(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Philadelphia 133, Houston 113
Washington 124, Charlotte 121
Memphis 118, Brooklyn 104
Detroit 115, Milwaukee 106
Chicago 102, Orlando 98
Utah 115, New Orleans 104
Dallas 103, Denver 89
Golden State 115, Miami 108
Portland 136, Atlanta 131
Minnesota 122, LA Clippers 104
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
NY Rangers 4, Edmonton 1
Carolina at Toronto (Postponed)
Minnesota at Ottawa (Postponed)
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 26, Cleveland 14
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wisconsin 74, Purdue 69
Arizona 95, Washington 79
Though Parker McCollum is a happily engaged man, he’s the first to admit that “To Be Loved by You” isn’t the most cheerful love song.
Parker popped the question to his fiancee, Hallie Ray Light, in July 2021, months after the release of his latest hit, “To Be Loved by You,” which is currently in the top 20 on country radio. The singer reveals that Hallie Ray inspired the idea for the song, although he notes that it’s not entirely autobiographical.
“She was the one that I was talking about when I said out loud, ‘What does a man have to do to be loved by that girl?'” he says in reference to the song’s hook. “All my songs are kind of heartbreak, love songs about everything going terribly wrong, so I try to always write in that vein. [M]y favorite kind of songs are those songs. So she inspired song, but it’s not incredibly true about her.”
The couple is currently preparing for their upcoming wedding ceremony in March, and Parker says he is slowly but surely getting ready for the big day.
“It is certainly coming up. It’s at the end of March,” he shares, adding that he has a few months to “really prepare for it and be ready.” “So I think I am,” he assures.
Another significant event on Parker’s calendar is a performance at the Houston Rodeo on March 12, a major milestone for the Texas native. The remaining lineup will be announced this Wednesday, January 5, with tickets going on sale January 13.
Weeknd: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; Jim Carrey: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
On Monday, The Weeknd surprised fans by announcing that his new album Dawn FM would be arriving Friday, and then further surprised them by revealing that fellow Canadian star Jim Carrey would be featured on the project. Now, the comedian himself is giving us a sneak preview of the much-anticipated album.
“I listened to Dawn FM with my good friend Abel@theweeknd last night,” Carrey tweeted, using the singer’s birth name. “It was deep and elegant and it danced me around the room. I’m thrilled to play a part in his symphony.”
It’s not exactly clear what the Truman Show star is doing on the album, but its trailer does feature a voice-over from a guy who could be him, saying, “You are now listening to 103.5 Dawn FM. You’ve been in the dark way too long. It’s time to walk into the light and accept your fate with open arms.”
As for how The Weeknd and Jim Carrey are even friends, in August, the singer told GQ, “He lived literally like two buildings down from me. He had a telescope, and I had a telescope. He was like, ‘Where do you live? What floor do you live on?’…And we looked out the windows on our telescopes and we could see each other.”
The Weeknd further revealed that on his 30th birthday — February 16, 2020 — Carrey “pulled up to my crib and took me to breakfast.”
I listened to Dawn FM with my good friend Abel @theweeknd last night. It was deep and elegant and it danced me around the room. I’m thrilled to play a part in his symphony. ;^• https://t.co/FV2LoKLYVX
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. release of Yes‘ classic fourth studio album, Fragile.
Fragile was the U.K. prog-rock band’s highest-charting album on the Billboard 200, peaking at #4, and featured several of the group’s most enduring tunes, including “Roundabout,” “Long Distance Runaround” and “Heart of the Sunrise.”
“Roundabout,” of course, is widely considered the group’s signature song, and an edited version of the tune reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Yes’ second most successful single after 1983’s chart-topping “Owner of a Lonely Heart.”
Founding Yes frontman Jon Anderson, who co-wrote “Roundabout” with guitarist Steve Howe, recalls that the idea for the song came about as the band was driving in its tour van through Scotland. Anderson tells ABC Audio that the lyric “mountains come out of the sky” was inspired by the fact that “you couldn’t see the top of the mountains because the clouds were so low.”
He adds, “And then the lakes. You know, you come to Loch Lomond, and all that…energy of Scotland. That’s why if you listen to the solo, it’s a…like a Scottish reel.”
Fragile was the first Yes album to feature keyboard whiz Rick Wakeman, who replaced founding member Tony Kaye. Wakeman tells ABC Audio that he has fond memories of working on Fragile because he loved the collaborative way some of the album’s long pieces — such as “Heart of the Sunrise” and “South Side of the Sky” — were created.
“We used to spend one month, two months all together in a rehearsal room, throwing ideas at each other, and that’s how the music got put together,” Rick notes. “And it’s how…the best Yes music, in my mind, was always put together.”
Here’s the full Fragile track list:
Side One
“Roundabout”
“Cans and Brahms” (instrumental)
“We Have Heaven”
“South Side of the Sky”
Side Two
“Five Per Cent for Nothing” (instrumental)
“Long Distance Runaround”
“The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)”
“Mood for a Day” (instrumental)
“Heart of the Sunrise”
The Bachelor kicked off its 26th season on Monday with Clayton Echard, a 28-year-old medical sales rep from Columbia, Missouri meeting the 31 women who are vying to be his future wife.
However, in a shocking franchise first, Salley, a 26-year-old Charlottesville, Virginia native, would head home before the first limo arrived.
Salley, we learned, was previously engaged and set to marry on the same weekend as The Bachelor began taping. She revealed that going into the show, she was excited about meeting Clayton and entering a new chapter of her life with him, but upon arriving at the mansion, she realized she wasn’t ready to move on just yet.
Salley then showed up at Clayton’s hotel room to personally deliver the news that she was backing out of the competition, but was surprised when he asked to leave for a moment and returned with a rose in his hand, explaining, “There’s definitely chemistry and really makes me feel like there could be something special,” he insisted.
“I really want you here, so much so that I want to prove that,” he continued, before offering her the rose.
Unfortunately, After thinking it over, Salley turned down his offer, explaining, “I want to accept that rose, but my heart is just not in the place where I can.”
“That was tough,” Clayton said later in a confessional. “The first rose that I have given out as The Bachelor was rejected.”
Another shocking moment came after 28-year-old spray tanner Claire‘s time alone with Clayton didn’t go well. She expressed her disappointment with the other women, declaring, “He was a hundred percent too nice for me.”
Upon learning that Claire had no intention of saying that to Clayton’s face, Serene, an Ohio school teacher, decided to tell him instead. After a confronting Claire about her remarks, he sent her packing.
Also sent home on Monday were Daria, Hailey, Ivana, Jane, Lindsay D., Rianna and Samantha.
The first impression rose went to Teddi.
Here are the other women remaining after the rose ceremony:
Cassidy, 26, an executive recruiter from Los Angeles, Calif.
Eliza, 25, a marketing manager from Berlin, Germany
Elizabeth, 32, a real estate advisor from Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Ency, 28, a sales manager from Burbank, Calif.
Gabby, 30, an ICU nurse from Denver, Colo.
Genevive, 26, a bartender from Los Angeles, Calif.
Hunter, 28, a human resources specialist from Charlotte, N.C.
Jill, 26, an architectural historian from Scituate, R.I.
Kate, 32, a real estate agent from Lake Hollywood, Calif.
Kira, 32, a physician from Philadelphia, Pa.
Lyndsey W., 28 an industrial sale representative from Houston, Texas
Mara, 32, an entrepreneur from Collingswood, N.J.
Marlena, 30, a former Olympian from Gainesville, Fla.
Melina, 27, a personal trainer from West Hollywood, Calif.
Rachel, 25, a flight instructor from Clermont, Fla.
Sarah, 23, a wealth management advisor from New York City, N.Y.
Serene, 26, an elementary school teacher from Oklahoma City, Ohio
Shanae, 29, a recruiter from Sycamore, Ohio
Sierra, 26, a yoga instructor from Dallas, Texas
Susie, 28, a wedding videographer from Virginia Beach, Va.
Teddi, 24, a surgical unit nurse from Highland, Calif.
Tessa, 26, a human resources specialist from Brooklyn, N.Y.
(NEW YORK) — A document Prince Andrew claims should prevent him from being sued by an alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein was unsealed Monday by a federal judge in New York.
The document, a 2009 settlement agreement between Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, had been under seal for two years as part of related litigation.
It indicates that Giuffre and Epstein agreed to end her lawsuit against him filed earlier that year for $500,000.
Giuffre, who claims she was sexually assaulted by both Epstein and Prince Andrew starting when she was 17, filed a civil lawsuit against the prince in August of 2021.
Prince Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations and said he never had sex with Giuffre and has sought to dismiss the lawsuit, on several grounds, including claims that Giuffre has told various inconsistent stories.
Prince Andrew’s attorneys have also argued the settlement agreement precludes Giuffre from suing the royal because it covers “potential defendants” from all legal actions taken by Giuffre.
Whether that argument will be successful depends on the definition of the agreement’s intended beneficiaries.
According to Giuffre’s 2009 lawsuit, which she filed as “Jane Doe 102,” she alleged that she was required to have sexual contact with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and also several of their adult male friends and associates, “including royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen, and/or other professional and personal acquaintances.”
The inclusion of the word “royalty” is, in the view of the prince’s attorneys, a clear reference to Prince Andrew, which, they argue, would make him, in effect one of the “potential defendants’ covered by the settlement agreement and is evidence that Giuffre and Epstein intended to release the prince from any future liability.
Giuffre’s lawyer argues the royal was not named in the agreement and could not be released as a beneficiary of the settlement, which defines “second parties” as Epstein’s “agent(s), attorney(s), predecessor(s), successor(s), heir(s), administrator(s), assign(s) and/or employee (s).” That would not appear to qualify Prince Andrew.
On the other hand, the agreement does “forever discharge the said Second Parties and any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant from all, and all manner of, action and actions of Virginia Roberts,” which the prince argues does apply to him as Giuffre had previously claimed, though he continues to deny wrongdoing and that he was one of the perpetrators.
There is a hearing on the prince’s motion to dismiss via video conference Tuesday.
Epstein was a prominent financier and registered sex offender. He died by suicide in a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 while he awaited trial on federal charges for the sex trafficking on minors in Florida and New York.
Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and associate, was convicted on Dec. 29 on five of six counts related to the abuse and trafficking of underage girls. Giuffre did not testify in the case, but the government argued she was a victim of an alleged conspiracy to sex traffic individuals under 18.
Maxwell’s sentencing date has not yet been set and she faces decades in prison.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 826,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-New York looking into COVID-19 hospitalizations that began for other reasons
-Surgeon general warns next few weeks ‘will be tough’
-COVID positivity rate at US Capitol reaches 13%
-More than 100,000 Americans are hospitalized with COVID-19
-FDA authorizes Pfizer’s booster shot for 12- to-15-year-olds
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 03, 4:02 pm
New York looking into COVID-19 hospitalizations that began for other reasons
New York’s hospitals will be required to report a breakdown of how many COVID-19 patients were admitted due to the coronavirus and how many were admitted for other needs and only discovered they were infected during their stays.
During a COVID-19 briefing on Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul cited anecdotal reports of as many as 50% of patients at some hospitals testing positive for the virus who were actually admitted for other reasons, such as car accidents.
“I just want to always be honest with New Yorkers about how bad this is,” Hochul said. “Yes, the sheer number of people infected are high, but I want to see whether or not the hospitalizations correlate with that.”
She continued, “And I’m anticipating to see that at least a certain percentage overall are not being treated for COVID.”
Hospitals will begin reporting their breakdowns Tuesday, but it’s unclear how soon the data will be publicly available.
ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos and Will McDuffie
Jan 03, 3:11 pm
Surgeon general warns next few weeks ‘will be tough’
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations will continue to increase as the omicron variant rapidly spreads across the country.
“The next few weeks are going to be tough for us,” he told ABC’s “The View” on Monday. “We’re already seeing record levels of cases, and we’re seeing hospitalizations starting to tick up. We’re seeing some of our hospital systems getting strained at this point.”
Information from South Africa and the United Kingdom indicates omicron could be less severe than previous COVID-19 variants, Murthy said.
“We’re still going to see a lot of people get sick and a lot of hospitalizations, but the overall severity may end up being significantly lower,” he said.
Murthy said both South Africa and the U.K. “had a very rapid rise, but then they had a very steep fall” in cases
“I’m hoping that that’s what happens here too,” he added.
ABC News’ Joanne Rosa
Jan 03, 2:27 pm
Starbucks says workers must get COVID vaccine or be tested weekly
Starbucks is requiring its 220,000 workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine or be tested weekly, complying with the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for private businesses.
Employees must reveal their vaccination status by Jan. 10, according to a letter sent Monday by Starbucks Chief Operating Officer John Culver, Reuters first reported.
“This is an important step we can take to help more partners get vaccinated, limit the spread of COVID-19, and create choices that partners can own based on what’s best for them,” Culver wrote.
Workers will have until Feb. 9 to be fully vaccinated.
Those who choose to undergo weekly testing instead will be responsible for obtaining their own tests — which cannot be self-administered or taken at home — and submitting results.
Jan 03, 1:43 pm
COVID positivity rate at US Capitol reaches 13%
The seven-day positivity rate at the U.S. Capitol COVID-19 testing center has increased from 1% to 13%, according to a letter sent from the Office of the Attending Physician to congressional offices on Monday.
Most cases have been breakthroughs among people who are fully vaccinated and have not “led to hospitalizations, serious complications, or deaths, attesting to the value of coronavirus vaccinations,” the letter reads.
The letter also states that about 61% of COVID-19 infections at the Capitol have been linked to the omicron variant, and 38% are linked to the delta variant.
The OAP advised congressional offices to telework as much as possible and that “blue surgical masks, cloth face masks and gaiter masks must be replaced by the more protective KN95 or N95 masks.”
(NEW YORK) — A jury has convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes on four counts of fraud on their seventh day of deliberations. She was acquitted on another four, and a mistrial was declared on the remaining three counts.
Holmes was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud against Theranos investors and three other counts of wire fraud against investors. She was acquitted on all four counts of wire fraud against patients. The jury deadlocked on three counts of fraud against investors.
Judge Edward J. Davila, who presided over the trial, is expected to sentence the fallen entrepreneur at a later date. The 37-year-old could face decades behind bars.
Holmes showed no visible emotion as the deputy court clerk read the verdict aloud.
Her ex-boyfriend and former company COO, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who is also her co-defendant in the case, had his trial severed from Holmes earlier this year after learning her lawyers might use abuse claims as part of their defense. He has firmly denied those allegations and is expected to stand trial in February.
Holmes, who had vowed to revolutionize the health care industry with technology that could run any test from a just a few drops of blood, was convicted of defrauding investors, in the rare criminal takedown of a Silicon Valley CEO.
During his rebuttal last week, prosecutor John Bostic told jurors that Holmes’ motive to commit fraud was not to cash in, but to bolster the company she had built.
“She committed these crimes because she was desperate for the company to succeed,” Bostic said.
Holmes conviction comes after the jury in the trial, following over 45 hours of deliberation, said Monday morning that they were “unable to come to a unanimous verdict on three of the counts,” and would need more time to reach a decision.
Davila read the jury a deadlock instruction, reiterated Holmes’ presumption of innocence, and sent the 12 back to the deliberation room to continue weighing the three counts of fraud on which they could not agree.
The jurors are tasked with weighing 11 fraud charges leveled against Holmes following weeks of witness testimony from insiders who worked at the blood-testing startup, and patients and investors who prosecutors say were defrauded by the Theranos founder once lauded as the next Steve Jobs.
Holmes, 37, was initially charged with nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The jury began deliberating on Dec. 20. In the two weeks since, which included some time off for holidays, they have been largely quiet.
(DENVER) — Families and officials in Colorado began returning to their towns that were ravaged by last week’s wildfires.
Gov. Jared Polis said in a news conference Sunday that over 1,000 homes were destroyed in the fires, which started on Thursday, and many more were damaged. The governor didn’t have an exact figure on how many people were affected, but said it was in the “thousands.”
Over the weekend, some families returned home and got a firsthand look at the damage. Burned cars and scorched homes were covered in snow.
“For many, this seems like a surreal experience,” Polis said. “It’s a shock, and the reality hasn’t even set in for a lot of people.”
Polis added that residents will have a long road ahead of them.
As of Sunday afternoon, only two of the 35,000 people who were evacuated from their homes are unaccounted for, according to officials.
One of the missing persons is a woman from Superior, Colorado, who was reported missing by her family, and the other is a man near Marshall, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said it has been “a very difficult search” since the locations are still deep in debris and snow.
There were 600 homes without power outside the burn zone as of Sunday, and they are expected to regain power by end of day, the sheriff’s office said. There are 1,000 homes within the burn zone without power, according to the sheriff.
Xcel Energy Colorado said that natural gas service has been restored for 1,200 customers in the Superior and Louisville areas, and more households will see service restored by Tuesday.
Deanne Criswell, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a former Colorado firefighter, surveyed the damage Sunday and reiterated support from the federal government. There were already 100 FEMA agents on the ground in the area, according to Criswell.
“That number will grow over the coming days and weeks,” she said during the news conference.
Polis said abnormal weather was a factor, as dry grassland fueled the fire.
“Most times around Christmas and New Year’s, we would be under 6 inches or a foot of snow,” the governor said.
Polis said historic wind gusts of up to 110 miles per hour caused the fire to spread through several counties.
An official with direct knowledge of the investigation said that as of Monday afternoon, investigators probing the cause of the Marshall Fire have not found any evidence directly tying the fire to an act of arson. “While the FBI has helped in the form of performing interviews and evidence collection, we should not read too far into this at this juncture,” the official said. “The federal criminal investigators have and will take a backseat in this probe until evidence has been found directly tying the cause to criminal arson. The snow on the ground has made the evidence gathering process very slow.”
Cheap Trick will head to the Las Vegas strip in late winter for a four-show residency at The STRAT Hotel, Casino & SkyPod.
The power-pop legends are scheduled to perform at the complex’s intimate STRAT Theater on February 25 and 26, and March 4 and 5.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public this Thursday, January 6, at 10 a.m. PT at Tickets.TheStrat.com. Members of Cheap Trick’s Trick International fan club can purchase pre-sale tickets now, while members of The STRAT’s free True Rewards program will be able to buy pre-sale tickets starting Tuesday, January 4, at 10 a.m. PT.
In addition, VIP packages are available that will offer a chance to watch Cheap Trick’s private pre-concert soundcheck, a group photo with the band, exclusive Cheap Trick merchandise, a commemorative laminate and early entry into the venue.
“Can’t wait to finally get back out on the road with Cheap Trick,” says founding bassist Tom Petersson. “I hope to see you during our Las Vegas residency at The STRAT. Happy New Year!” Petersson missed most of the band’s 2021 shows after undergoing open-heart surgery last year.
Cheap Trick become the second Rock & Roll Hall of Fame act to schedule a residency at The Strat, following Sammy Hagar‘s “Sammy Hagar & Friends” shows this past October and November.
Prior to their Vegas residency, Cheap Trick will headline the RokIsland Fest 2022 in Key West, Florida, on January 15, and then will play a series of shows in the U.K. and mainland Europe in February.
The band’s ’22 itinerary also includes a Canadian tour opening for ZZ Top in April and May, and a support slot on Rod Stewart‘s lengthy U.S. summer trek. Visit CheapTrick.com for full details.
