: Neil Young performs onstage at Light Up the Blues 7 Concert Celebrating Autism Speaks’ 20th Anniversary at The Greek Theatre on April 26, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Neil Young continues to be outspoken about companies who he says support President Donald Trump and his policies.
In his latest post on his Neil Young Archives website, the rocker rails against Verizon and Apple, writing that he’s upset he may have to get rid of his phone because it’s from Verizon.
“I can’t use a Verizon phone,” he writes. “Verizon is a supporter of Trump, with big $. What can I do? I’m checking with our office to see if I can get a T-Mobile flip phone. T-Mobile is not a supporter of the Trump fascist regime.”
He adds, “I am trying to not support the companies that support the regime with huge donations, just to cover their own a*****, while people are being shot in the streets of America, not just Minnesota, America!”
Young’s also rethinking the fact that he uses an Apple computer, though his manager told him he could keep it since it’s already paid for.
“I have to stop and re-assess,” he writes. “No more upgrades! That feeds Apple, Apple supports ‘The Regime.’ That money is going to Apple now. Tim Cook, the CEO, falling over backwards to support the regime!”
“I have to re-asses everything I am doing,” he concludes. “I will sue Apple if my computer doesn’t work without the new costly upgrade. What about Warner Brothers?”
In the post, Young notes there’s a list of companies supporting Trump on his Archives editorial page, along with numbers to contact the CEOs of the companies.
Young’s latest post follows his recent announcement that he’s making his Neil Young Archives site available for free to people in Greenland. He also encouraged his fans not to use Amazon, calling Jeff Bezos “a billionaire backer of the president.”
Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary, speaks during the Trump Accounts Launch Summit in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. The US Treasury Department is bringing together senior administration officials, everyday Americans, and key stakeholders to highlight the upcoming launch of Trump Accounts. Photographer: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — As the cost of many basic goods, including groceries, continues to rise, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang, he understands the hardships facing millions of people, but argued that the Biden administration is responsible for the rising costs.
“Look, Americans should be worried about affordability. The Biden administration destroyed affordability,” he told ABC News on Wednesday, contending inflation under the Biden administration was the worst in 49 years.
Bessent did not provide more details about how the previous administration was responsible for rising costs, but claimed that the Trump administration was “getting inflation under control.”
Yet prices for goods are seeing mixed results, according to Consumer Price Index data.
For example, gas prices have decreased over the last year, while coffee prices have risen by nearly 20% and ground beef prices have risen by 15.5% during the same period, CPI data showed.
When pressed on those statistics, Bessent said people need to see costs in a broader context.
“When you step on the scale, you don’t look at the composite number of how much you weigh and say, ‘Well, my arm weighs this. My head weighs this.’ So I believe that we are quickly going to meet the [Federal Reserve’s] target of 2% inflation,” he said.
Bessent on the Fed
When it came to the Fed, Bessent stressed that President Donald Trump “has great reverence” for the body and respects the central bank but added, “independence does not mean no accountability.”
“I think it’s very important for the Fed to be both independent but accountable,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced a probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, alleging he misled Congress about costs over the renovation of Federal Reserve buildings.
Powell said in a statement that the probe is part of the administration’s push to lower interest rates.
“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” he said in a video message on Jan. 11.
A bipartisan group of senators and former Fed chairs slammed the Justice Department for the probe.
Bessent allegedly warned Trump that the investigation “made a mess” and could be bad for financial markets, according to a report by Axios. When asked about those alleged concerns, the treasury secretary told ABC News he has “repeatedly called for the Fed to do its own investigation.”
Trump accounts
Bessent was slated to appear with the president on Wednesday to discuss his “Trump Accounts” plan for families.
Under Trump’s signature tax and spending legislation, starting this July, the federal government will deposit $1,000 for every baby born between 2025 and 2028. Families can contribute up to $5,000 annually. Employers can contribute up to $2,500 per year per employee.
Michael Dell and his wife announced late last year they are donating $6.25 billion to seed savings accounts for up to 25 million American children — depositing $250 for every child age 10 and under, who lives in a zip code where the median income is below $150,000.
Bessent told ABC News that 600,000 families have already gone online to open accounts. He said he expects states to make contributions, in addition to new contributions from companies and philanthropists.
“So there will be government contribution. We believe that many states will make contributions,” he said.
“Employers are going to contribute, philanthropists are going to contribute, companies are going to contribute,” Bessent added.
JP Morgan and Bank of America announced Wednesday that they will match employees’ “Trump Accounts” by $1,000.
Venezuela
Bessent said “things are moving very quickly” when it comes to oil companies committing to invest in rebuilding Venezuela’s oil sector.
He didn’t provide the dollar amount that’s been committed, but said they’re seeing “great demand.”
Shortly after the U.S. removed the Venezuelan president from power on Jan. 3, Trump said that he expects at least $100 billion in investments from major companies.
But during a roundtable Trump held earlier this month with oil executives, several CEOs expressed reservations.
-ABC News’ Taylor Dunn contributed to this report.
John Fogerty perform onstage for the 24th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 10, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music Association)
Three of John Fogerty’s classic tunes are now available on the subscription-based music education service Rocksmith+.
Fogerty’s Creedence Clearwater Revival tracks “Bad Moon Rising,” “Down on the Corner” and “Proud Mary” can now be found on Rocksmith+. All three versions are ones Fogerty rerecorded for his most recent album, Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years.
Rocksmith+ can be accessed by downloading the mobile app for iOS and Android, or on PS5, PS4 or PC. It allows subscribers to learn tracks by using their own instruments to play along with songs in the Rocksmith+ library.
Fogerty released Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years in August. The 20-track album is made up of newly recorded versions of his classic CCR tunes. All songs were labeled (John’s Version), similar to what Taylor Swift has done when rerecording her early albums.
Next up, Fogerty is set to play a music festival in Mexico in March, before launching a three-night residency at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas March 18.
Edward Norton, Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen attend the world premiere of ‘The Invite’ at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Sam Emenogu/Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Olivia Wilde‘s latest film has landed at A24.
The upcoming romantic comedy film The Invite has been acquired by the studio after its Sundance Film Festival premiere in a competitive, 72-hour bidding war.
The Invite is Wilde’s third directorial effort after her films Booksmart and Don’t Worry Darling. It is based on director Cesc Gay’s Spanish-language film Sentimental.Will McCormack and Rashida Jones wrote its screenplay.
In addition to directing, Wilde stars alongside Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz.
The movie follows married couple Joe (Rogen) and Angela (Wilde), who invite their upstairs neighbors Hawk (Norton) and Pina (Cruz) over for dinner, “where everything that could go wrong goes wrong,” according to its official description.
This marks one of the first major deals to come out of Sundance 2026. After its world premiere on Jan. 24, the film received a rare standing ovation.
Rihanna attends the 2025 CFDA Awards at The American Museum of Natural History on November 03, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
J. Cole isn’t the only one celebrating a birthday. Wednesday also marks the 10th anniversary of ANTI, the last album Rihanna released. While that is enough for a celebration, there’s even more reason to toast: The album’s tracks have earned new certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America.
“James Joint” and “Woo” have officially earned Platinum status, while “Consideration” is now double Platinum. “Desperado” is certified three-times Platinum, while “Kiss It Better” and “Sex With Me” are four-times Platinum.
“Work” featuring Drake is now 11-times Platinum, “Needed Me” sits at 12-times Platinum and “Love on the Brain” leads the pack with a Diamond certification.
Spotify also shared data highlighting ANTI’s growth in the years after its 2016 release.
According to the platform, streams have increased by 130% over the past five years, reaching an all-time peak on Feb. 13, 2023, following Rih’s Super Bowl halftime performance. Part of this resurgence can be credited to Gen Z listeners, with 5 million of them discovering her music in 2025.
“Love on the Brain,” “Needed Me” and “Work” all joined Spotify’s Billions Club, and ANTI marked its biggest streaming debut to date this January.
The album’s most-streamed tracks on Spotify in order are: “Love on the Brain,” “Needed Me,” “Work,” “Kiss It Better,” “Desperado,” “Woo,” “Consideration,” “Yeah, I Said It,” “Same Ol’ Mistakes,” “James Joint,” “Higher,” “Close to You” and “Never Ending.”
With Rihanna’s focus seemingly on Fenty Beauty, Savage X Fenty and being a mother, fans continue to wonder if she will ever release another album.
In 2025, she told Harper’s Bazaar, “I just cracked the code on what I really want to do for my next body of work. I am actually feeling really good about this.”
L-R: Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek, Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton in episode 401 of ‘Bridgerton.’ (Liam Daniel/Netflix)
Part 1 of Bridgerton season 4 arrives Thursday, and in advance of that, Netflix has revealed the songs that you’ll hear performed as instrumentals in those four episodes.
In addition to the three songs previously announced from the first episode — Coldplay‘s “Life in Technicolor,” Usher and Pitbull‘s“DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” and Third Eye Blind‘s “Never Let You Go” — you’ll hear Taylor Swift‘s “Enchanted” in episode 2, Paramore‘s “All I Wanted” in episode 3 and Olivia Rodrigo‘s “bad idea right?” in episode 4.
You can stream the part one soundtrack starting Thursday at 12 a.m. PT. Part two arrives Feb. 26.
Songs that were given the classical treatment by Bridgerton in previous seasons have experienced huge streaming boosts. For example, streams of Sia‘s “Cheap Thrills” increased by 9,500%, according to Netflix, while streams of Billie Eilish‘s “Happier Than Ever” went up 11,000%.
Tracy Lawrence will launch his 2026 No Alibis Tour March 12 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Presales are underway now, with tickets becoming available to the public on Friday.
Tyler Braden‘s new track, “Dry County,” drops Friday. It’s the first taste of his new project, due during the first half of 2026.
Ian Munsick will release his new song, “Geronimo,” on Friday, as part of his new partnership with Triple Tigers Records.
‘Joy Next Door’ album artwork. (Photo Finish Records/8123)
The Maine has released a new song called “Die to Fall,” the first single off the band’s upcoming album, Joy Next Door.
“‘Die to Fall’ is a dialogue with myself about the desire to let go,” says frontman John O’Callaghan. “Let go of my insecurities, my ego, my worries, let go of ‘me’ for even just a second and truly feel the gravity of all the little moments we can often take for granted. If none of the above resonates, then at the very least, it’s a song to rage to.”
Joy Next Door is due out April 10. It’s the follow-up to The Maine’s 2023 self-titled effort, which includes the singles “blame” and “thoughts i have while lying in bed.”
Slash and Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses will perform at the 2026 Grammys alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, music star Post Malone and producer Andrew Watt.
The performance will pay tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, who died in July 2025 at age 76.
Guns N’ Roses and Smith were among those who played 2025’s Back to the Beginning concert, which took place two weeks before Ozzy’s death and marked his final live concert.
Watt produced Ozzy’s final two solo albums, 2020’s Ordinary Man and 2022’s Patient Number 9, which featured contributions from Slash, McKagan, Smith and Malone. Ozzy also performed alongside Malone at the 2019 American Music Awards.
The 2026 Grammys will air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
Reba McEntire will pay homage to those we’ve lost this year during Sunday’s Grammy Awards.
“Watch @reba lead a touching in memoriam tribute to musical icons, alongside [Brandy Clark] and [Lukas Nelson],” the Grammys announced Wednesday on its socials.
The 2026 awards air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.
You might remember Reba also led a 40th anniversary tribute to The Golden Girls with Little Big Town‘s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman at September’s 77th Emmy Awards, performing the iconic theme song, “Thank You for Being a Friend.”
So far, there’s no word on what she’ll sing with Brandy and Lukas on Sunday.
