(WASHINGTON) — Domestic airfare is up 40% from the start of the year and is expected to climb another 10% next month, according to online booking platform Hopper.
Last month, average airfare in the U.S. went up 5.2%, the third largest one-month jump since 1999, according to Scott Keyes, founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights.
Hopper said the cost of a domestic round trip is averaging $330 — 7% above 2019 prices. For international trips, the average round trip cost is $810, up 25% from the start of the year.
Pent-up demand and rising prices of jet fuel are driving the change.
“A tremendous amount of demand [is] from travelers who have not been able to travel the last two spring and summer seasons,” Haley Berg, economist at Hopper, said in an interview with ABC News. “And the second factor is jet fuel. Jet fuel prices are also up 40% since the beginning of the year and up 75% since this time last year. Demand and higher jet fuel prices together are really driving overall domestic airfare up.”
But it’s not all bad news. Keyes said average airfare doesn’t tell the whole story.
“A lot of folks see that headlines about airfares going up, and they’re worried that they’re not going to get any cheap flights anymore. And I actually think that’s the that’s the wrong way to look at things,” Keyes said in an interview with ABC News.
In the past two weeks, Keyes has found deals like $215 round trip to Hawaii, $395 round trip to Milan and $579 round trip to Australia.
“While it’s creeping back up, it’s important to remember we are still living in the golden age of cheap flights. Tickets are significantly cheaper than they used to be even a decade or two ago,” Keyes said.
To get those cheap fares, Keyes said it’s important to book one to three months in advance for domestic trips and two to eight months ahead for international trips.
Mammoth WVH‘s stint on the Young Guns tour has ended earlier than expected: Wolfgang Van Halen and company are canceling the final six shows on the tour, which also features Dirty Honey. The reason for the cancellation? COVID, of course.
Van Halen says in a statement, “After an incredible weekend in Las Vegas with my family for the Grammys, I flew back yesterday to meet up with my band and crew in North Carolina to continue the Young Guns tour. This morning, as everyone took COVID tests to re-establish the bubble that has served us on the tour, we came to find that members of our band and crew who didn’t travel with me were positive.” Van Halen himself is negative.
“With only 6 shows left in the tour, it breaks my heart that we unfortunately won’t be able to continue,” he adds. “Mammoth WVH will do our very best to make up the dates that we missed to the fans in those markets in the future.”
Dirty Honey will still perform on the affected dates, which include tonight’s show in Raleigh, NC, as well as April 6 in Charlotte, April 8 in Nashville, April 9 in Dothan, AL, and April 10 and 12 in Orlando, FL. Refunds are available at point of purchase.
Mammoth WVH will return to the road April 29 for a series of headlining shows.
Powfu will soon need a lot of coffee for his head when he embarks on his first-ever North American headlining tour.
The outing kicks off in the Canadian artist’s home country with a show in Calgary on May 28, and will make its way into the U.S. before wrapping up June 24 in Dallas.
“Been waiting 3 years for this tour,” Powfu says. ‘Bout time we go crazy.”
Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 8, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit PowfuOfficial.com.
Powfu broke through in 2020 with his hit single “death bed (coffee for your head),” which features beabadoobee. He’s since released a number of EPs and singles, the most recent of which being last month’s “sleeping on the floor.”
Another new track, titled “draw you inside my book,” arrives this Friday. The song is inspired by the 2007 film Bridge to Terabithia, which was based on the beloved 1977 children’s novel of the same name.
The Doobie Brothers, Metallica and longtime Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell and his solo group The Dirty Knobsare among the many artists set to play the 2022 Bourbon & Beyond festival, taking place September 15-18 in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Doobies — featuring the band’s 50th anniversary tour lineup, including Michael McDonald, Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons and John McFee — will headline the festival’s final day, along with Grammy-winning country star Chris Stapleton. Campbell and The Dirty Knobs also will perform on September 18. Pearl Jam will headline the fest’s third day September 17, alongside contemporary rockers Greta Van Fleet.
This year’s other headliners are Jack White, Alanis Morissette, Kings of Leon, Greta Van Fleet and Brandi Carlile. Other performers include Jimmie Vaughan, Crowded House, Elle King, Robert Randolph Band, Marcus King, St. Vincent, Cold War Kids and more.
Billed as “The World’s Largest Bourbon & Music Festival,” the four-day event will showcase more than two dozen craft bourbons, and also will feature special culinary experiences and much more.
Tickets are on sale now. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit BourbonandBeyond.com.
Vera Farmiga proved that she’s equally adept at channeling the power of heavy metal as she is demons and other supernatural spirits with a rocking cover of Iron Maiden‘s “The Trooper.”
The actor, known for her role The Conjuring series and films including The Departed and Up in the Air, put her spin on Maiden’s 1983 classic during a recent performance at the Rock Academy music school in Woodstock, New York.
Farmiga recently shared an Instagram video of the rendition, which included Anthrax‘s Scott Ian on guitar. In the caption, she paid tribute to her parents’ home country of Ukraine — which continues to fight against Russia’s invasion — with hashtags including #GlorytoUkraine and #IStandWithUkraine.
We’d guess that “The Trooper” wasn’t a random choice, as its lyrics make reference to another Russia-involved military conflict, the Crimean War of the 1850s.
Last month, Iron Maiden canceled their upcoming shows in Russia and Ukraine due to the war.
“Our priority is, and will always be, the safety of our fans,” the metal legends said.
The Doobie Brothers, Crowded House and Alanis Morissette are are among the many artists set to play the 2022 Bourbon & Beyond festival, taking place September 15-18 in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Doobies — featuring the band’s 50th anniversary tour lineup, including Michael McDonald, Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons and John McFee — will headline the festival’s final day, along with Grammy-winning country star Chris Stapleton. Morissette will headline the fest’s first day alongside Jack White, while Crowded House will be part of the bill on September 17.
This year’s other headliners are Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon, Greta Van Fleet and Brandi Carlile. Other performers include longtime Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell and his solo group The Dirty Knobs, Jimmie Vaughan, Elle King, Robert Randolph Band, St. Vincent, Cold War Kids and more.
Billed as “The World’s Largest Bourbon & Music Festival,” the four-day event will showcase more than two dozen craft bourbons, and also will feature special culinary experiences and much more.
Tickets are on sale now. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit BourbonandBeyond.com.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The return of tourists to Capitol Hill — and their discarded food and trash — should have been a “telltail” sign.
Following several “aggressive” incidents, Capitol Police warned the public Tuesday not to approach any foxes reportedly raising alarms around the Capitol complex.
“We have received several reports of aggressive fox encounters on or near the grounds of the U.S. Capitol,” Capitol Police tweeted at 12:50 p.m. on Tuesday. “For your safety, please do not approach any foxes. Animal Control Officers are working to trap and relocate any foxes they find.”
A Capitol Police spokesman told ABC News that a fox “bit or nipped” at least six people, including one lawmaker.
The office of the House Sergeant at Arms had also warned lawmakers in a memo about the fox reportedly biting people and said: “There are possibly several fox dens on Capitol Grounds.”
Pictures of the cute — but potentially dangerous — creature first popped up on social media on Monday. The fox was spotted scavenging on the streets nearby Tuesday afternoon, despite the area being crowded with tourists now that the Capitol complex reopened to the public last month after being mostly closed for two years because of the pandemic.
After workers spent hours trying to find the animal in question, Capitol Police tweeted a photo at 3:36 p.m. of the culprit in a cage with the line “Captured.”
— U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) April 5, 2022
Some on the internet were quick to call for the fox — who was captured with the help of the Humane Rescue Alliance — to be freed. One social media account cosplaying as the “Capitol Fox” also appeared on Twitter Tuesday, even releasing a statement on what the fox called its “illegal arrest.”
“As a fox, I cannot speak. And too often — I have nobody to speak for me. They mock me in songs, they wear me as clothes, and they hunt me down like a criminal in my home. For what, I ask you?” the statement said.
Notably, foxes are susceptible to rabies and can transmit the disease to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a fact one lawmaker knows now all too well.
While Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told reporters she had a close encounter with the fox Monday evening and showed a video she took of the usually nocturnal animal, for Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., the encounter was far closer: Bera was bitten.
The congressman’s office confirmed that he was “nipped on the leg” in a statement to ABC News and admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he received several shots.
Bera, who is a physician, tweeted a warning a light-hearted warning about his close call.
What does the fox say? Last night, I found out…
Joking aside, animal bites are extremely serious. In the case of an encounter, please speak with a physician immediately: https://t.co/J4tmdlZzQI.
(NEW YORK) — The flashlights of the Ukrainian army followed Zi Faámelu, a transgender woman from Ukraine, as she walked through a swamp and hid from the military while crossing the Romanian border.
Tall, sharp bushes scratched the singer’s face, and the rough waters from the river pulled her body in the opposite direction. She knew it was the only chance she had to escape.
She was carrying only her passport, wrapped in a trash bag to protect it from the water. Her passport identified her as male, making it illegal for her to flee Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered all men to join the army.
Once she made it to the other side, Faámelu could only think of the fact she made it alive.
“I knew this was my last chance of survival and I had to do something like this real quick,” she told ABC News.
“I was almost drowning and I drank so much water. And I was very exhausted and I swam. I thought I [wouldn’t] make it. But somehow I reached the other side.”
At the first checkpoint, Faámelu said the guards took a photo of her passport and sent it across the border to prevent her from leaving the country. The treatment she received at the border, she said, was similar to the reality she faced for being a trans woman in Ukraine.
“My story is not like popular opinion right now because I know the inside of it all. And it’s not pretty,” she said. “It’s ugly. So I know the world stands with Ukraine, but they don’t know what’s going on inside the country.”
Throughout her life, Faámelu said she faced discrimination and transphobia. The invasion made things worse, she said, and she found herself stuck inside her apartment due to fear of persecution.
“At first, I wanted to leave Kyiv because there were bombings, but there was a group of dangerous people moving around this city. Homophobic, transphobic people that were preying on LGBTQ folks,” she said.
Faámelu is not the only one who says she fears for her safety. Olha Raiter traveled with her ex-partner, Uliana, and their 7-month-old son to Berlin from Ukraine by car. The trip took about 68 hours, and their car became a temporary home as they saw their country being shelled.
“I tried to stay positive because you could just die in one second if you just imagine what’s going on,” Raiter said.
“We have to be positive. We have to believe,” she added.
Raiter always wanted to have kids, but she said it was difficult to make it a reality because of how it would be viewed by society.
“I couldn’t get married,” she said. “We are all discriminated against in Ukraine because we cannot get the same rights. We have Damien together, but officially, she’s nobody to him, even if she’s a mother the same as me … and she was there from the very beginning and she was there when I was delivering him. But she still, according to Ukrainian law, … she’s nobody.”
Raiter says, “We were moving in the right direction. We put pressure on our government, and it changes. I didn’t have a feeling that this was a country that didn’t want me.” Despite the hardships and the rough reality members of the LGBTQ community say they face in Ukraine, Raiter did not leave the country because she felt unwanted, but feared raising a child among war. She hopes to return to her home country one day to raise Damien.
“I want [Damien] to … grow up in Ukraine, and I think it’s important because it’s important for me. I know it’s possible,” Raiter said.
Svetlana Shaytanova works for Quarteera, a nonprofit organization creating a safe space for members of the Russian-speaking LGBTQ community in Germany. She focuses her work on spreading awareness and sharing the harsh realities faced by queer people, like Faámelu.
The reality for trans people in Ukraine and across Europe, Shaytanova said, is that it’s harder than it might appear.
“They don’t want us to exist,” Shaytanova said.
“It’s not the government that persecutes people; they put laws in place that allow the general population to be openly aggressive against queer people.”
Faámelu is currently staying with a German family – and she says she feels lucky.
“It’s a perfect place for me right now. It’s just luck, … because I could’ve died [at the border],” she said.
When Faámelu crossed the border, she left everything behind – her clothes, belongings and even her art pieces. In the midst of the chaos, she still hopes to keep making music and continue her activism within the trans community.
“[My voice] is the only thing I have now … because I have nothing. They took everything away from me,” she said.
Faámelu says change must be made so others don’t have to be discriminated against and fight for their lives as she did at the border. The issue, she said, is beyond the Russian invasion.
“We’re fighting for our lives as trans people,” Faámelu said. “It’s a war for recognition, for getting noticed, for getting hurt. But we are humans. We deserve our rights.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) –Rappers Lil Wayne and T.I. reunited at Dreamville Fest this past weekend, marking the duo’s first public appearance together since their dispute over Black Lives Matter comments.
In 2016, during an interview with ABC News’ Linsey Davis,Lil Wayne said he felt no connection to the Black Lives Matter movement, and that it “just sounds weird.”
At the time, T.I. responded to the comments with a lengthy Instagram message for Lil Wayne. “I’m at a complete loss of words here,” the rapper started. “I don’t know what you goin thru, or what you are attempting to avoid but this s*** is absolutely unacceptable!!!!”
Since the exchange, the only time the two rappers were mentioned together was regarding the BLM incident. That all changed on Sunday night, when T.I. walked on stage during Wayne’s performance and embraced him. The two shared a tight hug and fans went wild.
—Nicki Minaj recently showed love to a fellow music artist. On Monday, she slid into Doja Cat‘s DMs to congratulate the singer on her first-ever Grammy win. “Congratulations on your Grammy mama. You really really really really really really really ***** deserve it,” Nicki said.
After Doja rushed from the bathroom to the stage to accept her Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Kiss Me More,” she delivered an emotional speech. The win comes at a time when the superstar has been back and forth on quitting the music industry.
Nicki has been nominated many times for a Grammy, but hasn’t yet won.
–In the latest update on the Cardi B.-Tasha K defamation case, a judge has forced the blogger to delete old posts of Cardi, according to TMZ.
Back in January, Cardi B was awarded over $1 million, after she sued Tasha for posting content that alleged Cardi had STIs and used drugs.
(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin got into a fiery exchange with Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz during a House Armed Services Committee budget hearing Tuesday, as Gaetz accused the Pentagon of strategic failures due to misplaced focus on alleged “wokeism.”
Gaetz began by asking Austin why taxpayers should fund lectures supporting socialism at the DOD-funded National Defense University, a reference to a recent virtual event hosted by the school titled “Responding to China: The Case For Global Justice and Democratic Socialism,” presented by French economist Thomas Piketty.
Austin said he was unaware of the lecture.
“So now that you know that they did this, would you agree that embracing socialism is not an effective strategy to combat China?” Gatez asked.
“I certainly don’t agree with embracing socialism,” Austin replied.
Gaetz continued, asking, “So why would we invite people we don’t agree with to evangelize views and values that we don’t share at the National Defense University, when we should be learning strategy about how to combat our enemies and make assessments that are accurate?”
Austin responded that learning strategy and other relevant subjects is the focus of military universities.
Decorum began to crumble as the two men started talking over one another, Gaetz reiterating the controversial content of the lecture, Austin reiterating that the Pentagon does not embrace socialism.
“I control the time!” Gaetz protested.
The Florida congressman proceeded to accuse the Defense Department of making poor predictions about the invasion of Ukraine and the fall of Afghanistan.
“You guys told us that Russia couldn’t lose. You told us that the Taliban couldn’t immediately win. And so I guess I’m wondering what in the $773 billion that you’re requesting today is going to help you make assessments that are accurate in the face of so many blown calls.
Austin paused for nearly six seconds before responding.
“You’ve seen what’s in our budget, you’ve seen how the budget matches the strategy, and so I’ll let that speak for itself,” he said.
The secretary then grew visibly annoyed when Gaetz said the U.S. has fallen behind other countries in terms of hypersonic weapons.
“What do you mean we’re behind in hypersonics? How do you make that assessment?” Austin said.
“Your own people brief us that we are behind and that China is winning. Are you aware of the briefings we get on hypersonics?” Gaetz asked.
Austin responded, “I am certainly aware of briefings that we provide to Congress.”
MORE: China’s reported hypersonic weapon test raises security concerns
Gaetz again attacked the Pentagon’s priorities.
“While everyone else in the world seems to be developing capabilities and being more strategic, we’ve got time to embrace critical race theory at West Point, to embrace socialism at the National Defense University, to do mandatory pronoun training,” he said.
Austin fired back: “This is the most capable, the most combat-credible force in the world. It has been and it will be so going forward. And this budget helps us to do that.”
“Not if we embrace socialism,” Gaetz said.
Austin then implied Gaetz was being unpatriotic.
“The fact that you are embarrassed by your country, by your military, I am sorry for that,” Austin said.
Gaetz retorted as Austin was still speaking: “Oh no, no, I’m embarrassed by your leadership, I am not embarrassed for my country.”
“It’s what you’re saying, it’s what you’re saying,” Austin said.
“I wish we were not losing to China … That is so disgraceful that you would sit here and conflate your failures with the failures of the uniformed service members. You guys said that Russia would overrun Ukraine in 36 days. You said that the Taliban would be kept at bay for months. You totally blew those calls. And maybe we would be better at them if the National Defense University actually worked a little more on strategy and a little less on wokeism,” Gaetz said.
“Has it occurred to you that Russia has not overrun Ukraine because of what we’ve done and our allies have done? Have you ever even thought about that?” Austin said.
Gaetz used his remaining seconds to reply: “But that was baked into your flawed assessment. And so I saw that the Obama administration tried to destroy our military by starving it of resources, and it seems the Biden administration is trying to destroy our military by force feeding it wokeism. I yield back.”
