It’s not even Halloween, but plenty of Christmas albums and songs have already been released, or will be in the next couple of weeks. However, the Queen of Christmas is here to tell you that it’s too early to start pumping the holiday tunes.
In what’s become an annual tradition, Mariah Careyhas posted a video declaring that it’s not the proper time to start listening to or playing Christmas music — and especially not her number-one hit holiday classic, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
In the clip, a friend comes up to Mariah while wearing a hoodie decorated with a cartoon rendering of the diva in a Santa outfit. The friend asks, in a foreign language — which Billboardsays is Portuguese — “Look what I found today! Can I wear it?”
Mariah responds by wagging her finger and crooning, “Not yet!” followed by a sheepish smile and a shrug.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” has hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the past two years. So far, it’s yet to be revealed what special Christmas content and activities Mariah has in store for fans this year, but you know it’s coming.
(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
More than 730,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.9 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 66.8% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 21, 8:53 am
CDC panel hours away from vote on Moderna, J&J boosters
A CDC committee is meeting Thursday to discuss and vote on booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, as well as if people can mix and match their booster doses.
On Wednesday evening, the FDA authorized Moderna and J&J boosters for some people and allowed for the mixing and matching booster doses.
The next step of the process is for the CDC panel to deliberate and ultimately vote on whether to recommend those boosters, and whether to allow mixing and matching. The CDC panel vote is expected around 4:30 p.m.
After the panel vote, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will make the final decision, likely within one day. The panel’s vote is nonbinding and the CDC is not required to follow the panel’s recommendations.
Boosting for eligible Moderna and J&J recipients would be able to start once Walensky gives the greenlight.
The FDA has made it clear that there is no preferred booster vaccine for the mixed dosage, but the CDC panel on Thursday is likely to discuss available data on what booster blend might offer the strongest immunity.
Oct 21, 1:01 am
US delivers 200M vaccine doses globally: White House
The U.S. has now donated and delivered 200 million COVID-19 vaccines globally, according to a White House official.
The figure is part of 1.1 billion doses President Joe Biden has pledged to more than 100 countries around the world.
“These 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have helped bring health and hope to millions of people, but our work is far from over,” Samantha Power, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is assisting in the global vaccine effort, said in a statement. “To end the pandemic, and prevent the emergence of new variants, as well as future outbreaks within our nation’s borders, we must continue to do our part to help vaccinate the world.”
The Biden administration has received criticism for getting Americans booster shots while many around the world have yet to get one. Though the White House has insisted the U.S. can provide boosters to its citizens while funneling doses overseas — and working to increase vaccine production abroad.
Oct 20, 10:09 pm
US deaths estimated to continue to fall in weeks ahead, though thousands more lost
Forecast models used by the CDC are predicting that weekly COVID-19 death totals in the U.S. will likely continue to drop in the weeks to come, though thousands of Americans are still expected to lose their lives to the virus.
The model expects approximately 18,000 deaths to occur in the next two weeks, with a total of around 757,000 deaths recorded in the U.S. by Nov. 13.
The ensemble model estimates that 19 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, and that four states and territories (Alaska, Nebraska, Ohio and American Samoa) have a greater than 75% chance of an increase over the next two weeks.
Oct 20, 5:21 pm
FDA authorizes booster shots for Moderna, J&J vaccines
The FDA authorized booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for some populations Wednesday.
Moderna’s vaccine can be administered at least six months after the second dose for people ages 65 and up and those ages 18 through 64 who either are at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection or have occupational exposure to the virus, the FDA said.
The J&J booster can be administered at least two months after the single-dose shot to those ages 18 and up, the agency said.
The FDA, which authorized Pfizer’s booster dose last month, also said it will allow people to mix booster doses.
Halsey’s album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power — produced by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — might be the project to finally score the singer some Grammys love.
But in a new cover story for Billboard, Halsey says as long as the album has longevity, they don’t care about the awards.
“The record is outstanding, and I’m really proud of what we’ve done,” they say. “The most important thing to me is that it continues to have a life and continues to grow and burns and burrows slowly with the audience instead of coming in fast and burning out just as fast, like most records seem to do these days.”
With or without a Grammy, Halsey says making the album has changed their life. “And seeing it work has given me a type of confidence that I think will change what my fifth album sounds like. [And] my sixth, my seventh, my eighth,” they say.
We may have to wait a bit for the next album, though, as Halsey enjoys being a new mom to son Ender. They say they’ll “probably do nothing” for the next couple of years.
“I’m glad we got to make this album when we did because being a mother to my son makes being a musician seem pretty boring,” Halsey says. “…[The] only expectation I have for myself is to be a really good mom, and the rest will fall into place around that.”
(INDIANAPOLIS) — Indianapolis Colts safety Julian Blackmon is out for the year after tearing his Achilles, the team announced on Thursday.
Black suffered the injury during practice on Wednesday.
The second-year player started all six games this season and recorded 34 tackles and one pass break up.
We will continue to trust our Lord! He had this planned for me from the beginning. It’s how we respond that matters! Let’s get this W this week!! https://t.co/8iEaxjvj5x
According to ESPN, this is the second serious injury Blackmon has faced in three years. In 2019, while at Utah, he tore an ACL during the PAC-12 Championship game. He recovered and played 15 games during his rookie season last year.
Blackmon becomes the 20th player the Colts have placed in injured reserve since the start of training camp.
Rise Against has announced a new EP titled Nowhere Sessions.
The six-track collection, due out November 12, is described as a “live expansion” of the Chicago punk outfit’s latest album, Nowhere Generation. It includes renditions of the Nowhere Generation cuts “Talking to Ourselves,” “Broken Dreams, Inc.” and the title track, as well as the 2008 song “Savior.”
Additionally, you’ll also find covers of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Fortunate Son” and the Misfits ripper “Hybrid Moments.”
Nowhere Generation, the ninth Rise Against album, was released in June. Its title track is the first Rise Against single to hit number one on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
Prentice Penny is sharing details about the fifth and final season of his hit HBO series Insecure.
After the season four finale left fans wondering whether main characters Issa and Lawrence could possibly ever get back together after Lawrence revealed that he accidentally impregnated his ex, Penny says it’s unlikely that fans will be “satisfied” with Issa’s relationship choices.
“They’re all going to feel like, ‘I want her with this person for this reason,'” Penny tells ABC Audio.
The showrunner admits that Issa’s love life was also a topic of “debate” in the writer’s room, noting that a happily-ever-after ending wasn’t necessarily on their agenda.
“We just tried to tell the most interesting story regardless of that and…not…let that weigh in too much,” he says.
While season five may not end with the perfect relationship pairings for fans, Penny does promise that the final season will offer “personal growth closure” for its characters.
“Not necessarily closure of the end of their story,” he explains. “Because one of the things that we kept getting tripped up on…was like, ‘How do we land the plane?’ And it was a lot of pressure…especially at HBO, where…a lot of finales get super scrutinized, like Game of Thrones and The Sopranos…where…people [are] like, ‘Why did they do this?'”
Pressure aside, Penny teases that the finale episode will be the perfect set-up for a continuation.
“We…realized…that the characters lives will continue, it’s just we’re not following them,” he says. “So we… started to ask the question, ‘Well, if we were doing season six, what would be an interesting place to start… from?” And that became…where we should end the show.”
Season five of Insecure premieres Sunday, October 24, at 10 p.m. ET.
(BENTON HARBOR, Mich.) — A water main break in Benton Harbor, Michigan, has resulted in a city-wide loss of water pressure that has shuttered schools and upended businesses on Thursday.
The rupture in the major artery for the city’s water supply — which officials warned can allow disease-causing bacteria to enter the tap water — comes as the predominately Black community was already told not to drink the city’s water due to a crisis of toxic lead that residents have been grappling with for years.
The mounting issues afflicting Benton Harbor’s drinking water have raised allegations of environmental injustice in the town where some 45% of residents live in poverty and 85% are Black, according to most-recent Census data. It has also shined a harsh spotlight on the real-world impacts of the nation’s dilapidated infrastructure as lawmakers in the nation’s capital are mulling over the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” infrastructure plans.
Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad tweeted Thursday morning that the burst in the 89-year-old water main “is taking longer than expected to address.”
“The contractors are still working on getting the water level down in order to repair the water main,” Muhammad added. “Thank you for your patience and understanding. We will continue to provide you with updates.”
The water main break occurred Wednesday afternoon and resulted in a “system-wide loss of water pressure across the city,” according to a statement from the Berrien County Health Department, urging residents “not to drink the water until further notice.”
“City water customers have previously been recommended to use bottled water, and should continue to use bottled water for cooking, drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, rinsing foods, and mixing powdered infant formula at this time, as well as after water is restored,” the statement added. “After the water pressure is restored, residents should flush the water taps for 5 minutes before using the water for washing hands, showering or bathing.”
The statement said these precautionary actions are being taken not because of the elevated levels of lead that has already been detected in the water, but “due to the potential for bacteria to enter the water supply after a loss of water pressure.”
County officials did not say what caused the break.
Free bottled water is being made available to Benton Harbor residents. Muhammad said in a second tweet Thursday that a YMCA in the area was offering its facilities to residents for showers.
Meanwhile, the Benton Harbor Area Schools Superintendent Andraé Townsel said in a letter to parents and caretakers posted on the school system’s website that six local schools will not have class on Thursday due to the water main break. He added that they anticipate school resuming on Friday.
The latest crisis comes just days after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited Benton Harbor, and issued a new call for the state legislature to provide an additional $11.4 million investment needed to help expedite the replacement of lead pipes and service lines in the city.
Elevated levels of lead have been detected in the Benton Harbor’s water system since at least 2018, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council petition filed last month to the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of local advocacy groups and residents.
Residents continue to live with “significant and dangerous levels of lead contamination three years after the contamination was first discovered with no immediate solution in sight,” the petition states, calling it an “environmental justice” issue.
Frustration among residents has mounted in recent months, in part due to what they see as delayed responses from the state and local government.
“Three years of this is ridiculous,” Rev. Edward Pinkney, a local faith leader told the local news outlet MLive, after a water handout organized by the state’s department of health ran out of water bottles 30 minutes after it was supposed to start earlier this month. Rev. Pinkney said he and his grassroots organization have been passing out 2,000 cases of water per month on their own dime since 2019.
(NEW YORK) — Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell, the alleged accomplice of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, are set to appear before a federal judge Thursday afternoon to argue that prospective jurors for her criminal trial should be questioned individually and privately to ensure she receives a fair trial by an “open-minded jury.”
The extraordinary measures are necessary, Maxwell’s lawyers contend, to effectively screen for potential bias and for exposure to a “tsunami” of publicity about the high-profile sex-trafficking case.
“This case amplifies the likelihood that jurors will be more apprehensive and constrained to respond openly and honestly in open court within earshot of other jurors, members of the public, and the media,” Maxwell attorney Bobbi Sternheim wrote in a court filing last week.
The proposal from Maxwell’s defense team, which federal prosecutors oppose, would be a departure from typical procedure in the Manhattan federal court where her trial is scheduled. In most instances, a judge conducts screenings of groups of prospective jurors in open court after consulting with prosecutors and defense counsel about the questions to be posed.
In a court filing last week, prosecutors contended that Maxwell had presented “no persuasive reason” to depart from the “well-established practice.”
“The Court should ask most questions in open court and ask sensitive questions, such as those that relate to sexual abuse and media exposure, at sidebar,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe.
But Maxwell’s lawyers argue those conventional procedures are “inadequate” to ferret out potential bias and prejudice because of the sensitive nature of the charges and the “intense negative media coverage” about Maxwell and Epstein “in every conceivable form.”
“The negative publicity has been so pervasive, vitriolic, and extreme that Ms. Maxwell has been demonized in the press,” Sternheim wrote.
Private and individual questioning “would encourage potential jurors to answer questions more completely and honestly because the jurors would not be influenced by (or influence) the answers given by fellow jurors or fear embarrassment in giving an honest response,” Sternheim added.
Maxwell’s defense team also is asking the court to permit her lawyers and prosecutors to question each potential juror individually for up to three minutes after the court concludes its inquiries.
Late Wednesday, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a coalition of 17 media organizations registered objections to the proposed secrecy surrounding the jury selection process, known as “voir dire.”
“Voir dire is a critical stage of criminal proceedings, and the public interest in favor of access to voir dire is correspondingly weighty,” RCFP attorney Katie Townsend wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who’s overseeing Maxwell’s case.
The media coalition, which includes ABC News, argued that a proposed jury questionnaire that was filed under seal last week by Maxwell’s attorneys — without government objection — should be made part of the public record. Maxwell’s lawyers contend the documents should remain sealed “to avoid media coverage that may prejudice the jury selection process.”
“Such conclusory speculation cannot overcome the deeply rooted presumption of openness applicable to voir dire,” Townsend argued. “The defense’s request to seal provides the Court with no basis on which to make the specific factual findings required to conceal voir dire, including the parties’ joint juror questionnaire, from the public.”
Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to charges that she “assisted, facilitated and contributed” to Epstein’s abuse of four minor girls from 1994 to 2004. Prosecutors allege Maxwell befriended the young girls and helped to put them at ease, knowing that they would eventually be sexually abused by Epstein.
Maxwell’s lawyers have argued in court filings that federal prosecutors pursued charges against her as a “substitute” for Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Jury selection is set to begin in Maxwell’s case on Nov. 15, with the trial scheduled to open two weeks later.
Fans of the hit Sony PlayStation Uncharted series can finally see a trailer for the big-screen adaptation, due out in February.
The long-gestating project stars Tom Holland as the series’ adventurer, Nathan Drake, and Wahlberg as Victor “Sully” Sullivan, both partners on the hunt for a priceless lost treasure.
Unlike the game, Holland’s Drake is a bartender when he meets Wahlberg’s Sully, who recruits him for the lucrative quest. They soon run afoul of a baddie played by Antonio Banderas, who also wants the lost gold.
Holland is dressed for the job, as Drake’s now well-known white shirt, brown pants and shoulder holster are on full display, and here — as in the game — Holland’s Drake can be seen dodging bullets and booby traps, and even dangling from a plane in midair.
That said, some Uncharted fans are still bummed that the role didn’t go to the guy Nathan Drake was made to look like: Nathan Fillion. Although actor Nolan North provided Drake’s voice in the games, The Rookie star was in the mix back in 2016, when Sony Pictures first began thinking of an Uncharted movie. Fillion even starred as Drake in a viral fan film that also starred Stephen Lang as Sully.
However, when asked recently about the upcoming film, Fillion was diplomatic. “My only regret is that we had to wait so very, very long…[to] actually see some Uncharted stuff,” Fillion told GamingBible. “Other than that, I think all my boxes have been checked,” Fillion went on. “I’m pretty excited to see what they do with that. I love movies and those guys have never let us down; Tom Holland, come on, Mark Wahlberg? We’re gonna have a great time.”
(NEW YORK) — The American Athletic Conference has announced the addition of six new schools to its conference.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Florida Atlantic University, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, The University of North Texas, Rice University, and the University of Texas at San Antonio will join the conference at a date to be determined.
The six new schools will join the nine current members to bring the conference to 15 schools. The conference will compete as a 14 team league in football, and men’s and women’s basketball.
“I am extremely pleased to welcome these six outstanding universities to the American Athletic Conference,” said AAC commissioner Mike Aresco in a statement. “This is a strategic expansion that accomplishes a number of goals as we take the conference into its second decade. We are adding excellent institutions that are established in major cities and have invested in competing at the highest level. We have enhanced geographical concentration which will especially help the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball and Olympic sports teams.”
The conference is replacing Cincinnati, Houston, and the University of Central Florida, which accepted invitations to join the Big 12.
