grandson, I Prevail and nothing, nowhere. are playing the 2022 So What?! Music Festival, scheduled for May 27-29 in Arlington, Texas.
The bill also features Parkway Drive, blackbear, The Maine, Alexisonfire, Sleeping with Sirens, Simple Plan and Sum 41, along with hip hop artists including 24kGoldn, 2 Chainz, Trippie Redd, Tyga and Rae Sremmurd.
“This year’s So What?! lineup is us basically saying, ‘F*** a genre!'” says festival founder Mike Ziemer. “Everything is blending together more and more. There are so many hip hop artists collaborating with rock artists. Travis Barker is working with every type of artist.”
Ziemer adds, “This festival brings together all the hype and energy of what’s current and what’s exciting to the fan that misses Warped Tour but also attends Rolling Loud.”
Former Yes frontman Jon Anderson has partnered with the Patreon membership platform to offer fans access to brand-new songs, unreleased music and videos he’s created, livestreamed events, artwork and more.
“I am thrilled to embark on this journey with you as I create the next chapter of my life’s work,” Anderson explains. “After years of dealing with the runaround of big record labels, I have decided to partner with you, as those of you who enjoy my work have always been my greatest support and inspiration.”
He continues, “There are many great projects I have been working on including lots of new music, paintings, a book, and short stories. Your patronage will allow me to continue my work and will offer you priceless access.”
Three membership levels for Jon’s Patreon platform will be available — Silver, Gold and Platinum, costing $10, $50 and $100 a month, respectively.
A Silver membership offers early access to new songs and projects, livestreams of rehearsals and events, behind-the-scenes videos of Anderson working on various projects, early access to tickets for select concerts, and access to Jon’s general archives.
A Gold membership offers everything available to Silver members, as well as access to Anderson’s “Select Archives,” a monthly live interactive Q&A with Jon, and surprise gifts that you’ll receive throughout your first year of patronage.
The Platinum offers all the benefits available to Gold and Silver members, as well as access to Anderson’s “Gold Vault Archives,” pre-release previews of Jon’s work, access to participate in something called “Jon’s Opus Puzzle,” a private livestreamed concert with Anderson and more.
Jon shared more details about his Patreon pertnership in a recent Facebook post. Visit Patreon.com for more info or to sign up for a membership.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 807,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 61.5% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-Northeast sees highest number of pediatric cases of entire pandemic
-WHO DG recommends canceling or delaying holiday events
-US daily cases have nearly doubled since October
-Dr. Jha on omicron surge, holiday travel, his prediction for next year
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 20, 4:16 pm
London cancels New Year’s Eve celebration in Trafalgar Square
London has canceled its New Year’s Eve celebration for 6,500 people in Trafalgar Square due to the omicron surge, Mayor Sadiq Khan said Monday.
“With infections of COVID-19 at record levels across our city and the U.K., I’m determined to work closely with partners in our city to do everything we possibly can to slow the spread of the new variant and ensure our NHS services are not overwhelmed this winter,” Khan said in a statement.
Khan declared a major incident in London on Saturday due to a rise in cases and a 29% increase in hospital admissions in the last week.
ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Dec 20, 4:00 pm
New York state breaks another case record
New York state broke its daily case record again on Sunday with an additional 23,391 positive cases, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
But the governor said she’s encouraged by reports of omicron waves spiking and receding fairly quickly in other countries.
“In terms of people’s own personal anxiety about it, just know that it’s very likely to be minor symptoms if you’re vaccinated and boosted,” she said.
ABC News’ Matt Foster
Dec 20, 3:45 pm
Northeast sees highest number of pediatric cases of entire pandemic
Nearly 170,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 last week, a roughly 28% jump in two weeks, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association released on Monday.
The Northeast saw its highest number of pediatric cases of the entire pandemic last week, with nearly 50,000 new cases.
On average, nearly 200 American children are being admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 each day, according to federal data.
Twenty-one million children ages 5 to 17 — about 40% of that population — have received at least one vaccine dose.
Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains “uncommon” among children, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association said. However, the organizations continue to warn that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, “including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects.”
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Dec 20, 3:04 pm
University of Chicago to require boosters
The University of Chicago said students and employees must get a booster shot and have until the end of January to give proof or get an exemption.
The university hopes to fully return to in-person classes on Jan. 3.
Other universities like New York University and Notre Dame are also requiring boosters.
(NEW YORK) — Moderna announced Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine booster increases antibody levels against the omicron variant within a month of getting the shot.
In a lab study, the company gave 20 fully vaccinated participants a 50-microgram booster — the current dose authorized by the Food and Drug Administration — and another 20 received a higher dose of 100 micrograms. After 29 days, the volunteers gave blood samples, which were analyzed.
Results showed people who received the 50-microgram booster saw their levels of neutralizing antibodies increase by 37-fold compared to pre-boost levels, while those given a 100-microgram booster saw their antibody levels rise 83-fold.
Side effects after the booster doses were similar to those seen after the initial two doses, but the 100-microgram booster was slightly more likely to cause adverse reactions than the 50-microgram dose, the company said.
The results come as the omicron variant continues to spread around the world and shows an ability to — at least partially — evade the protection offered by vaccines.
In a statement on Monday, Moderna’s CEO, Stéphane Bancel, said the findings are “reassuring.”
“The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases from the omicron variant is concerning to all. However, these data showing that the currently authorized Moderna COVID-19 booster can boost neutralizing antibody levels 37-fold higher than pre-boost levels are reassuring,” he said.
“To respond to this highly transmissible variant, Moderna will continue to rapidly advance an omicron-specific booster candidate into clinical testing in case it becomes necessary in the future,” he continued.
A spokesperson for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company told ABC News it will be up to federal regulators to decide whether to authorize the 100-microgram dose of Moderna’s booster or keep it at the currently-used 50-microgram dose.
Because participants were only followed up for one month after getting the booster, it’s unclear if antibody levels remain high or if the increase quickly wanes.
Additionally, the tests were conducted in a lab and are not indicative of how well the booster, at either dose, stops the spread of omicron or reduces the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death in people who get breakthrough infections in real-world settings.
Moderna said that, given how quickly the variant is spreading around the globe, the company will focus its “near-term efforts” on delivering as many doses of its authorized booster shot as possible.
The firm is also currently working on developing a booster specifically designed to combat the omicron variant, with clinical trials expected to begin early next year.
“Moderna is going to continue to evaluate an omicron-specific booster in early 2022, given the concerning immune escape features demonstrated by this variant of concern, as part of a more midterm strategy to address the ongoing pandemic,” the company’s president, Stephen Hoge, said on a conference call on Monday morning.
Earlier this month, health officials, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, had suggested that developing an omicron-specific booster is not necessary.
However, Hoge said he believes it is “prudent” that Moderna’s scientists continue their work on creating a variant-specific booster due to fears that omicron could mutate even further.
(NEW YORK) — The trial of former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter charged in the death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot during a traffic stop, continues with Potter taking the stand to testify in her own defense.
Potter, 49, is charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 incident. She has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
The maximum sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years and a $30,000 fine and for second-degree manslaughter, it’s 10 years and a $20,000 fine.
Wright’s death reignited protests against racism and police brutality across the U.S., as the killing took place just outside of Minneapolis, where the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, was taking place.
Latest headlines:
-Closing arguments begin
-‘I didn’t want to hurt anybody,’ Potter testifies
-Prosecution questions Kim Potter on training
-Potter describes fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright
-Kim Potter takes the stand
-New body-cam footage shows Potter moments after shooting Wright
-Brooklyn Center police officer contradicts defense statement
-Daunte Wright’s mother recalls final phone call with son
-Prosecution hammers Potter’s training
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 20, 2:04 pm
Jury deliberations begin
Judge Regina Chu has read the instructions to the jury and they will now deliberate on the charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter against former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter.
Included in the instructions are reminders of unconscious bias: “We all have feelings, assumptions, perceptions, fears, and stereotypes about others,” Chu read to the jury. “Some biases we are aware of and others we might not be fully aware of, which is why they are called ‘implicit’ or ‘unconscious biases.'”
“The law demands that you make a fair decision, based solely on the evidence, your individual evaluations of that evidence, your reason and common sense, and these instructions,” Chu read from the instructions.
Dec 20, 1:47 pm
Prosecution, defense spar on Sgt. Mychal Johnson’s testimony
In closing arguments, the defense said that Kim Potter was within her rights to use deadly force against Daunte Wright because he could have hurt another police officer with his car.
The defense claims Wright could have driven off, dragging Sgt. Mychal Johnson.
“What would have happened to Johnson? The worst would be death if he took off like he did — like a jet,” defense attorney Earl Gray said.
“[Potter] said she saw Johnson, that she saw him and he had a look on his face she’d never seen,” Gray added. “That was right before she said ‘Taser, Taser.'”
The prosecution argues there is no evidence that shows Potter was using force for Johnson’s protection or that Johnson was afraid for his life.
“Johnson was clearly not afraid of being dragged,” said prosecutor Matthew Frank. He never said he was scared. He didn’t say it then. And he didn’t testify to it in court.”
Prosecutors said Johnson wasn’t halfway into the car at the time of the shooting, and that he was “all the way over to the passenger side securing Mr. Wright’s right arm.”
Prosecutors also pointed to Potter’s reaction after the shooting, when she sobbed on the ground and said she would be going to jail in the body camera footage.
“When Sergeant Johnson said ‘he was trying to drive away with me in the car,’ which isn’t even true, but he offered that to her and she didn’t even bite on it,” Frank told jurors. “She was so caught up in recognition of the wrongfulness of her own conduct.”
Dec 20, 12:57 pm
Defense tells jury that state has the burden of proof
Defense attorney Earl Gray told the jury to remember that “your constitutional duty is to presume Kim Potter innocent. And before you can find her guilty, you must find each and every element of the charges is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
It is on the prosecution to prove Potter is guilty. It is not the responsibility of the defense to prove her not guilty, according to Gray and prosecutor Erin Eldridge. Gray argued throughout the trial that it was within Potter’s right to use deadly force against a fleeing subject.
“The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s use of deadly force was not authorized by law,” Gray said. “You must presume that she had a right authorized use of deadly force, that she had a right to do it.”
“This is the most important affair in the client’s life,” Gray said.
Dec 20, 12:49 pm
Defense argues that Wright caused his death
Defense attorney Earl Gray said that Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop, caused his own death. Officers tried to arrest Wright, but he attempted to get back in his car to flee, police said.
“Wright realizes there’s a warrant for his arrest, and he knows what he knows,” Gray argued. “So within seconds, he all of a sudden breaks away. That’s the cause, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. That’s what caused this whole incident.”
Wright was being arrested for an outstanding warrant on a gross misdemeanor weapons charge, according to authorities.
“Daunte Wright caused his death,” Gray said during closing arguments Monday. “Everything the officers did, they did to try and restrain him try and stop him from leaving.”
A new Bill Cosby docuseries is coming to Showtime.
We Need to Talk About Cosby, a four-part series directed by W. Kamau Bell, will examine the comedian’s early influence as an admirable pop culture figure and his later fall from grace after being accused of sexual assault by dozens of women.
“I am a child of Bill Cosby,” Bell says in the teaser. “You know what I mean: I am a Black man, stand-up comic, born in the ’70s. Bill Cosby had been one of my heroes.”
“But this? This was f***** up,” he says, referencing the accusations against Cosby and his subsequent arrest. “What do we do about everything we knew about Bill Cosby, and what we know now?”
Cosby was convicted of sexual assault in 2018 but was released from prison this past June after his conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
We Need to Talk About Cosby premieres January 22 at the Sundance Film Festival and January 30 on Showtime.
Ed Sheeran is giving his fans one last surprise before Christmas — a brand-new remix. Taking to Instagram on Monday, he teased the first few seconds of his upcoming song with Fireboy DML, “Peru.”
Ed loans his vocals to the Nigerian singer’s banger and says it’s due out at the end of the week.
To promote the track, the Grammy winner sat down with Apple Music and dished that Fireboy was the one who reached out in hopes of snagging him for a remix.
“I’ve just found it really intriguing. So I recorded a verse for it… and it’s a song that’s blowing up in Nigeria and Ghana at the moment and their club scene runs over Christmas,” Ed explained. “So you basically put a song to the club in the middle of December, which would seem a weird thing to do in England.”
Ed vows the upcoming track is “an earworm, and it’s addictive.” He added, “I’m obsessed with it. I mean, Cherry [Seborn] will tell you, I’ve had this song on repeat constantly in the house for the last week.”
“Peru” will hit streaming services and become available for purchase on Friday.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball
Oscar winner Halle Berry received the People’s Choice Icon Award on December 7, and her “choice” for who’s “Up Next” in Hollywood is the female star of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Zendaya.
“She’s wildly talented, young and already has an Emmy,” the 55-year-old actress tells Variety. “I see her as an actress who will fight to be greater than her beauty. She’s not relying on it. I can’t wait to see all the ways that she will surprise us and defy her beauty with her talent.”
The 25-year-old Dune star is humbled by Berry’s praise. “Incredibly honored,” Zendaya says. “She’s always taken the time to stop and talk to me — and share love and words of encouragement. It means the world to me.”
In other news, Taraji P. Henson celebrated the 20th anniversary of her 2001 breakout film, Baby Boy, directed by the late John Singleton, by posting her audition with her co-star, Tyrese, on Instagram. She portrayed Yvette, the main love interest of Jody, played by Tyrese. The coming-of-age film set, in South Central Los Angeles, also featured Snoop Dogg, Ving Rhames, Omar Gooding and AJ Johnson.
In the one-minute clip, Yvette accused Jody of cheating, slaps him and kicks him out.
“OMG!! Our #BabyBoy audition @tyrese The movie that changed it ALL!!,” the Oscar nominee commented. “I remember this like it was yesterday…And of course, RIP to the one and only John Singleton.”
Finally, The Jasmine Brand reports that Real Husbands of Hollywood is returning February 10, 2022 on BET+. Now titled Real Husbands of Hollywood — More Kevin, More Problems, the original stars are back, including Kevin Hart, Nick Cannon, Boris Kodjoe, Duane Martin, J.B. Smoove, Nelly and Robin Thicke.
(NEW YORK) — The three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery appeared in federal court on Monday for a pretrial hearing. They will be tried on federal charges of hate crimes and attempted kidnapping early next year.
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was shot and killed while jogging in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia, in February 2020.
The men, Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, were convicted by a Georgia jury on Nov. 24 for killing Arbery.
Travis McMichael, who shot fatally shot Arbery, was convicted on all nine charges, including malice murder and four counts of felony murder. Gregory McMichael was found not guilty of malice murder but was convicted on the remaining charges, including the felony murder counts. Bryan was found guilty of three of the felony murder counts and a charge of criminal intent to commit a felony.
The McMichaels and Bryan are set to be sentenced on Jan. 7 and face a minimum of life in prison. A judge will decide whether or not the men will have the possibility of parole.
In April, the three men were also indicted on federal charges. The McMichaels were charged with separate counts of using firearms during a crime of violence. All three men have pleaded not guilty to all of the federal charges.
The federal trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 7, 2022.
ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
Billie Joe Armstrong will be ringing in 2022 alongside Miley Cyrus.
The Green Day frontman is set to perform on Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, hosted by the pop star and Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson. The lineup also includes 24kGoldn, Brandi Carlile, Saweetie and others.
Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party airs December 31 at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
In addition to celebrating a new year, Armstrong also appears to be working on new music. In an Instagram post over the weekend, Green Day shared a video of the punk trio recording at he RAK Studios in London.
Green Day released three new singles in 2021: “Here Comes the Shock,” “Pollyanna” and “Holy Toledo!” The band’s most recent album is 2020’s Father of All…
