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Soon after the death of their friend Bob Saget, John Mayer and comedian Jeff Ross posted a lengthy video in which they discussed the fact that they’d just retrieved Saget’s car from Los Angeles International Airport. During that chat, Ross also thanked John for bringing Saget “home,” but he wasn’t clear what he meant by that.
Now, E! News has learned that, in fact, John paid for a private plane to transport Saget’s body back to California after his January death in an Orlando, Florida hotel room. Page Six has also confirmed the story.
John had been a friend of Saget’s for 15 years, and in his Instagram Live with Ross, he joked that he was still “the new guy.”
The singer and guitarist said of the Full House star, “I’ve never known a human being on this Earth who could give that much love, individually and completely, to that many people, in a way that made each person feel like he was a main character in their life and they were a main character in his life.”
As previously reported, John also helped design a hoodie that’s now being sold to raise money for Saget’s favorite charity, Scleroderma Research Foundation.
The cause of Saget’s death has not yet been released. At the funeral, both John and Ross were pallbearers, as were Saget’s Full House co-stars John Stamos and Dave Coulier.
(NEW YORK) — Many continue to worry about experiencing side effects from vaccines — especially the COVID-19 vaccines — but new data from a comprehensive meta-analysis suggests there is little to fear.
The study from Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center found that a large number of side effects reported by patients after receiving their shot can be attributed to the placebo effect.
Researchers examined 12 vaccine safety trials, involving thousands of people, and compared rates of side effects reported between those who received a placebo shot and those who received a real shot. They found that after the first shot, two-thirds of people experienced side effects like headache and fatigue, which the researchers said were attributable to the placebo effect. Shockingly, nearly a quarter of the people — some who received the placebo shot — experienced side effects like a sore arm, also attributable to the placebo effect.
What is the placebo effect?
The placebo effect occurs when people anticipate a medical treatment will have certain effects, so much so that they perceive the outcomes they were expecting after the treatment.
It is a well-known phenomenon among scientists and is important to investigate when developing vaccines and medicines, according to Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious disease at Vanderbilt University.
“After the injection, people are more aware now that they think they might have gotten a vaccine. They’re more likely to tell their doctor about things,” Schaffner said. “Never underestimate the power of the human mind.”
Experts say the placebo effect is a powerful example of the connection between our minds, bodies and circumstances.
In the study, the amount of side effects attributable to the placebo effect decreased to about half after the people studied received a second shot. Frequency of side effects was lower among placebo recipients after the second shot, while the opposite was true for vaccine recipients. This helps reinforce the placebo effect phenomenon, experts said.
Researchers noted one caveat is that the studies examined included different phases of clinical trials, and results were not standardized throughout.
Experts address vaccine hesitancy
With the omicron surge still straining hospitals across America, addressing vaccine hesitancy remains a crucial discussion.
Experts interviewed by ABC News said that if more people knew that experiencing side effects from the COVID-19 vaccines is not as common as they think, more people may be encouraged to get vaccinated.
“When people are armed with information, they are better suited to identify and manage their symptoms,” Dr. Simone Wildes, infectious disease physician at South Shore Health, said. “This might also help those who are reluctant to get vaccinated.”
Aubrie Ford, D.O. is an emergency medicine resident at Northwell Health in New York and a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.
Jennifer Lopez is counting down the days until her new movie, Marry Me, arrives in theaters next month, and ahead of the rom-com’s February release, she let fans in on a big secret — her workout routine.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, J-Lo promoted “On My Way,” the song she recorded for the Marry Me soundtrack, by sharing a video of herself working up a sweat. “#OnMyWay to a better me,” she captioned the post, which celebrated Instagram’s #WorkoutWednesday. She then included a remix of “On My Way” for her behind-the-scenes video.
So, how does Jennifer keep herself in such excellent shape? She does curls with a pair of dumbbells, tones with what appears to be a Bowflex machine and challenges herself with leg lifts and crunches. Despite doing numerous reps and pushing herself hard, Jennifer is still smiling at the end of her routine.
She also gave fans a look at her bedazzled water bottle, which resembles a glittering disco ball.
Marry Me arrives in theaters just in time for Valentine’s Day — February 11. It also stars Owen Wilson and Latin superstar Maluma.
(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack requested on Thursday that Ivanka Trump cooperate with its investigation and asked her to testify regarding conversations with her father, former President Donald Trump, before and on Jan. 6, 2021, as they pertain to the attack and the challenging of election results.
In a new letter addressed to the former president’s daughter, Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., requested she voluntary provide an interview with the committee, citing her presence in the Oval Office.
“As January 6th approached, President Trump attempted on multiple occasions to persuade Vice President Pence to participate in his plan. One of the President’s discussions with the Vice President occurred by phone on the morning of January 6th. You were present in the Oval Office and observed at least one side of that telephone conversation,” Thompson says in the letter.
“[T]he Committee would like to discuss any other conversations you may have witnessed or participated in regarding the President’s plan to obstruct or impede the counting of electoral votes,” the letter says.
Thompson wrote that the panel’s questions to Trump’s eldest daughter, who also served as a senior adviser in the White House for four years, would be “limited to issues relating to January 6th, the activities that contributed to or influenced events on January 6th, and your role in the White House during that period.”
“The Committee is aware that certain White House staff devoted time during the violent riot to rebutting questions regarding whether the President was attempting to hold up deployment of the guard[…],” it says in the letter. “But the Committee has identified no evidence that President Trump issued any order, or took any other action, to deploy the guard that day. Nor does it appear that President Trump made any calls at all to the Department of Justice or any other law enforcement agency to request deployment of their personnel to the Capitol.”
In a press release Thursday announcing the letter, the committee said the evidence it has already obtained shows “that Ms. Trump was in direct contact with the former President at key moments on January 6th and that she may have information relevant to other matters critical to the Select Committee’s investigation.”
A spokesperson for Ivanka Trump responded to the letter in a statement but did not directly address whether she would voluntarily comply with the committee’s request.
“Ivanka Trump just learned that the January 6 Committee issued a public letter asking her to appear. As the Committee already knows, Ivanka did not speak at the January 6 rally,” the statement says. “As she publicly stated that day at 3:15pm, ‘any security breach or disrespect to our law enforcement is unacceptable. The violence must stop immediately. Please be peaceful.'”
Notably, the spokesperson omitted part of the now-deleted tweet from Jan. 6, 2021, where she referred to those breaching the Capitol as “American Patriots,” before calling for an end to the violence.
And while she did not deliver remarks at the rally that day, she was present backstage and seen in a video speaking with her father while viewing video of the crowd.
The former president has repeatedly attempted to discredit the work of the committee and has urged his allies and aides not to comply.
Earlier this week, the select committee subpoenaed former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, who pushed unfounded claims of widespread 2020 election fraud. ABC News also confirmed that the committee acquired phone records from Trump’s son, Eric, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, the fiancee of Donald Trump Jr.
In the six months since it was created, the select committee has interviewed more than 350 witnesses, received more than 300 substantive tips and issued more than 50 subpoenas — for phone and email records, Trump administration documents, witness testimony and bank records, according to the committee’s public disclosures and lawsuits filed by witnesses.
The panel has also received nearly 40,000 pages of records — including text messages, emails and Trump administration documents provided by the National Archives in four separate tranches.
The request to Trump’s daughter comes on the heels of the Supreme Court on Wednesday denying the former president’s request for a stay of a lower court mandate that hundreds of pages of his presidential records from Jan. 6 be turned over to the congressional committee — a huge win for the panel, which is planning to issue an interim report on its findings over the summer.
ABC News’ John Santucci, Will Steakin and Libby Cathey contributed to this report.
Blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus guests on a new version of the A Day to Remember song “Re-Entry.”
The updated recording features a reworked second verse with new lyrics and vocals from Hoppus. You can download it now via digital outlets.
“When this song originally took shape it was without a doubt massively influenced by Blink-182,” says ADtR frontman Jeremy McKinnon. “So when the idea came up to do a remix of sorts for it, Mark was immediately who we pictured.”
McKinnon adds, “We sent [Hoppus] the track with no second verse and said to do whatever he was inspired to do and what he sent back genuinely makes the song for me. My younger self still can’t believe it exists.”
The original “Re-Entry” appears on A Day to Remember’s 2021 album You’re Welcome.
In other Blink-182 collaboration news, drummer Travis Barker adds to his ever-growing list of projects by producing a new song from the punk rap group Ho99o9 [pr. Horror]. The track, called “Battery Not Included,” is available now for digital download, and is accompanied by a video streaming now on YouTube.
Ho99o9 will be opening for Slipknot‘s Knotfest Roadshow tour beginning in May.
Patti Smith, Iggy Pop and New Order‘s Bernard Sumner are among the music artists who will be taking part in the 2022 Tibet House US virtual benefit concert, scheduled for March 3.
Smith is part of the event’s performance lineup, which also includes Phish‘s Trey Anastasio, Nathaniel Rateliff, Laurie Anderson, Angélique Kidjo and country artists Jason Isbell and Margo Price, as well as actor Keanu Reeves, who you may remember played bass in the ’90s alt-rock band Dogstar.
As for Pop and Sumner, they will be providing “special greetings” during the event.
Influential composer Philip Glass is the event’s artistic director.
Now in its 35th year, the annual concert raises money for Tibet House US, a non-profit organization that works to preserve Tibetan culture. It’s usually held in-person at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, but is taking place online for the second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can watch the 2022 Tibet House US concert via the streaming platform Mandolin. For more info, visit Mandolin.com.
After releasing his second solo album, From a Bird’s Eye View,last week, Cordae has dropped the video for his track “Chronicles,” featuring H.E.R. and Lil Durk.
In the clip, H.E.R. and Lil Durk join the Raleigh, North Carolina, MC in the parking lot of a diner where he’s working as a short order cook. His girlfriend is a waitress, and he raps that he wants to maintain their relationship.
“I’m on this road, and I’m not sure where my heart is headed/ And if you left me now, I know how far I’d regret it/ Told you once, tell you twice that I’m indebted, huh/ But I can’t waste no time, you know my time is precious.”
As Cordae expresses his love to his girl, H.E.R. is feeling different emotions, as she walks out on her boyfriend who met her at the diner.
Cordae is preparing for his From His Bird’s Eye Viewtour, which kicks off February 3 in Dallas. The two-time Grammy nominee will perform in 28 cities. Other tour stops include New Orleans, Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and his hometown, Raleigh, North Carolina.
It has just been revealed where Tom Cruise‘s movie in outer space will be shot. U.K.-based Space Entertainment Enterprise (SEE) has announced that it’s co-producing the hush-hush film project for Cruise’s Day After Tomorrow director Doug Liman in SEE-1, the first dedicated movie studio in space.
Scheduled for completion in 2024, Axiom Space’s SEE-1 will be a fully functioning TV, film and streaming-content studio, which will couple with Axiom Station, a commercial space station that is scheduled to blast off on February 28.
The Axiom Station mission alone is another first: It will be the first fully commercial crew to join the astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS).
Axiom will first link to the International Space Station; the company says SEE-1 will join them in late 2024.
According to the company, the SEE-1 module “will allow artists, producers, and creatives to develop, produce, record, and live stream content which maximizes the Space Station’s low-orbit micro-gravity environment, including films, television, music and sports events.”
S.E.E.’s COO Richard Johnston said in the announcement, “From Jules Verne to Star Trek, science fiction entertainment has inspired millions of people around the world to dream about what the future might bring. Creating a next generation entertainment venue in space opens countless doors to create incredible new content and make these dreams a reality.”
As reported, while Cruise’s film will be the first Hollywood production to be shot in space, it won’t be the first movie to do so: In October, Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, actress star Yulia Peresild and director Kim Shipenko blasted off to the ISS to shoot The Challenge, a film about a mission to send a doctor into space to save the life of a cosmonaut.
On Thursday, Maddie & Tae’s Taylor Kerr announced the birth of her daughter, Leighton Grace.
The baby girl is Taylor’s first child with her husband, Josh Kerr, and she arrived significantly early, but fortunately, Leighton is doing well. “She’s beautiful, strong and everything we have ever dreamed of,” Taylor wrote on Maddie & Tae’s socials. “She decided to be a Capricorn like her daddy. Already can’t wait for the day we get to finally take her home.”
The singer also shared a few pictures of the new arrival. Though her face doesn’t make an appearance, fans can see a closeup snapshot of Leighton’s tiny foot, plus her name on the side of her isolette, along with her weight at birth: two pounds, five ounces.
When she announced her pregnancy, Taylor said her due date was in spring 2022, but the universe had other plans. She was hospitalized in mid-December, 24 weeks into her pregnancy, and remained on bedrest until Leighton was born.
Taylor’s pregnancy complications caused Maddie & Tae to postpone their 2022 tour plans. However, there’s no shortage of new music from the duo. Their next EP, Through the Madness Vol. 1, arrives January 28.
After being canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is scheduled to return this spring with a lineup that includes headlining performances by The Who, Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Buffett,and The Black Crowes.
The festival is scheduled to take place over the course of two consecutive weeks, April 29-May 1 and May 5-May 8. Many of the major artists on the 2022 bill had been scheduled to perform at either the 2020 or the 2021 festival.
The first weekend will feature performances by The Who, Foo Fighters, Lionel Richie, Randy Newman and many, many more.
Weekend two’s lineup will include Nicks, Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band, The Black Crowes, Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Melissa Etheridge, Boz Scaggs, blues great Buddy Guy, members of The Neville Brothers, Rickie Lee Jones, The Radiators and Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes, as well as a Bob Marley set from Ziggy Marley and a tribute to the late Dr. John.
For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit NOJazzFest.com.
