Could we possibly see The Jonas Brothers take over the Super Bowl Halftime show? Nick Jonas certainly hopes so.
Speaking with People, the “Jealous” hitmaker says taking center stage during the Big Game is on his and his brothers’ “bucket list,” for sure. “It’s been a dream for us,” he expressed. “I hope one day we get to do it!”
While the trio will have to wait to see if the NFL decides to grant their wish, Nick did make a small appearance during Sunday night’s Super Bowl. He teamed with a different trio — the Jones trio comprised of Leslie Jones, Tommy Lee Jones and Rashida Jones — for Toyota’s Big Game commercial.
The ad sees the three Joneses racing in their new Toyota Tundra trucks and pulling stunts definitely meant for the professionals before arriving at their destination. When Jonas pulls up and tries worming his way into the Jones trio, noting the similarity of their last names, 75-year-old Tommy Lee Jones barks, “Try to keep up, whoever you are.”
Nick said the Men in Black actor created some of the “funniest moments” while filming because he would improvise his lines. “I think the line he says ‘Whoever you are’ was an improv line, and it made me laugh hard every time he said it,” he said.
Nick, who recently welcomed his first child with wife Priyanka Chopra, said he has big plans for this year. “I also have a lot of creative ventures that I am working on now, both on the music side of things but also on the film, television, and development side,” he teased. “I am really looking forward to getting those things up and going, and I am excited for this next step in my career.”
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for American Heart Association
(NEW YORK) — Actress Susan Lucci is opening up about her battle with heart disease.
The 75-year-old, best known for her role as Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama All My Children, told Good Morning America’s Amy Robach that she recently underwent an emergency heart procedure for the second time.
“I was having kind of a shortness of breath,” said Lucci, adding that she soon also felt discomfort around her ribcage and her back, similar to symptoms she had three years ago with her first heart scare.
“I thought, ‘This is crazy. These are the same kind of symptoms that I had three years ago but it can’t be,'” she said. “But when I lay down, I started to feel a sharp coming-and-going pain in my jaw.”
Lucci said when she called her doctor, he told her to go to the emergency room.
After undergoing several tests, Lucci’s doctor told her that she experienced an 80% blockage in one of her arteries due to plaque buildup. She was rushed to a cardiac catheterization lab, where another stent was put in to open up the blockage.
“She wasn’t having a heart attack this time and she wasn’t unstable,” Lucci’s doctor, Dr. Richard Shlofmitz, chairman of cardiology at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, New York, told GMA. “But she had symptoms that were certainly concerning to me that something might be wrong.”
Shlofmitz said if Lucci waited for her symptoms to get worse, it could have turned into a major emergency.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. About 1 in 16 women age 20 and older have coronary artery disease, the most common type of heart disease in the U.S.
The CDC says that heart disease may sometimes be “silent” and not diagnosed until other symptoms are present. To lower your chances of heart disease, doctors suggest managing stress levels, getting blood pressure checked regularly, check for diabetes and to quit smoking. Other ways to lower your risk of heart disease include being active, eating healthy and limiting alcohol intake.
Now Lucci, an advocate for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign, is urging other women to listen to their bodies.
“Listen to your heart and act on [the symptoms],” Lucci said. “Give yourself permission to take good care of yourself. Be your own best friend. Be your own advocate. You’ll save your life.”
Jason Aldean declares himself a rock n’ roll cowboy with his new tour.
On Monday, the ACM Artist of the Decade announced that he’s launching the 34-date Rock N’ Roll Cowboy Tour, with Gabby Barrett, John Morgan and Dee Jay Silver set to open.
It begins on July 15 in Scranton, PA and continues through October 29, when it wraps in Wichita, KS. Along the way, Jason and crew will stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, and for a two-night stay at Bank of NH Pavilion.
The Rock N’ Roll Cowboy Tour is named after a track off Jason’s upcoming album, Macon, Georgia, that he says is “all about knowing you belong on the road.”
“I’m ready to get back out and feel the nights come alive,” he adds.
Tickets go on sale February 18 at 10 a.m. local time. Visit the singer’s website for a full list of dates.
Maynard James Keenan helped give a proper sendoff to Tool‘s opening band with an onstage prank.
The group Blonde Redhead, who’d been supporting Tool for the band month on their U.S. tour, played their final show with Keenan and company last week in Miami. To mark the occasion, Keenan invaded Blonde Redhead’s set to dance around while wearing a blonde wig, surrounded by others wearing red wigs.
Blonde Redhead‘s vocalist Kazu Makino shared footage from the prank in an Instagram Story, which was later re-posted by Keenan. In the caption, Makino wrote, “[Tool] making a point of our last show…this is how I look when I’m stunned.”
Keenan himself is a big fan of Blonde Redhead — ahead of the tour, he shared a long Instagram post explaining why he picked the band specifically to be Tool’s opener.
Tool’s tour is set to continue February 19 in Boston with support from The Acid Helps.
(Pictured: Jhene Aiko) Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation
A fumble by NBC during Sunday night’s Super Bowl broadcast misidentified country singer Mickey Guyton as Jhene Aiko.
Social media was not having it after the network cut to country star Guyton, who was preparing to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and identified her as Aiko, who was singing “America the Beautiful.”
The reaction on Twitter was swift and brutal, with one person writing, “Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton don’t look alike. Tighten up NBC. All black folks don’t look alike.”
Another tweeted, “ummm… who confused Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton? Its tone deaf…. (On your part).” Yet yet another wrote, “Mickey Guyton slays the anthem. Too bad the same couldn’t be said for whoever wound up confusing [her for] Jhene Aiko.”
Shortly after the incident, an NBC Sports spokesperson tweeted an apology: “Leading into Jhene Aiko singing ‘America the Beautiful,’ we incorrectly showed Mickey Guyton and misidentified her before showing Aiko’s performance. We apologize to both artists for the error.”
(BRUNSWICK, Ga.) — A jury has been seated in the federal trial of three white Georgia men charged with hate crimes stemming from the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was out for a jog in 2020 when he was chased and gunned down.
The 16 jurors, including four alternates, were empaneled on Monday morning following a lengthy selection process that started on Feb. 7.
Opening statements in the high profile case against retired police officer Gregory McMichael, his 36-year-old son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, are set to begin on Monday afternoon.
The jury is comprised of eight whites, three Blacks and one Hispanic. Alternates are three white members and one Pacific Islander.
The trial in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia, is expected to last seven to 10 days.
All three men are charged with one count of interference with Arbery’s civil rights and with one count of attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels were also charged with one count each of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm, and Travis McMichael faces an additional count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
If convicted, the men face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The McMichaels and Bryan were convicted last year on state murder charges in Arbery’s death. They were all sentenced to life in prison.
Arbery was fatally shot after the McMichaels saw him jogging in their Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia. They said they assumed Arbery was a burglar, armed themselves and chased him in their pickup truck. The McMichaels’ neighbor, Bryan, joined the pursuit, blocking the victim’s escape path with his truck and recorded video on a cellphone of Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery three times with a shotgun during a struggle.
If convicted in the federal case, the men must first serve their state sentences before being transferred to federal prison.
In the now-defunct plea deal filed with the court on Jan. 30, Gregory and Travis McMichael agreed to plead guilty to count one of an indictment alleging they interfered with Arbery’s right to enjoy the use of a public road he was jogging on “because of Arbery’s race and color.”
In exchange for the guilty pleas, prosecutors were to dismiss the other charges and allow the McMichaels to serve the first 30 years of confinement in federal prison before being transferred back to the Georgia Department of Corrections to serve out the remainder of their state sentences.
The same plea agreement was not given to Bryan.
Judge Lisa Wood rejected the McMichaels’ plea deal after Arbery’s parents, Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery, strongly objected and claimed it was forged without their consent. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement that prosecutors were in constant communication with the Arbery family’s attorneys and had been assured the family would not object to the agreement.
Wood claimed she turned down the deal because it would have locked her into the three-decade federal prison sentence, saying she didn’t know if that was “the precise, fair sentence in this case.”
Following Wood’s decision, Gregory and Travis McMichael, who are being represented by court-appointed public defenders due to financial hardship, withdrew their guilty pleas and opted to go to trial.
Ben Affleck gave Jennifer Lopez the sweetest gift for Valentine’s Day — but it was really a surprise for their fans, too.
Via her new OnTheJLo newsletter, the “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” singer, 52, shared a new music video for her song “On My Way” directed by the Oscar winner. She called it “something very special and personal” that she wanted to share with her “inner circle.”
“It’s an early Valentine’s Day present from Ben. Watching it made me think about the journey of true love, it’s unexpected twists and turns, and that when it’s real, it actually can last forever,” she added. “This seriously melted my heart.”
This version features swoon-worthy footage from the lovebirds’ own lives together, from their past whirlwind relationship to their recently rekindled romance, alongside scenes from the official “On My Way” music video, which was released in December.
Lopez and Affleck dated from 2002 to 2004 and were previously engaged. The two reunited nearly two decades later and became an official couple again last year.
“On My Way” is from Lopez’s latest rom-com, Marry Me, in theaters and streaming on Peacock now.
(NEW YORK) — Researchers in Africa have discovered a way to weaken large criminal networks responsible for the poaching that threatens vulnerable species all over the continent.
DNA from the tusks of 4,320 African savanna elephants has identified networks for trafficking ivory out of Africa, according to a study published in Nature Human Behavior Monday.
The authors of the study, University of Washington biologist Samuel Wasser and Nairobi Homeland Security Investigations assistant attaché John Brown III, were able to use previous work that identified tusks from the same elephant — as well as close relatives — found in different seizures, therefore revealing links between those shipments and their movements across the country.
The findings showed that the majority of the 49 large ivory seizures (totaling 122 tons) shipped out of Africa between 2002 and 2019 contained tusks from repeated poaching of the same elephant populations.
“It was astounding, what we found,” Wasser told reporters. “Literally, we had dozens of shipments that were simply connected by multiple familial matches.”
The data also showed how “big, transnational” criminal networks may be behind the majority of these crimes and the strategic movements of criminal networks between ports in Africa, Wasser said, describing previous efforts to identify these networks as playing “whack-a-mole.”
The source of the poaching over the study period was “constant,” with many of the organized crime rings operating for decades, Wasser said.
Nearly all of the shipments, smuggled in large volumes as marine cargo, came from two places: an area concentrated in East Africa and another concentrated in Central West Africa, Wasser said. The smuggling process was similar to those used by the mafia and drug cartel in South Africa, Brown told reporters.
Ivory seizures — large shipments of tusks seized by authorities — provide information that can help law enforcement to understand the activities of traffickers. Previous work has identified tusks from the same elephant found in different seizures.
The African forest elephant is listed as critically endangered and the African savanna elephant is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. About 415,000 elephants of both species combined are left on the continent.
Combating the illegal ivory trade by lowering the demand in ivory destination markets such as Europe and Asia has been instrumental in mitigating population declines, Dr. Kathleen Gobush, lead assessor of the African elephants and member of the IUCN SSC African Elephant Specialist Group, told ABC News last year.
Understanding the connections between ivory seizures could strengthen prosecutions of suspected poachers, ensuring they are held responsible for their crimes and helping to further halt criminal networks.
(WINDSOR, Ontario) — The bridge in Canada where thousands of semitruck drivers camped out in a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates has reopened, according to officials.
The blockade of commercial trailers on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the city of Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, Michigan, ended peacefully Sunday with no violence after police described many protesters exhibiting “aggressive, illegal behavior” on Saturday, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told ABC News.
The bridge reopened late Sunday night, the Detroit International Bridge Company announced.
“Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador bridge came to an end,” Dilkens wrote in a statement. “Border crossings will reopen when it is safe to do so and I defer to police and border agencies to make that determination.”
On Saturday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and Ottawa Police Service responded to the volatile scene on Saturday, where several hundred protesters planted themselves about 100 feet from the foot of the entry to the bridge, even as all of the trucks left the scene throughout the day in the face of a police crackdown.
A judge had ordered Friday that the protesters disperse after the demonstrations interrupted the flow of goods between the two countries, especially crippling the auto industry on both sides of the border. Truckers were re-routed to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron.
Between 25 and 30 people were arrested on criminal mischief charges on Saturday, Windsor Police Chief Pam Mizuno announced.
Dilkens wrote that while the nation of Canada “believes in the right to freedom of speech and expression,” those exercising those rights must also abide by the law.
“As Canadians, there is more that unites us, than divides us and we must all find the resolve to approach those who hold different views with tolerance and respect,” Dilkens said. “Illegal acts, blockades and hate speech must not be tolerated and should be denounced.”
Thousands of truckers have been protesting the COVID-19 vaccine mandates for weeks as part of what is being called the “Freedom Convoy.” The number of demonstrators reached as many as 4,000 over the weekend.
The protests began in Canada’s capital city last month after truckers began protesting the requirement for them to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to cross the U.S.-Canada border.
Following the successful opening weekend of his debut Las Vegas residency, Luke Bryan is adding several new dates to the calendar.
Due to high demand, the country superstar will perform an additional nine shows at Resorts World this year on June 15, 17, 18, 22, 24 and 25, August 31 and September 3 and 4. They join previously announced shows on February 16, 18, 19, 20, 23, 25 and 26.
The demand comes after a sold-out first night of the residency on Saturday. The innovative show features a stage that moves to the melody as Luke performs hits including “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” and “One Margarita,” and a catwalk suspended 45 feet in the air that brings the singer up-close-and-personal with fans in balcony seating.
“What an amazing night and start to our run of headlining shows at Resorts World Las Vegas. We’ve worked long and hard to put together an incredible, high-energy show for the fans,” Luke shares. “I am so proud of how it turned out and I hope everyone who comes leaves there having as much fun as me.”
Tickets for the new shows go on sale February 21 at 1 p.m. ET.
