Who says TikTok is just for teens? Michael Buble is celebrating his 46th birthday by making his debut on the wildly popular social media platform.
Michael’s first video is captioned, “My wife gave me Tik Tok for my birthday — tell me what I’m supposed to do with this?” It shows Michael lip-syncing to audio of a laughing, giggling baby and clapping his hands in delight at a cupcake that’s sitting in front of him, which is topped with a candle in the shape of the number six.
When someone off screen pushes another cupcake into the frame with a “four” candle — spelling out Michael’s actual age, 46 — he looks at in horror, pushes it away and lip-syncs to the baby saying “No!” You can also watch it on his Instagram Story.
Michael’s celebrating his birthday today in a big way: He’s kicking off his long-delayed An Evening with Michael Buble tour in Allentown, PA. All attendees need to present proof of vaccination or the results of a negative COVID-19 test to attend.
CBS is throwing a country music-filled New Year’s Eve bash.
To ring in 2022, CBS is presenting New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash featuring performances by Luke Bryan, Dan + Shay, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini,Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett. Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker, Brooks & Dunn, Elle King, Cole Swindell and Zac Brown Band also slated to perform.
The five-hour show will see the stars taking the stage at multiple locations across Music City in nearly 50 performances, including Dan + Shay, Dierks and Zac Brown Band headlining at Bicentennial Capitol Mall.
The new year will officially be rung in when Nashville’s signature music note drops at midnight.
Additional artists will be announced in the coming days. The star-studded event airs at 8 p.m. ET on December 31 on CBS and will be available to stream on Paramount+.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will announce on Thursday that federal government employees and contractors will now be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will create a rule for private businesses with 100 or more employees to require their employees to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing, according to senior administration officials.
Biden will lay out his new six-part strategy to combat the delta variant in remarks at 5 p.m. ET.
A senior administration official estimated that this new OSHA requirement will cover about 80 million workers and businesses that do not comply with the agency’s rule can face substantial fees — up to $14,000. OSHA will require these employers to offer paid time off for vaccination.
As part of his effort to vaccinate the federal executive branch, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Indian Health Service and the National Institutes of Health will complete implementation of their previously announced vaccination requirements that cover 2.5 million people, a source familiar with the plans said.
This is an escalation of the president’s action in July calling for federal workers to attest to their vaccination status and submit to mitigation efforts if they are not vaccinated, such as mask usage and regular testing.
The president is also expected to announce that the Transportation Security Administration and interstate travel mask mandate will be extended through Jan. 18, the fine for noncompliance will double and health care facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement must require their employees to be vaccinated. This will cover about 17 million health care workers across the country.
“In total, the new vaccination requirements in the president’s plan cover about 100 million workers, that’s two thirds of all workers in the United States,” a senior administration official said on a briefing call with reporters Thursday afternoon.
Speaking at her daily briefing Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Biden would “outline the next phase in the fight against the virus and what that looks like, including measures to work with the public and private sector.”
She said he would be “building on the steps that we’ve already announced, the steps we’ve taken over the last few months, requiring more vaccinations, boosting important testing measures and more, making it safer for kids to go to school, all at a time when the American people are listening. Again, this will be six steps that we’ll work to be implementing over the months ahead.”
According to a White House official, the president’s plan will include six areas of focus: vaccinating the unvaccinated; furthering protection for the vaccinated; keeping schools safely open; increasing testing and requiring masking; protecting the economy’s recovery; and improving care for those with COVID-19.
Psaki confirmed there will be new components as part of the president’s announcement but wouldn’t go much beyond general comments about testing access, mandates and making sure kids are protected from the highly transmissible virus as they return to school and Americans return from summer vacations.
She said plans were still being finalized as Biden met with with his COVID-19 response team Wednesday afternoon.
“Will any of those new steps influence the average American’s day-to-day life? Should we expect any new mitigation recommendations, as an example?” a reporter asked.
“It depends on if you’re vaccinated or not,” Psaki replied, but gave no further details.
She highlighted efforts the administration already has taken to try and get the delta variant under control.
“We’ve been at war with the delta variant over the course of the last couple of months. And just to remind you of some of the steps that we have announced, we have announced new government mandates on DOD, our military forces, NIH, other — the VA, the Veterans Affairs — Department of Veterans Affairs, folks who are serving on the front lines on the health — on health — in health roles in that department. We’ve also incentivized additional mandates, whether it is in home — in health care facilities, nursing homes, and others,” Psaki said.
“And we’ve also lifted up and — and incentivized private sector — private sector mandates, because we’ve seen that they have been effective. We’ve also deployed over 700 surge response teams across the country and work closely, again, with the private sector to institute more requirements on vaccinations,” she continued.
“We have more work to do, and we are still at war with the virus and with the delta variant,” she added. “So, we’re going to build on that work. And he’s speaking to it now, because this issue, of course, is on front of mind, top of mind to Americans across the country. People are returning to schools. Workplaces are either reopening, some brick and mortar, or some people are just returning to work after spending some time with family or loved ones over the summer.”
But besides ordering the nation’s 2.1 million federal employees and 1.3 million active duty service members get vaccinated, Biden has limited legal authority to institute a broad vaccine mandate for most Americans.
About 75% of the adult U.S. population has received at least one vaccine dose and 64.4% of the adult U.S. population is fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Tuesday, Psaki did seem to suggest that Biden will call on the private sector to institute more vaccine mandates. Major corporations such as Facebook, Google and Citigroup have already announced vaccination requirements.
“I will note that we’ve seen that there are a range of ways that we have increased vaccinations across the country, or vaccinations have increased, I should say. One of them is private sector companies mandating in different capacities that their employees get vaccinated. Or certain school districts mandate,” Psaki said.
Biden previewed some of what he planned to say when he spoke about the August jobs numbers, which were much lower than predicted.
“There’s no question the delta variant is why today’s jobs report isn’t stronger. I know people were looking, and I was hoping, for a higher number. But next week, I’ll lay out the next steps that are going to — we’re going to need to combat the delta variant, to address some of those fears and concerns,” Biden said Friday.
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll showed Americans in August souring on Biden’s handling of the pandemic, with his approval rating for his handling or the response dropping 10 points from June, down to 52%
Biden’s remarks are scheduled for just 11 days before the administration is set to begin widely rolling out booster shots of Pfizer on Sept. 20, a process mired by confusion as some public health experts say the data doesn’t yet support the need for boosters.
Lil Nas X is really taking this whole “I’m pregnant with my debut album” concept seriously: He’s posted a baby registry online.
The “Industry Baby” artist has been posting photos and videos of himself sporting a fake pregnant belly in advance of the September 17 release of his album, Montero. But the baby registry isn’t a joke: It’s actually for a good cause.
Instead of gifts like onesies and baby monitors, the registry, which you can find at WelcometoMontero.com, encourages fans to make donations to charities that support various social justice and LGBTQ causes. A different charity is listed for each track on the album.
For example, next to the song title “Am I Dreaming,” which features Miley Cyrus, there’s a link to her Happy Hippie Foundation charity, which works with homeless and LGBTQ youth and other vulnerable populations. The song title “Industry Baby” includes a link to The Bail Project, which works for criminal justice reform.
On the Bail Project page, Lil Nas X notes, “Music is the way I fight for liberation. It’s my act of resistance.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has filed suit against the state of Texas to block its restrictive law against abortions, Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Thursday, setting up a high-stakes legal battle after the Supreme Court allowed the law to go into effect earlier this month.
“That act is clearly unconstitutional under long-standing Supreme Court precedent,” Garland said at a news conference. “Those precedents hold, in the words of Planned Parenthood versus Casey, that ‘regardless of whether exceptions are made for particular circumstances, a state may not prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability.'”
He accused Texas Republicans of crafting a “statutory scheme” through the law “to nullify the Constitution of the United States.”
“It does not rely on the state’s executive branch to enforce the law, as is the norm in Texas and everywhere else. Rather, the snatcher deputizes all private citizens without any showing a personal connection or injury to serve as bounty hunters authorized to recover at least $10,000 per claim from individuals who facilitate a woman’s exercise of our constitutional rights,” he said.
As part of its lawsuit, Garland said the DOJ is seeking an immediate court order preventing the enforcement of SB8 in Texas.
Garland also made clear that the department won’t hesitate to take similar legal action against other states who might pursue a similar route to restrict abortions in the state.
“The additional risk here is that other states will follow similar models,” Garland said, and he denied that the decision to file the suit now was in any way based on political pressure from Democrats or the White House.
The lawsuit accuses Texas lawmakers of enacting the law “in open defiance of the Constitution.”
“The United States has the authority and responsibility to ensure that Texas cannot evade its obligations under the Constitution and deprive individuals of their constitutional rights by adopting a statutory scheme designed specifically to evade traditional mechanisms of federal judicial review,” the lawsuit says. “The federal government therefore brings this suit directly against the State of Texas to obtain a declaration that S.B. 8 is invalid, to enjoin its enforcement, and to protect the rights that Texas has violated.”
The suit also alleges that the law conflicts with federal law by intending to prohibit federal agencies from carrying out their responsibilities related to abortion services.
“Because S.B. 8 does not contain an exception for cases of rape or incest, its terms purport to prohibit the federal government and its employees and agents from performing, funding, reimbursing, or facilitating abortions in such cases,” the lawsuit says.
Garland cautioned that the Texas law should concern all Americans, regardless of their politics.
“This kind of scheme to nullify the Constitution of the United States is one that all Americans, whatever their politics or party, should fear. If it prevails, it may become a model for action in other areas by other states and with respect to other constitutional rights and judicial precedents,” he said. “Nor one need think hard or long to realize the damage that would be done to our society if states were allowed to implement laws that empower any private individual to infringe on another’s constitutionally protected rights in this way. The United States has the authority and the responsibility to ensure that no state can deprive individuals of their constitutional rights through a legislative scheme specifically designed to prevent the vindication of those rights.”
The Texas statute, which is the most restrictive abortion law in the country, bars physicians from providing abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, or as soon as six weeks into a pregnancy — often before a woman would even know they were pregnant. There is an exception for medical emergencies, but not in cases of rape or incest.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court formally rejected a request by Texas abortion providers to block the state’s severe new law as legal challenges continue.
The unsigned order from the court said the providers had “raised serious questions regarding the constitutionality of the Texas law at issue,” but added “their application also presents complex and novel antecedent procedural questions” that they were unable to resolve.
The new law has triggered outrage from those who support a women’s right to an abortion nationwide. Companies like Uber and Lyft have offered to pay legal fees for any driver who is sued under the law and dating apps Match and Bumble, both headquartered in Texas, pledged to support women seeking abortions.
On the other side, many state lawmakers have said they intend to copy the wording of the Texas law in order to enact similar bans in their states.
Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee is assuring fans she’s “OK” after suffering a “bad sprain.”
In a recent radio interview, Lee shared that she had injured herself after falling during a hike. Addressing fan concerns in a tweet on Thursday afternoon, Lee writes, “Thank you for the well wishes, guys! I’m OK, just a bad sprain but it’s healed a lot already.”
“I would have posted a picture of the bruise but it was so gnarly I’m afraid it would have been flagged for like, graphic violence,” she adds, along with a crying-laughing emoji. “For real tho, I’m OK! See you soon! Get vaccinated!”
Lee and Evanescence have been prepping for their upcoming co-headlining tour with Halestorm, which is set to kick off in November. The “Bring Me to Life” rockers will be supporting their new album The Bitter Truth, their first all-original record in 10 years.
Thank you for the well wishes, guys! I’m ok, just a bad sprain but it’s healed a lot already. I would have posted a picture of the bruise but it was so gnarly I’m afraid it would have been flagged for like, graphic violence 😂 For real tho, I’m ok! See you soon! Get vaccinated!
Ben Gibson/Courtesy of Rocket Entertainment; David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
When Elton John announced Wednesday that he was going to be in an UberEats commercial with rapper-singer Lil Nas X, we didn’t expect to get three separate commercials — and three sets of fabulous costumes to boot.
Each ad is part of UberEats’ ongoing “Tonight I’ll Be Eating” campaign, in which celebrities detail what they’ve ordered and had delivered via the online platform. The first one, “Rides,” shows Elton riding a coin-operated kiddie rocket ride, while Nas is on a similar one in the shape of a horse.
After each singer describes their food order, Elton asks Nas to loan him some money to gets his ride started, but Nas doesn’t understand him because Elton uses the British slang words for money: “bones,” “lolly” and “bangers and mash.”
Finally, an exasperated Elton says, “I don’t have any money!” to which Nas responds, in a British accent, “You don’t LOOK broke!”
The second clip, “Mayo vs. Ketchup,” features Elton announcing that he’s ordered a club sandwich with fries, with mayo on the side. Nas, who’s sitting in a clump of flowers wearing a Louis XIV-style wig and playing a sitar — because why not? — responds, “Mayonnaise? On fries?” Elton responds, “A little judgy, don’t you think?” to which Nas adds, “That’s weird.”
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Harriet Hageman, a primary challenger to incumbent Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., ahead of Hageman’s Thursday afternoon announcement that she will run for Cheney’s seat in the House of Representatives.
His endorsement both strikes back at Cheney, who voted for Trump’s impeachment in January and is serving on the Jan. 6 House select commitee, and is another test of how much weight his backing carries in primary races.
“Unlike RINO [Republican in name only] Liz Cheney, Harriet is all in for America First. Harriet has my Complete and Total Endorsement in replacing the Democrats number one provider of sound bites, Liz Cheney. Make America Great Again!” Trump said in a statement on Thursday morning through his Save America political action committee.
Trump also said that Hageman “is strong on Crime and Borders, powerfully supports the Second Amendment, loves our Military and our Vets, and will fight for Election Integrity and Energy Independence.”
POLITICO reported last month that that Trump and Hageman, who ran for governor in 2018, were going to meet to discuss a congressional bid.
Hageman, an attorney and former national committeewoman for Wyoming on the Republican National Committee, supported Cheney in previous campaigns. But in a statement on her campaign website, she said Cheney had lost her support.
“Like many Wyomingites, I supported Liz Cheney when she ran for Congress. But then she betrayed Wyoming, she betrayed this country, and she betrayed me,” Hageman said. “Every time Wyomingites see President Biden fail us and harm the interests of our nation and our state, they have Liz Cheney to thank.”
Cheney fired back at Trump’s endorsement on Twitter, posting a picture of Trump’s statement with “number one provider of sound bites, Liz Cheney” highlighted in yellow.
“Here’s a sound bite for you: Bring it,” Cheney wrote.
“I am honored to represent the people of Wyoming and proud of my strong conservative record,” Cheney said in a statement to ABC News.
“It is tragic that some in this race have sacrificed those principles, and their duty to the people of Wyoming, out of fear and in favor of loyalty to a former president who deliberately misled the American people about the 2020 election, provoked an attack on the U.S. Capitol, and failed to perform his duties as president as the violence ensued.”
The upcoming Republican primary in Wyoming, which only has one congressional district, will pit Cheney against multiple primary challengers.
Wyofile, a Wyoming-based news service, reported on Wednesday that voters in the state have been receiving illegal robocalls asking about Cheney’s primary challengers. The Wyoming Republican Party has said the calls “are not being generated on behalf of any Wyoming Republican state or county party.”
ABC News’ Meg Cunningham and John Parkinson contributed reporting.
Normani and Alicia Keys have joined the start-studded lineup of the 2021 MTV VMAs — and Lorde has now explained why she pulled out of the show last week.
Normani will perform her new hit “Wild Side” on the show, marking her first time on the VMAs since 2019, when she performed “Motivation” and took home the Moonperson for Best R&B, for her single “Waves.” Alicia, meanwhile, will debut her new single, “LALA,” featuring Swae Lee. Her performance will be backed by “spectacular city views,” according to a press release.
Meanwhile, Billboard reports that in a message to fans, Lorde explains that she was “planning this insanely amazing, many-bodied intimate dance performance, not fully understanding the (very necessary!) safety protocols that are in place, and the masking and distancing just meant it wasn’t gonna be what I dreamed.”
“You know I can’t make something less than outstanding for you guys. I hope you understand,” she adds. “There will be many more TV performances, don’t you worry.”
This is the second time that Lorde’s VMA performance has been unexpectedly impacted: In 2017, she was so ill with the flu that she wasn’t able to sing, and instead performed an interpretive dance to “Homemade Dynamite.”
In other MTV news, the channel has confirmed to Billboard that for the second year in a row, no Video Vanguard trophy will be presented. It hasn’t been presented every year, but last year’s omission of the trophy broke a seven-year streak that saw the honor going to the likes of Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Pink, Rihanna and Missy Elliott. Instead, this year’s big award is the Global Icon Award, which will be presented to Foo Fighters.
The 2021 MTV VMAs, hosted by Doja Cat, air Sunday night live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY at 8 p.m ET/PT.
Multiple shots were fired at a tour bus leaving the Trippie Redd concert early Tuesday morning in Baltimore.
The driver was injured in a drive-by shooting as the bus was headed to the Baltimore-Washington International Airport from MECU Pavilion, Maryland State Police spokeswoman Elena Russo tells The Baltimore Sun.
The bus included 10 crew members from the show, but officials could not disclose their affiliation, or whether Redd was aboard the bus.
Around 2:45 a.m., the bus was shot multiple times, and the driver was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The Maryland 295 highway was temporarily shut down for a crime-scene investigation. Police have not charged or arrested anyone in connection to the shooting, and they are asking anyone with information about the incident to call 410-761-5130.
Trippie Redd has had an ongoing feud with Tekashi 6ixNine after recording with him early in his career. In court testimony in 2019, Tekashi accused him of being a member of the Five Nine Brims gang.
Redd is headlining the Trip at Knight tour named after his latest album. His next scheduled show is Friday in New York City. The tour wraps October 16 in Los Angeles.
Fans believe that the Drake–Kanye West feud was reignited last month after Trippie dropped his song “Betrayal” featuring the Certified Lover Boy rapper. On the track, Drake sings, “All these fools I’m beefin’ that I barely know/ Forty-five, forty-four (Burned out), let it go/ Ye ain’t changin’ s*** for me, it’s set in stone.”
