Lamb of God has released a new song called “Cold Blood” in collaboration with the noise rock band HEALTH.
The track is available now via digital outlets, and will also appear on the upcoming HEALTH album DISCO4 :: Part II, due out April 8.
DISCO4 :: Part II also includes HEALTH’s previously released song “Isn’t Everyone” with Nine Inch Nails.
Lamb of God, meanwhile, released their latest album, self-titled, in 2020. They’ll return to the road with Megadeth, Trivium and In Flames for the 2022 leg of the Metal Tour of the Year beginning in April.
(HONG KONG) — Hong Kong recorded another record daily high of 6,116 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, as the city battles its worst outbreak since the pandemic began.
Hospitals are overstretched and running out of beds. There are shocking scenes at some of the city’s public hospitals, with dozens of elderly patients out in the cold and wet weather, waiting for hospital beds in makeshift triage areas.
Microbiologist Siddharth Sridhar described Hong Kong’s hospitals as “sandcastles in a tsunami.”
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Thursday that the government will consider rolling out COVID-19 testing for all 7.5 million residents, as soon as enough rapid antigen tests are received from mainland authorities.
Lam was speaking with reporters after welcoming mainland experts who have come to Hong Kong to assist with COVID-containment efforts.
Up until now the city has been a poster child for COVID containment. Hong Kong went without any local cases for months last year. And now — two years into the pandemic — Hong Kongers are questioning why the city wasn’t more prepared for this day to come.
Under a “dynamic zero-infection” strategy, people who test positive cannot currently isolate themselves at home, even if they have mild or no symptoms. As a result, thousands are waiting to be admitted to hospitals or quarantine facilities.
The government is looking at ways to cater for the bottleneck, including the possibility of turning hotels, housing estates and student housing into isolation facilities. There are also talks of building a makeshift mass hospital to cope with the surge, much like the one constructed in 10 days in Wuhan at the very start of the pandemic.
Despite escalating infections in the densely populated city, Lam is doubling down on the city’s no-tolerance approach to the virus.
And the message from Beijing is clear: sort it out.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Hong Kong officials to “take all necessary steps” to contain the outbreak — Hong Kong’s social stability, Xi said, is at stake.
Hong Kong is meant to be holding a leadership election next month, and with the covid situation worsening, it’s not clear whether Lam will survive politically. Some lawmakers have suggested that the small-circle election be postponed.
Currently, only about 64% of Hong Kong’s population has received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Rates among the elderly population are less than 30%.
But with temperatures dropping over the weekend and more rain on the way, the outlook is bleak for the city’s most vulnerable residents waiting for hospital space.
Taylor Swift‘s fans have long believed her song “All Too Well” is about Jake Gyllenhaal, her ex whom she dated for about three months in 2010 — a rumor Taylor’s neither confirmed nor denied. Jake also has remained silent, but in the wake of Taylor releasing the 10-minute version of the heartbreak anthem, he’s finally speaking out.
“It has nothing to do with me,” Gyllenhall tells Esquire. It’s about her relationship with her fans. It is her expression. Artists tap into personal experiences for inspiration, and I don’t begrudge anyone that.”
The actor also had some words for Taylor’s fans when it comes to how they’ve treated him online.
“At some point, I think it’s important when supporters get unruly that we feel a responsibility to have them be civil and not allow for cyberbullying in one’s name,” Jake declared. “That begs for a deeper philosophical question. Not about any individual, per se, but a conversation that allows us to examine how we can — or should, even — take responsibility for what we put into the world, our contributions into the world.”
Despite needing to shut off comments on his Instagram posts, Jake says his life wasn’t made harder when “All Too Well” was released. And if you’re wondering if he’s listened to Red (Taylor’s Version), the answer is “No” — the same answer he has when asked if there’s any lingering resentment about his famous ex, or the song.
“My life is wonderful,” says Jake, 41. “I have a relationship that is truly wonderful, and I have a family I love so much. And this whole period of time has made me realize that.”
Gyllenhaal’s currently dating Jeanne Cadieu, a 26-year-old French model.
(NEW YORK) — Mosquitoes may be smarter than we think, and that could make getting rid of them and the diseases they carry even more difficult, according to new research.
Scientists who studied two species of mosquitoes that spread diseases such as dengue, Zika and West Nile fever — Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus — found that the females learned to avoid pesticides after a single non-lethal exposure, a study published Thursday in Nature found.
The researchers exposed the female mosquitoes to non-lethal doses of common anti-mosquito pesticides and found that mosquitoes that had been pre-exposed to a pesticide avoided passing through a pesticide-treated net in order to reach a food source at a higher rate than those who had not been pre-exposed, according to the paper.
In addition, the survival rate of pre-exposed mosquitoes was more than double that of mosquitoes that had not been pre-exposed.
The findings suggest that mosquitoes that have been exposed to non-lethal doses of pesticides learn to avoid these pesticides and, as a result, may seek out safer food sources and resting sites, allowing them to survive to reproduce.
Pre-exposed mosquitoes were also more likely to rest in a container that smelled of a control substance, rather than in a container that smelled of a pesticide, the researchers found.
Pesticide resistance has increased among mosquitoes in recent decades, but the extent to which has been unclear until now.
“Mosquitoes have been learning,” Frederic Tripet, a behavioral ecologist and director at the Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology at Keele University in the U.K., told ABC News. “We just didn’t know about it.”
In 2012, Tripet co-authored another study that showed mosquitoes were capable of learning — that they could associate different patterns, visual cues, or smells with a positive or negative experience. Those findings suggested that the learning may be relevant to their relationship with pesticides, Tripet said.
“So they’re there. They get this first bad experience,” Tripet said. “And if we don’t kill them at first instance, then they learn to avoid that.”
The learning, combined with the physiological resistance to the pesticides, compounds the difficulties in ridding the mosquitoes with pesticides, said Tripet, who collaborated on the research for this study with the Vector Control Unit of University Sains Malaysia in Penang, Malaysia.
New solutions will be necessary to better control mosquito populations, Tripet added. One way may be to devise a chemical compound that has a delayed reaction, therefore if it does not kill a mosquito the first time, the insect will not associate the smell with a negative experience, he said.
Learning can also be disrupted by adding an attractive smell to the mix, Tripet said.
After announcing on his socials earlier this month that he’d be touring North America this summer with Cheap Trick, Rod Stewart has now revealed the full list of dates for the trek, as well as the on-sale dates. But Rod says when it comes to his set list, it’ll pretty much be the hits and nothing but the hits.
The 38-date tour, which officially kicks off June 10 in Vancouver, Canada, is Rod’s first in four years. And while his new album, The Tears of Hercules, came out last year, he says fans may not hear much more beyond its first single at his shows.
“Yeah, ‘One More Time‘ will be in there,” he says of the song he released last year. “But, you know, I give people what they want: They all want to hear the same songs.”
Rod adds, “As much as I’ll try and say, ‘Look, please let me play a few new songs!’ they want to hear the old ones. As would I!”
That’s right: Rod knows what it’s like to want to hear your favorite artist play your favorite songs, because that’s what he’d want to hear…if he could.
“If my idols were alive today, I would want to hear Sam Cooke sing ‘Cupid,’ Otis [Redding] sing ‘Dock of the Bay,’ David Ruffin sing ‘My Girl,'” he admits. “I’m a give-[’em]-what-they-wanter type of bloke.”
Right now, Rod’s tour is scheduled to wrap up September 17 in Edmonton, Canada. Tickets for most dates go on sale to the public on February 25 at 10 a.m. local time; Canadian dates go on sale March 4 via LiveNation.com. Details on pre-sales, which start on Monday, can be found at RodStewart.com.
Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard‘s Stadium Tour just got a bit bigger.
The two bands have announced an additional five dates to their upcoming joint outing, which will also feature Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts on the bill. The new shows will take place August 8 in Toronto, August 16 in Indianapolis, September 2 in Vancouver, September 4 in Edmonton, and September 9 in Las Vegas, which will mark the final date on the tour.
Tickets go on sale next Friday, February 25, at 10 a.m. local time via Live Nation.
The Stadium Tour was first announced back in 2019, and marked the reunion of Mötley Crüe just four years after they played what was billed as their “final” show, effectively voiding the group’s “cessation of touring agreement.”
Originally planned for 2020, the Stadium Tour has been delayed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s set to finally launch this year starting June 16 in Atlanta.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Motley.com.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said he expects Russian President Vladimir Putin will go through with an invasion of Ukraine within days.
“My sense is this will happen in the next several days,” he told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega as he left the White House for a trip to Ohio.
Biden told reporters the threat of an invasion is “very high.”
“They have not moved any of their troops out. They have moved more troops in,” he said. “We have reason to believe that they are engaged in a false flag operation, to have an excuse to go in. Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine and attack Ukraine.”
A senior administration official said Wednesday evening the Kremlin had added about 7,000 troops near the Ukraine border in recent days — “with some arriving as recently as today” — placing the number of Russian forces near Ukraine above the 150,000 figure cited by Biden in an address to the nation Tuesday.
At the same time, Biden repeated there is still a path to diplomacy but said he has no plans to hold a call with Putin.
“That’s why I asked Secretary Blinken to go to the U.N. to make his statement today,” he said, referring to Secretary of State Antony Blinken changing plans at the last minute to address the U.N. Security Council. “He’ll lay out what that path is. I’ve laid out a path to Putin as well … There is a path, there is a way through this.”
Even as Russia delivered its written response Thursday to U.S. and NATO proposals for talks, a senior administration official dismissed Russia’s diplomacy, so far, as disingenuous, to reporters on an earlier call.
“Every indication we have now is that they mean only to pretend to engage in diplomacy, where they publicly offer to talk and make claims about de-escalation — while privately mobilizing for war,” the official said.
For days now, the Kremlin has claimed to be pulling back Russian forces after completing military “exercises,” but U.S. security analysts have said it appears Russian troops are rotating in and growing in number, with the ability to invade Ukraine at any point. Russian leaders, meanwhile, have accused the West of creating “hysteria” over the situation at Ukraine’s border.
The buildup of Russian forces has prompted the biggest concentration of troops in Europe since the Cold War, the NATO secretary-general said Wednesday.
Biden warned Putin in remarks from the White House earlier this week that if Russia invades Ukraine, the U.S. is prepared to respond decisively and in unison with NATO allies.
“If Russia attacks Ukraine, it will be met with overwhelming international condemnation,” Biden said. “The world will not forget that Russia chose needless death and destruction. Invading Ukraine will prove to be a self-inflicted wound. The United States and our allies and partners will respond decisively. The West is united and galvanized.”
Explaining U.S. involvement in the region, Biden told the American people, “this is about more than just Russia and Ukraine.”
“It’s about standing for what we believe in, for the future that we want for our world, for liberty, for liberty, the right of countless countries to choose their own destiny. And the right of people to determine their own futures, or the principle that a country can’t change its neighbor’s borders by force,” Biden said. “If we do not stand for freedom where it is at risk today, we’ll surely pay a steeper price tomorrow.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin will go through with an invasion of Ukraine invasion within days.
“My sense is this will happen in the next several days,” he told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega as he left the White House for a trip to Ohio.
Biden told reporters the threat of an invasion is still “high.”
“They have not moved any of their troops out. They have moved more troops in,” he said. “We have reason to believe that they are engaged in a false flag operation, to have an excuse to go in. Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine and attack Ukraine.”
Biden repeated that there is still a path to diplomacy but said he has no plans for a call with Putin.
“That’s why I asked Secretary Blinken to go to the U.N. to make his statement today,” referring to Secretary of State Antony Blinken changing plans at the last minute to address the U.N. Security Council. “He’ll lay out what that path is. I’ve laid out a path to Putin as well … There is a path, there is a way through this.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Usher will be returning to Las Vegas in a new residency show that launches this July.
After a previous 20-show stint at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace last year, Usher is now moving to Dolby Live at Park MGM for the new show, kicking off July 15. The residency is described as “immersive” and will incorporate audience interaction, as Usher performs his many hits and new music.
Tickets go on sale February 25 at 10 a.m. PT, with fan pre-sale tickets becoming available tomorrow, Friday, at 12 p.m. PT through February 24 at 10 p.m. PT. Get tickets and information via Ticketmaster.com/ushervegas.
Bruno Mars actually informally announced Usher’s new gig in December, when Usher joined him onstage at Dolby Live. After they performing a few of Usher’s hits together, Bruno told the crowd, “Usher is playing here next year, so get your tickets.”
On Valentine’s Day, Mariah Carey‘s ex-husband Nick Cannon dropped a song called “Alone,” which sampled her hit “Love Takes Time” and contained the lyrics “As much as I want you back/ It’s probably better where you at.” But Nick has now denied that the song was an actual attempt to win back the mother of his two eldest children.
On his talk show on Wednesday, Nick told the crowd that he’s got two words for anyone who thinks he’s hoping to get back together with Mariah: “That’s impossible!”
“Music is therapeutic for me,” he explained, adding, “The song is really about reflection…you know you realize, ‘Man, I really messed up! I had probably the greatest situation…I had my dream girl, and I messed it up!'”
“The song wasn’t really about trying to get her back,” he continued. “It was taking ownership of what I did as a man and owning my flaws and expressing it through song.”
Mariah, of course, seemed unbothered by all of this, and posted a photo of herself enjoying Valentine’s Day with her boyfriend Bryan Tanaka.
Nick and Mariah were married from 2008 to 2014 and share 10-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan. In total, he’s had seven children with four women, and is expecting his eighth child, with a fifth, model Bre Tiesi.
