A restored and re-edited version of Pink Floyd‘s 1995 concert video Pulsewill be released on February 18, 2022, as a two-Blu-ray set and a two-DVD package.
The marks the first time that the Pulse movie will be available on Blu-ray as a standalone release: It first appeared in Pink Floyd’s massive 2019 box set The Later Years.
Pulse captures Pink Floyd on tour in support of the band’s 1994 album The Division Bell at an October 20, 1994, concert at Earls Court in London. The show featured a full performance of The Dark Side of the Moon, a selection of other popular Pink Floyd tunes and four songs from The Division Bell.
The two-disc sets also feature bonus content that was included on The Later Years, including music videos for songs from The Division Bell, Pulse tour rehearsal footage, on-stage visuals, a Pulse TV ad, documentaries, behind-the-scenes interviews with the road crew, footage from Pink Floyd’s 1996 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and more.
In addition, the new release boasts updated artwork and a 60-page booklet, and reintroduces the pulsing red light featured on the original 1995 Pulse CD package, operated by two replaceable AA batteries.
At the time of Pulse‘s original release, drummer Nick Mason said of the concept behind the blinking light, “Essentially, it’s a device which we thought was entertaining. It’s an idea of [Hipgnosis artist] Storm Thorgerson‘s, which related to The Dark Side Of The Moon and the pulse, and it’s a live album, so the box is ‘alive.'”
(NOTE CONTENT) …And Just Like That star Chris Noth has responded to an interview the Hollywood Reporter did with two women who claimed the actor sexually assaulted them years ago.
The two women — one now 40, and another, now 31 — “approached The Hollywood Reporter separately” and claimed that the actor allegedly forced himself on them. The incidents allegedly took place, respectively, in Los Angeles in 2004 and in New York in 2015.
The alleged assaults reportedly happened after Noth got to know each woman personally, they said.
Noth is flatly denying the assault claims, insisting, “The encounters were consensual. The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago, are categorically false.”
His statement continued, “These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross.”
The former Law & Order star continued, “It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.”
The alleged victims claimed Noth’s re-appearance in the Sex and the City follow-up …And Just Like That triggered repressed memories of their assaults.
(WASHINGTON) — One hundred three Marines have been discharged for refusing to take the COVID vaccine, the Marine Corps said Thursday, as the military services have begun to discharge a pool of possibly as many as 30,000 active duty service members who still refuse to be vaccinated — even after multiple opportunities to do so past vaccination deadlines.
In late August, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered mandatory COVID vaccines for all U.S. military personnel.
Shortly after Austin made the COVID vaccine mandatory, the military services quickly set up its own deadline dates and warned service members that they could face discharge unless they were vaccinated, which is in line with the Pentagon’s stance that choosing to remain unvaccinated is a violation of a lawful order from Austin.
While the percentage of vaccinated active duty personnel in each service is at 95% or higher, the number of unvaccinated personnel is close to 30,000.
Earlier this week, the Air Force became the first to make public that it had followed through on the warning, announcing that 27 airmen had received administrative discharges.
According to the latest numbers provided by the Air Force and the Navy, 7,365 airmen and 5,472 sailors are unvaccinated, either refusing the vaccine outright or awaiting the processing of requests for administrative, medical, or religious exemptions.
The Marine Corps said Thursday that 95% of its active-duty force of 182,500 Marines had received at least one COVID vaccine shot, the lowest percentage among the military services. The Marine Corps has approved 1,007 medical and administrative exemptions and is still processing 2,863 of the 3,144 requests made for a religious exemption.
Military personnel serving in the United States had already been required to receive 12 vaccines, including those for measles, polio, anthrax, chickenpox and flu, in order to serve. Service members assigned overseas were required to receive up to five others, like those for yellow fever or encephalitis, depending on which global region they are assigned to.
While the Army announced Thursday that nearly 98% of its 478,000 active-duty soldiers had been vaccinated, that means close to 10,000 soldiers are not.
The Army said 3,864 soldiers have refused the vaccine outright while an additional 6,263 are awaiting the processing of their requests for an exemption.
The majority of service members who remain unvaccinated have sought religious exemptions, but none of the services has yet to approve an exemption on religious grounds.
The defense authorization bill passed by Congress this week guarantees that service members who are kicked out of the military for refusing the vaccine will receive either an honorable discharge or a “general discharge under honorable conditions.”
Unlike the other services, the Army has decided that it will not discharge soldiers who refuse to be vaccinated. Instead, they will be “flagged,” cannot be promoted and will have to leave the Army when their enlistment contracts expire.
Flagged soldiers who have refused to get the vaccine will have to submit to regular COVID testing, Lt. Col. Terence Kelley, an Army spokesman told ABC News.
A soldier reporting daily to the same job location will be tested weekly, while those who are teleworking and have to visit their job location will be tested within 72 hours of the meeting or job activity, Kelley said.
Before Ridley Scott directed Lady Gaga to critical acclaim and award nominations in House of Gucci, Bradley Cooper directed her to an Oscar nomination in A Star Is Born. Now, during a conversation for Variety, the two directors are discussing the moments when the superstar singer most impressed them during filming.
Cooper tells Scott, “For me, with working with her, I remember the thing that blew my mind. It seemed simple but I thought it was a tall order, when my character brings [her character, Ally] onstage for the first time. I truly believed that that person had never been on a stage before.”
He continues, ” And I remember thinking, “How is she pulling this off?” That I actually believe on every level — as the director, as the character — that this person has never been in front of 20,000 people before. That was really kind of mind-blowing.”
As for Scott, he said the moment in House of Gucci where Gaga impressed him was the scene when her character, Patrizia, is told that her husband, Maurizio, played by Adam Driver, wants a divorce.
“She lost it so well and so real that I felt it had to be reflective of something that had happened to her, because it definitely hurt her,” Scott recalled. “And from that moment I was watching her, I felt, ‘My God, she just owns it.’… I think that was one take…I was saying, ‘I think you just did it, don’t you?’ And she said, ‘Yes, I did it.’ That was it.”
Gaga has already won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for House of Gucci. She’s also nominated for a Golden Globe, a Critics’ Choice award and many other accolades.
Britney Spears‘ attorney, Mathew Rosengart, recently issued a blistering statement against Jamie Spears, saying he is “bullying and attacking his daughter.” In response, Jamie’s attorney, Alex Weingarten, told ABC Audio that Rosengart is using the pop star “to promote himself and keep his name in the papers.”
The statements follow Britney’s previous claims that her father “and three men” forced her to be interviewed by Diane Sawyer in 2004, following her breakup with then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.
Attorney Weingarten responded to Britney’s claims, saying, “Mr. Spears has no idea what Ms. Spears is talking about. Jamie never set up any interview with Diane Sawyer” because “He had nothing to do with Britney’s career at this point and was completely uninvolved.”
He added, “Jamie loves Britney very much” and “hopes that she continues to seek the help that she needs to stay safe and healthy.”
Rosengart said in a statement toVariety, “Rather than bullying and attacking his daughter, even as he claims to ‘love’ her, it would be far more appropriate for Mr. Spears and his lawyer to focus on answering the following fundamental questions” about alleged conservatorship misconduct, such as mismanagement of funds and unauthorized surveillance.
Attorney Weingarten tells ABC Audio Rosengart’s statement is “ridiculous.”
“We made a statement that ‘Jamie loves Britney very much, wishes Britney nothing but the best and hopes that she continues to seek the help that she needs to stay safe and healthy.’ How is that bullying or attacking anyone?” he said. “It is unfortunate that Mr. Rosengart is attempting to use Britney to promote himself and keep his name in the papers.”
Britney’s 13-year conservatorship was terminated last month. However, she’s locked in a new legal battle after claims surfaced about Jamie and Tri Star Sports and Entertainment allegedly bugging her home without her knowledge.
M83 has announced a 10th anniversary vinyl reissue of the band’s 2011 album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.
Due out April 15, the reissue features a new cover showing the same kids from the original album artwork, now 10 years older. You can pre-order it now via ILoveM83.com.
Hurry Up would become M83’s breakout album, thanks in large part to the hit single “Midnight City,” which featured the hottest saxophone solo this side of “Baker Street.”
Along with the reissue announcement, M83 has premiered a new video for the Hurry Up song “My Tears Are Becoming a Sea,” which is described as a prequel to the original video trilogy of “Midnight City,” “Reunion” and “Wait.” You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.
M83 has released two more albums since Hurry Up: 2016’s Junk, and 2019’s DSVII.
Volbeat has hit a milestone with the band’s latest number-one hit.
“Shotgun Blues,” the current single off the Danish outfit’s new album Servant of the Mind, is the group’s 10th leader on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. That total ties Volbeat for seventh most number-ones on the tally, which began in 1981.
Disturbed, Metallica and Tom Petty — solo and with The Heartbreakers — also have 10 Mainstream Rock number-ones. Shinedown has the most, with 16.
“Shotgun Blues” is also the second number-one of Servant of the Mind, along with the lead single “Wait a Minute My Girl.” The album, Volbeat’s eighth studio effort, dropped earlier in December.
Fittingly, the number-two single on this week’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart is “Hunter’s Moon,” by Ghost, with whom Volbeat will launch a U.S. co-headlining tour in January.
(WASHINGTON) — Not far from the San Pedro Bay Port Complex in Orange County, which sees 40% of the nation’s imports, Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., has been witnessing supply chain issues in her district due in part due to bottlenecks in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Now she and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., are sending a bipartisan letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., calling for a bipartisan select committee to address the issue. The proposed committee would have an equal number of members from both sides of the aisle to address supply chain issues and the impacts on the economy, families and small businesses.
“Congress must come together in a bipartisan way to address this economic and national security crisis that threatens to undermine U.S. competitiveness abroad,” Kim said. “That is why I am proud to work with Rep. Sherrill and a bipartisan group of colleagues to call on House leadership to ensure Congress takes immediate steps to bring relief to our nation’s economy.”
The committee would investigate the root causes of the supply chain issues and how the crisis has affected various industries. The panel would aim to draft and submit a report to Congress with its recommendations.
“Addressing the current shortfalls throughout our supply chain is imperative to continuing our economic recovery from the pandemic and addressing the very real impacts of inflation facing families across the country,” Sherrill said.
Kim also wrote a letter to California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in January urging officials to include dockworkers and others as essential workers.
She commended President Joe Biden for opening ports in southern California for 24-hour operation in October but said the administration needs to do more.
“While I was encouraged by the announcement that the San Pedro Bay Port Complex will be open 24/7, the administration’s actions so far are not the be-all and end-all that will solve the long-term issues of our supply chain and help ease persistent — not ‘transitory’ — inflation in our economy. A piecemeal approach won’t help solve the supply chain crisis, and that is why I led a bipartisan letter to the administration calling for a whole-of-government response,” Kim said.
He’s a singer, American Idol judge, and now, he’s great-uncle Luke: Country superstar Luke Bryan is celebrating the exciting news that his niece, Jordan, is pregnant with a baby boy.
Jordan and her husband Clint shared their big news on Instagram, including video footage of a gender reveal where the couple found out they’re expecting a son. Another snap in the series shows a cake with blue buttercream inside, and a gold topper reading “Oh baby.”
In the comments, Luke’s wife Caroline shared her excited with a blue heart emoji, writing “I’m still emotional.” Meanwhile, his mom LeClair said, “His Great Grandma is going shopping tomorrow.”
Jordan is the oldest child of Luke’s late sister, Kelly. Both Kelly and her husband, Ben, died when their three kids were young: Jordan was 20, her sister Kris was 16, and the youngest of the family, Til, was just 13.
Luke and Caroline stepped in to provide a parental role for the three kids after they lost their parents, and they’ve remained close to the children well into their adult lives. Back in September, Luke walked Jordan down the aisle at her wedding.
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Education on Thursday urged districts to combat pandemic-fueled teacher shortages by offering them more money from the pot of federal COVID-relief aid, in a letter sent to schools nationwide.
Schools are facing dire staffing losses as droves of teachers leave their posts, exhausted by the stresses of the pandemic. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said federal money could be used to hire more substitute teachers and give permanent teachers much-needed time-off, or to offer teachers better salaries through hiring or retention bonuses.
“Let us be clear: [The American Rescue Plan] provides vital resources to hire additional educators and school staff and to improve compensation to recruit and retain educators and school staff,” Cardona wrote in the letter to educators, obtained exclusively by ABC News.
“School districts should act with urgency to keep schools open for in-person learning and ensure they do not waste this opportunity to make critical investments,” he said.
The American Rescue Plan, signed into law last March by President Joe Biden, provided over $122 billion to schools.
Cardona listed various ways schools could use this pot of money to improve the situation for teachers, custodians, bus drivers, school nurses and other educators, and cited schools that have already done so.
“The most common reason educators have cited for leaving school employment in the last year is stress, followed by insufficient pay,” Cardona wrote.
“Many school leaders are increasing wages by offering hiring and retention bonuses, working towards permanent salary increases, or providing premium pay that help educators receive the compensation they deserve and keep them in the profession, and we encourage others to continue to work towards increasing compensation,” he wrote.
Cardona cited reports of schools offering signing bonuses of up to $6,000 in California, and other financial incentives offered to new teachers in Oklahoma, North Carolina and New Jersey.
“Now, more than ever, supporting educator well-being is critical for retaining our current educators and staff,” Cardona wrote.
Still, some schools have noted that short-term pay increases aren’t enough to solve their staff shortages.
Some principals have found that there are simply not enough trained professionals in the pipeline for them to recruit, and it takes time for teachers or counselors to get certified. Others have found that the temporary pay increases from federal relief are unsustainable.
And other schools have reported that nearby districts have been able to poach teachers with higher salaries funded by federal aid, leaving schools in lower-income areas with less teachers.
On the other hand, the National Education Association, a powerful teachers’ union, has thrown its weight behind the policy of using federal aid to retain teachers, saying it’s been effective with educational support professionals, or ESPs, when paired with other solutions.
“ESP leaders have found that increasing pay and benefits is the top strategy,” the NEA said in a post on its website.
“But what also helps is providing flexibility for retirees to return to work while still receiving pension payments, revisiting licensure challenges, providing incentives, creating cross-state collaborations to make it easier to work in other states and localities, and looking at the well-being of current staff and ways to improve it to keep them on board,” the union wrote.
The NEA noted that the average salary of ESPs in 22 states is $30,000 or below, “which is not a livable wage or an attractive career proposition.”
Without addressing the educator shortages, schools are facing interruptions in all facets of the school day, from longer bus routes due to less bus drivers, larger class sizes or substitute teachers who aren’t qualified for the subjects they’re assigned to, and even school closures.
Schools in 11 states — Idaho, California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Vermont, and West Virginia — have had to close temporarily because of staffing shortages, according to an October report in Ed Week.
For his part, Cardona acknowledged that the short-term solutions were just the beginning, but called on schools to take advantage of what was available.
“[The Department of Education] strongly encourages you to use funding under ARP to respond to the urgent needs resulting from the pandemic while beginning to plan for the investments needed to ensure that every student has access to the qualified educators and staff they need,” Cardona wrote.
