Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell has shared another preview off his upcoming solo album, Brighten.
The latest cut is titled “Siren Song,” and you can download it now via digital outlets. It’s the third track to be released from Brighten, following the lead single “Atone” and the title track.
Brighten, which marks Cantrell’s first full-length solo offering in nearly 20 years, arrives in full on October 29. The album features Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses on bass.
Cantrell will launch a U.S. tour in support of Brighten in March 2022.
(NEW YORK) — Soviet-born businessman Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani, was found guilty Friday of making unlawful campaign donations totaling more than $350,000 to two pro-Trump super PACs and a GOP congressman in 2018, acting as a straw donor for a wealthy Russian who wanted to enter the burgeoning marijuana market in the United States.
Co-defendant Andrey Kukushkin was also convicted in the case, which was tried in a Manhattan federal court.
The illegal donations overlapped with Giuliani’s quest in Ukraine to unearth information that could damage then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, an effort in which Parnas allegedly positioned himself as a middleman.
“In order to gain influence with American politicians and candidates, they illegally funneled foreign money into the 2018 midterm elections with an eye toward making huge profits in the cannabis business,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said of Parnas and Kukushkin. “Campaign finance laws are designed to protect the integrity of our free and fair elections — unencumbered by foreign interests or influence — and safeguarding those laws is essential to preserving the freedoms that Americans hold sacred.”
As he left court, Parnas was heard saying “I’m upset, but i want to get back to my wife and my kids. We put up an incredible fight.”
Parnas was also convicted of using a shell company, as well as money belonging to his associate Igor Fruman, to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into Republican and pro-Trump political action committees. Fruman previously pleaded guilty in that case.
The defense portrayed Parnas as “in over his head” but not someone who willfully violated any laws.
Parnas was arrested two years ago at Dulles Airport holding a one-way ticket to Vienna. He now faces up to 45 years in prison.
(LONDON) — A suspected poacher found dead in a South African national park is believed to have been killed by an elephant, park officials said.
Rangers in Kruger National Park discovered the body on Thursday after following tracks in the Stolznek section of the giant game reserve, a spokesperson for the park said in a statement on Twitter.
“Initial investigations suspect that the deceased was killed by an elephant and left behind by his accomplices,” the statement said.
The identity of the deceased individual was not released.
The Rangers did not find any animals killed in the immediate area, the spokesperson said.
Park officials took the opportunity to warn that it is “dangerous to hunt illegally” in the park.
“Criminals stand to lose their lives and freedom,” the statement said.
Kruger National Park is South Africa’s largest wildlife sanctuary, encompassing nearly 5 million acres. The game reserve is also one of the hardest-hit regions in the country for rhino poaching. The park’s rhino population has decreased by 60% since 2013. In the first half of 2020, 166 rhinos were poached in South Africa, with 88 in Kruger National Park.
There are 3,529 white rhinos and 268 black rhinos left in Kruger National Park, according to South African National Parks.
To help combat rhino poaching, in recent months Kruger National Park has deployed more patrols in addition to using dogs and detection technologies to track suspects.
Between July and September, there was a nearly 30% increase in the number of poachers arrested in the park compared with the same period last year, according to South African National Parks.
(NEW YORK) — As global supply chain issues continue to escalate, wedding dress delays could spoil the special days for many brides-to-be.
Many couples held off on weddings and rescheduled due to the pandemic, but now some brides are faced with their wedding gowns or bridal party dresses being delayed as well.
Upscale bridal shop L’Fay Bridal is advising brides to prepare for increased lead times for gowns ordered through their company.
“Gowns used to take about six to eight months to arrive, without rush fees,” L’Fay Bridal NYC shop manager McKenzie Custin told “GMA.” “Now brides can expect to wait a full nine to 10 months.”
Rush fees have also become more prevalent for brides looking to receive their gowns in less than eight months, she said.
Custin said brides should also include time for at least a monthlong alteration process when confirming their wedding dates. For example, if the wedding is planned eight months out, that only leaves seven months for a dress to actually arrive.
“The ideal timeline is nine to 10 months for your gown to arrive and one and a half to two months for alterations,” she added. “Brides should be ordering their gowns a full year or a little over year in advance to avoid any stress, worry or rush fees.”
It’s estimated that there will be 2.5 million weddings in 2022, the most the U.S. has had since 1984, according to The Wedding Report.
Coupled with global supply chain issues, several retailers don’t foresee wedding dress delays slowing down anytime soon.
“The increased timeline is unfortunately here to stay with the sudden boom,” said Custin. “Many designers are operating understaffed due to COVID-19 — this means that rush fees are required more often and the minimum turn around time for a gown has increased.”
In addition to wedding gowns, supply chain disruptions have also effected the arrival of bridesmaid dresses.
New York City-based pediatric nurse practitioner Allyson Tauber, who is scheduled to get married on March 12, 2022, found her wedding dress rather quickly. Once ordered, it arrived in six months as promised and now she is awaiting to begin alterations within the next few months.
But she hasn’t had the same luck when it comes to her bridesmaid dresses. She allowed them to pick their dresses from Bella Bridesmaids, and had all participants submit orders ahead of time.
However, in September, she received an email titled “Urgent Production Change for Dressy Fabrics.” “I was told that effective immediately, a few fabrics are majorly delayed due to COVID,” Tauber told “GMA.” “As it turns out, all of the dresses I had chosen were in the affected fabrics.”
Tauber was given the option to have everyone come in for a fitting and order their dresses within eight days and they would arrive the week before the wedding or they could change fabrics, colors or designers to accommodate what was available.
“I have finally decided to move forward with a third option — to cancel my order from Bella Bridesmaid and find my bridesmaid dresses elsewhere,” she said.
Tauber said she’s switched to Anthropologie’s bridal service instead.
“Anthropologie’s BHLDN has been amazing to work with,” she said. “I am very excited to have found a place where my bridesmaids can order dresses to try on at home and return them if they want to try another style or size.”
“GMA” has reached out to Bella Bridesmaids for comment.
While a great deal of the bridal industry has been impacted by ongoing global chain supplies, some stores, such as New York City’s Kleinfeld Bridal, said it has not been intensely affected.
“We are truly not seeing any issues or hearing of any,” said a Kleinfeld spokesperson. “The Kleinfeld merchandising and production teams are in daily constant contact with each of our designers and have not had any delivery issues nor do we foresee this effecting our brides.”
MORE: Supply chain questions answered, plus tips and solutions for smart shopping
The brand also highlighted that the store always has sample dresses available to buy straight off the rack.
Mass bridal retailers, such as David’s Bridal, have also reported seeing a 45% increase for in-store purchases versus online likely due to condensed planning and supply chain issues. The company owns its own supply chain, and carries over 300,000 gowns in stock and ready to go in a variety of styles.
With continual major delays globally, experts also suggest shopping through small businesses that carry products made in America.
Ed Sheeran‘s new album = (Equals) isn’t coming out until October 29, but on Thursday afternoon, you can get an early listen to the project on Apple Music.
Ed and Apple Music’s Zane Lowe are teaming up for a “First Listen” global live stream event starting at 3:30pm ET on Thursday. Ed will play new songs from the album and talk about what went into creating them, as well an answer questions from fans. It’ll be available at Music.Apple.com.
= (Equals) is Ed’s first album since his record-breaking release ÷ (Divide), which came out in 2017. His +–=÷x (Mathematics) tour starts in April of 2022, though no North American dates have been released yet.
Brett Eldredge’s latest foyer into the festive world of holiday music arrives today, as he releases his 11-track project, Mr. Christmas.
Over the years, Brett has become known as one of the country genre’s best Christmas crooners, combining his warm baritone vocals with a jazzy, big band-inspired musical backdrop. Altogether, he’s got all the right ingredients to create an instant classic holiday album.
Brett first brought the magic of the season to his fans with his 2016 holiday project, Glow. In the years since, he’s borrowed the name of that project for his annual Christmas tour. Now, he’ll add to his growing cache of Christmas music with a new batch of tracks.
“I really think some of the last of the magic left in this world is in Christmas music,” the singer says. “There’s a lot of joy in this record — even more than the first in some ways — and I wanted to tip a hat to where I started…but also take it to the soulful side of my music.”
Most of all, Brett hopes the new record will offer listeners some festive fun after what has been, for many, a difficult couple of years.
“The world is the world, and life comes at you like it does, but I hope you find some joy in this music,” he says. “I hope it softens life a little bit and puts a smile on someone’s face when they need it. If it does, I’ve done my job.”
The new documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowerswill get its worldwide release on November 11 as a free streaming event shown in 4K resolution on Tom Petty‘s official YouTube channel as part of the YouTube Originals series.
As previously reported, the movie focuses on the creatively fruitful period from 1993 to 1995, during which Petty made his acclaimed 1994 solo studio effort, Wildflowers, and recorded many other songs that weren’t initially released on the album. The film features previously unseen 16-millimeter footage shot during the making of Wildflowers, archival commentary from Tom, and new interviews with producer Rick Rubin and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell — who both co-produced the album with Tom — as well as with Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench.
A new trailer for the documentary has debuted at Petty’s YouTube channel. The two-minute promo features footage of Petty in the studio and on a tour bus and onstage, vintage photos, and clips of Tench and Campbell discussing Wildflowers. You also hear Tom talking about the project and reflecting on his approach to making the record.
Somewhere You Feel Free premiered in March as part of the virtual South by Southwest Film Festival, and the documentary got its theatrical release as a global screening event on Wednesday, October 20 — coinciding with what would’ve been Petty’s 71st birthday.
The film was directed by Mary Wharton, whose credits also include last year’s Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President.
Petty initially had planned for Wildflowers to be a double album, but was convinced by his record label to release it as a single disc. The many extra tracks he recorded during the sessions, along with a bevy of outtakes, finally were released last year on the Wildflowers & All the Rest box set.
If you thought you couldn’t love Harry Styles any more, just watch this video of him giving his mom a sweet birthday shout-out while on tour.
In a fan-captured clip from his tour stop in Uncasville, CT on Thursday, Harry asks the crowd to help him sing “Happy Birthday” to his mom, Anne Twist.
“So, if it’s okay with you, would you mind please singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to my mother?” he says.
He also adds, since his mom was not actually in the audience, “And I hope that maybe she will hear it…and she will because I will show her. She’ll know.”
Harry will be playing another show at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville Saturday night.
Harry talking about his mom @MrsAnneTwist and asking the crowd to sing her Happy Birthday in Uncasville N1 🥰💓
Via reiqning
Sunday night’s episode of CBS’ SEAL Team, “Nine Ten,” takes a look back at the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, through the eyes of David Boreanaz‘s Jason Hayes and his fellow team members.
The episode takes place both in the present day, and via flashbacks showing where they all were before that terrible day 20 years ago. The cast assembled at the 9/11 Memorial for part of the episode.
“One of the things that hit me hard at the site, we were the first show to shoot down there at Ground Zero, was talking to a few officers that were present during that time,” Boreanaz tells ABC Audio.
“And the stories, some of the stories that they were telling were not only hard to hear, but hard to understand and comprehend that that energy,” Boreanaz continues. [W]here they were that day, and what was happening around them. The sounds, the sights. Very disturbing. Words are hard to put into place with this one.”
He adds, “Being there and shooting this show really was about remembering the lives that were lost that day, right, 20 years ago. Sure, we’re a show that it can examine that where were these characters 20 years ago, why they got into the fight on terror, which is great storytelling. But being there and remembering and honoring that was something else. And man…It was very impactful.”
One of the challenges was finding actors who could play Borenanz’s character and others at that point in their lives. “Trying to find Jason Hayes was difficult, but the kid who played him was great and it was fun to talk to him and kind of see where he was coming from,” Boreanaz says.
Kane Brown recently shared a special moment with the crowd during a stop on his Blessed & Free Tour, when the singer spotted a little girl named Mia in the crowd and pulled her up onstage to meet him — and the rest of the audience.
In addition to being a big fan of Kane, Mia is currently facing a cancer battle. While in the audience, she held up a sign that said “Sorry for being Xtra, help me get my cancer fighter [to] meet Kane.”
Not only did the singer meet Mia and give her a hug — he also sang his hit “Homesick” to her onstage and autographed her sign before she hopped back down into the crowd to rejoin her family.
After the show, Kane posted some snapshots of the moment on his social media. “This post is dedicated to this sweet little girl Mia,” he wrote in the caption. “You’re so strong and I know everyone in this crowd prayed for u that night.”
When he’s not on the road, Kane is typically hanging out with his own little family: The singer often shares clips and snapshots of himself hanging with his daughter, Kingsley, both on and off the road.
