(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Toronto 117, Cleveland 104
Memphis 133, Indiana 103
Milwaukee 114, Washington 102
New Orleans 126, Chicago 109
Phoenix 140, Denver 130
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Florida 4, Montreal 3
Boston 3, Tampa Bay 2
Dallas 4, Carolina 3 (SO)
NY Islanders 5, Detroit 2
Philadelphia 5, St. Louis 2
Ottawa 5, Winnipeg 2
Minnesota 3, Vancouver 2 (OT)
Edmonton 5, San Jose 2
Vegas 6, Nashville 1
Chicago 4, Los Angeles 3 (SO)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Arkansas 74, Gonzaga 68
Houston 72, Arizona 60
Villanova 63, Michigan 55
Duke 78, Texas Tech 73
Tragedy struck close to home for Blake Shelton this week, when six teenagers were killed in a devastating car crash in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.
Blake owns a ranch in the same town, which is home to a population of just over 3,000. Not only was it a hometown tragedy for the superstar, but it also caused him to revisit a heartbreaking loss from his past. The singer’s brother, Richie, died in a car crash in 1990, when he was just 24 years old.
“In the wake of yesterday’s unthinkable crash in our small town of Tishomingo, we as a community have all been in shock and broken-hearted,” Blake tells People in a statement. “I personally know the devastation of suddenly losing a loved one in a car accident. But our community is strong and has come together to support and wrap our arms around the families and friends that are hurting the most.”
Blake also asked for fans to keep those affected by the tragedy in their thoughts: “There’s no question it will take a long time to heal from this tragedy. Keep the prayers coming.”
The wreck occurred on Tuesday afternoon, when six female Tishomingo High School students were on their lunch break. Their small car, which seated only four, collided with a large truck. Among those killed were the 16-year-old driver, three 15-year-olds and two 17-year-olds. Because they are minors, their names have not been publicly released.
Blake’s love for his home state often shows up in his song lyrics. His Oklahoma ranch was also the scene of his wedding to Gwen Stefani last summer.
Today would have been Aretha Franklin‘s 80th birthday, so let’s show the late Queen of Soul some major respect.
Widely considered one of the all-time greatest vocalists, Franklin started singing gospel music as a child in the Detroit church where her father was minister. In 1960, at age 18, she signed to Columbia Records and experienced some R&B chart success. Her career really took off after signing to Atlantic Records in 1967.
Franklin was also part of the civil rights movement of the ’60s. She sang at events with Martin Luther King Jr., and “Respect” became a civil rights anthem. When King was assassinated in 1968, Franklin performed at his funeral.
Aretha’s hits continued through the ’70s. After leaving Atlantic Records, she signed to Clive Davis‘ label, Arista, in 1980. With Arista, she racked up hits like “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” and “Freeway of Love.” In 1987, she became the first female performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Around this time, Aretha also recorded duets with various artists, including Eurythmics and George Michael. She and Michael scored a #1 hit with “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me.”
In 1994, Franklin was saluted at the Kennedy Center Honors and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Her other honors included the National Medal of the Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Sadly, Aretha died of pancreatic cancer in August 2018. She was 76.
Last August, the well-received Aretha biopic Respect was released. It starred Jennifer Hudson, whom Franklin had chosen to portray her.
Also last year, Rolling Stone published its updated “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list. At #1? Aretha’s “Respect.”
Break out your corsets and top hats, season two of Bridgerton drops today on Netflix! And there’s some new blood this time around, in the form of the Sharma sisters. Simone Ashley joins the cast this season as Kate Sharma, and tells ABC Audio she plays a protective big sister.
“They return to London, her and her family, and the stakes are really high,” notes Ashley. “Kate really wants Edwina to marry off the true love, but also to marry an Englishman of nobility to make sure she’s taken care of and then her mum can be taken care of as well.”
Charithra Chandran joins the series as Edwina, who’s looking for love and finds herself in the process.
“At the beginning of the season, she’s very naive, willing to be submissive under the belief that others know what’s better for her than herself,” she explains. “What you really see through the season and particularly in the later episodes, is her coming of age, her finding her independence and her self-identity.”
Chandran says joining a hit show in season two is both “nerve wracking and exciting for the exact same reasons.”
She adds, “It’s both this big thing that is so well-loved and received, and that makes it exciting. But it also makes it nerve wracking because you know you want to make everyone proud.
Unlike Edwina, Kate isn’t looking for love, but finds it anyway in Jonathan Bailey‘s Anthony Bridgerton, adding a “Scandalous” new dynamic to the show’s second season.
“There’s a lot of obstacles in the way between Kate and Anthony finally getting with each other…it brings up the subject of family more so, because Kate’s out there to protect her little sister and Anthony’s dedication to his family…there’s just much more drama.”
Shonda Rhimes is celebrated for changing television with her shows, such as Grey’s Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder, but she doesn’t consider herself a trailblazer.
Speaking with ABC Audio, the Shondaland CEO chatted about her inclusive shows that feature diverse casts and strong female leads. While speaking of the latter, which earned her significant praise, Rhimes admitted, “I don’t know that these concepts are forward thinking.”
“The idea that women are gutsy, intelligent and relatable — that they’re smart and strong — that’s not a forward-thinking concept,” the Emmy nominee explained, adding that she fashioned such characters to reflect “the women around me that I know. I was writing stories about women that I knew.”
Rhimes also said she didn’t have to “convince anybody” at any given network to give her shows a chance, even though critics have previously praised them for breaking the mold — because “good storytelling works for itself.”
“I was lucky that the stories we were telling were compelling enough that the networks were interested,” Rhimes expressed, adding, “I also think there were a lot of women at those networks who saw women in those shows who were also like themselves.”
Bridgerton drew buzz for featuring people of color in positions of power in Regency-era England — most notably casting Golda Rosheuvel, a Black actress, as Queen Charlotte. The show, which has become one of Netflix’s top original series, returns for its second season on Friday.
Said Rhimes of why she will continually feature diverse casts in her shows, “People want to see themselves represented on television. They just do.”
Deep Purple‘s classic sixth studio album, Machine Head, was released 50 years ago today. The record features some of the British rockers’ most enduring tunes, including “Highway Star,” “Space Truckin'” and, of course, the band’s signature song, “Smoke on the Water.”
Driven by the popularity of “Smoke on the Water,” Machine Head became Deep Purple’s highest-charting and best-selling album in the U.S., peaking at #7 on the Billboard 200 and selling over two million copies.
“Smoke on the Water” reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band’s best-charting U.S. single along with 1968’s “Hush.”
Deep Purple recorded Machine Head in late 1971 in Montreux, Switzerland, on Lake Geneva. While the band was there, the infamous incident occurred that inspired “Smoke on the Water.” Frank Zappa was playing a concert at the Montreux Casino, and during the show, someone in the audience fired a flare gun into the venue’s bamboo ceiling, causing a fire that burned down the building.
After the band had recorded a track featuring guitarist Ritchie Blackmore‘s famous riff, singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover came up with the lyrics telling the story of the fire.
In 2016, Guitar Player magazine ranked the “Smoke on the Water” riff as the second greatest guitar riff of all time. Blackmore tells ABC Audio that with songs by The Kinks and The Rolling Stones in mind, he intentionally wrote the riff simply figuring it would have wider appeal.
“[M]y whole idea was to pull myself back and think, ‘I want to play something the postman can whistle when he’s…delivering letters,'” he explains.
Ritchie adds, “I think [that’s] why a lot of guitarists go to music shops and play it, because it’s very simple to play.”
Here’s the full Machine Head track list:
“Highway Star”
“Maybe I’m a Leo”
“Pictures of Home”
“Never Before”
“Smoke on the Water”
“Lazy”
“Space Truckin'”
(NEW YORK) — As the United States continues to face the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations, the country’s largest city is offering new support for expectant people.
New York City will begin offering free doula access to families, Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday.
The city will also train more doulas — trained professionals who provide support to moms before, during and after childbirth — as part of its Citywide Doula Initiative, with the goal to train 50 doulas and reach 500 families by the end of June.
The initiative will focus on reaching birthing families in 33 neighborhoods “with the greatest social needs,” according to the city’s announcement.
As part of the effort, the city will also expand its Midwifery Initiative to nearly 40 public and private birthing facilities across the city, and has charged the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene with gathering data and developing a report on births and care with midwives.
“Today, we are announcing a multifaceted initiative to help reduce the inequities that have allowed children and mothers to die at the exact time when we should be welcoming a life,” Adams said in a statement. “By expanding and investing in both doulas and midwives, we are taking the steps necessary to begin to address the disparities in maternal deaths, life-threatening complications from childbirth, and infant mortality.”
New York City has a maternal mortality rate of 49.6 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to a report released last April by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Nationally, the U.S. has faced a growing maternal mortality crisis that only increased during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It is a crisis that also disproportionately affects women of color.
In 2020, Black women died of maternal causes at nearly three times the rate of white women, up from around 2.5 times higher than in 2019, according to CDC data.
Black women also died in 2020 at higher rates than Hispanic women, who had a rate of 18.2 deaths per 100,000 births in 2020 — a more than 40% increase from the previous year.
Pregnancy-related deaths are defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy or within a year of the end of pregnancy from pregnancy complications, a chain of events initiated by pregnancy or the aggravation of an unrelated condition by the physiological effects of pregnancy, according to the CDC.
Because of the maternal mortality rate and its impact on women of color, a growing number of Black women see having a doula, particularly a Black doula, as a potentially lifesaving advocate during birth.
Dr. Jacquelyn McMillian-Bohler, a certified nurse-midwife and assistant professor in Duke University’s school of nursing, describes doulas as bridging the communication gap between health care providers and Black female patients.
“Our health literacy is poor across the board, and then when you add racism on top of that, it just creates another layer,” she told ABC News last year. “That’s what we’re doing with the doula, we’re trying to attack that health literacy piece that really affects outcomes.”
Dr. Ashanda Saint Jean, a board-certified OBGYN and chair of OBGYN for the Health Alliance Hospitals and Westchester Center Medical Health Network in New York, explained that doulas are a source of non-medical support for pregnant women before, during and after childbirth.
“A doula is a support person who has been trained and educated in labor and delivery,” Saint Jean said last year. “I’ve had a number of Black patients feel that having a doula is an extra layer of support where they’re able to more ask questions about their birthing experience and explore all measures to ensure a healthy outcome.”
(OAK LAWN, Ill.) — A woman in her 70s was recovering from injuries Thursday after being forcibly held at gunpoint while suspects ransacked her home.
The home invasion took place Tuesday evening in Oak Lawn, Illinois, when a female suspect pretending to be selling candy approached the residence, police said. The older woman declined to make a purchase and closed the door.
Upon answering a second doorbell, the victim encountered the female suspect, believed to be a teenager, standing next to a man who was armed with a handgun, authorities said. He forced his way into the residence, ultimately knocking the older woman to the ground.
Home Invasion 4600 block of 105th Pl occurred the evening of March 22nd. If you can help identify the individuals pictured please contact the OLPD Detective Division at 708-907-4051 pic.twitter.com/pEkwp6K9Hx
According to police, two men looted the home while the female suspect held the victim at gunpoint. The trio then fled to a getaway vehicle, a white Kia Optima, which was driven by a fourth suspect.
The woman was home alone during the incident. She sustained minor injuries in the robbery, according to police.
Authorities described one suspect as a short man, believed to be in his 30s, with short black hair and a heavyset build. The other man, believed to be in his 40s, is tall with a heavyset build and a round face. The female is tall and has a thin build. A description of the driver was not provided.
“The main priority of the police department is the safety of the community,” police said in a statement. “We will continue to actively pursue those involved in this case and all other acts of violence and crime. We plan on utilizing every resource at our disposal that will assist in the arrest of those involved.”
No arrests have been made at this time. Anyone who can identify the suspects involved in the incident are urged to contact the detective division at the Oak Lawn Police Department.
(ITHACA, N.Y.) — After a significant viral outbreak before winter break in December, COVID-19 infection levels at Cornell University had markedly declined, as the omicron surge receded, and students returned to campus for the spring semester.
However, as new case totals begin to tick up in the state of New York, the campus is once again reporting a viral resurgence. This week, Cornell elevated its COVID-19 alert system to “yellow,” indicating that transmission is rising, and prevalence of the virus is above predicted levels.
Between March 17 and March 23, Cornell recorded 515 positive COVID-19 infections among students, staff and faculty, according to data from the university.
“COVID-19 cases on the Ithaca campus are increasing beyond our predictions, indicating a substantial prevalence of the virus on campus,” Provost Michael Kotlikoff said in a statement on Wednesday. “This rising transmission is likely due to a number of factors, including relaxing mask requirements, the emergence of the BA.2 variant, and increased social activities.”
Data shows 97% of the student population is vaccinated, while 92% of those eligible are boosted.
At this time, all unvaccinated or unboosted students, faculty, and staff are required to participate in surveillance testing. Cornell provides symptomatic test kits to community members who are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms suggestive of COVID-19.
“The majority of positive cases being reported on campus are from symptomatic testing, which tells us that there are even more asymptomatic cases within our community,” Kotlikoff wrote.
The increase comes less than two weeks after the school dropped its mask mandate for most locations, though community members are still required to wear masks when in certain settings, such as classrooms and laboratories, at health care and testing facilities, and on public transportation.
Given the resurgence, the university strongly encourages community members to get tested before and after spring break, which is not for another week.
With increasing viral transmission occurring overseas, federal officials have been warning that the U.S. is likely to see an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the weeks to come, as the presence of the omicron subvariant, BA.2, spreads across the country.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday her agency is “carefully” watching New England and New York City for increases of the BA.2 variant after they found slight increases in the presence of COVID-19 in wastewater surveillance.
“Currently, we’re seeing a modest uptick of sites reporting an increase of virus levels in wastewater in some communities. In fact, over the past two weeks we have seen increasing wastewater signals in New York City and parts of New England, where we are now seeing increases in cases and some increased hospitalizations,” Walensky said during a White House COVID-19 briefing.
Walensky said officials have been focused largely on hospitalization metrics, to guide potential future guidance on masking and restriction measures.
“If cases do go up, we have the framework to implement additional layers of prevention strategies at the local level to swiftly protect individuals and communities,” Walensky said.
Many experts have been warning that the virus may be already spreading rapidly across the country.
Dozens of states have moved to shutter public testing sites, with more at-home COVID-19 tests now available in pharmacies, and through the federal testing program. Most Americans are not reporting their results to officials, and thus, experts said infection totals are likely significantly undercounted.
Nationwide, BA.2, now accounts for more than a third of new COVID-19 cases. Many top health officials, including Walensky and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, have said that they anticipate that over the next few weeks, BA.2 will become the predominant variant in the U.S.
Although breakthrough COVID-19 infections surged during the omicron wave, data from the CDC shows vaccines still dramatically reduced the risk of requiring hospitalization or dying of the virus.
In January, unvaccinated adults were 9 times more likely to die of COVID-19, compared to vaccinated individuals, and six times more likely to require hospitalization.
Additionally, unvaccinated adults were about 21 times more likely to die of COVID-19 in January, and 12 times more likely to require hospitalization, compared to fully vaccinated and boosted adults.
Rick Astley‘s 1987 debut album, Whenever You Need Somebody, celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, and to mark the milestone, and remastered and expanded version of the hugely successful record will be released on May 6.
The expanded Whenever You Need Somebody, which will be available as a two-CD set and via digital formats, will feature a remastered version of the original album, as well as a variety of bonus tracks, including B-sides, remixes, instrumental versions and Astley’s own reimagined renditions of some of the tunes.
The physical package also includes a booklet featuring previously unseen archival photos, new liner notes, and recollections from Astley and two of the album’s main songwriters, Mike Stock and Pete Waterman.
Released in November 1987, Whenever You Need Somebody featured Rick’s two biggest hits — the chart-topping smashes “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Together Forever” — as well as the #10 single “It Would Take a Strong Strong Man.” The album reached #10 on the Billboard 200 and #1 in the U.K., and has gone on two be RIAA-certified double Platinum for sales of over two million in the U.S.
“Whenever I sing these songs or even hear them on the radio, it brings back so many great memories,” says Astley. “It makes me appreciate how lucky I was to have met all the people I worked with around making that first record. ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ established me in America and let me travel the world — which, for a 21-year-old from Newton-le-Willows [U.K.], was mind-blowing.”
You can pre-order the Whenever You Need Somebody reissue now, and you can check out a restored 4K version of the “Together Forever” music video at Rick’s YouTube channel.
Here’s the track list for the two-CD reissue:
CD 1
“Never Gonna Give You Up” — 2022 Remaster
“Whenever You Need Somebody” — 2022 Remaster
“Together Forever” — 2022 Remaster
“It Would Take a Strong Strong Man” — 2022 Remaster
“The Love Has Gone” — 2022 Remaster
“Don’t Say Goodbye” — 2022 Remaster
“Slipping Away” — 2022 Remaster
“No More Looking for Love” — 2022 Remaster
“You Move Me” — 2022 Remaster
“When I Fall In Love” — 2022 Remaster
“My Arms Keep Missing You”
“I’ll Never Set You Free” — 7″ Mix
“Just Good Friends”
“Never Gonna Give You Up” (Pianoforte)
“Together Forever” (Reimagined)
“Whenever You Need Somebody” (Reimagined)
“When I Fall In Love” (Reimagined)
CD 2
“Never Gonna Give You Up” (Phil Harding 12″ Mix)
“Together Forever” (Lover’s Leap Remix)
“My Arms Keep Missing You” (The “Where’s The Harry” Remix)
“Whenever You Need Somebody” (XK 150 Mix)
“My Arms Keep Missing You” (Bruno’s Remix)
“Never Gonna Give You Up” (Cake Mix)
“Whenever You Need Somebody” (Lonely Hearts Mix)
“My Arms Keep Missing You” (No L Mix)
“Never Gonna Give You Up” (Escape From Newton Mix)
“Together Forever” (House Of Love Mix)
“Whenever You Need Somebody” (Rick Sets It Off Mix)
“Never Gonna Give You Up” (Instrumental)
“It Would Take a Strong Strong Man” (Instrumental)
“Whenever You Need Somebody” (Instrumental)
