Foster the People will mark the 10th anniversary of their debut album, Torches, by releasing a deluxe edition, called Torches X, on November 12.
The digital release includes the enitre original album — which features the band’s massive hit “Pumped Up Kicks” — plus 10 bonus tracks. Those include the one-time iTunes exclusive “Broken Jaw,” stand-alone single “Ruby,” and “Downtown,” which frontman Mark Foster recorded before FTP got a record deal. You can listen to “Broken Jaw” now via your favorite streaming service.
There are also a bunch of remixes of the album’s tracks, as well as a brand-new version of “Pumped Up Kicks” by Gus Dapperton.
Foster the People will do three concerts at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on November 17, 18 and 19 to celebrate Torches‘ 10th anniversary, and they’ll perform the album in its entirety at the shows. For tickets, visit FosterthePeople.com.
In a letter to fans, FTP writes, “It’s been a reflective time for us as we look back on all our experiences from the last ten years. Our lives changed with the release of Torches. That record became our airplane. It was our passport to see the world, to meet so many different people from so many different cultures, and to share our hearts in its purest form.”
The letter continues, “We are so grateful that this album continues to reach new ears still to this day; and especially for the fans that have been with us from the beginning. Thank you for your continued support as we evolve and move into different chapters. It’s been the joy of our lives to be able to make art for you and with you…Thank you for giving us the greatest gift imaginable: a dream fulfilled.”
Here’s the track listing for Torches X:
“Helena Beat”
“Pumped Up Kicks”
“Call It What You Want”
“Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls)”
“Waste”
“I Would Do Anything for You”
“Houdini”
“Life on the Nickel”
“Miss You”
“Warrant”
“Broken Jaw”
“Love”
“Chin Music for the Unsuspecting Hero”
“Ruby”
“Downtown”
“Pumped Up Kicks” (The Knocks Speeding Bullet Remix)
“Houdini” (RAC Remix)
“Helena Beat” (Lenno Extended Remix)
“Call It What You Want” (Treasure Fingers Pre-Party Remix Radio Edit)
“Pumped Up Kicks” (Gus Dapperton version)
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 613,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.1 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 58.1% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC last week, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission — vaccinated or not — wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.
Here’s how the news is developing Monday. All times Eastern:
Aug 02, 2:14 pm
Louisiana respiratory therapist: ‘We see families destroyed’
In Louisiana, which has the nation’s highest case rate per 100,000 residents, COVID-19 hospitalizations are reaching peak levels, with more than 1,700 patients now receiving care.
“We’re seeing people that are way too young to be so sick,” David Wrightson, a respiratory therapist and ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) specialist for the Willis-Knighton Health System in Shreveport, Louisiana, told ABC News. “We see families destroyed. We see children without one or more parent because of this virus. We see a new mom who will never go home to see her newborn, will never see her child grow up.”
He went on, “When you see someone that’s 30 years old with no medical problems at all, nobody knew anything was wrong, and we have this person literally on death’s doorstep, doing everything in our power to turn them around and return them to their family. The vaccine is something worth getting.”
More people need to see and understand the reality of this disease, he said.
“I wish I could show them a few steps in our day to see what we see and to see what we have to do, and to go home at night and, and have nightmares about those things, and sometimes cry yourself to sleep,” he said.
-ABC News’ Erica Baumgart and Arielle Mitropoulos
Aug 02, 1:48 pm
Denver mandates vaccinations for workers in high-risk settings
Denver is mandating vaccinations for city employees and those in high-risk jobs like first responders, correctional workers and school personnel. The mandate also applies to staff at long-term care facilities, shelters and hospitals.
After considerable deliberation & consultation w/ public health experts, including @DDPHE‘s exec. director, I am approving a public health order mandating that all @CityofDenver employees and private-sector workers in high-risk settings, be fully vaccinated against COVID by 9/30. pic.twitter.com/VS73Z7HPvR
70% of adults in US have now had at least 1 vaccine dose
Seventy percent of adults in the U.S. have now had at least one vaccine dose, the White House announced Monday, nearly one month after President Joe Biden hoped to reach the milestone.
Biden said in May, “Our goal by July 4th is to have 70% of adult Americans with at least one shot and 160 million Americans fully vaccinated.” When that date finally rolled out, the White House touted that 70% of Americans ages 27 and up met the goal, but low vaccination rates among young people kept the country from fully meeting the target.
Biden is scheduled to give remarks on vaccination progress on Tuesday.
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Aug 02, 11:50 am
Nearly 60% of counties reporting high community transmission
In the U.S., 59.72% of counties are reporting high community transmission. Five weeks ago, only 8% of counties were reporting high transmission, according to federal data.
Louisiana now has the highest case rate in the country with more than 600 new cases per 100,000 residents, according to federal data. Florida, Arkansas and Mississippi follow behind with 500, 400 and 300 new cases per 100,000 residents respectively.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Aug 02, 10:59 am
At least 1 patient checked in every hour at Louisiana hospital
At least one COVID-19 patient was checked in every hour Monday morning at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hospital officials told ABC Baton Rouge affiliate WBRZ.
The hospital said Monday it has 301 unvaccinated COVID-19 patients and 52 vaccinated COVID-19 patients.
Our Lady of the Lake Hospital is among 45 hospitals in the state requesting extra staff, reported WBRZ.
Louisiana is recording a “remarkable increase in the number of newly vaccinated people,” White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar tweeted Monday.
Aug 02, 10:42 am
Masks strongly recommended indoors for the vaccinated, NYC mayor says
Masks are now strongly recommended in public, indoor settings in New York City, even for those who are vaccinated, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.
The mayor also announced that all new city hires must be vaccinated.
De Blasio noted that this week is the last week to get all children ages 12 and above fully vaccinated by the first week of school.
Aug 02, 10:09 am
New vaccine policy for NY transit workers
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports, have adopted the same policy the state has for its public sector employees in requiring either a vaccine or a weekly proof of a negative test. Subway, airport and bus and commuter rail workers must be vaccinated starting Labor Day or face a weekly test, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.
The number of COVID-19 cases in New York state has increased four-fold in the last month while hospitalizations have doubled.
Cuomo last week mandated vaccines for public-facing workers in state-run hospitals. If cases continue to rise, Cuomo said he would consider mandatory vaccines for teachers and nursing home employees.
Cuomo also said he is encouraging restaurants, bars and other business owners to adopt a vaccine-only policy.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
Aug 02, 9:44 am
Tokyo COVID-19 cases up 200% in 1 week
There are 2,195 new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo, a 206.9% increase since last Monday, according to the Tokyo Media Center.
At the Olympics, there are 281 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of 17 cases in the last 24 hours, according to Tokyo 2020 organizers. None of these cases are athletes; they are all contractors, personnel or media.
Aug 02, 8:56 am
At least 1 patient checked in every hour at Louisiana hospital
At least one COVID-19 patient was checked in every hour Monday morning at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hospital officials told ABC Baton Rouge affiliate WBRZ.
Our Lady of the Lake Hospital is among 45 hospitals in the state requesting extra staff, reported WBRZ.
Aug 02, 8:19 am
TSA screens highest number of people since start of pandemic
The Transportation Security Administration screened 2,238,462 people at U.S. airports on Sunday, the highest number since the start of the pandemic, the agency said. The continued spread of the highly contagious delta variant has not stopped travelers this summer and the TSA put out a tweet reminding fliers to mask up and socially distance.
After a long hiatus, Grammy-winner Lizzo has announced her highly-anticipated return with “Rumors,” her first single in over two years.
“New Era B****,” wrote Lizzo on Instagram, sharing the single’s cover art. In the photo, Lizzo rocks a long straight black wig and a gold bustier while holding up her diamond-encrusted index finger to her lips, appearing to tell fans “shhh.”
“Rumors” follows Lizzo’s RIAA-certified Platinum song, “Tempo” featuring Missy Elliott, the 2x Platinum “Juice,” the 3x Platinum “Good As Hell,” and the 7x Platinum single, “Truth Hurts,” the latter of which earned her a 2020 Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance.
All four songs are featured on Lizzo’s third album,Cuz I Love You, which peaked at #4 on the Billboard200. The deluxe version won a Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
“Rumors” will be available on streaming services on August 13.
Along with her return to music, Lizzo is also gearing up to hit the stage this fall at a number of festivals. On September 4th, she’ll make history as the first woman to ever headline Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. The Minnesota native will also return to her home state to headline the Treasure Island Amphitheater in Welch, MN on September 11th. This marks her first performance in Minnesota since her two sold-out shows in 2019.
While Demi Lovato has taken to describing themself as “California Sober,” The Weeknd prefers the term “Sober Lite.” He says he drinks “occasionally” and smokes weed, but has left other drugs behind.
“Drugs were a crutch,” he tells the mag. “It was me thinking that I needed it. And not doing the work to figure out how not to need it. And I’ve spent the last few years realizing that and thanking God that I don’t need it. Because for a lot of people, it’s hard to shake it. But I knew I didn’t want it.”
The Weeknd, birth name Abel Tesfaye, adds that he also wants a family someday. “I know I say I don’t, but I know I do,” he says. “I want children.”
After teasing a new single and a new era Sunday, The Weeknd also gives GQ some hints about what his next album will sound like. The mag describes the project as being “packed” with “Quincy Jones meets Giorgio Moroder meets the best-night-of-your-f*****-life party records.”
“It’s the album I’ve always wanted to make,” The Weeknd says.
(NEW YORK) — Quinn Ewers, the number two college football prospect in the 2022 class, has announced on Twitter that he is enrolling at Ohio State a year early.
Ewers was the top-ranked player in Texas and was the number one quarterback prospect in the country, according to ESPN.
Ewers said the new name, image, and likeness rules that would have prohibited him from making money this next year while in high school were one factor.
“It’s unfortunate I’ve found myself in this situation, as my preference would have been to complete my senior season at Southlake Carroll along with my teammates and friends I’ve taken the field alongside past three seasons,” Ewers wrote.
Ewers said this was not just a financial decision, but one he felt was the best for his football career.
He has one class that is about to be completed and will enroll at Ohio State and be start practice with the team.
Ohio State is looking to replace Justin Fields, who was drafted 11th overall by Chicago this spring. Redshirt freshman CJ Stroud, true freshman Kyle McCord, and redshirt freshman Jack Miller were the three quarterbacks battling to become the starter before Ewers announced his decision.
Ewers originally committed to the University of Texas but de-committed last October.
Courteney Cox just posted to her 11.6 million Instagram followers a tease of a new line of Friends merchandise, and proceeds are going to a good cause.
“[G]uys some pieces from the first ever @friends merch collection,” the actress posted, noting, “Half of my proceeds from this limited drop will benefit @ebmrf [The Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation], an LA based non-profit that’s near and dear to my heart.”
The charity is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare and debilitating genetic skin disorder.
Among the shirts, sweatshirts and other items include stylized designs of scenes from the show, including the cast at the fountain from the sitcom’s open, Phoebe playing “Smelly Cat,” Rachel, holding her first paycheck and asking “Who’s FICA?” and other Friends moments from the show’s first three seasons.
Incidentally, among those who were first to post their support were Two Broke Girls star Beth Behrs, 90210‘s Sara Foster, and Trudie Styler, the producer wife of Sting — and a one-time Friends guest star — who noted she “will support for sure.”
The limited run of merchandise will be available for four weeks only.
Rage Against the Machine was supposed to headline Coachella in 2020, but of course, the festival was canceled due to the pandemic. The good news, though, is that the band is back on the bill for next year.
An interview with Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett in the Los Angeles Times includes this information, and also adds that rapper Travis Scott will be back to co-headline, as originally planned in 2020. A third headline act will be announced in the future.
“Right now, it’s the Wild West,” Tollett tells the paper. “I’m just trying to be as fair as I can to artists and to the fans to make sure that eventually they get to see everyone that we talked about.” He notes that some artists whose careers have blown up since the lineup was announced in 2020 — like rapper Megan Thee Stallion — may need to be moved up on the bill.
Coachella 2022 will take place over the weekends of April 15-17 and April 22-24, 2022. When tickets went on sale in June, they all sold out, even without any performers being named. After being canceled in 2020, Coachella was supposed to return in April 2021, but California government officials wouldn’t allow it to go forward.
Ingrid Andress and Sam Hunt are “Wishful Drinking” in their new collaboration.
The pop-leaning song finds Ingrid taking lead on the first verse, longing for a lost love over a glass of something strong. Sam takes on the second verse, echoing Ingrid’s sentiment of “when I’m a couple in I get optimistic/Like me and you are realistic.”
The “Wishful Drinking” video was released in conjunction with the track. Filmed at the Flamingo Cocktail Club in Nashville, the 70s-inspired clip finds the two singing alone at opposite ends of the venue before uniting on stage.
“The sad bop you’ve wanted all summer is finally outttt! @SamHuntMusic you make everything sound better tbh thank u for being my first collab ever on a song,” Ingrid declareda on Instagram. “’Wishful Drinking’ out now for all you sad/happy hunnies out there.”
“I heard Ingrid’s music a while back and knew right away she was a very talented singer and songwriter. When the opportunity came along to be a part of this song with her I was all in,” Sam wrote on Twitter.
Ingrid will launch her headlining The Feeling Things Tour in the fall. She’ll also serve as an opening act on Dan + Shay‘s The (Arena) Tour, beginning in September.
(New York) — Boosted by a recent uptake in vaccine administrations, the U.S. crossed a long-awaited milestone Monday in its race to vaccinate the country against the novel coronavirus.
Seventy percent of U.S. adults ages 18 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, Cyrus Shahpar, the White House’s COVID-19 data director, posted in a tweet.
This is nearly a month after the country missed President Joe Biden’s July 4 deadline to meet that threshold.
Although the majority of the country’s adults have one shot, there is a major discrepancy among states, according to the CDC.
Health officials have been urging eligible residents to get their shots, which are free and shown to prevent hospitalization and death from the virus, as soon as possible as the more contagious variants like delta spread.
As of Monday, 22 states and the District of Columbia have 70% of their adult population with one dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of these states are located in the Northeast with Vermont leading the nation with over 86% of its adult residents receiving one shot, according to the health data.
A dozen states, almost all located in the South, haven’t cracked the 60% mark for their adult residents with one shot, CDC data showed. Mississippi has the lowest percentage of adults with one shot, at 50%, according to the data.
Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the country have been on the rise, particularly in locations with low vaccination numbers, health officials said.
Officials in several states, including Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri and Arkansas, are reporting that the majority of their hospitalized patients are unvaccinated people.
The U.S. began vaccinating residents in December, starting with health care workers and the elderly. By mid-April, all residents above 18 were eligible and a month later, the Pfizer vaccine was approved for Americans over the age of 12.
Two of the three approved vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, require two doses and use mRNA technology to protect against the virus. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose.
The seven-day average of new daily first shots administered peaked at 3.4 million on April 11 but it has declined to low of 217,884 on July 7, the CDC reported. Several states that had lagging vaccination numbers, however, saw a small jump in shots administered during the final weeks of July.
The seven-day average of first doses administered grew to 367,351 on July 27, the CDC data showed.
On Sunday, White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar revealed that over 517,000 people received their first shot.
Anyone who needs help scheduling a free vaccine appointment can log onto vaccines.gov.
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration is expanding the group of Afghans who could be granted refugee status and flee to the United States to escape the growing threat of the Taliban across Afghanistan, the State Department announced Monday.
The militant group is increasingly gaining control of districts across the country, as the war-torn country teeters dangerously towards collapse into all-out civil war.
But while President Joe Biden has committed to helping Afghans who helped the U.S. military and diplomatic mission in the country for the last 20 years, the new policy will apply only to Afghans who have left the country and will take at least over a year for their cases to be processed, according to senior State Department officials — even as the risk to these Afghans is urgent.
The Biden administration has launched relocation flights for thousands of Afghans who worked as interpreters, guides, and other contractors and applied for Special Immigrant Visas – some 20,000 applicants in total, according to a State Department spokesperson, although only a fraction of them will be evacuated by the U.S.
For interpreters and other contractors who did not meet the required two years of service for a Special Immigrant Visa, the State Department will now allow them to apply for refugee status instead. They’re also expanding the pool of potential refugees to any Afghan who worked for a U.S.-based media outlet, for a U.S. government-funded program, or for a U.S. government-supported project.
After 20 years of humanitarian development across the country, that’s a wide category of Afghans, along with their eligible family members. Senior State Department officials declined to provide an estimate, but said it was likely in the tens of thousands in total.
The administration has been under pressure, especially from Republican and Democrat lawmakers and U.S. veterans’ groups, to do more to help Afghans who worked with or for the U.S. during two decades of war and development – and who therefore may be at greater risk of retaliatory attacks by the Taliban.
While the militant group’s political leaders have said Afghans will not be harmed, the last year has seen a string of high-profile assassinations against journalists, women’s rights activists, minority leaders, and military and police chiefs. At least 300 interpreters have been killed by Taliban fighters since 2014, according to the advocacy group No One Left Behind.
“The U.S. objective remains a peaceful, secure Afghanistan. However, in light of increased levels of Taliban violence, the U.S. government is working to provide certain Afghans, including those who worked with the United States, the opportunity for refugee resettlement to the United States,” the State Department said in a statement.
But the refugee resettlement process takes several months, if not years, including intensive security vetting, and the process will require Afghan applicants to leave the country, according to senior State Department officials – something that many cannot afford, cannot risk, or cannot manage.
“This program is meant to expand the aperture of people who have an opportunity to be resettled in the United States beyond the SIVs. It is our attempt to try to offer an option to people,” said a senior State Department official.
The State Department has said it will evacuate nearly 5,000 of those “SIV’s,” or Special Immigrant Visa applicants, along with their eligible family members like spouses and children.
Some 750 and their dependents – 2,500 in total – who have been granted approval by the U.S. embassy in Kabul and cleared security vetting will be moved to Fort Lee, a U.S. Army base in central Virginia. The first of them arrived last Friday, with a second flight with 200 more arriving early Monday and now at Ft. Lee, according to a U.S. official.
In addition, 4,000 applicants who have been approved by the embassy, but are awaiting security clearances, will be moved to safe third countries. Along with their family members, the group could total approximately 20,000, and diplomatic discussions on where to house them all as they wait months for their applications to be processed remain underway with several countries, including Kuwait, Qatar, and Kazakhstan, according to U.S. officials.
But a senior State Department official said the administration does not plan to relocate any of the Afghans who now qualify for refugee status under this new designation, known as Priority 2, or P2. Instead, their employer will open a case with the embassy in Kabul, and once the U.S. government confirms it is ready to begin processing their case, they must find their own way to a third country and declare themselves a refugee.
“At this point in time, unfortunately, we do not anticipate relocating them, but we will continue to examine all the options to protect those who have served with or for us, and we will review the situation on the ground, and our planning will continue to evolve,” said the senior official.
Once outside of Afghanistan, it could take at least 12 to 14 months for their case to be adjudicated, per the senior official.
As the new designations could lead to thousands of Afghans fleeing the country and seeking refugee status, a second senior official said the U.S. government has had conversations with some of Afghanistan’s neighbors, like Pakistan, about preparing for refugee flows and keeping their borders open to refugees.
ABC News’s Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
