Moments after William Shatner touched down to Earth after becoming the oldest human being to ever travel to space, he was overwhelmed.
Shatner recounted his feelings to Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos about what he’d seen, and what he was feeling, particularly the “fragility” of our planet’s blue sky.
“You shoot through it all of a sudden, as if you whip…a sheet off you when you’re asleep, and you’re looking into blackness, into black ugliness,” the Star Trek star recalled, clearly overcome.
Continuing to try to explain the experience, he said, “You look down and there’s the blue down there and the black up there…[Down] there is Mother Earth and comfort, and [up] there is death? I don’t know, is that death? Is that the way death is? Whup! and it’s gone? Jesus.”
Shatner wiped away tears while he kept on speaking with Bezos, as crew members scurried around the New Shepard capsule that the actor had just exited.
“What you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine. It’s so filled with emotion about what just happened. I just it’s extraordinary, extraordinary,” Shatner said to Bezos.
“I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. I don’t want to lose it,” Shatner added, before the two men embraced.
Bezos called Shatner’s words “beautiful.”
The Star Trek actor, famous for playing Starship Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk, blasted off into space at 10:50 a.m. Eastern time, along with microbiologist Glen de Vries, Planet Labs founder Chris Boshuizen and Blue Origin’s Audrey Powers.
Minutes after their launch, their capsule landed flawlessly on the Texas desert.
(NEW YORK) — Actor William Shatner was overcome with emotion after his “unbelievable” 10-minute trip to space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard.
“Everybody in the world needs to do this,” Shatner told Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos after he touched down in Texas Wednesday.
“To see the blue color rip by — now you’re staring into blackness,” Shatner said, who, at the age of 90, is now the oldest person ever to go to space. “It was so moving. This experience has been something unbelievable.”
“What you have given me is the most profound experience,” the “Star Trek” star said to Bezos.
“I am so filled with emotion. It was extraordinary,” he said. “I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. I don’t want to lose it. It’s so — so much larger than me and life.”
Shatner also told Bezos, “It would be so important for everybody to have that experience through one means or another. I mean maybe you can put it on 3D and wear the goggles.”
Shatner joined Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations and a former NASA flight controller and engineer; Chris Boshuizen, the co-founder of satellite company Planet Labs and a former space mission architect for NASA; and Glen de Vries, the co-founder of Medidata Solutions, a life science company.
This was Blue Origin’s second crewed mission to space.
(FORT HOOD, Texas) — A Fort Hood soldier assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division was found dead Saturday behind his barracks over the weekend, according to military officials.
Officials have not released the victim’s ID or the cause of death.
“More details will be released once all next of kin have been notified. The incident is under investigation,” Fort Hood officials said in a press release.
Fort Hood officials did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
There have been multiple incidents at the Texas base this year.
Last week, there were concerns for Pfc. Jennifer Sewell, who was believed to be missing after she failed to report for duty on Oct. 7. Fort Hood officials said in an update Sunday that “Sewell’s family confirmed she is safe and with extended family.” She returned to the base Monday.
Fort Hood is the same Army base where Vanessa Guillen was murdered in April 2020, in a case that engrossed the nation.
Guillen, 20, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in an arms room on April 22, 2020, authorities said. She was missing for months until some of her remains were found buried along the Leon River in June 2020.
Her suspected killer was fellow soldier Spc. Aaron Robinson, who took his own life when confronted by police after her remains were discovered, authorities said at the time.
Her death cast a harsh spotlight on the base and its culture, particularly for its handling of sexual assault and harassment, as she told her family that she had been harassed at the base. A long-awaited U.S. Army investigation released in April determined she had been sexually harassed by a supervisor, but the incidents of harassment were not related to her murder.
In December 2020, the Army announced 14 senior leaders and enlisted personnel at Fort Hood were fired or suspended following an independent panel’s review of the command climate and culture at the base.
Last week, the base unveiled the People First Center, a training center for support and resources for victims of sexual assault or those experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Before The Amazing Race was sidelined because of the COVID-19 pandemic,Phil Keoghan logged some 200,000 miles a year as the host of the show.
But with William Shatner‘s historic blast-off this morning, ABC Audio asked the multiple Emmy winner if he’d follow in Shatner’s footsteps for a new kind of travel.
“Like, in a heartbeat,” Keoghan said. “I was like, ‘Man, I wish I could be there!'”
Keoghan then noted that he “could see a future season of Amazing Race” featuring contestants making a similar journey. Imitating himself as the show’s narrator, he added, laughing, “Teams must now make their way into space…with William Shatner at the helm!”
The host said of the historic trip, “I’m really happy for him. What a full circle, right?… [He] starts off pretending to go to space and then ends, you know, he’s 90 years old, and he really does go to space! Captain Kirk, beam me up!”
Keoghan’s new hit series, Tough as Nails, is now in its third season, and airs tonight on CBS. The show, which highlights the hard work of everyday heroes, is running as the U.S. is facing a supply crisis, due in part to a lack of such people Keoghan calls the “backbone” of the country.
“Yes, you’re absolutely right,” he says of the serendipitous timing of the new season.
The show excels at “opening people’s eyes up…[pulling] back the curtain a wee bit…to see some of the things that maybe we take for granted,” Keoghan explains.
He adds, “And this is the time to acknowledge those people who have helped us get through the pandemic and who make the country function, quite frankly, because without them, things would just stop functioning.”
How’s Tai Verdes doing? “A-O-K,” thank you very much. He’s just hit number one on Billboard‘s Emerging Artists chart.
The Emerging Artists chart measures how artists are doing across all Billboard charts, but you can only be on it if you still haven’t hit the top 25 on either the Billboard Top 200 album chart or the Hot 100 singles chart. So out of all the artists out there who haven’t quite reached those heights, Tai is currently doing the best.
The multi-genre appeal of “A-O-K” is the key to Tai’s chart success: It’s currently #34 on the Hot 100, number five on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, #20 on Alternative Airplay, #12 on Pop Airplay and #27 on Adult Pop Airplay.
Prior to “A-O-K,” which is from Tai’s debut album TV, he’d previously had some success with his viral TikTok hits “Stuck in the Middle” and “Drugs.” He’ll wrap up his first headlining tour next month in New York City.
Boosie Badazz was arrested Monday in Atlanta on multiple charges stemming from an on stage brawl at a concert in the city on October 1.
The “Wipe Me Down” rapper, whose birth name is Terrence Hatch, was charged with second-degree criminal damage to property, inciting a riot, disorderly conduct property and criminal trespass, as reported by Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB-TV.
On the second night of the “Legendz of the Streetz” tour, headlined by Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Jeezy and Gucci Mane,police were called to the State Farm Arena in A-T-L around 12:40 a.m. to investigate a report of vandalism at the facility. Officers were told that a man, identified as Hatch, and several of his associates, ran onto the stage during the show, damaged several items, then destroyed more arena property when they were escorted from the stage.
Hatch was booked into the Fulton County Jail late Monday and was released Tuesday on bail. He was previously arrested in Atlanta in 2019 on drug and gun possession charges.
As previously reported, Badazz was kicked off the tour following the incident in Atlanta.
Longtime behind-the-scenes hitmaker Shy Carter has recently been stepping out into the spotlight as an artist with songs like the R&B-flavored “Good Love” and “Beer with My Friends,” a country banger collab with Cole Swindell and David Lee Murphy.
Now, Shy’s following those releases with a bigger project. This week, he announced his debut EP, The Rest of Us, arriving later this month.
The eight-song collection includes “Good Love” and “Beer With My Friends,” plus six as-yet-unheard new tracks, all of which Shy co-wrote. Each of the tracks has a personal connection to his life, the singer explains.
“The title track in particular is really important to me. It’s about how some people seem to have their lives in order and everything seems to be going well for them, and then there’s the rest of us,” Shy explains. “There’s the people who struggle, who have pain, who have messed up and have made it this far only by the awesome grace of God. I am one of the rest of us, and I’m so grateful for everything I’ve been through — because now it can all be used to make this amazing music.”
Death Cab for Cutie has announced a deluxe reissue of the band’s 2001 release The Photo Album in honor of its 20th anniversary.
The expanded collection is set to be released digitally on October 29. Its 35 tracks include the original album, the 2002 EP The Stability, and various previously unreleased demos, live recordings, acoustic versions and outtakes.
You can listen to the demo version of the song “Coney Island” now via digital outlets.
A vinyl version of the reissue, set to arrive by next spring, is available for pre-order now via Death Cab’s web store.
The Photo Album, Death Cab’s third studio effort, would end up marking the end of the band’s early era before they broke out with 2003’s Transatlanticism and 2005’s Plans. The record notably includes the single “A Movie Script Ending,” which would introduce many listeners to Death Cab thanks to its placement in The O.C. TV series.
The campaign will begin with the opening of two themed pop-up stores at significant locations in two cities that David called home during his life — London and New York.
The shops will open on October 25, 75 days before the 75th anniversary of Bowie’s January 8 birthday. One will be located in New York at 150 Wooster Street, near the downtown Manhattan neighborhood where David lived for many years, while the other will open in London at 14 Heddon Street, where the cover of Bowie’s classic album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was shot.
Both stores, which will remain open until late January 2022, will offer immersive experiences treating fans to a career-spanning look at Bowie’s music, art, fashion and more.
The Bowie 75 shops will feature audio and high-def video screening rooms presenting 360 Reality Audio listening and viewing experiences, including rare behind-the-scenes footage. They’ll also offer limited-edition releases of Bowie apparel, memorabilia, collectibles, CDs and vinyl LPs; photo galleries; art installations; and special guest appearances.
In addition, fans will be able try on versions of some of Bowie’s iconic outfits and take photos of themselves wearing them in front of specially designed sets.
For more details about the stores, visit Bowie75.com.
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, one of four Latino cabinet members in President Joe Biden’s administration, said on Tuesday he wanted to end raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at workplaces.
“The deployment of mass worksite operations, sometimes resulting in the simultaneous arrest of hundreds of workers, was not focused on the most pernicious aspect of our country’s unauthorized employment challenge: exploitative employers,” Mayorkas wrote in a memo obtained by ABC News. “These highly visible operations misallocated enforcement resources while chilling, and even serving as a tool of retaliation for, worker cooperation in workplace standards investigations.”
Such a change from what was seen under the previous administration is something that policy experts, including Sylvia Puente, president and CEO of Latino Policy Forum, have said may result from Biden having surrounded himself with a more representative cabinet.
Mayorkas has been joined by Secretary Xavier Becerra of Health and Human Services, Secretary Miguel Cardona of the Department of Education and Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman of the Small Business Administration.
“It was about time — the increase in representation that looks like us in the White House, and cabinet levels in Congress, really allows us not to be invisible,” Puente told ABC News. “It really allows us to take our place in our American society.”
Becerra, who made history as the first Latino to lead HHS, discussed with ABC News the importance of representation for all Americans.
“There’s a pride that comes in understanding what you bring to the table, of what your parents taught you and what your forefathers and foremothers did for this country,” Becerra said. “I’m very proud that I bring that to my country. And that’s the heritage that has made the fabric of our country so strong.”
Becerra is the first person in his family to get a four-year college degree, after his parents emigrated from Mexico at a young age. Ultimately, he added, his opportunities have allowed him to help provide opportunities for others.
“It’s about helping people like my dad, who didn’t get past sixth grade, who worked with his hands all his life as a construction worker, a farm worker, so that he could actually have a better [life], at least for his kids,” Becerra said.
“Given that we have this historic number of cabinet officials who are Latino,” Puente said, “it really feels like the administration is living up its profit promise to have equity, to have diversity and to have inclusion.”
Puente said she hopes to see it continue, and not “just in Hispanic Heritage Month,” which spans Sept. 14 to Oct. 15. It’s important for Latinx and Hispanic individuals “to be a part of this ongoing dialogue.”
Barack Obama had a total of six Latino cabinet members.
Educational disparity
Cardona said during a GMA3 interview on Sept. 15 that he hopes to improve access to higher education.
“We want access to higher education for Latino students at the same rate as other students — we want to make sure completion happens,” Cardona said.
While Latinos account for 18.7% of the U.S. population, according to Census data, only 16.4% complete a four-year degree.
“We also want to make sure at the pre-K level that Latino students have access to early childhood education that serves as a foundation,” Cardona added.
The dropout rate among Latino students, according to a 2019 fact sheet from the National Center for Education Statistics, is about 7.7%, which has declined in recent years but still trails Black (5.6%), white (4.1%) and Asian (1.8%) students.
In August, more than 200,000 migrants were encountered crossing the southern border, according to DHS data.
“People really want to come to the U.S. because they feel they can’t make a living in their homeland, or they can’t stay safe in their homeland, or they’re afraid of being murdered in their home,” Puente told ABC News.
After reports of U.S. border patrol agents acting aggressively towards Haitian migrants fleeing their country amid multiple crises, DHS launched an investigation and alerted the department’s Office of Inspector General. Biden condemned the agents’ actions by saying those who confronted the Haitian migrants aggressively “will pay.”
Puente is among those hoping Biden’s words can lead to larger reforms.
“We certainly expect immigration reform,” she added. “We expect the president and vice president to not only continue to elevate the issue, but to really work with Congress. There are so many pieces of immigration that need to be unpacked.”
Late last month, Mayorkas announced the formation of the Law Enforcement Coordination Council, an effort to “institutionalize best practices in law enforcement.”
Mayorkas intends to chair the LECC, the first department-wide body to serve as a governing organization for agencies including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We are bringing a greater, in my opinion, a greater degree of organization, cohesion to [law enforcement policies],” Mayorkas told ABC News at the time.
Biden has said on multiple occasions he will be a leader for all Americans, and organizations and his cabinet members have said they’ll do what they can to help him keep that promise.
“As secretary, I’m going to make sure that when the president says ‘everyone,’ it includes everyone,” Becerra told ABC News. “We’re not going to leave anyone out. I don’t care what corner of the country you’re from, if you exist in the shadows, we’re going to service you. We believe in the people who lift up this country.”
