physical abuse, which he’s denied.
James Taylor and Pentatonix are two of the artists who’ve been tapped to pay tribute to legendary singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell, who’s been named the MusiCares Person of the Year for 2022.
Mitchell will be celebrated at a gala event in Los Angeles on January 29, just two days before the Grammy Awards. James Taylor’s participation is no surprise; the two have a long history together, and were romantically involved back in the day. Another one of Joni’s ex-boyfriends, Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash, will also take part in the tribute.
Other artists who’ll be saluting Mitchell by performing her songs include country star Mickey Guyton, jazz legend Herbie Hancock, singer/songwriters Brandi Carlile and Maggie Rogers, R&B singer Leon Bridges, the band Black Pumas and this year’s leading Grammy nominee, Jon Batiste. Batiste and Carlile will also serve as Artistic Directors for the evening.
In addition to the concert, the Person of the Year gala will also feature a silent auction. All the proceeds will go to MusiCares, the charitable arm of the Recording Academy, which provides health and human services to musicians in need.
The LA Party segment of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2022 will bring the hip hop flava with French Montana, Polo G, and Big Boi & Sleepy Brown.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the year-ending celebration, which will air Friday, December 31 at 8 p.m. EST/PST on ABC.
Montana, who dropped his fourth studio album, They Got Amnesia, on November 19, will perform his latest single from the project, “FWMGAB,” as well as his nine-times platinum smash from 2017, “Unforgettable.”
Big Boiwill be joined by Brown for the Outkast classic “The Way You Move” from the 2004 Grammy winning album, Speakerboxx/TheLove Below. They’ll also perform their new release, “Animalz.”
In addition, Polo G will take the stage for his triple-platinum hit, “Rapstar” and his latest, “Smooth Criminal,” from his third studio album, Hall of Fame. He’ll also team with Mae Muller for the current “Better Days.”
As previously announced, Ciara will host the LA Party with D-Nice on the turntables. Plus, Ryan Seacrest and co-host Liz Koshy will be broadcasting live from New York’s Times Square, and Billy Porter will count down to 2022 from New Orleans
