New music from Slashfeaturing Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators is “coming soon.”
That’s according to a new Facebook video posted by the Guns N’ Roses shredder featuring footage of him jamming along with his solo band.
“I think the record itself is probably the best one that we’ve done so far,” Slash says in the clip, referring to the upcoming fourth Conspirators album. “We’re showing no signs of slowing down.”
The most recent Conspirators effort is 2018’s Living the Dream.
Slash, meanwhile, just released a pair of new singles with Guns N’ Roses, “Absurd” and “Hard Skool.” The tunes mark the first fresh material from the “Welcome to the Jungle” rockers since Slash and Duff McKagan rejoined Axl Rose in the band in 2016.
Usher is giving the fans what they want: More Las Vegas residency shows.
Due to popular demand, the singer has announced two bonus dates at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace this December. He’ll be performing on Thursday, December 23 and Friday, December 24, in addition to his previously planned shows on December 28, 29, 31 and January 1, 2022.
Tickets for the new shows go on sale to the general public Saturday, Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. PT. Fan pre-sale tickets will be available beginning Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. PT until Friday, Oct. 8 at 10 p.m. PT.
The residency, which debuted in July, features a set list spanning Usher’s 20-year career, with performances of “U Remind Me,” “Burn,” “You Make Me Wanna…,” “Don’t Waste My Time,” “Scream,” “Yeah!” and more, backed by a live band and over two dozen dancers.
Usher, Live Nation Las Vegas and Caesars Entertainment are donating $1 of every ticket purchased to Usher’s New Look, Inc., an organization the singer founded in 1999 to help transform the lives of underserved youth.
Sydney Park says she knows exactly why her latest project, There’s Someone in Your House, is more than your cliché slasher film.
“Well, first of all, I really love that Makani isn’t your average scream queen,” Brooks tells ABC Audio of her lead role. “She is Asian and Black. She hails from Hawaii.”
Based on Stephanie Perkins‘ 2017 novel of the same name, There’s Someone in Your House follows Park as Makani, a recently transferred high school student stalked by a killer intent on exposing her and her classmates. Park says Makani is far from a one-dimensional figure.
“It’s really cool that she is this internal character and we sense that there is some instability, or some inkling of, like, a tragic past,” she shares. “And she’s struggling with that. So that really drew me in.”
In fact, Park’s character is so mysterious at times that the actress says she even began to question Makani’s true intentions.
“[W]hile I was reading the script, I kept on thinking about all of these different possibilities,” she says. “Like, is Makani the one who’s doing all of this? What’s really going on?”
It’s that unpredictability — along with plenty of high school angst — that makes Park believe that this slasher film is “sort of like [a] John Hughes horror film.”
“I love the mystery and… the emotional rollercoaster of it all,” she says. “It’s very unique and we bend a lot of genres.”
There’s Someone in Your House, also starring Asjha Cooper, Jesse LaTourette, Dale Whibley and Diego Josef, launches on Netflix this Wednesday, October 6.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) HBO Max has released a preview of its new Peacemaker spin-off series from The Suicide Squad starring John Cena‘s vigilante, Peacemaker.
The clip of the character’s self-titled show has returning characters from director James Gunn‘s film meeting Cena’s character at a diner. When he shows up “in full cosplay mode,” wearing his garish get-up including a polished chrome cowl, they tease him behind his back — and then to his face.
When jabbed that his red-and-white costume isn’t “exactly conducive to lurking in the shadows,” Peacemaker, AKA Christopher Schmidt, replies, “It’s not a costume. It’s a uniform,” adding “When people see this uniform it strikes fear in their hearts.”
One character replies, “What people, the other people at the Village People trials?”
It doesn’t help that Peacemaker showed up in a red-white-and-blue car, with his pet eagle in the back seat — or that he named the bird “Eagley.”
“Is your dog named Doggy?” a character jabs.
“Do you have a daughter named Daughtery?” another snipes.
“Jealous of a guy’s pet eagle much?” Cena huffs under his breath.
Guardians of the Galaxy writer-director Gunn wrote the Peacemaker series and directed several episodes, after he wrapped work on The Suicide Squad. He called the series “an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero-supervillain-and world’s biggest d****bag.”
The DC Comics character, who was shown to have survived the events of The Suicide Squad via an after-credits scene, fights for “freedom” regardless of the body count — of even innocent people.
(NEW YORK) — The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine remains 90% effective at reducing a person’s risk of hospitalization from the virus six months after it is administered, a new study has found. This is true even in the face of the delta variant as well as if the person has not received a booster shot.
Still, when it comes to preventing infections, the vaccine’s effectiveness wanes rapidly as time passes, the study found. After five months, it is just 47% effective at preventing infection.
In the study, funded by Pfizer, researchers assessed data from Kaiser Permanente and calculated the percentages of fully vaccinated patients who contracted COVID-19 on a monthly basis after vaccination. Data from roughly 3.4 million people was analyzed between December 2020 and August 2021.
The results of the study are in line with previously published data from Israel and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that looked at vaccine effectiveness over time, but the Pfizer-funded study is the first to consider how the delta variant may impact Pfizer vaccine effectiveness over time.
“The effectiveness of the vaccine against the delta and non-delta variants remained high during the study, suggesting that the vaccines worked well even when a variant was present,” Dr. Simone Wildes, an infectious disease specialist and ABC News contributor, said.
The delta variant was virtually non-existent in the United States when mass vaccinations began in the winter, but it now comprises more than 99% of all coronavirus cases in the country.
Vaccines might be less effective for older adults and people with underlying medication conditions, the study found.
The new data is particularly timely given that the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC recently authorized Pfizer vaccine booster shots in people who fall into certain risk categories — many of whom are over six months past their first dose.
“Our findings support policymakers who continue to monitor vaccine effectiveness over time,” Sara Y. Tartof, PhD, MPH, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation, and a lead author on the study, said. “Given the observed waning, it will be vital for policymakers to assess whether recommendations for booster doses may be warranted … to help control heightened transmission of delta, especially as we enter the upcoming fall/winter viral respiratory season.”
The study followed patients for nearly half a year, but experts still don’t know if Pfizer vaccine effectiveness continues to decrease over time or plateaus. It is also unclear what happens to vaccine effectiveness after the third shot or how factors such as adherence to mask mandates and social distancing measures could impact the data.
Britney Spears emotionally acknowledged the #FreeBritney movement Monday, thanking her fans for their tireless support over the years.
Sharing a video of her posing in a white off-the-shoulder crop top — her signature style — the 39-year-old Grammy winner admitted that she has “no words” to describe her gratitude.
“#FreeBritney movement … I have no words … because of you guys and your constant resilience in freeing me from my conservatorship … my life is now in that direction !!!!!” she celebrated on Monday.
The “Toxic” singer added that she is overwhelmed by her fans’ passion, adding, “I cried last night for two hours cause my fans are the best and I know it … I feel your hearts and you feel mine … that much I know is true.”
She closed the sentimental post with two twirling pink heart emojis.
Britney’s fiancé, Sam Asghari, also shouted out his bride-to-be’s fans in the comment section, asking them, “From a scale of 0-Britney how free are you?”
Britney, 39, has had her life governed by a conservatorship since 2008. Her father, Jamie Spears, acted as the conservator of her personal affairs until 2019, when he stepped down, citing health issues. However, he still maintained control over her finances until last Thursday, when Judge Brenda Penny suspended him, citing a “toxic environment.”
The singer also hinted Monday that she is getting ready to walk down the aisle by asking her 35 million followers in a subsequent post, “It’s not actually France folks … it’s French territory! Psss where should we get married????”
Spears toyed with a filter that gave her Disney princess styled eyes in the video, where she joked about wanting dessert.
“Psss don’t get me started on the concept of NOW,” she continued in the caption and declared in all capital letters, “GOD BLESS YOU ALL!”
Credit: James Marcus Haney x Heo Jae Young x Kim So Jung
Coldplay and BTS have reclaimed the top spot of the BillboardHot 100, this time for “My Universe,” their new collaboration.
The single, which was released on September 24, becomes the K-pop group’s sixth number-one hit in the U.S., and Coldplay’s second, after 2008’s “Viva La Vida.” Even more impressive, BTS has notched all their number ones in the span of a year, starting with “Dynamite,” released on September 5, 2020.
That’s the quickest an act has ever racked up six number ones since The Beatles, who also sent six singles to the top spot in the span of a year and two weeks, between 1964 and 1966.
However, BTS has yet to best The Beatles’ all-time record of placing six songs atop the Hot 100 in the span of 10 months and three weeks, which the Fab Four accomplished all the way back in 1964.
In other history-making moves, “My Universe” is now, as Billboard reports, “the first Hot 100 No. 1 by two groups each sporting lead billing on a song.” The only other groups to come close are The Temptations with Diana Ross and The Supremes back in 1969, when their hit “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” peaked at #2.
Thanks to the out-of-this-world debut for “My Universe,” the track also now sits atop Billboard‘s Digital Song Sales chart — allowing BTS to break its own record for having the most number ones on that tally, with nine number ones in all. As for Coldplay, this becomes their second leader on that chart.
(WASHINGTON) — A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday is hearing from a whistleblower who claims Facebook manipulated content it knew was harmful to young users, a day after the social media giant experienced an apparently unrelated massive outage.
Frances Haugen, who revealed her identity during a Sunday interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” has been cooperating with a Senate Commerce subcommittee as part of its ongoing efforts to assess potential regulations for the platform. Haugen is expected to tell lawmakers on Tuesday about evidence she reportedly has showing that the company intentionally ignored proof of its potentially harmful impact on users.
“Facebook has realized that if they change the algorithm to be safer, people will spend less time on the site, they’ll click on less ads, they’ll make less money,” she told “60 Minutes.”
Facebook has publicly refuted Haugen’s claims.
Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:
Oct 05, 8:57 am
Whistleblower to testify before Senate panel
Frances Haugen, a former Facebook data scientist turned whistleblower, is scheduled to testify before the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee at 10 a.m. on Facebook and Instagram’s impacts on young users in a hearing entitled, “Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower. “
Beyond alleging Facebook’s knowledge of its platforms’ negative impact on teenagers and young girls, Haugen has reportedly come forward with documents showing the social media giant has also ignored but is aware of how hate speech and misinformation are emphasized on their sites.
Haugen, who revealed her identity during a Sunday interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” has been cooperating with the offices of Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., chair and ranking member of the Senate committee that is assessing potential regulations for the social media giant.
After going nearly a full year without composing a single tweet, Adele made her grand return to Twitter on the same day social media websites Facebook and Instagram went offline.
The “Hello” singer, whose last tweet on January 10 was a red heart emoji in response to the Chorley Football Club in England belting out her 2011 hit “Someone Like You,” broke her Twitter silence on Monday in a cheeky exchange with the social media giant.
Following Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp’s sudden but massive outage, Twitter joked in a tweet, “hello literally everyone.” However, no one apparently expected the Grammy winner to reply, with a playful, “Hiya babes!”
Making matters more humorous was the social media company’s shocked response to the singer’s unexpected interaction, tweeting back, “ahdfljhadsjdlash ADELE?!?!”
This exchange comes as rumors continue to swirl that the 33-year-old singer is planning to release her long-awaited fourth studio album, which many believe is to be named 30. As previously reported, Adele updated her social media accounts on Monday with a cryptic blurred teal-colored profile picture and banner. Fans have noticed a similarity to the cryptic “30” billboards that began popping up in different parts of the world last week — saying they are the same color.
Adele’s website also reflected the new changes, updating with the same teal background and a mysterious link urging fans to sign up for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — The Facebook whistleblower who unearthed documents she says shows the company had knowledge of its platforms’ negative impact will appear before a Senate subcommittee Tuesday.
Frances Haugen, who revealed her identity during a Sunday interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes has been cooperating with a Senate Commerce subcommittee as part of its ongoing efforts to assess potential regulations for the social media giant.
Documents obtained by Haugen, a former product manager at Facebook, led to a series from the Wall Street Journal that reported that Facebook commissioned studies about and knew of potential harm that it was causing from negative or inflammatory content and did not act to stop it. Among the findings cited in the report were that Instagram made body image issues worse for one in three teens.
ABC News has not independently reviewed these documents, but Haugen is expected to tell the Senate subcommittee about the evidence she reportedly has that she says shows that the company intentionally ignored evidence of its potentially harmful impact.
“There were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook,” Haugen alleged on 60 Minutes on Sunday. “And Facebook over and over again chose to optimize for its own interests like making more money.”
Facebook has publicly refuted Haugen’s claims, pointing to investments in security that the company has made in recent years.
“Every day our teams have to balance protecting the ability of people to express themselves openly with the need to keep our platform a safe and positive place,” Lena Pietsch, the director of policy communications for Facebook, said in a statement Sunday. “To suggest we encourage bad content or do nothing is just not true.”
Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, said in a CNN interview on Sunday those making accusations that the company is commissioning research to “deliberately” brush it aside have it “back to front.”
“If we didn’t want to address those questions, we wouldn’t commission the research in the first place,” Clegg said.
Haugen’s career has included stops at Google, Pinterest and other social media companies, but she claimed what she saw at Facebook was “substantially worse.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who chairs the Senate Commerce subcommittee on Consumer Protections, Product Safety and Data Security, said in a tweet that he’s been speaking with Haugen in the lead-up to her testimony.
“From her first visit with my office, I’ve admired her backbone & bravery in revealing terrible truths about one of the world’s most powerful, implacable corporate giants,” Blumenthal said in a tweet. “Facebook’s actions make clear that we cannot trust it to police itself. We must consider stronger oversight, effective protections for children, & tools for parents, among the needed reforms.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the top Republican on the Senate subcommittee that will hear from Haugen, said it has been “fascinating” to comb over documents that Haugen provided the committee.
“What we want to know is how much data is Facebook capturing and what are they doing with that data, how long do they keep it, are they sharing with third parties, are they getting permission when they are datamining these children,” Blackburn said on Fox Business on Monday.
It is not clear how much information Haugen has shared with the committee in advance of her testimony, but during her interview Sunday, Haugen said she took thousands of pages of documents from Facebook so that “no one can question that this is real.”
Haugen also alleged on CBS that Facebook decided to ease safeguards put in place to stop the spread of disinformation during the 2020 election season, which she says contributed to the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol.
In an internal memo obtained by the New York Times, Clegg refuted that allegation as well.
“Social media has had a big impact on society in recent years, and Facebook is often a place where much of this debate plays out,” Clegg wrote. “But what evidence there is simply does not support the idea that Facebook, or social media more generally, is the primary cause of polarization.”
Haugen’s appearance before the committee Tuesday comes as part of an ongoing effort by Congress to assess how to regulate massive social media companies such as Facebook.
Last week, in a hearing before the same subcommittee that Haugen will appear before, lawmakers accused Facebook of taking a page from “big tobacco’s playbook” by hiding research about what they consider to be its addictive and harmful nature.
Antigone Davis, Facebook’s global head of safety, faced bipartisan scrutiny as she defended the company during the hearing that lasted some three hours.
“We understand that recent reporting has raised a lot of questions about our internal research, including research we do to better understand young people’s experiences on Instagram,” Davis stated in written testimony. “We strongly disagree with how this reporting characterized our work, so we want to be clear about what that research shows, and what it does not show.”
