“Nights like this I wish raindrops would fall”– Those were the lyrics sung throughout just about every Black household after the iconic movie, The Five Heartbeats was released on March 29, 1991.
The timeless film, co-written by Keenen Wayans and created, directed by and starring Robert Townsend, journeys the rise and fall of a fictional 1960’s Black vocal group. Chronicling the highs and lows of an amateur all-guy group during early 60s segregation in Chicago, the loosely-based-on-true events story highlights the realities of the music industry and the personal struggles of each group member.
In addition to Townsend, the group was comprised of stars Michael Wright, Leon Robinson, Harry J. Lennix and Tico Wells.
The film didn’t see great success upon its release in theaters – it earned a 39% rating on top critic site Rotten Tomatoes – but over the course of the next 20 years and throughout its 31 year history, the movie cemented itself as a classic among the Black community.
One of the most notable aspects of the movie is the music. While the actual actors performed real-life concerts to promote the project, most of the hit tunes were produced by ’60s R&B group, The Dells. Additionally, songs “Nights Like This” and “A Heart is a House for Love” by R&B group After 7, went on to become Billboard chart-topping hits.
The Five Heartbeats airs every so often on BET and is available to watch on streaming services like Prime Video.
(SAN FRANCISCO) — A Princess Cruises ship arrived in California Sunday with multiple passengers and crew members aboard who tested positive for COVID-19.
The company’s ship, the Ruby Princess, docked in San Francisco after a 15-day Panama Canal cruise.
The cruise sailed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Cartagena, Columbia; Puerto Amador and Puntarenas, Panama; and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, before arriving in San Francisco, a spokesperson for Princess Cruises told ABC News.
Everybody aboard the ship was fully vaccinated and had to provide proof of a negative COVID test before boarding.
The spokesperson would not disclose how many guests and staff tested positive but said all the cases were either mild or asymptomatic.
“As with all Princess itineraries, this cruise is operated as a vaccinated cruise, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guests and crew vaccination rates were at 100%,” a statement read. “During the cruise we identified some positive COVID-19 cases amongst our guests and crew members. They were all asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic and were isolated and quarantined while monitored and cared for by our shipboard Medical team.”
The cruise line said guests who tested positive and did not complete the isolation period by the time the ship docked would “either return home via private transportation or were provided with accommodations ashore to hotels coordinated in advance for isolation and quarantine.”
Later on Sunday, the ship departed on its following voyage, a 15-day cruise to Hawaii, the spokesperson said.
The outbreak comes just two weeks after the CDC lowered the COVID-19 Travel Health Notice for cruise ships from Level 3, meaning “high” health risk, to Level 2, or “moderate” health risk.
During the height of the omicron wave, the CDC classified cruise ships as Level 4, the highest level and meaning “very high” health risk.
On the CDC’s Cruise Ship Status Dashboard, it states the federal health agency has started an investigation of the Ruby Princess due to the number of reported cases and that the ship “remains under observation.”
The dashboard did not state how many cases were reported on the shop and the CDC did not return ABC News’ request for comment.
However, the ship was color-coded orange on the CDC dashboard, meaning at least 0.3% of total passengers and/or crew tested positive for the virus.
The San Francisco Health Department and the Port of San Francisco also did not respond to requests for comment.
This is the second time since the beginning of 2022 that the Ruby Princess has docked in San Francisco with COVD-infected passengers aboard.
In early January, the ship arrived in The Golden City from a 10-day Mexico cruise with 12 cases of COVID-19 among passengers.
The cases were found after a quarter of the passengers were randomly tested for the virus.
The cruise industry was badly hit when the COVID-19 pandemic first struck. Destinations closed ports to ships and passengers were not able to leave once for several days after ships docked.
Two of Princess Cruises’ ships experienced some of the first known outbreaks. In February 2020, the Diamond Princess reported an outbreak as it docked in Yokohama, Japan.
A few weeks later, in March 2020, passengers tested positive on the Grand Princess ship as it traveled between California, Mexico and Hawaii.
CoverGirl has found its new face in Kelsea Ballerini.
The country star has been tapped as the beauty brand’s newest ambassador. The multi-year partnership includes a soon-to-be-announced CoverGirl spring collection. The singer made the announcement by sharing a video of herself singing the brand’s famous tagline over a gentle, acoustic melody.
“Being a @covergirl has been on my bucket list since I was a little girl. They’ve always felt approachable to me through every age, phase of life, or occasion. From playing with makeup in middle school to getting ready for some of the biggest stages I’ve been lucky enough to perform on,” Kelsea professes on Instagram. “It’s a full circle moment and I’m so happy to officially join the CG family.”
Meanwhile, CoverGirl posted a note to Kelsea that reads, “Welcome to the Family!!! Glad we could help you [check] this off your bucket list!!” The brand added that the singer shares in their values of cruelty-free products and has a “passion for accessibility, inclusivity and individuality.”
Alongside being a CoverGirl, Kelsea is also on the brink of releasing new music. She and Kenny Chesney recently topped the charts with her latest single, “Half of My Hometown.”
Camila Cabello has a little over a week to go before her new studio album, Familia, is released. To help amp fans’ excitement, the “Havana” singer teased a brand-new song snippet that has them buzzing over what it’s possibly about.
Taking to TikTok, Camila shared a video of her singing along to the new song, which contains the lyrics, “Hate it when you shut me out/ Acting like it’s your s*** to figure out/ Don’t wanna be touched, don’t wanna discuss/ I get it, I just/ Now I’m in my head/ About what’s in your head/ Come back to bed/ Can we talk about it?”
Fans believe the song chronicles what caused a rift between Camila and Shawn Mendes, whom she dated for two years and credited for being her rock during her own mental health struggles. Her followers applauded how the song discusses mental health, particularly through the lyrics, “It’s not stupid/ It’s not drama/ It’s just trauma turned to armor.”
Fans also enjoyed the song’s message, which is about how one can hurt themselves and those they love by shutting everyone out and “making it worse.”
Camila also encourages through this song why it’s okay to lean on someone and not always depend on yourself all the time. Camila sings about how she relied on her lover when she was “afraid of the world and every part of me hurts.” She admits that he doesn’t “know how many times you’ve saved me.”
The “Bam Bam” singer didn’t reveal the song’s title in the video, but she did hint at it by using three raining cloud emojis.
Familia, Camila’s follow-up to 2019’s Romance, arrives next Friday, April 8.
As the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ new album Unlimited Love arrives at midnight on Friday, so will a new video for one of the albums 17 tracks.
This video is for the song “These Are the Ways,” and judging from the poster artwork the band posted on Instagram, it seems like it’ll be quite the cinematic experience, involving cops, a distraught woman and some kissing.
Ahead of the album’s release, the band will get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this Thursday, March 31. On Sunday, April 3, a Chili Peppers Pop-Up shop at the Melrose Trading Post flea market at Faifax High School in LA will be selling the new album and exclusive merch from 9 a.m to 5 p.m.
The Peppers will launch a worldwide tour in support of Unlimited Love in early June. A U.S. leg kicks off on July 23 in Denver.
Ezra Miller, who plays Barry Allen/The Flash in the DC movie universe, was arrested by police in Hilo, Hawaii, on Sunday evening after allegedly making a scene at a karaoke bar.
According to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, the 29-year-old-actor was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment after reportedly screaming obscenities at a 23-year-old female singer and trying to pry the microphone away from her.
Cops say he also “lunged” at a 32-year-old male patron who was playing darts at the establishment, Margarita Village.
Miller was described as “unruly” and “agitated” state during the incident.
He was taken into custody afterwards, and charged with the petty misdemeanors. He was freed after posting $500 bail, according to the paper.
This isn’t the first time that Miller has displayed odd behavior: In 2018, he was caught on social media shoving a female fan to the ground by her neck; it wasn’t clear by his demeanor if the incident was meant to be a joke or not.
In January, he Instagrammed a video in which he referred to himself as “the Bengal Ghouls, [and] Mad Goose Wizard,” and sent a message “for the Beulaville chapter of the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan,” in which he invited them to “kill yourself with your own guns…Otherwise, keep doing what you’re doing…and we’ll do it for you.”
The video was later deleted.
Incidentally, the release date for upcoming movie The Flash, which will again star Miller in the title role, as well as Batmen Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck, was recently bumped to June 23, 2023.
(ATLANTA) — The highly contagious omicron subvariant BA.2 is now the dominant COVID-19 strain in the United States, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday.
As of March 26, BA.2 is projected to account for nearly 55% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., estimates show. The predominance of BA.2 comes as some parts of the country begin to see an uptick in new COVID-19 infections.
In particular, in recent weeks, the Northeast has seen an increase in its reported infection rate. In the New York-New Jersey region, where BA.2 is estimated to account for more than 70% of new cases, infections are up by nearly 47% in the last two weeks.
Similarly, wastewater surveillance indicates upticks in the New England area, where BA.2 is also projected to account for more than 70% of new cases.
The signs of a resurgence come after dozens of states have moved to shutter public testing sites. With more at-home COVID-19 tests now available, most Americans are not reporting their results to officials, and thus, experts said infection totals are likely significantly undercounted.
The presence of BA.2 has not only been growing domestically, but also globally. Last week, the World Health Organization reported that worldwide, BA.2 accounted for 86% of sequences from the last four weeks.
“Omicron is sweeping the globe,” WHO technical director Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove reported last week. “Whether or not we will see BA.2 sweep the world — we’re seeing that happen right now. This is not a theoretical. Omicron is a highly transmissible variant of concern. BA.2 is more transmissible than BA.1, and what we are starting to see in some regions of the world, and in some countries, [is] an uptick in cases again.”
Scientists believe BA.2 is more transmissible than the original omicron strain, BA.1, though at this time, it is not believed to cause more severe disease.
Initial estimates show that BA.2’s transmissibility may range between 30% and 80%, and preliminary research suggests that if you were recently infected with the original omicron strain, BA.1, it is rare to get reinfected with BA.2.
Although the increase is partially due to BA.2’s increased transmissibility, Van Kerkhove added that the decision by many countries to lift public health and mitigation measures has also played a role in the upsurge.
“We certainly, will be seeing increase in cases,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said during an appearance on BBC’s Sunday Morning, this week, further warning that it may be necessary to adopt some mitigation and masking measures should the nation see a resurgence in hospitalizations.
“We need to be prepared for the possibility that would have another variant that would come along,” Fauci said. “If things change, and we do get a variant that does give us an uptick in cases of hospitalization, we should be prepared and flexible enough to pivot towards going back at least temporarily to a more rigid type of restrictions such as requiring masks indoors.”
ABC News’ Sony Salzman and Eric Strauss contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The late Rep. Don Young of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican in the history of the House of Representatives, was remembered by Capitol Hill colleagues on Tuesday as his body lies in state in National Statuary Hall.
Young died at 88 on March 18 after losing consciousness on a flight to Seattle as he was heading back to Alaska with his wife, Anne, his office said. He is also survived by his two daughters, Joni and Dawn.
Young’s casket arrived on the Hill just before 11 a.m., and lawmakers, including Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, gathered nearby to watch the honor guard carry him up the east front steps. A small group of family, including his wife with her hand over her heart, waited near the top of the stairs for the arrival procession.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office said a formal ceremony will be open to the Young family and invited guests on Tuesday before all members of Congress are welcomed to visit Young as he lies in state, an honor reserved for the more revered Americans.
President Joe Biden’s scheduled afternoon trip to pay his respects on Tuesday marks the third time as president he has visited Capitol Hill for a former congressional colleague’s funeral service. Biden also visited former Senate Majority Leaders Bob Dole, R-Kansas, and Harry Reid, D-Nev., and he left the presidential campaign trail in 2020 to honor the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.
“Don’s legacy lives on in the infrastructure projects he delighted in steering across Alaska,” Biden said in a statement. “In the opportunities he advanced for his constituents. In the enhanced protections for Native tribes he championed. His legacy will continue in the America he loved.”
Young was one of 13 House Republicans to vote for Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill late last year.
Pelosi said in a statement that Young’s “reverence and devotion to the House shone through in everything that he did,” calling him “an institution in the hallowed halls of Congress.”
Young, who was “dean of the House” when he died, was first elected to Congress in 1973. Reelected to his 25th term as Alaska’s only member of the House in 2020, he was known for a brusque style and for bringing federal investments home to Alaska.
He said in 2016: “I’ll defend my state to the dying breath, and I will always do that and they know that.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will sign the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act into law Tuesday, making lynching a hate crime under federal law.
Congress failed to pass anti-lynching legislation over 200 times before the bill finally moved forward this year. The bill is the first legislation of its kind in more than 100 years that will be signed into law.
Lynchings were used to murder and terrorize the Black community in the U.S., predominantly in the South, from the 1880s to 1960s, the NAACP states.
The Equal Justice Initiative, a racial justice advocacy and research organization, has documented nearly 6,500 racial terror lynchings in the U.S. between 1865 and 1950.
Under the bill, an offense can be prosecuted as a lynching when the offender conspires to commit a hate crime that results in someone’s death or serious bodily injury under this bill. This includes kidnapping and aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to kidnap, abuse, or kill.
A perpetrator can be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for lynching alone, raising the maximum sentence by 20 years from previous versions of the legislation.
The act is named after 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was kidnapped, beaten and killed in Mississippi in August 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman.
His death remains a symbol of racism and brutality against Black people in the U.S.
“While this will not erase the horrific injustices to which 10s of 1000s of African Americans have been subjected over the generations, nor fully heal the terror inflicted on countless others, it is an important step forward as we continue the work of confronting our nation’s past in pursuit of a brighter and more just future,” said Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the Senate floor.
Black Americans remain the most targeted group in the U.S. when it comes to reported hate crimes. They made up 2,871 of the 8,263 reported hate crimes in 2020 — or 34% — according to the FBI.
The Senate passed the bill unanimously on March 7.
Congressmembers applauded the bill’s progress following several years of attempts to pass it. Rep. Bobby L. Rush, D-Ill., who has been sponsoring such a bill since the 115th Congress, said that the bill is one step toward correcting “historical injustice.”
“By passing my Emmett Till Antilynching Act, the House has sent a resounding message that our nation is finally reckoning with one of the darkest and most horrific periods of our history and that we are morally and legally committed to changing course,” said Rush after the House passed the bill in February.
Chris Rock is never known to hold his tongue, so when an alleged apology for his Oscar night dig at Jada Pinkett-Smith started making the rounds online, it raised some eyebrows.
However, a rep for the Emmy winner had a one-word comment about it to ABC Audio: “Fake.”
The ersatz apology read in part, “Last night I crossed a line I shouldn’t have an paid an enormous price as a renown [sic] comedian. Comedy is never about poking fun or making lite [sic] of people with major ordeals happening in their lives”
In addition to apologizing to Jada for Chris’ “disrespect and disregard,” the phony message ended with “I hope that with time, forgiveness can come of this situation and we can all be better, more considerate people in the end.”
If that doesn’t sound like the guy behind the mic during acclaimed specials like Bring the Pain, you’re right.
