Last year, Madonnathreatened singer/rapper Tory Lanez over what she called his “illegal” usage of her song “Into the Groove” in his track “Pluto’s Comet.” Now, Lanez is under fire for his alleged use of another ’80s classic by an iconic pop star.
Variety reports that the estate of the late George Michael is trying to get Lanez’s song “Enchanted Waterfall” taken down from digital streaming services for what it says is the unauthorized sampling of George’s 1985 smash “Careless Whisper.”
A statement obtained by Variety states that the “requested permission for this use had been declined in June 2021,” noting that the estate is taking “immediate action…to prevent further exploitation,” adding, “We will not tolerate any unauthorized use of any songs within the catalogues of George Michael and/or Andrew Ridgeley.” George and his Wham! bandmate Ridgeley co-wrote “Careless Whisper.”
Variety notes that the song was removed from Spotify earlier this year, but it’s still up on YouTube and Apple Music.
Lanez already has enough legal problems: He’s been accused of shooting rap superstar Megan Thee Stallion in the feet in 2020. The next hearing in his trial is scheduled for April 5.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images for 2016 Essence Festival
Though rumors about the fate of the daytime talk show The Real have been circulating since last week, show host Loni Love says there is no official word yet.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, the comedian solicited grace for more than 100 crew members who will be affected if the show does come to an end.
“It’s been a busy few days but I got a call from the studio…no official decision has been made about #TheReal …I will be ok but please give grace to the 150 crew members this may affect,” Loni wrote. “We will finish Season 8 and wait for official word.”
The Real first aired on local Fox stations back in the summer of 2013, and then became a nationally syndicated show later that year; it has gone on to acquire NAACP and Emmy awards. The show originally featured current hosts Jeannie Mai, Adrienne Bailon and Loni Love, along with Tamar Braxton, who exited in 2016, and Tamera Mowry, who left in 2020.
If The Real is canceled, it will be added to the list of recently canceled talk shows hosted by people of color, including Wendy and Nick Cannon.
She’s about to launch her latest film, The Lost City, on March 25, but after that, Oscar winner Sandra Bullock is going back to being a full-time mom.
The adoptive mom of Louis, 12, and Laila, 10, commented to Entertainment Tonight, “I take my job very seriously when I’m at work.”
And now, she says? “…I just want to be 24/7 with my babies and my family.”
Calling being home “the place that makes me happiest,” Bullock noted her break is,”gonna be for a while,” with her attention focused on her kids, “servicing their every need” and acting as “their social calendar.”
The Lost City stars Channing Tatum as a Fabio-like cover model who attempts a rescue after Sandra’s romance novel author is kidnapped by an eccentric rich guy, played by Daniel Radcliffe. Oh, and Bullock’s buddy Brad Pitt also stars, as a dashing guy who, unlike Tatum’s character, is actually qualified for such a rescue mission.
(HONG KONG) — China is facing its worst COVID crisis since early 2020, when the world first witnessed an entire population locked down to contain the coronavirus in Wuhan and its surrounding province.
Two years on, it’s now sending tens of millions of people into lockdown in the entire northeastern province of Jilin, where 24 million people live, and the southern cities of Shenzhen and Dongguan, with 17.5 million and 10 million, respectively.
China, the last major country to relentlessly pursue a Covid-zero policy, reported 1,437 cases across dozens of cities on Monday. That’s a fourfold jump in a week.
Although record case numbers are testing the resilience of China’s no-tolerance approach, there is no sign the country is willing to pivot to ‘living with the virus.”
The epicenter of the omicron variant outbreak is the Northeastern Jilin province, where 895 cases were recorded, but there are also outbreaks and containment measures in place Shanghai, the financial powerhouse, and Shenzhen, the southern tech hub.
Authorities announced on Monday afternoon that all 24 million people in Jilin province would go into lockdown, including the previously locked down city of Changchun. It’s the first provincial lockdown since Wuhan and Hubei in January 2020.
On Sunday, China ordered all of Shenzhen’s 17.5 million residents into a seven-day lockdown, with three rounds of testing. All public transport is halted and all businesses, except essential services, will be closed until March 20.
As a result, Apple supplier Foxconn has shut two of its plants in the area and relocated production elsewhere.
The lockdown and outbreaks threaten manufacturing and tech production in Shenzhen, known as China’s Silicon Valley. It’s home to Huawei and Tencent, and is home to one of the country’s key ports.
Professor Heiwai Tang at Hong Kong University told ABC News that he doesn’t expect these week-long lockdowns to have a significant impact on the country’s gross domestic product.
“It seems the lockdowns will be shorter this time with more tracking, which means a short disruption of work and production,” Tang said. “If it ends up lasting for weeks it’s another issue, including inflation risks.”
Professor Michael Song from Hong Kong’s Chinese University estimated that the two-month lockdown in Wuhan cost China 2% of its GDP.
There’s immense pressure on local authorities to contain the virus, with state media reporting that the Jilin City mayor and the head of the Changchun city health commission were dismissed from their roles over the weekend.
Shanghai-based virologist Zhang Wenhong called the flare-up “the most difficult moment in the past two years” of China’s efforts to stamp out the virus. Shanghai has so far avoided a full-scale lockdown.
Across the border from Shenzhen, neighboring Hong Kong is also still tackling its deadliest wave yet, driven by Omicron. Hong Kong recorded 26,908 cases and 286 more deaths on Monday, officials said. Hong Kong’s death rate is the highest in the developed world, in part because of sluggish vaccination rates among the elderly.
Mega isolation facilities are being built across the Hong Kong for people with mild cases. One facility, with 3,900 beds, was built in a week. ABC News witnessed several busloads of people arriving at the facility from all over the city.
Self-titled “Asia’s world city,” Hong Kong is undergoing strict social-distancing measures and still has strict border measures in place, leading to an expat exodus. Many businesses are closed until late April.
The mental-health strain of the strict lockdown has also becoming apparent. Last month, police reported three suicide attempts in 27 hours at one of the quarantine camps.
Pearl Jam has announced the rescheduled dates for the band’s North American tour.
The outing, which was originally scheduled to kick off in March 2020 before being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will now launch May 3 in San Diego, and will wrap up September 22 in Denver. The itinerary includes an additional four stops along with the rescheduled shows.
Pluralone, the solo project of ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist and current PJ touring member Josh Klinghoffer, will be the tour’s opener.
Tickets will go on sale Tuesday, March 29, at 10 a.m. local time, exclusively via Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform. Registration is open now through Sunday, March 27, at 10 a.m. PT.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit PearlJam.com.
Pearl Jam will be touring in support of their 2020 album, Gigaton.
In his response to a fan inquiring about his new album on Twitter, Luke provided insight into at where he’s at in the process, hinting that fans may have it sooner rather than later.
“How are those final touches on LC3 coming along, @lukecombs?” the fan questioned.
“We’re right at the finish line on ’em,” Luke replied. “I’m real proud of these tunes. Can’t wait for y’all to hear ’em.”
The hitmaker is currently working on the follow up to his wildly successful 2019 sophomore album, What You See Is What You Get, which was named Album of the Year at the 2020 CMA Awards and ACM Awards.
Luke’s current single, “Doin’ This,” is the first track released off his upcoming third studio album. It’s climbing its way through the top 20 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.
(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles Unified School District said it’s keeping its mask mandate in place — at least temporarily — even as California drops its requirement for masks in indoor public settings.
Several K-12 schools across the state dropped their face covering requirements Monday after the state lifted its mandate over the weekend.
Last month, Los Angeles County Public Health said it would follow the state’s move and allow the 80 school districts in the country to decide whether or not they want to keep mask mandates.
LAUSD, the second-largest school district in the country, said it does not want to drop the mask requirement yet as it works towards a plan with partners, including teachers’ unions, to move away from mandates and towards “strongly recommending” masks indoors.
“The science that informed the on-ramp to the protective protocols currently in place, which have ensured the well-being of our students and workforce, must, too, inform the off-ramp as health conditions improve,” LAUSD said in a statement on Twitter Friday.
“Los Angeles Unified continues to take a science-based approach to COVID-19 policy and is currently working with labor partners and other stakeholders to transition from required indoor masking to a strong recommendation for indoor masking,” the statement continued.
LAUSD did not indicate when its mask mandate might be lifted.
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in California have been declining for several weeks as the omicron wave tapers off.
As of March 11, the seven-day rolling average for cases was 4,625, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lowest number recorded since Dec. 1, 2021, before the omicron wave.
Similarly, the seven-day average for virus-related hospitalizations in The Golden State sits at 319, a figure not recorded since July 19, 2021, CDC data shows.
However, parents are divided on the mandate with some saying it’s time for masks to be removed and others still worried about a potential rise in cases.
“I think it’s time,” one parent, Elisa Smith, told ABC News affiliate KABC-TV. “If it’s time for us adults to take them off, I think it’s time for the children to take them off.”
“I want them to keep it on. I do, personally,’ another parent, Claudia Angulo, told KABC. “Why? Because it’s still out there, the virus, just to be safe.”
Ending mask mandates have received some pushback from teachers’ unions.
L.A. County public health officials made the announcement last month regarding the end of mask mandates, United Teachers Los Angeles said in a statement it would be “premature” to drop such requirements.
“The district has requested to bargain with UTLA over health and safety protocols currently in place at LAUSD schools,” a spokesperson for the union told ABC News in a statement. “We met with the district on Friday for an initial discussion over their proposed changes, and a follow-up session is scheduled for Wednesday, March 16.”
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was featured in a new interview segment on CBS Sunday Morning over the weekend, and he shared some interesting news about new music that he and Mick Jagger have been working on for their band’s next album.
Richards revealed that he, Jagger and new Stones touring drummer Steve Jordan had been collaborating the previous week and “came up with some eight or nine new pieces of material, which is overwhelming by our standards!”
Jordan, who stepped in for longtime Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts when Watts became terminally ill last year, also plays in Richards’ solo band, The X-Pensive Winos, and was Keith’s main songwriting partner on the guitar legend’s three solo albums.
Richards noted about Jordan’s involvement in The Stones, “It’ll be interesting to find out the dynamics now that Steve’s in the band — it’s sort of metamorphosing into something else.”
Keith also discussed the passing of Watts, who played with The Rolling Stones for 58 years before his death at age 80 in August 2021.
“I think he’d been trying to keep [his illness] under the wraps for a while last year, so that [his death] came…as quite a shock,” Richards noted. “He had had a round with cancer a year or two before. And he beat that one. He just got hit with a double-whammy, bless his soul.”
As for whether the band discussed possibly not touring after Watts died, Keith said, “For a brief moment. I think Charlie wanted us to go on the road; he wanted the tour to happen. That’s my feeling, the last time I spoke to him.”
As reported earlier today, The Rolling Stones will launch a 60th anniversary tour with a European leg that kicks off June 1 in Madrid.
Kristin Chenoweth is sharing the advice she gave Ariana Grande ahead of her role as Glinda in the Wicked movie adaptation.
At Sunday’s Critics Choice Awards red carpet, Kristin — who originated the role of Glinda on Broadway — told Entertainment Tonight that she gave Ariana her blessing to make the character her own.
“I told her not to think about me. To find her own Glinda,” the actress said. “We talk about it, and we talk about life a lot.”
“I have known Grande since she was 10, so Ariana, I am very very proud of you. She knows,” Kristin added. “We talk every day and it’s an honor and a pleasure to pass the wand and the crown to you.”
Fans of Ariana know that she had long dreamed of playing Glinda. She tweeted nearly a decade ago, in December 2011, “Loved seeing Wicked again… amazing production! Made me realize again how badly I want 2 play Glinda at some point in my life!”
Cynthia Erivo is starring as Elphaba — the role originated by Idina Menzel — in the upcoming Jon M. Chu-directed adaptation.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance, coming within about 9 miles as of Friday.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 14, 12:45 pm
Pfizer still delivering medicine to Russia but donating profits to Ukraine
Pfizer said it won’t stop delivering medicine to Russia, but will donate all profits from Russia to humanitarian support for Ukraine.
Pfizer also said it won’t hold new trials in Russia and will stop recruiting new patients for its ongoing trials in the country.
Additionally, Pfizer said it “will cease all planned investments with local suppliers intended to build manufacturing capacity in the country.”
Mar 14, 12:05 pm
At least 636 civilians killed in Ukraine
At least 636 civilians have been killed and another 1,125 injured in Ukraine since the attack began last month, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said.
These numbers are the verified deaths and injuries; actual death and injury figures are expected to be much higher, the OHCHR said.
Most of the casualties were due to explosive weapons impacting a wide area, including shelling, missiles and air strikes, the OHCHR said.
Mar 14, 10:20 am
Fourth round of Ukraine-Russia talks paused until Tuesday
Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has tweeted that Ukraine and Russia are taking a “technical pause” in negotiations until Tuesday.
While the first three rounds of talks were held in Belarus, this fourth round is being held remotely.
“Negotiations continue,” Podolyak tweeted.
Mar 14, 10:04 am
Zelenskyy to address Congress virtually on Wednesday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address U.S. lawmakers virtually at 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to a letter from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Only members of Congress will be allowed in the auditorium where Zelenskyy’s remarks will be broadcast, but the event will be livestreamed.
“The Congress remains unwavering in our commitment to supporting Ukraine as they face Putin’s cruel and diabolical aggression, and to passing legislation to cripple and isolate the Russian economy as well as deliver humanitarian, security and economic assistance to Ukraine,” the letter said. “We look forward to the privilege of welcoming President Zelenskyy’s address to the House and Senate and to convey our support to the people of Ukraine as they bravely defend democracy.”
Mar 14, 6:47 am
More than 2.8 million have fled Ukraine: UN
More than 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded, the U.N. Refugee Agency said on Monday.
Monday’s update said more than 1.72 million people have crossed the border into Poland, but didn’t include updated figures for crossings into all the other countries that border Ukraine.
Rafal Trzaskowski, mayor of Warsaw, Poland, told The Telegraph on Saturday that his city’s ability to absorb refugees fleeing the Ukraine war was “at an end” and that the city would be overwhelmed unless an international relocation system was created.
“We are doing all we can but we cannot rely on improvisation anymore,” Trzaskowski told the newspaper. “We coordinate our work with other mayors in Poland and in Europe, and through this we send buses of refugees to other cities. But we are doing this on our own. We need a European relocation system which will organise it because it is a huge logistical enterprise. We can’t improvise anymore.”
-ABC News’ Zoe Magee
Mar 14, 6:12 am
Russian attacks will increase, may strike Lviv: US official
Russian attacks on Ukraine will increase, with the western city of Lviv among potential targets, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
Russian officials are convinced the city is being used to stage military operations and that some high ranking people are present. Russia may target the city, since “they want to create more terror,” an official said.
Russians have warned that anyone who supplies weapons to Ukraine, or offers safe haven, could be targeted.
After Sunday’s attack near the Polish border, concern is growing over a possible strike in Poland, an official said. There are several areas in Poland where weapons are currently being staged or stored.
-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz
Mar 14, 5:51 am
Ukraine, Russia to begin 4th round of talks
A fourth round of talks between Russia and Ukraine are due to begin on Monday, following optimistic comments from both sides over the weekend that they are moving towards a compromise.
Both sides have confirmed the latest round of the talks will take place today — the previous three rounds were held in Belarus, but these will take place remotely.
On Sunday, one of Russia’s negotiators, an MP Leonid Slutsky told Russian media that he believed “substantial progress” had been made and that he believed that progress could even “grow into a unified position” in documents for signing in the next few days.
Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Mykhailo Podolyak, in interviews and videos posted on Twitter on Sunday also said that Russia “looks at the situation far more properly” and has stopped throwing out “ultimatums.”
Podolyak told the Russian newspaper Kommersant the sides were discussing concrete proposals and that the key issue was “security guarantees” for both Russia and Ukraine. He said the sides were discussing a cease-fire, as well as compensation to Ukraine’s infrastructure destroyed during the war. But he did say that “some time is still needed” for Russia to understand the reality of its situation.
The comments have raised hopes Russia may be lowering its war aims as a result of the fierce Ukrainian resistance and tough response from Western countries.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told Fox News on Sunday that the U.S. also sees Russia is showing signs of a “willingness to have real, serious negotiations.”
But is unclear where the compromise might be found.
Last week, Russia was insisting that Ukraine change is constitution to guarantee it will not join NATO or the European Union. Ukraine had signalled that was not possible but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hinted there might be some negotiating space around NATO, which he has acknowledged Ukraine is not close to joining.
In a video posted to Twitter Monday morning before the start of the talks, Podolyak said Ukraine’s positions were “unchanged”: it was demanding an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops. He said only after that could any political settlements be discussed.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 13, 9:41 pm
Russia asks China for military support, US official says
Russia has asked China for military support and other aid in the time since it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
China and Russia recently strengthened their partnership, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has stood by Russian President Vladimir Putin as he’s bombarded Ukraine.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden’s top national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said during an interview with CNN that the U.S. was “watching closely to see the extent to which China actually does provide any form of support, material support or economic support, to Russia.”
“It is a concern of ours,” Sullivan said, adding that the U.S. has communicated to Beijing that it will “not stand by and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses from the economic sanctions.”
Sullivan is planning to meet a top Chinese official in Rome on Monday.
The Financial Times, The Washington Post and The New York Times first reported on this development.
