(WASHINGTON) — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Wednesday that certain establishments, including restaurants, bars, nightclubs, gyms, events and meeting spaces, will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination beginning in January.
Patrons above the age of 12 will be required to be partially vaccinated by Jan. 15 and fully vaccinated by Feb. 15.
“If you are a resident that is not yet vaccinated and you want to continue enjoying these activities, now is the time to get vaccinated,” Bowser said.
Citing new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting omicron as now the dominant strain in the U.S., D.C. Department of Health official Patrick Ashley said it was only “a matter of time” before that played out in the district, which currently has 25 confirmed cases of the new variant.
Ashley also pointed to huge spikes in the weekly and daily case rate in D.C. from a month ago, attributing them, in part, to the winter surge and the omicron variant.
A month ago, D.C. reported a daily case rate of 13.7 cases per 100,000 people. As of Wednesday, the rate had jumped nine times to 123.8 cases per 100,000 people.
Bowser noted that some exceptions to the new mandate will be made for patrons not staying long at a restaurant, for example, a patron picking up an order.
The move follows in the footsteps of other major U.S. cities like New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles that have similar vaccine requirements.
Approved proof of vaccination includes vaccination cards or photos of vaccination cards, immunization records or verification apps like CLEAR and VaxYes.
Further guidelines on the requirements are still to come, Bowser said. Wednesday’s initial announcement of the new guidelines was made to give businesses enough time to prepare.
Bowser also announced that to meet the increased testing demand among residents, the district will order another five million rapid antigen tests, for a total of six million.
Students in D.C. schools will also have to be immunized beginning March 1, following regulations from the D.C. Council.
Bowser also encouraged residents to celebrate safe holidays and asked people to have small gatherings, wear masks and gather outdoors.
The 44th annual Kennedy Center Honors special airs tonight on CBS, and the show features star-studded tributes to Joni Mitchell, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. and Bette Midler, as well as Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and opera baritone Justino Diaz.
You’ll hear Adele narrating the tribute video honoring Bette, while presenters for Bette’s segment include Melissa Manchester and actresses Goldie Hawn, Scarlett Johansson and Barbara Hershey. Stars performing the songs Bette made famous include Billy Porter, Kelli O’Hara and Beanie Feldstein, singing, respectively. Among the tunes they performed are “From a Distance,””Wind Beneath My Wings” and “Friends.”
Ellie Goulding, Norah Jones and Brandi Carlile are among the artists who you’ll see sing in honor of Joni Mitchell, while Paul Simon sings the classic Simon & Garfunkel tune “America” in tribute to his pal Lorne Michaels.
Smokey Robinson will be seen as both a performer and a presenter during the tribute to Berry Gordy. In addition, Andra Day will sing “Glod Bless the Child,” and Stevie Wonder will close the show with a medley of his hits, including “My Cherie Amour,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and “Superstition.”
The event took place on December 5 in Washington, D.C.
The Kennedy Center Honors special airs at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on CBS.
When Andrew Watt was growing up, he predicted he’d end up working with Eddie Vedder. He just didn’t know it then.
Speaking with Billboard, the producer/guitarist shares that he would go to Pearl Jam shows when he was younger while holding a sign reading, “Let me play the guitar solo to ‘Alive.'” Flash forward to the year 2021, and Watt is indeed playing alongside Vedder in his solo backing band, The Earthlings.
“It’s just an actual full-circle, unbelievable moment that I feel like I’ve been ready for my whole life,” Watt says. “It’s not supposed to happen like that — you’re not supposed to have those posters on your wall and be in the position where you’re creating with those people.”
In addition to playing in his live band, Watt is also producing Vedder’s upcoming solo album, Earthling, due out February 11, 2022.
“I’m so excited for everyone to hear it,” Watt says of the record. “We’re just finishing up the mixes and stuff, and I’m just really excited.”
He adds, “I don’t want to say too much besides, just to hear his voice in front of me, and get to play guitar and bass under that? It’s like a celebration.”
Vedder and The Earthlings will launch a U.S. tour in February 2022. The collective also features Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, ex-Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, and singer-songwriter and Once star Glen Hansard.
Dierks Bentley found a new meaning for his 2003 hit “What Was I Thinkin’” this week, when he tried to simultaneously bike down a snowy hill and film it — resulting in a pretty epic tumble.
Never one to mind a laugh at his own expense, the singer posted the footage to social media despite the fact that it didn’t turn out how he was hoping. The clip starts with stunning views of Dierks’ downhill ride, but soon, the camera — and the cameraman — roll off the bike and into the snow below.
Fortunately, Dierks went down laughing.“ That’s what you get for trying to film and bike at the same time,” he said good-naturedly, pointing the camera at his face.
It’s a good thing Dierks didn’t hurt himself during the fall, especially because he’s got a gig coming up next week. He’s headed to Nashville to perform at the city’s annual New Year’s Eve concert, which this year will be broadcast as a CBS special.
The singer’s also gearing up to release new music. If you’re in his fan club, you can check out the studio version of one of his new songs, called “Tell ‘Em Right Now,” which he dropped as a fan-exclusive track earlier this week.
The 44th annual Kennedy Center Honors special airs tonight on CBS, featuring star-studded tributes to Joni Mitchell, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. and Bette Midler, as well as Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and opera baritone Justino Diaz.
Among the performers and presenters who took part in the gala, which was held December 5 in Washington, D.C., were Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon, Graham Nash, Herbie Hancock, Melissa Manchester and many more.
Nash was featured as the narrator of a video presentation celebrating Mitchell, who was his one-time romantic partner. Among the performers who paid tribute to the legendary Canadian singer/songwriter were Norah Jones, Ellie Goulding, Brandi Carlile, Hancock and Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard.
Adele narrated the tribute video honoring Midler, while presenters for Bette’s segment included Manchester and actresses Goldie Hawn, Scarlett Johansson and Barbara Hershey.
Simon, a close friend of Michaels, performed his classic Simon & Garfunkel tune “America” in honor of Lorne. The segment also featured tributes from Steve Martin and various former and current SNL cast members, including Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Seth Meyers, Kevin Nealon, Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon, Michael Che and Colin Jost.
The event’s finale featured a salute to Gordy, beginning with a film presentation narrated by Oprah Winfrey. Robinson delivered both a speech and a performance, which was followed by performances from the cast of the Temptations-themed Broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud and contemporary R&B star Andra Day.
Wonder brought the festivities to a close with a medley of hits that included “My Cherie Amour,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and “Superstition.”
The Kennedy Center Honors special airs at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on CBS.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he was extending the pause on student loan repayments an extra 90 days, taking the pause into May ahead of its expiration at the end of next month.
Since March 2020, tens of millions of Americans have been able to hold off making regular payments on their federal student loans thanks to a pause, put in place first by the Trump administration, due to the pandemic.
The Biden administration had previously extended the pause through the end of January 2022, calling that move in August a “final extension.”
Democrats on Capitol Hill had pressured Biden to extend the pause as the pandemic stretched on.
“We know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need some more time before resuming payments,” Biden said in a written statement on Wednesday.
“Given these considerations, today my Administration is extending the pause on federal student loan repayments for an additional 90 days — through May 1, 2022 — as we manage the ongoing pandemic and further strengthen our economic recovery,” Biden said.
“Meanwhile, the Department of Education will continue working with borrowers to ensure they have the support they need to transition smoothly back into repayment and advance economic stability for their own households and for our nation.”
Biden also asked student loan borrowers “to do their part as well,” including looking into public service loan forgiveness plans and exploring “options to lower your payments through income-based repayment plans.”
Biden noted that Vice President Harris had been “closely focused on” this issue.
When he became president, Biden extended the pause through September, and in August, he extended it again until Jan. 31, 2022. Until recently, the White House had indicated it was not planning to extend it again.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in a press briefing on Wednesday that “as much as we know that there’s been a lot of progress in the economy, we know that… millions of people across the country are still struggling with the ongoing threat of the pandemic. Many of them are student loan borrowers.”
She also said the decision was not a reaction to how the president’s key social spending bill, Build Back Better, lost the key support of West Virginia’s Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday, and said that the administration and Democrats are “still forging ahead” to get Build Back Better done.
Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley released a statement applauding Biden’s decision to extend the student loan payment pause.
But they also echoed their calls for Biden to go even further.
“Extending the pause will help millions of Americans make ends meet, especially as we overcome the Omicron variant,” they wrote.
“We continue to call on President Biden to take executive action to cancel $50,000 in student debt, which will help close the racial wealth gap for borrowers and accelerate our economic recovery.”
Schumer and other Congressional Democrats have been calling on President Biden to use executive authority to cancel $50,000 in student debt for all borrowers.
Cardi B rapped “I was born to flex…big fat checks” in her 2018 hit “Money.” Now, the Diamond-certified star is literally putting her money where her mouth is: She presented her husband Offset with a $2 million check for his 30th birthday.
Cardi posted an Instagram Story of the Migos rapper joyfully holding an enormous check replica at his birthday party Tuesday night in Los Angeles. She commented, “Happy birthday!!! He literally got it all.” Offset’s birthday was December 14, but they waited a week to celebrate.
On Offset’s birthday, Cardi posted a photo of them snuggling and commented, “I love you so much and I’m so proud of you. We have overcome so much together. I love the man that you’re becoming and I love the father that you are. Thank you for always being there for me, for being a great confidant and advisor and for never allowing me to sell myself short.”
“I’m so lucky to have you as a partner raising our beautiful kids. You have soo many projects and businesses that you are managing and leading yet you have helped me so much in this journey wit our two babies,” the “Up” rapper continued. “May life keep blessing you and you continue to thrive. I’m so excited for the world to see what you got coming.”
In October, Offset purchased a sprawling mansion in the Caribbean as an investment-slash-gift for Cardi’s 29th birthday. The couple, who secretly married in 2017, have two children: Kulture, 3 and a 16-week-old baby son.
As Ed Sheeran looks ahead to family life, he says massive, worldwide tours are not part of his picture for much longer.
Speaking to the Teach Me a Lesson podcast recently, the “Shivers” singer explained, “I would hate to get to 20 years’ time and have a relationship with my kids that had suffered because I’d chosen work over them.” Ed said he fears missing birthdays or important family moments because he has to “play another stadium.”
Because of those concerns, the Grammy winner admitted, “I honestly think that this next tour that I’m going on, at the end of the tour, I can’t see myself going on one of them like that again.”
As for what his modified touring schedule would look like in the future, Ed mused over two options: “Six weeks in summer or six weeks in the winter.” He did stress that six weeks was the most he’d be willing to spend apart from his family.
“I want to put as much time into my kids as possible,” the British singer maintained, adding that it’s his firm belief that “life is about passing things on to the next generation.”
The “Bad Habits” singer kicks off hisMathematics Tour in April 2022 and will play for 27 dates across England and Europe before wrapping in September.
Ed is married to Cherry Seaborn and the two share a one-year-old daughter, Lyra. The singer previously revealed he would love to have more kids, but has yet to reveal when he’ll be welcoming a fourth member to his growing family.
Ed also gave fans a special Christmas present on Thursday by releasing a special a capella version of his 2020 hit, “Afterglow,” in which he sings in a church alongside eight backup singers.
Eric Church performs “Joy to the World” at In Performance at the White House: Spirit of the Season, (photographer Cable Risdon)
In Performance at the White House: Spirit of the Season aired on PBS Tuesday night, with artists of all genres coming together for powerful, classic renditions of favorite holiday songs.
Eric Church was among them, joining the lineup alongside his trusty back-up vocalist/singing partner Joanna Cotten for their version of “Joy to the World.” Accompanied by sparse instrumentation and Eric’s own guitarwork, the country superstar traded verses with Joanna throughout the performance.
They performed from the White House’s Green Room. The PBS special aired from various historic rooms in the building, with artists performing from the State Dining Room, the East Room and the Blue Room — the latter of which is the location of the Official White House Christmas Tree.
In case you missed it last night, you can stream In Performance at the White House: Spirit of the Season on PBS’ website.
(NEW YORK) — A month after the omicron variant was first identified, it has become the dominant strain in the United States, responsible for about three-quarters of new COVID infections.
As of Wednesday, cases have been identified in 49 states and Washington, D.C. South Dakota has not reported any omicron infections yet.
While there is still much to learn about omicron, more research is being done every day furthering health officials’ understanding of this highly transmissible variant.
Spreads more easily than any other variant
A growing body of evidence suggests the omicron variant may spread more easily than any other variant identified during the pandemic.
Health officials, such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, say early data shows omicron doubles in prevalence every two to three days.
This is much faster than the delta variant which, at its peak, had a doubling time of about seven days.
“This is an incredibly fast-moving variant,” Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor, said. “We only identified it on Thanksgiving and it’s already the dominant variant in the U.S. The level of certainty we have in the U.S. that it is more transmissible than any variant before is high.”
Omicron partially impacts vaccines, but a booster helps
Omicron seems to evade — at least partially — protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines more easily than previous variants, but it’s unclear by how much. However, studies have been showing boosters help restore much of that lost protection
Preliminary data from Pfizer-BioNTech showed that people who received two doses of their vaccine had low levels of neutralizing antibodies against the variant.
Those who received their booster shot, however, saw their levels of antibodies increase 25-fold compared to pre-boost levels.
Additionally, early data from Moderna released on Monday showed its 50-microgram booster increases antibody levels 37-fold.
Two-dose vaccines still dramatically reduce the risk of severe illness and death, health officials say.
”It’s still an open question about what relative protection you get,” Brownstein said. “It appears vaccines still provide incredible protection around severe illness and death, especially if boosted.”
Additionally, it does not appear that previous COVID infection protects against reinfection from omicron the same way that it did against the delta variant.
A recent study from Imperial College London, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, suggests that the risk of infection with omicron is five times higher than with delta.
Monoclonal antibodies are less effective, but not pills
Treatments also appear to have been affected by the emergence of omicron.According to a readout of this week’s private call between U.S. governors and the White House, which was obtained by ABC News, two of three monoclonal antibody therapies used to treat COVID are less effective against the new variant.
The antibody treatments made by Regeneron and Eli Lilly are not as effective while the third option, made by Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline, may be effective but in short supply.
Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that pills produced by Merck and Pfizer do not appear to be impacted by omicron, according to the readout.
Too early to tell if omicron causes severe illness
Health officials still do not know if omicron causes mild or severe illness.
Studies that have been published have offered conflicting findings. A study from South Africa found that the risk of hospitalization for adults was 30% lower compared to the delta-fueled surge during the fall.
But the study from ICL found that omicron did not show any signs of being milder than delta.
In a recent statement, the World Health Organization said it’s too early to say whether omicron causes more mild or severe illness.
So far, only one death from the omicron variant has been identified: An unvaccinated Texas man in his 50s who had previously been infected with the virus. It’s important to remember that not every COVID-related death is reported to health authorities.
Until we learn more about omicron, Brownstein said the best way to protect ourselves is to follow mitigation measures that are known to work, including vaccination and mask-wearing.
“The No. 1 thing that people can do is make sure they’re vaccinated and boosted. That is still our absolute No. 1 line of defense,” he said. “Use rapid tests as a way to identify if you may be contagious and wear a high-quality mask in indoor settings, especially if you’re around people with unknown vaccination status.”
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
