Even if you don’t know what an NFT is, you want one for free, right? Then sign up for Rob Thomas‘ newsletter.
The singer is giving away his first-ever batch of NFTs to fans who sign up for his newsletter by Christmas Day. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, give you the ability to own a unique piece of digital art. In this case, that art is a little video that shows the cover of Rob’s holiday album Something About Christmas Time, along with his signature and a “Merry Christmas” wish.
If you sign up, on Christmas Day, you’ll get an email from Rob telling how you can redeem the NFT. One lucky fan will randomly receive the rarest version — the “Gold Certificate” NFT — while 100 fans will get the “Silver” one, and 1,000 will receive the “Bronze” one. Everyone else will get “Blue” one.
In other festive Rob Thomas news, he’s recorded a version of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” for your listening pleasure. Find it on his social media accounts.
(NEW YORK) — In an effort to stop bad behavior on planes, unruly passengers could lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is partnering with TSA to share information on passengers facing fines for unruly behavior. After receiving the information, TSA said it can then remove those passengers from its PreCheck program.
“If you act out of line, you will wait in line,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said.
The FAA has been cracking down on the unfriendly skies for almost a year, taking a “zero-tolerance approach.” The agency has warned passengers that they could face hefty fines as much as $37,000 for interfering with a flight crew.
Despite the crackdown, there has been a record number of unruly incidents on flights; this year alone the FAA has received 5,664 reports of which 4,000 were mask related.
“Our partnership aims to promote safe and responsible passenger behavior,” Dickson said. “One unruly incident is one too many.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden detailed further steps his administration will take to slow the spread of omicron in an address to the nation on Tuesday, including an effort to distribute 500 million free at-home rapid tests to Americans next month, dispatch military members to overburdened hospitals and continue the push to vaccinate and boost all Americans.
“I want to start by acknowledging how tired, worried and frustrated I know you are,” Biden began in his address to the nation from the White House. “For many of you, this will be the first or even the second Christmas we look across the table to see an empty kitchen chair.”
He acknowledged that the highly transmissible omicron variant, which became the most dominant COVID strain in the country Monday, was raising concerns just as travel kicks off at nearly pre-pandemic levels for the holiday season.
“If you’re not fully vaccinated, you have good reason to be concerned,” Biden said. “Almost everyone who has died from COVID-19 in the past many months has been unvaccinated. Unvaccinated.”
“You’re putting other people at risk — your loved ones, your friends, neighbors, strangers,” he said to unvaccinated Americans. “You may think you’re putting only yourself at risk. But, it’s your choice. Your choice is not just about you, it affects other people. You’re putting other people at risk. Your loved ones, your friends, neighbors, strangers you run into, and your choice can be the difference between life or death. The longer the virus is around, the more likely variants form that may be deadlier than the ones that have come before,” he said.
For vaccinated Americans, the message was starkly different. Biden encouraged spending time with family.
“If you are vaccinated and follow the precautions that we all know well, you should feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays as you planned it,” he said.
But he also acknowledged the risks of higher breakthrough cases in the weeks and months to come, stemming from omicron’s many mutations able to escape vaccine protections.
“Because omicron spreads so easily, we’ll see some fully vaccinated people get COVID, potentially in large numbers. There will be positive cases in every office, even here in the White House among among the vaccinated,” he said.
“But these cases are highly unlikely to lead to serious illness. Vaccinated people who get COVID may get ill, but they’re protected from severe illness and death. That’s why you should still remain vigilant.”
Still, the president rejected the idea that the U.S. would go back to March 2020 or impose new lockdowns.
“The best thing to do is get fully vaccinated and get your booster shot — and no, this is not March of 2020. Two hundred million people are fully vaccinated. We’re prepared. We know more. We just have to stay focused,” Biden said.
In his ongoing push to get hesitant Americans vaccinated and boosted, Biden also mentioned that former President Donald Trump this week said he had gotten his booster shot.
“Maybe one of the few things he and I agree on,” Biden said.
He also gave the Trump administration a nod on vaccine development.
“Let me be clear, thanks to the prior administration and our scientific community, America was one of the first countries to get the vaccine,” Biden said. “Thanks to my administration and the hard work of Americans, we led a rollout that made America among the world leaders in getting shots and arms.”
Biden’s newest efforts on omicron, from more testing to help for strained hospitals
Part of Biden’s latest efforts will be free at-home rapid tests delivered by mail to Americans who request them, the president said, marking a slightly different approach from European countries that chose to send tests to all residents.
Americans will have to request the tests through a website that will launch in January and it’s not yet clear how many tests Americans will be able to request per household.
The move is a significant departure from the White House’s posture just two weeks ago, when White House press secretary Jen Psaki dismissed the idea of mailing tests to every American as costly and wasteful.
“Should we just send one to every American?” Psaki told a reporter on Dec. 6.
“Then what happens if every American has one test? How much does that cost, and then what happens after that?” Psaki said.
But the effort shows the consensus among White House officials on the need to improve the nation’s testing apparatus, which was caught unprepared by the perfect storm of high demand for pre-holiday testing and a surge of omicron cases.
As a result, Americans have faced long lines and empty shelves this week as they attempt to safely gather for the holidays in keeping with CDC guidance, which calls for families to use at-home rapid tests as an extra layer of prevention before gathering.
Fielding questions after his remarks, Biden rejected suggestions that it was a failure to not have the tests readily available in advance of the holidays.
“No, it’s not a failure, but the alarm bell went off. I don’t think anybody anticipated that this was going to be as rapidly spreading as it did,” he said.
But experts have long been warning that new variants are always on the horizon. Since omicron was detected last month, many have urged the Biden administration to move away from a strategy that solely prioritizes vaccination and to beef up other prevention measures, such as testing or mask mandates.
“Scientists have been warning about the potential for new variants to come along for a year now or more. And we’ve known about omicron since the day before Thanksgiving. It’s been weeks at this point,” said Dr. Sam Scarpino, managing director of pathogen surveillance at the Rockefeller Foundation and a member of their Pandemic Prevention Institute.
Biden outlined other efforts in his speech on Tuesday, too, including new federal testing sites around the country — the first several of which will launch in New York City by Christmas — and mobilizing 1,000 military doctors and nurses to overburdened hospitals.
The military aid will be five times the current deployment and could be a big boost to hospitals that have been running on fumes for two years.
There are currently 175 troops deployed over four states, and since August 2021, when a joint military operation across the Army, Navy and Air Force began, about 530 medical military personnel have been deployed to work alongside civilian health care providers.
Tuesday marked the second time Biden had addressed the nation about the omicron variant in less than a month.
In November, Biden announced a winter COVID plan that included setting up more vaccination and booster clinics to encourage more Americans to get protected and increase testing by getting insurance companies to reimburse the cost of at-home tests.
The 500 million free at-home tests announced on Tuesday will be in addition to getting at-home tests reimbursed, which will go into effect on Jan. 15.
“I know you’re tired. I really mean this, and I know you’re frustrated. We all want this to be over. But we’re still in it,” Biden said Tuesday, closing out his speech. “This is a critical moment. But we also have more tools than we’ve ever had before. We’re ready. We’ll get through this. As we head into the holidays, I want us to all keep the faith.”
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a plan to distribute 500 million free at-home rapid tests to Americans beginning in January, doubling down on an effort to slow the spread of a highly transmissible variant that has hit the U.S. distressingly close to the holidays.
But he denied it was a failure not to have more tests already available as Americans wanted to get checked days before family gatherings.
“I want to start by acknowledging how tired, worried and frustrated I know you are,” Biden began in his address to the nation from the White House. “For many of you, this will be the first or even the second Christmas, we look across the table to see an empty kitchen chair.”
“If you’re not fully vaccinated, you have good reason to be concerned,” Biden went on, talking about the omicron variant, now the dominant strain in the U.S. “Almost everyone who has died from COVID-19 in the past many months has been unvaccinated. Unvaccinated.”
“You’re putting other people at risk — your loved ones, your friends, neighbors, strangers,” he said to unvaccinated Americans. “You may think you’re putting only yourself at risk. But, it’s your choice. Your choice is not just about you, it affects other people. You’re putting other people at risk. Your loved ones, your friends, neighbors, strangers you run into, and your choice can be the difference between life or death. The longer the virus is around, the more likely variants form that may be deadlier than the ones that have come before,” he said.
Still, the president rejected the idea that the U.S. would go back to March 2020 or impose new lockdowns, and said public health officials have the means this winter to keep schools open safely, for example.
“If you are vaccinated and follow the precautions that we all know well, you should feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays as you planned it,” he said.
“The best thing to do is get fully vaccinated and get your booster shot — and no, this is not March of 2020. Two hundred million people are fully vaccinated. We’re prepared. We know more. We just have to stay focused,” Biden added.
In his ongoing push to get hesitant Americans vaccinated and boosted, Biden also mentioned that former President Donald Trump this week said he had gotten his booster shot, adding, “Maybe one of the few things he and I agree on.”
He also gave the Trump administration a nod on vaccine development.
“Let me be clear, thanks to the prior administration and our scientific community, America is one of the first countries to get the vaccine,” Biden said. “Thanks to my administration and the hard work of Americans, we led a rollout that made America among the world leaders in getting shots and arms.”
Biden’s new efforts come as the omicron variant became the most dominant COVID strain in the country Monday, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all cases, and just as travel kicks off at nearly pre-pandemic levels for the holiday season.
The Biden administration’s free at-home rapid tests will be delivered by mail to Americans who request them, Biden said, marking a slightly different approach from European countries that chose to send tests to all residents.
“Because Omicron spreads so easily, we’ll see some fully vaccinated people get COVID, potentially in large numbers. There will be positive cases in every office, even here in the White House,” he said, one day after the White House reported the president came in contact with a staffer who later tested positive.
“But these cases are highly unlikely to lead to serious illness. Vaccinated people who get COVID may get ill, but they’re protected from severe illness and death. That’s why you should still remain vigilant,” he said.
Pressed by reporters, Biden rejected suggestions it was a failure to not have the tests readily available in advance of the holidays.
“No, it’s not a failure, but the alarm bell went off. I don’t think anybody anticipated that this was going to be as rapidly spreading as it did,” he said.
Americans will have to request the tests through a website that will launch in January, a senior administration official said on Monday, and it’s not yet clear how many tests Americans will be able to request per household.
The move is a significant departure from the White House’s posture just two weeks ago, when White House press secretary Jen Psaki dismissed the idea of mailing tests to every American as costly and wasteful.
“Should we just send one to every American?” Psaki told a reporter on Dec. 6.
“Then what happens if every American has one test? How much does that cost, and then what happens after that?” Psaki said.
But the effort shows the consensus among White House officials on the need to improve the nation’s testing apparatus, which was caught unprepared by the perfect storm of high demand for pre-holiday testing and a surge of omicron cases.
As a result, Americans have faced long lines and empty shelves this week as they attempt to safely gather for the holidays in keeping with CDC guidance, which calls for families to use at-home rapid tests as an extra layer of prevention before gathering.
Fielding questions after his remarks, Biden was also asked what took so long to get tests out to Americans as the spread of omicron coincides with a greater need for testing ahead of the holidays.
“Come on, what took so long?” Biden quipped back at a reporter.
“Well, what took so long, is it didn’t take long at all. What happened was, the omicron virus spread even more rapidly than anybody thought,” Biden said.
Dr. Sam Scarpino, managing director of pathogen surveillance at the Rockefeller Foundation and a member of their Pandemic Prevention Institute, said the government could have seen this coming.
“Scientists have been warning about the potential for new variants to come along for a year now or more. And we’ve known about omicron since the day before Thanksgiving. It’s been weeks at this point,” he said.
There will be other actions to get ahead of omicron outlined in Biden’s speech on Tuesday, too, like new federal testing sites around the country — the first several of which will launch in New York City by Christmas — and mobilizing 1,000 military doctors and nurses to overburdened hospitals, the senior administration official said.
The military aid will be five-fold the current deployment and could be a big boost to hospitals that have been running on fumes for two years.
There are currently 175 troops spread over four states, and since August 2021, when a joint military operation across the Army, Navy and Air Force began, about 530 medical military personnel have been deployed to work alongside civilian health care providers.
Tuesday marked the second time Biden addresses the nation about the omicron variant in less than a month.
In November, Biden announced a winter COVID plan that included beefing up vaccination and booster clinics to encourage more Americans to get protected and increase testing by getting insurance companies to reimburse the cost of at-home tests.
The 500 million free at-home tests that will be announced on Tuesday will be in addition to getting at-home tests reimbursed, which will go into effect on Jan. 15.
Noticeably missing from the new government efforts will be any attempts to enact further restrictions or lockdowns — which some European countries have opted for as omicron has swept through their populations.
“I know you’re tired. I really mean this, and I know you’re frustrated. We all want this to be over. But we’re still in it,” Biden said in closing. “This is a critical moment. But we also have more tools than we’ve ever had before. We’re ready. We’ll get through this. As we head into the holidays, I want us to all keep the faith.”
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
Getty Images/Getty Images for the Critics Choice Association
The New York Film Critics Circle is postponing their annual awards ceremony due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
The ceremony was originally supposed to take place on Monday, January 10 at Tao Downtown in NYC. A new date for the event will be announced early next year.
As previously reported, the New York Film Critics Circle named Drive My Car as Best Film, Jane Campion as Best Director for The Power of The Dog, Lady Gaga as Best Actress for House of Gucci, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Best Actor for The Power of the Dog.
The 2022 Critics Choice Awards, however, still plans to move forward with its in-person ceremony under strict COVID-19 protocols, according to Variety. The ceremony, hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer, is scheduled to air live from Los Angeles on The CW and TBS on Sunday, January 9, at 7 p.m. ET.
Belfast and West Side Story lead those nominations, with 11 each.
Camila Cabello, The Jonas Brothers and Pentatonix are among the artists appearing on In Performance at the White House: Spirit of the Season, which debuts tonight, Tuesday, on PBS at 8 p.m. ET. For Camila, her performance is especially meaningful, because in some ways, it shows that her family is living the American Dream.
At the White House, Camila performs a mariachi arrangement of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” with her mom and dad there for the occasion. Camila’s mom is a Cuban immigrant, while her dad is a Mexican immigrant who recently became a citizen.
“The fact that I’m able to kind of pay tribute to my heritage and represent Latinos and also have my dad be sharing this moment with me, it’s kind of like a crazy moment,” Camila notes. “You know, the fact that, we’re an immigrant family and we’re at the White House is really special and really cool.”
Speaking of family and heritage, Camila says her favorite Christmas tradition is all about that.
“Latinos celebrate Christmas, the 24th, and it’s something that we call Nochebuena,” she explains. “And that’s when we have kind of like our party, and there’s, like, rice and beans and I guess like the traditional food from the countries.”
“And it’s also my grandma’s birthday is the 24th and my mom’s birthday is the 25th!” Camila adds. “So it’s a lot happening in those two days, so we celebrate their birthdays, too.“
Tonight’s In Performance at the White House also features President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, as well as Norah Jones, Billy Porter, Jennifer Garner, Andrea Bocelli and country star Eric Church. Check your local listings.
Thomas Rhett is giving fans a look into life at home with a new baby.
On Monday, Thomas shared a new photo of his one-month-old daughter, Lillie, looking up at the camera with a serious yet precious expression on her face. “Lillie girl,” he captioned the sweet pic with the raised hands emoji.
Fans were quick to flood the comment section with kind words, writing, “so gorgeous,” “so adorable” and “she’s beautiful!”
Thomas and his wife Lauren welcomed Lillie in November. She joins older sisters Willa, 6, Ada, 4, and one-year-old Lennon.
The country star recently turned his parenthood experience into a song called “Years Are Short,” which he shared on Instagram.
HBO Max’s Harry Potter reunion special is fast approaching, and Rupert Grint is teasing fans about what they can expect.
The actor, who played Ron Weasley in the series, tells Entertainment Tonight that the reunion was an emotional one. It’s the first time he, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have reunited on screen since the final Harry Potter movie in 2011.
“Those movies were our childhoods. We grew up on those sets so it has incredible meaning to all of us,” Grint tells ET. “It’s been 10 years since we wrapped the last movie and we’ve seen each other quite a bit in-between that but not a great deal. So it was great to see them again and talk about it. I don’t really talk or think about it a lot, so it was fun to remember.”
Grint wouldn’t reveal much more in the way of secrets or surprises, though he did promise that stars from all eight movies would be present. He also addressed talk of a possible reboot or sequel to the original films, and said he wouldn’t be opposed to playing Ron again.
“There’s been a lot talk of [playing Ron again] with everything going on and I feel like I am that character,” Grint says. “I think I had a very strange relationship with him at first but I feel like there’s a lot of me in there so I’m quite protective of him. I don’t really have a good reason to say no, I’m very proud to be a part of it.”
After receiving five Grammy nominations last month, SZA is now celebrating her first major acting role.
The “All the Stars” singer posted in an Instagram story, “Can’t believe I got the part I wanted. She’s an actress,” as captured by The Shade Room.
Born Solani Rowe, the 32-year-old entertainer received a cake from an anonymous person that read, “Congrats record breaker and fire actress.” SZA didn’t give more details on the role. Her only previous acting experience was an appearance on Insecure in 2020.
Last week, SZA’s new single, “I Hate You,” set an Apple Music record as the most-streamed R&B Song by a female artist in its first week.
“Y’all really took a song from SoundCloud and made it number one for 7 days straight . No promo no radio . no nada. Jus YALLS LOVE,” SZA commented on Instagram. “I AM SO BEYOND THANKFUL TO HAVE YOU ALL IN MY LIFE! Thank you to my fire a** team for helping me get this song on streaming asap.”
As SZA enjoys the success of “I Hate You,” she’s looking forward to the Grammy Awards on January 31. Her nominations include Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Kiss Me More,” with Doja Cat.
Billie Eilish heads into the upcoming Grammy Awards with seven nominations, thanks to her sophomore album, Happier Than Ever. And no one is prouder than her big brother, collaborator and co-producer, FINNEAS. He spoke with Billboardabout how the two created the song after which the album’s named.
“We just knew that it was important to the album,” he said, calling the song “cathartic. We were like, ‘Oh, this is definitely the title track.'”
FINNEAS reveals he and Billie began writing the track in 2019 while waiting to play a show in Denmark and were “super jet lagged.”
“I was sitting around with Billie, and we started writing that melody that was sort of the first chorus, the, ‘When I’m away from you, I’m happier than ever’ part,” he recalled, adding he played on a “little toy guitar” at the time.
FINNEAS continued, “It was correlated to what she was going through in her life at that exact moment. We knew that we liked that idea, but we weren’t in the period of time where we were like crunching down on an album, so we just put it in our back pocket and we’d write a line or two here and there.”
Eight months later, the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a lockdown and the pair found themselves “very devoted to making an album.”
“We revisited that idea and loved it,” said FINNEAS, adding he and Billie finished the title track “in May or June 2020.”
The Grammy nominee noted, “That’s a pretty long writing lifespan for songs — usually, songs are written pretty quickly. I think it’s a testament to how long and winding that song is in and of itself, so it was a really fulfilling process. I’m so happy with the way it turned out.”
