Maynard James Keenan and company had the highest grossing tour to start off the year, raking in more than $13 million over the course of 10 reported shows in January.
Elton John was second, with just over $10 million from five shows, followed by country stars Reba McEntire, Kane Brown and Eric Church.
Billboard notes that January is traditionally a slow month for concert ticket sales, adding that the Omicron surge of late 2021 and early 2022 postponed a number of high-profile shows, including Adele‘s much-hyped Las Vegas residency, paving the way for Tool to take the top spot.
Tool is currently on tour in support of the band’s 2019 comeback album, Fear Inoculum. Their show in Washington, D.C. earlier this week was briefly halted due to a fan in the crowd experiencing a medical situation. Rock Feed obtained footage of Keenan pausing the show and instructing the audience to make way for EMTs. The show continued after the situation was addressed.
Jason Aldean has sold 90 percent of his catalog of recorded music to independent publishing company Spirit Music Group. Variety reports that the sale yielded upward of $100 million.
Included in the sale are Jason’s first nine albums, beginning with his self-titled debut from 2005 and encompassing every release through 2019’s 9. The singer, who retains income interest on the music, says he’s excited to place his music with a publishing company where it’ll be well cared for.
“It’s something really important to me, so I’m glad it’ll be looked after,” he notes.
Notably, Jason’s 10th studio album, the double project Macon, Georgia, isn’t included in the Spirit Music Group acquisition. The first half of that album, Macon, dropped last November, with Georgia set to follow in April.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House has begun a sweeping overhaul of its COVID strategy that will signal the nation is moving past crisis mode and into a more manageable phase in the pandemic, ABC News has learned.
The new strategy was expected to acknowledge that the virus — which has killed at least 936,162 Americans in the past two years — is less of an urgent threat to most Americans because of widespread access to vaccines, booster shots, and testing, as well as increasing availability of therapeutics.
At the same time, the White House on Wednesday began working behind the scenes with some of the nation’s most prominent pandemic experts to game out the various paths the virus could take to ensure the government is prepared.
In a private online meeting, Jeff Zients, the White House coordinator on the federal COVID response, led the group in discussing potential trajectories in the pandemic — from the best case scenario that the virus evolves into a mild flu-like illness, to the worst case that an aggressive new variant could evade effectiveness of the vaccine.
The overall consensus was that COVID has fundamentally altered U.S. public health.
“There’s no scenario where we say, ‘oh my gosh, let’s go back to normal,'” said one person involved in the effort.
The White House described Wednesday’s online meeting as part of a series of outreach efforts with governors and business leaders to discuss the pandemic. Included in Wednesday’s discussion were several former advisers to President Joe Biden during his transition after the election, but who had more recently called on the administration to shift gears and tackle COVID as part of the nation’s “new normal.”
Among those in attendance included Zients; David Kessler, Biden’s chief scientific adviser; Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist and medical ethicist with the University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Centers for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota; Dr. Luciana Borio, a former senior official at the National Security Council and former acting chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration now with the Council on Foreign Relations; and David Michaels, an epidemiologist and former head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration now with George Washington University’s School of Public Health.
The meeting was confirmed by several people familiar with the effort, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on private White House meetings. Among the issues discussed were what resources the U.S. might need to ensure access to life-saving therapeutics and shoring up any vulnerabilities in the supply chain.
“We’ve seen things come down before only to be surprised,” one person said, describing the meetings as helping the administration to prepare for next steps.
Timing of the White House announcement of its updated COVID strategy was unclear as the Ukraine crisis escalated Thursday with Russia’s invasion. Biden had been expected to address aspects of the new COVID approach in his State of the Union address on March 1.
In a separate effort, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing new guidance intended to help local officials decide when it’s safe to pull back on restrictions, such as indoor masking mandates. Those updated recommendations, expected within the week, were expected to emphasize local hospital capacity and focus less on case counts when measuring a community’s ability to withstand increased COVID transmission.
“We must consider hospital capacity as an additional important barometer. Our hospitals need to be able to take care of people with heart attacks and strokes,” Walensky told reporters last week.
The shift comes as Biden and Democratic governors are under increasing pressure by voters fed up with restrictions due to the virus. Several states have moved preemptively to lift restrictions, even as the CDC continues to recommend indoor masking, particularly in schools.
According to a recent Gallup poll, more Americans disapproved of Biden’s handling of the virus — 52% — than those who approve. In recent weeks, Democratic strategists have advised party officials to shift their focus away from COVID and focus on curbing inflation instead.
Zients hinted at the upcoming shift in federal COVID strategy at a press briefing last week.
“We’re moving toward a time when COVID isn’t a crisis but is something we can protect against and treat,” Zients told reporters on Feb. 16.
Biden officials say the administration is still keenly aware of the balancing act involved. COVID-related hospitalizations are now nearing the lowest level since before the omicron surge — a positive sign that the nation has turned a corner in the two-year pandemic.
At the same time, concerns of another variant remain, as well as the lack of a vaccine available to children ages 4 and under. Data on a Pfizer pediatric vaccine for the population isn’t expected until April. Meanwhile, hospitalization rates for that age group are at its highest throughout the pandemic.
“We definitely are heading into a new phase of the pandemic,” said Julie Morita, executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation who has previously advised Biden on COVID.
But, “I think we’ve fallen into the trap of thinking that it was over prematurely in the past, and it’s just hurt us,” she added.
ABC News Sony Salzman, Cheyenne Haslett, Sasha Pezenik and Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.
(SPOILER ALERT) If you’ve used social media, like ever, you’ve probably seen a popular meme of two cartoon Spider-Men pointing at each other.
The meme is such a fan favorite, in fact, that once director Jon Watts had access to not only two, but three Spider-Men in No Way Home, he mimicked it onscreen, twice.
And if you needed more proof, Sony Pictures just posted a behind-the-scenes photo of Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield, all in their respective Spidey suits, pointing at each other; the caption: “of course, we got THE meme.”
The post was also to remind folks that Spider-Man: No Way Homeswings home on digital March 22 and on 4K UHD & Blu-ray on April 12. Not that fans needed it: The picture was liked nearly 300,000 times on Twitter, and more than 1.9 million times on Instagram, in just 24 hours.
According to the institute’s survey of known abortion providers in the U.S., 54% of abortions in 2020 were done by medication abortion, a process that involves taking two pills. The number marks a significant increase from the last survey, done in 2017, when medication abortions made up 39% of all abortions.
The increase in medication abortion comes as access to abortion in the U.S. has the potential to be dramatically altered this year. The Supreme Court is expected to rule this spring on a case that has the potential to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that made abortion a federally protected right in the U.S.
If Roe is overturned, more than half of the nation’s 50 states are prepared to ban abortion, according to a Guttmacher Institute report released last year.
At the same time, many states are already enacting restrictions on abortion access, including medication abortion.
More than one dozen state legislatures have introduced bans or restrictions on medication abortion so far this year, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Seven states have legislation pending that would ban the use of medication abortion, while five states are considering laws to prohibit the mailing of abortion pills and eight states are considering barring the use of telehealth to provide medication, according to Guttmacher.
Texas, which last year implemented an unprecedented six-week abortion ban, has already enacted a law restricting access to medication abortion, including banning the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs and narrowing the window in which physicians are allowed to give the medication to seven weeks.
Medication abortions were first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000. FDA guidelines advise that abortion-inducing pills are safe to use up to 70 days, or 10 weeks, after conception, though evidence shows it can be safe even later in pregnancy, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
In most cases in a medication abortion, mifepristone is taken first to stop the pregnancy from growing. Then, a second pill, misoprostol, is then taken to empty the uterus.
Of the two medications, mifepristone is more restricted by the FDA. Since 2011, the agency had applied a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) to mifepristone, preventing it from being distributed at pharmacies or delivered by mail like other prescription drugs.
In December, under the Biden administration, the FDA permanently lifted its restriction on mifepristone that required providers to dispense the drug in person, allowing it to be delivered by mail.
In its updated guidance online, the FDA cited the need to “reduce burden on patient access and the health care delivery system.”
Women still must obtain the pill through a certified health care provider though and the FDA’s decision is subject to state laws that can criminalize the practice.
Telemedicine for medication abortion is effectively banned in 19 states, which require a provider to be physically present when administering the pill, according Guttmacher.
Complications from at-home medication abortions are rare, happening in less than 1% of cases in one study of nearly 20,000 medication abortions, according to ACOG, which says medication abortion “can be provided safely and effectively by telemedicine.”
Proponents of the FDA’s decision to lift its restriction on mifepristone say that allowing greater access to medication abortion, including via telemedicine, gives more options to the people who need them the most.
Around 75% of abortion patients are low-income residents, and nearly 60% of U.S. women of reproductive age live in states where access to abortion is restricted, according to Guttmacher.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
Foo Fighters have made some special announcements ahead of the premiere of the band’s Studio 666 movie.
Dave Grohl and company will be making a “special appearance” during select Los Angeles-area screenings of the film this Friday. The specific showings will take place 7 and 7:15 p.m. at the AMC Promenade 16 at Woodland Hills, and 8:30 p.m. at the Regal Sherman Oaks Galleria.
Director BJ McDonnell will also join the Foos at the screenings.
Meanwhile, Foo Fighters have teamed up with Coors Light to create their own signature, Studio 666-themed beer: Coors Almighty Light. Apparently, the brew includes “blessed” water, which the fine print tells us was “blessed by a non-denominational ordained minister.”
“Coors Almighty Light is the first spiritually-enhanced beer developed specifically to ward off demons while viewing the Foo Fighters’ dangerous new film Studio 666,” the Coors website reads.
In other news, Grohl’s Studio 666 promotional duties took him to CBS’ The Late Late Show Wednesday, where he and fellow guest Hilary Duff played — or, one might say, were subjected to — host James Corden‘s “James That Tune” game.
As Corden explained, the point of the game is to guess the name of the famous song he’s playing on a keyboard. Crucially, however, Corden does not know how to play the keyboard, which led to him banging away at random notes as Grohl and Duff looked on in confusion.
After failing to guess Corden’s interpretation of the Foo Fighters songs “Learn to Fly” and “My Hero,” Grohl was able to discern the host’s take on “Best of You,” though didn’t want to admit it “for fear that people will think it sounds like that.”
Queen guitarist Brian May‘s second solo album, 1998’s Another World, will be reissued in multiple formats and configurations on April 22 as the second installment of the Brian May Gold Series solo reissue campaign.
The remastered collection will be available on CD, cassette, vinyl and digital formats, and as a deluxe box set, two-CD set and limited-edition vinyl picture disc.
Another World was released in the U.K. in July ’98, and reached #23 on the U.K. albums charts.
The album included songs culled from various of projects May was working on around that the time, including music composed for TV soundtracks, video games and a shelved covers collection.
One of May’s main collaborators on Another World was acclaimed drummer Cozy Powell, who sadly died in a car crash at age 50 shortly before the album’s release. The album also features guest appearances by Jeff Beck, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins and Mott the Hoople‘s Ian Hunter. Hunter appears on a cover of the Mott classic “All the Way to Memphis.” Another World also features renditions of Jimi Hendrix‘s “One Rainy Wish” and the 1950s rock ‘n’ roll gem “Slow Down.”
The box set and two-CD version of the Another World reissue features a bonus disc that boasts alternate versions and mixes of songs, live performances from a June 1998 concert Brian’s solo band played in Paris, and covers of The Rocky Horror Show tune “Hot Patootie,” Buddy Holly‘s “Maybe Baby” and Conway Twitty‘s “It’s Only Make Believe.”
The box set features two CDs, sky-blue vinyl LP, a 32-page booklet and an enamel badge. Visit QueenOnline.com for full details about the Another World reissue.
Brian kicked off his Gold Series campaign last year with the reissue of his 1992 solo debut, Back to the Light.
Priyanka Chopra is sharing “some thoughts” on the apology Rosie O’Donnell issued following an awkward encounter with the actress and her husband, Nick Jonas.
To refresh, O’Donnell took to TikTok over the weekend to apologize for mistaking the actress as the daughter of author Deepak Chopra during a run-in at the LA restaurant Nobu — and in the apology, she referred to the actress as “someone Chopra” and “the Chopra wife.”
On Wednesday, the Quantico alum issued a statement to her Instagram story, which began, “Hi everyone. Some thoughts…”
“I have never taken myself so seriously to think everyone would know who I am, or my work for that matter,” Chopra began. “But if you wanted to make a public apology for a very awkward private encounter, I think probably best to take the time to google my name before doing it or even try to reach out directly.”
Priyanka went on to state that people “deserve to be respected for our unique individuality and not be referred to as ‘someone’ or ‘wife’ especially in a sincere apology,” adding, “If we can learn to respect our differences in an authentic way, the world we raise our children in, will be amazing.”
“As I’ve said before, not all Chopras are related to the great Deepak Chopra, just as not all Smiths are related to the legendary Will Smith,” Priyanka concluded.
(NEW YORK) — Yoga is practiced by tens of millions of people in the United States, but some practitioners are sounding the alarm about what they say is a dangerous spread of anti-science views, including around COVID-19.
Laura Rose Schwartz said she grew so disturbed by what she saw and heard that she left the yoga studio she opened in Virginia.
When she subsequently moved to California, Rose Schwartz said she ran into the same concerns there, too.
“With the pandemic, pretty immediately, I saw a lot of conspiracy theories floating around on social media among yoga and wellness practitioners, misconceptions about the vaccines,” she told Good Morning America. “It seems that anti-vax sentiment is very widespread within the yoga world.”
Cécile Simmons studies disinformation as a research manager at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a nonprofit organization that studies disinformation and extremism. She wrote an essay last year about her surprise at finding conspiracy theories and disinformation in her local yoga class.
“During the pandemic, more and more yoga influencers have started spreading misleading claims about vaccination,” Simmons told GMA. “We have seen people who have embraced anti-vaccine views and who didn’t have them before.”
Derek Beres, co-host of the podcast “Conspirituality,” which tracks the yoga and wellness communities, said the spread of health misinformation in the yoga community is not new with COVID-19.
“Misinformation has spread in the yoga community for decades,” Beres told ABC News’ Kaylee Hartung. “There is a constant sense of this idea of sovereignty and yoga that I know better than the doctors. I know better than the system.”
Social media has furthered the spread of misinformation, according to Beres.
“It just allows disinformation to spread like nothing we’ve experienced before,” he said. “People are really confused because they see someone that they know and trust and they’re getting misinformation.”
According to Beres, disinformation can be hard to spot on social media. It can also be hard for people to know how to engage with people who deny the science around COVID-19 vaccines.
Beres’ advice is to “listen first and foremost.”
“Start asking them questions based on what they’re actually saying and actually make them self-reflect in the moment about the information they’re giving you,” he said. “It could be contentious, but you might open them up to other possibilities.”
To help counter the spread of misinformation in the yoga community, Yoga Alliance, an organization that describes itself as the largest nonprofit representing the yoga community, told ABC News it has created an “online resource center” with information on COVID-19.
“We are also working closely with public health experts to share timely and relevant information with the yoga community as we all continue to navigate these challenging times,” the Alliance said in a statement.
“We urge everyone in the yoga community, including practitioners, to stay vigilant and active in our shared responsibility by doing what we can to stop the spread of misinformation both online and in our communities,” the statement continued. “This includes only sharing information from credible sources such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and its peer agencies around the world, following science-backed recommendations from these organizations, reporting misinformation on social media platforms, and flagging misinformation when you see it.”
The Alliance continued: “In addition to the human toll, the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to small businesses like yoga teachers and studio owners. We believe that the fastest and most effective route to recovery lies in everyone working together, with the tools available to each of us, so that we can all put this pandemic behind us.”
Metallica has added a pair of U.S. stadium shows to the band’s summer schedule.
The metal legends will headline Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, New York, on August 11, and PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 14. Both shows will feature support from Greta Van Fleet and Ice Nine Kills.
Tickets to both concerts go on sale next Friday, March 4, at 10 a.m. ET, though if you’re a member of Metallica’s Fifth Member fan club, you’ll have access to a pre-sale beginning Monday, February 28.
Tonight, Metallica is set to play Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Their other current 2022 U.S. tour plans include headlining sets at the BottleRock Napa Valley and Boston Calling festivals.
