Travis Scott‘s attorney has issued a statement saying that authorities should stop insinuating that the rapper is to blame for the tragedy at last weekend’s Astroworld Festival — which left eight fans dead and hundreds more injured — because Scott didn’t immediately stop the show.
In the statement, obtained by ABC News, Attorney Edwin F. McPherson said, “There has been multiple finger-pointing, much of which has been by city officials, who have sent inconsistent messages and have backtracked from original statements.”
McPherson goes on to say that Houston Police Chief Troy Finner had been quoted as saying that officials felt they couldn’t stop the concert because there were 50,000 people there, and they were concerned that “a group [of fans] that young” would start to riot. However, McPherson says that Finner later stated that it was Travis Scott’s responsibility to stop the show.
McPherson notes, “It was reported that the Operations Plan designated that only the festival director and executive producers have authority to stop the show, neither of which is part of Travis’s crew.”
McPherson also points out that at 2019’s Astroworld Festival, it was the Houston PD that “shut down the power and sound…when the performance ran over 5 minutes.”
“Investigations should start proceeding over finger-pointing so that together, we can identify exactly what transpired and how we can prevent anything like this from happening again,” McPherson concludes.
Lady Gaga is sharing some secrets about her upcoming movie House of Gucci, in which she plays Patrizia Reggiani, the ambitious socialite who orchestrated the death of her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci.
Speaking toEntertainment Tonight, the “Applause” singer revealed that one of the standout lines heard in the movie’s first trailer was not part of the script, but something that came organically when running lines with her co-star.
“That was something Jared [Leto] and I came up with together,” Gaga revealed of the improvised prayer, “Father, son and house of Gucci.” “Well, it was the first time, and then we kept it.”
She continued, “These things came to us, I think they came from a real place of spontaneity on set, where you can do as much work as possible before, and then when you get there, you just throw it out, and you just talk to each other.”
Gaga admits she fell very deep into character, so much so that she had a hard time separating herself from Reggiani when filming wrapped.
“I think the hardest thing for me, was psychologically to drop the character,” she admitted. “For what it’s worth, I don’t know entirely what my process is like to get rid of a character. I do know that when I went home, a lot of people in my life told told me that I had no accent, but was acting weird.”
Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t proud of the bad habits he picked up while filming his new Western, The Power of the Dog.
Speaking to Esquire, the British actor admitted he fused with his character, Phil Burbank, a rancher from the 1920s that smoked like a chimney and rarely bathed — two unsavory habits that rubbed off on the actor.
“That was really hard,” Cumberbatch said of having to constantly smoke on camera. “Filterless rollies, just take after take after take.”
The Doctor Strange star said he smoked so much he “gave myself nicotine poisoning three times.”
“When you have to smoke a lot, it genuinely is horrible,”admitted Cumberbatch.
Bathing was another obstacle, with the 45-year-old revealing, “I wanted that layer of stink on me. I wanted people in the room to know what I smelt like.”
“It was hard, though. It wasn’t just in rehearsals,” he continued. “I was going out to eat and meet friends of Jane and stuff,” referring to director Jane Campion. “I was a bit embarrassed by the cleaner, in the place I was living.”
Benedict became so entrenched in the character of Phil Burbank, he didn’t break from his newfound stinky, smoking persona until filming wrapped. He even adopted an “ominous Montana drawl.”
However, he admits there is one thing he really tried but failed to master.
“I really wanted to become world class at the banjo,” Cumberbatch lamented, “And I’m very much not. I’m very far off.”
The Power of the Dog, also starring Kirsten Dunst, rides into theaters on November 17.
PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP via Getty Images, Greg Doherty/Getty Images
It looks like Kanye West and Soulja Boy are officially back on good terms — at least for now.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, the Yeezy founder shared a screenshot of a brief text conversation, where he seemed to apologize to Soulja for leaving him off of Donda, his most recent album.
“Yo it’s Ye. Love you bro. I should have told you I wasn’t gonna use the verse,” Ye admitted. Soulja responded, “Love you too bro. That’s all I wanted.” The post, captured by The Shade Room, has since been deleted.
The beef between the two rappers originally started in August, when Ye’s highly anticipated album Donda was released and Soulja’s verse was nowhere to be found on it. The 31-year-old rapper apparently was supposed to be featured on “Remote Control.” After learning the news, Soulja went on a Twitter rant, slinging insults and other verbal jabs at the Chicago native.
Fast-forward to last week, when Soulja’s rage was reignited when Ye appeared on the Drink Champs podcast and said that the reason the verse was left off was because it wasn’t good enough.
“Yo album was trash,” Soulja fired back during a livestream over the weekend. “You said my verses wasn’t hard,” he continued. “Just ’cause it’s your album don’t mean you get to pick what’s hard. Put it out and let the people decide.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will sign the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law on Monday, joined by a bipartisan group of members of Congress during a ceremony at the White House, according to a White House official.
A bipartisan group of governors and mayors, as well as labor union and business leaders, would also join Biden at the ceremony, according to the official. The members of Congress who will attend will include those who helped write the legislation, the official said.
Facing low poll numbers, rising inflation and challenges getting the rest of his legislative priorities passed, the president has put off signing the infrastructure bill in order to put his major, bipartisan accomplishment on display.
During his remarks Monday, Biden also plans to address how the infrastructure legislation will play a role in bolstering supply chains and dealing with bottlenecks, the White House official said. The president planned to visit a port in Baltimore on Wednesday with a similar message.
The House of Representatives passed the bill late Friday, after the Senate passed it in August. Biden has said he wanted to hold a ceremony with members of Congress, who were on recess and out of Washington this week, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, who is currently visiting France.
“Vice President Harris and I look forward to having a formal signing ceremony for this bipartisan infrastructure soon,” Biden told reporters Saturday.
“I’m not doing it this weekend,” he added, “because I want people who worked so hard to get this done — Democrats and Republicans — to be here when we sign it.”
The bill, officially known as the the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provides hundreds of billions of dollars to improve the nation’s highways, bridges and roads; passenger rail; public transit; broadband access; and the power grid, among other investments in physical infrastructure.
The White House has cited outside economists to argue it will create hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next decade.
Despite wide public support for the infrastructure bill — as well as for the “Build Back Better” social bill he is also trying to push through Congress — the president himself has suffered from low approval ratings.
Biden and his administration have launched a public relations campaign to promote the two bills, with the president visiting a port in Baltimore on Wednesday and sitting for an interview with a Cincinnati television station, and Cabinet officials conducting interviews to explain how the infrastructure bill in particular will benefit Americans.
A nationwide poll from Monmouth University conducted Nov. 4 to 8 found that 42% of Americans approved of the way Biden was handling his job, and 64% of respondents said they believed things in the United States have gotten off on the wrong track.
But 65% of respondents said they supported the infrastructure package, and 62% said they supported the larger social spending plan.
In the coming weeks, the president, vice president, and Cabinet will continue to travel the country to communicate how the law will help communities, grow the economy, and position America to compete in the 21st century.
(WASHINGTON) — For Bryan Bowman and Bob Mohr, there was no question about making the nearly 400-mile trip from Canal Fulton, Ohio, to Virginia and Arlington National Cemetery for the chance to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
To mark the tomb’s centennial, members of the public were given a rare chance to come close and lay flowers — for the first time since 1948.
“It was just surreal, very surreal,” Mohr said. “Who knows if we’ll ever get to do it again, in our lifetime.”
“It’s a reminder of service echoing back to 1921,” Bowman said.
One hundred years ago this week, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated to commemorate the final resting place of an unknown soldier from World War I, interred on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1921.
Since then, the tomb has served as a site of mourning and reflection in honor of unknown service members who died in all of America’s wars.
Bowman and Mohr, a Marine Corps veteran, were among the first members of the public to pay their respects on Tuesday, the first of two days visitors were being permitted to come near the tomb.
The line, hundreds long, included Americans from all ages and backgrounds: elderly veterans in faded uniforms, young children in the arms of their parents, military spouses and loved ones, melded together.
Each paused a moment to gently place a flower atop of a growing pile a few yards from the tomb. Some held hands over their hearts, while others raised them in salute.
Many eyes welled with tears.
Piles of roses, daisies, carnations and sunflowers with long, green stems lay under a red velvet rope, the colorful flowers in poignant contrast with the white marble sarcophagus, inscribed with the words, “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.”
On the opposite side, a member of the U.S. Army’s “Old Guard” marched in silence exactly 21 steps back and forth across the length of a black mat, pausing at each end for 21 seconds, echoing the honor of the 21-gun salute.
Tomb guards, also called Sentinels, maintain their post 24 hours per day, seven days per week, throughout the year. A guard-changing ceremony takes place on the hour every hour during the winter and every half-hour during the summer.
“All gave some, some gave all,” said Amber Vincent, a cemetery public affairs specialist. “And some of them lost their identity in the process of serving our nation … That’s really what this ceremony and this centennial commemoration is about. Honoring those not only who have served that we know, but also those that we will never know.”
In the distance, the sound of three-volley 21-gun salutes at military funerals rang out over the hushed crowd.
Up to 30 funerals a day were taking place, Monday through Friday, elsewhere in the cemetery during the centennial.
Some 400,000 service members are buried there.
Wednesday, Nov. 10, marked the day before Bob Mohr would end a 22-day journey to run 22 miles per day, for veteran suicide awareness.
“So, I’m here today for this ceremony and then I’m gonna run my 22 miles through the streets of D.C. for my twenty-first day,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 758,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68.5% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 10, 9:21 pm
COVID-19 deaths expected to continue to fall in weeks to come
COVID-19 forecast models used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are currently predicting that weekly death totals will likely continue to fall in the weeks to come, though thousands of Americans are still expected to lose their lives.
The ensemble model expects just under 15,000 more virus-related deaths to occur in the U.S. over the next two weeks, with a total of around 781,500 deaths by Dec. 4.
The model estimates that 13 states and territories of the U.S. have a greater than 50% chance of having more deaths in the next two weeks compared to the past two weeks.
Nov 10, 9:15 pm
Federal judge strikes down Texas ban on school mask mandates
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting local mask mandates, including in schools, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Since the order was issued in late July, state Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against more than a dozen school districts for issuing mask mandates, according to the ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel. In August, advocacy group Disability Rights Texas filed the lawsuit against the state on behalf of several students with disabilities who faced an increased risk from COVID-19, alleging it denied them equal access to in-person learning.
“The evidence presented by Plaintiffs establishes that Plaintiffs are being denied the benefits of in-person learning on an equal basis as their peers without disabilities,” Yeakel wrote in his ruling.
Yeakel also said the executive order “interferes with local school districts’ ability to satisfy their obligations under the ADA” by placing all authority with the governor.
Yeakel enjoined the state from enforcing the mask mandate ban and ordered that the plaintiffs recover their court costs from the state.
Paxton has said the state is “protecting the rights and freedoms” of residents by banning mask mandates.
Nov 10, 6:43 pm
States sue over vaccine mandate for health care workers
Ten states are suing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate targeting health care workers.
About 17 million health care workers who are employed at places that get funding through CMS are required to get vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022. They do not have the option to test.
“The mandate is a blatant attempt to federalize public health issues involving vaccination that belong within the States’ police power,” stated the suit, which was filed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican who is running for Senate.
The attorneys general of Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota and New Hampshire have joined the lawsuit, which is one of many filed against different parts of the Biden administration’s vaccine requirements but the first to target the health care worker mandate.
Twenty-six states are suing over the mandate that applies to businesses, while another handful are suing over the federal worker mandate. Last week, a federal court temporarily blocked the business vaccine rule.
Nov 10, 3:35 pm
Cases on the rise in 20 states
The U.S. daily case average has jumped by 15% since the end of October, according to federal data.
Twenty states have seen daily cases jump by at least 10% in the last two weeks: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.
Cases are still falling in most of the South, which was the first region to get hit hard by the delta surge over the summer. In Florida, where high transmission was reported in every county over the summer, now only 1 out of the 67 counties is reporting high transmission, according to federal data.
In a night full of upsets and surprises, the virtual press room backstage at the 55th CMA Awards Wednesday night in Nashville was surprisingly quiet — perhaps because the majority of the winners were absolutely stunned.
Luke Combs walked back, just moments after picking up his first — and perhaps already overdue — trophy for Entertainer of the Year. Well-known for lavishing gifts on his parents and both helping and sharing credit with unsung singers and songwriters, he vowed to stay true to his North Carolina roots as the most prestigious mantle in country music falls on him. The president of his label, Sony Nashville, even interrupted one of his answers to pop in and give him a huge hug.
Four-time winner Chris Stapleton — never famous for his gift for gab — stayed the longest, recognizing how crucial his wife Morgane is to his success, as she stepped in at one point to wipe the sweat from his face. The five-time Male Vocalist of the Year acknowledged he takes pride in upholding that standard, while also being tight-lipped about his upcoming collaborations with both Adele and Taylor Swift.
Though largely still in shock, first-time Female Vocalist winner Carly Pearce managed to be somewhat more composed than she’d been onstage at Music City’s Bridgestone Arena, acknowledging that a long line of strong women from her native Kentucky had paved the way for her to chase her childhood dream of singing country music, and also navigate her way out of a very public and painful divorce.
Vocal Duo Brothers Osborne closed out the night, marking a huge milestone for country music, as TJ and John reclaimed the category they’d won three times before, after a year that saw TJ make the unprecedented move of coming out as a gay man.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Brooklyn 123, Orlando 90
Washington 97, Cleveland 94
Milwaukee 112, New York 100
Boston 104, Toronto 88
Detroit 112, Houston 104
Chicago 117, Dallas 107
Charlotte 118, Memphis 108
Oklahoma City 108, New Orleans 100
San Antonio 136, Sacramento 117
Phoenix 119, Portland 109
Denver 101, Indiana 98
Golden State 123, Minnesota 110
LA Lakers 120, Miami 117 (OT)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Toronto 3, Philadelphia 0
Nashville 4, Dallas 2
Minnesota 5, Arizona 2
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Michigan 88, Buffalo 76
Florida St. 105, Penn 70
Sylvester Stallone opened up about a little-known story regarding his time filming Rocky IV, saying the experience almost killed him.
The actor recently posted The Making of Rocky vs. Drago by Sylvester Stallone to his YouTube, where the 75-year-old said actor Dolph Lundgren, who played nemesis Ivan Drago, went off script and nearly beat him to death.
“I got really injured during the fight,” he said of the movie’s nail-biting moment. “I had to be flown into intensive care to California from Canada.”
The Expendables star admitted that, before filming, he encouraged Lundgren to go all out and show his “dominance.”
“Well, he pulverized me,” Stallone deadpanned, noting the actor punched him right in the chest. He didn’t know how badly he was injured until after the cameras stopped rolling.
“I didn’t feel it in the moment but, later that night, my heart started to swell, My blood pressure went up to 260 and I was going to be talking to angels,” the Oscar nominee recalled. “Next thing I know I’m on this emergency, low-altitude flight. I’m in intensive care surrounded by nuns.”
Stallone said his hospital stay lasted four days and, once he was discharged, he “had to go back and finish the fight.”
He said he was upset by the movie’s final cut because that punch that sent him to the hospital was left on the cutting room floor.
“How could you take that out?!,” Stallone quipped.
Rocky IV premiered in theaters in 1985 and earned $300 million during its box office run.
