(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden went to Capitol Hill Friday afternoon to meet with House Democrats, White House officials said, amid party infighting that has put his legislative agenda in jeopardy.
Biden, who has kept a low public profile most of the week while negotiating behind the scenes trying to break the impasse, spoke behind doors with liberal and moderate lawmakers for about half an hour.
As he emerged, he told reporters, “I’m telling you, we’re gonna get this done.”
He added, “It doesn’t matter when. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in six minutes, six days, or six weeks. We’re gonna get it done.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has twice had to delay a vote on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan Biden supports because progressive Democrats are vowing to defeat it unless they also get a vote on $3.5 trillion social safety net and climate policy measure he also supports — but one that two moderate Democratic senators have objected to as too costly.
Beforehand, some Democrats said they were excited to be hearing from Biden directly and some had complained in recent days that he was not more involved in negotiations.
“He’s going over there to make the case for his legislative agenda, which includes the infrastructure bill, and it includes his Build Back Better agenda that would be in the reconciliation package, so he wants to speak directly to members, answer their questions and make the case for why we should all work together to give the American people more breathing room,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters shortly before Biden was scheduled to leave for the Capitol.
Asked whether he expected to walk out of there with an agreement, Pskai said, “I’m not going to make a prediction of whether there will or won’t be a vote. I’ll leave that to Speaker Pelosi to determine when she will call a vote. But he’s making the case he believes it’s — it’s the right time for him to go up there.”
“The case that the White House is making is that compromise requires everybody giving little. That’s the stage we’re in. But no matter where we end, if we can get something done here, we’re going to have a historic piece of legislation passed Congress that’s going to have a huge impact on the American people,” she added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Kevin reminisces about his time as a tour guide on the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park backlot tour, an attraction that took visitors behind-the-scenes of a real working film studio. “I would give a 25-minute guided tour of the studio backlot,” Kevin says. “…It was an inspiring, incredible place to come to work every day.”
The special, in celebration of Walt Disney World Resort’s 50th anniversary, also features musical performances by Christina Aguilera and the star of Disney’s upcoming live action The Little MermaidHalle Bailey.
The Most Magical Story on Earth: 50 Years of Walt Disney World, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
(NEW YORK) — Amid restaurant closures, changing rules and regulations, worker shortages, supply chain issues that lead to price hikes and more, during the COVID-19 crisis restaurants in the U.S. have faced challenges at every turn.
The latest hurdle has been dealing with rising tensions over masks and vaccine mandates during the pandemic.
While the CDC and many states have laid out guidelines and regulations for dining, the burden of enforcing the protocols often falls on the shoulders of individual businesses and the hosts, servers and managers, resulting in an influx of difficult, awkward and at times, dangerous interactions with disgruntled customers.
“It’s been almost a 24/7 job of keeping up with the regulatory changes — the city, the state, the federal government all issue different regulations – so particularly for restaurants in New York it has been a tough job to keep up,” restaurant and hospitality legal expert Carolyn Richmond, co-chair of Fox Rothschild Hospitality Practice Group, told “GMA.”
She added that it’s been “an increased labor cost to make sure somebody is at the door checking.”
These challenges have been widespread, according to reports from New York to Texas and Hawaii.
Hawaii restaurant owner Javier Barberi of Down the Hatch and Mala Tavern in Maui said they have had to hire additional staff and security to deal with the situation.
Barberi told “GMA” that while adapting to state and local mandates the already tense situation of asking their hosts to check vaccination status has been exacerbated recently by stressful customer interactions.
Under the Maui Safer Outside guidelines, unvaccinated customers can choose to dine outdoors, but proof of vaccination is required for indoor dining. Oahu’s Safe Access program takes the regulation a step further, asking customers for proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test for both indoor and outdoor dining.
“We’ve had absolute nightmare scenarios at the hostess stand,” Barberi said. “It’s so stressful. I’ve had staff crying after customers yell at them over the vaccination policy and say they can’t work like this or don’t want to come in the next day — but we are following what our government asks of us because we could get shut down or fines.”
Barberi said one customer became combative with the front of house team after his party was denied indoor dining access because a guest was not fully vaccinated. The customer “started losing it on our host,” he said. “ and a A 20-year-old woman should not have to be prepared to handle a situation like this.”
Encounters like these have forced him to hire additional security, he said.
“We’ve had to hire additional security, which doesn’t look good to customers because this is a nice, formal restaurant and not what you want to see when you first arrive,” he explained. “Now we have to hire a male host, additional security and who pays for it? … these things aren’t free. There’s no restaurant relief left, there’s no government assistance coming from the PPP.”
With tensions reaching an inflection point, similar scenes have played out in other states such as New York.
Earlier this month a hostess at Carmine’s, an Italian restaurant in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, was reportedly assaulted by three customers after she asked for proof of vaccination — which is required of restaurants by law and if they fail to comply to check patrons’ vaccine status can result in fines over $1,000.
“Three women brutally attacked our hosts without provocation, got arrested and charged for their misconduct, and then, over the last several days, had their lawyer falsely and grossly misrepresent their acts of wanton violence in a cynical attempt to try to excuse the inexcusable,” Carmine’s owner Jeffrey Bank said in a statement the day he released security footage of the incident.
He continued, “My team members work too hard to serve our guests, work too hard to comply with New York’s vaccination requirements, and still suffer too much from the attack for me to allow these false statements to stand.”
The footage showed a group of six people welcomed upon showing proof of vaccinations and later when three men who were part of the same party arrived and could not show proof of vaccination were told they could not enter given New York law. The previously seated guests, according to Bank and the footage, argued to let their friends inside and as one host returned to the outside station, “three of the women came back outside, attacked our host — and then assaulted both our Asian host and our Latinx host,” according to Bank.
“This attack was entirely unprovoked – the three women launched the attack and continued it, seriously hurting our hosts and requiring our staff and nearby men and women to have to literally tear the women away from our hosts,” Bank said. “Carmine’s staff acted appropriately and professionally. When my employees mess up, I hold us accountable. But when our employees are attacked, I will defend them to the limit.”
Andrew Rigie executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance commented on the incident calling it “abhorrent” and added that there should be punishments in place.
“We’re calling on the City and State of New York to immediately increase penalties for assaulting restaurant workers in New York City in conjunction with enforcement of Covid-19 protocols,” he said.
Staff shortages, supply chain woes
Texas Restaurant Association CEO Emily Williams Knight told “Good Morning America” she’s most worried about staff and labor shortages coupled with elevated consumer behavior.
“There’s been an evolution of customer behavior,” she said. “We have very few, if not any restrictions here in Texas, but the staffing labor challenge with the supply chain is definitely frustrating customers and employees.”
In the last month in Texas, which she says accounts for 50,000 restaurants, Knight said “the hours worked per employee in restaurants, was the highest we’ve ever seen. So the folks that are there are exhausted, they’re working extensive hours and they’re now facing a growing public that is losing patience and not having a perfect experience.”
Although Texas does not have a vaccine mandate, Knight said “we’ve had very little challenge here in Texas around masks.”
Much like New York City and other high-traffic hospitality areas restaurant associations across the country have added measures to explain guest safety and behavior expectations upon arrival at a restaurant — something Knight said prompted the TRA to create “the restaurant promise.”
“It’s a two-way commitment between the consumer and the restaurant, so before you enter on the door, it says, this is what we’re going to do to keep you safe. And this is what we were going to do if you enter the business. And it doesn’t surprise them,” she said.
Ellis Winstanley, owner of El Arroyo in Austin, Texas, told “GMA” that customer traffic has fluctuated — “as the pandemic has ebbed and flowed.”
“I think I think there’s just a lot of tension generally right now — I think you see it in restaurants because restaurants are so public — but I think our staff experiences that more than any other industry does.”
Barberi added that they’re facing backlash from guests who are now “boycotting” theirs and other local restaurants enforcing the vaccination policies.
“It breaks my heart – they’re adhering to the rules of the government ,” he said and that the conflict has a negative impact on customers and restaurants.
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a wide-sweeping set of police reform laws Thursday, including one that would prevent an officer from being employed by another police department after being convicted of misconduct.
The new legislation also raises the minimum age to become a law enforcement officer from 18 to 21; sets limits on the use of rubber bullets and tear gas to protect protesters; and establishes new accountability measures.
The legislation, SB2, also known as the “Kenneth Ross Jr. initiative,” will decertify law enforcement officers after conviction for misconduct or serious crimes and prevents them from moving to other departments. Officers can be decertified for excessive force, sexual assault, demonstration of bias and dishonesty.
The bill was named after 25-year-old Kenneth Ross Jr. who was fatally shot by Gardena Police Department Officer Michael Robbins in April 2018 while running away from police in Rowley Park, local Los Angeles ABC station KABC reported. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office determined that the officer “acted lawfully in self-defense” because he believed Ross was an active shooter.
“I’ve lived here 52 years. I knew every officer by first name. When I heard about this shooting I did not know who this officer was and the reason why is because he transferred from Orange County after being involved in three questionable shootings there,” Assemblyman Steven Bradford, a Democrat representing Gardena, said at the signing ceremony.
Bradford said the legislation would end the “wash, rinse, repeat cycle” where an officer can commit a crime and leave a department and get hired by another agency.
The new law means California will join 46 other states that have decertification processes for officers due to bad conduct, Bradford said.
The bill-signing ceremony took place at Rowley Park in Ross’ memory where his mother, Fouzia Almarou, spoke.
“He was the love of my life. I’ll never see Kenneth again. This bill means a lot because it’ll stop police from attacking, targeting and being racist towards Black and brown people,” Almarou said.
Newsom also signed the George Floyd Bill, which requires officers to intervene when witnessing another officer using excessive force and report the incident in real time. Those who don’t could be disciplined in the same way as the cop who used excessive force.
Assemblymember Chris Holden, a Democrat representing Pasadena, authored the bill.
“Derek Chauvin was charged for killing of George Floyd, but justice for George Floyd doesn’t rest in Chauvin’s conviction alone – there were three additional officers who simply stood by and watched him die,” Holden said in a statement.
Another bill, AB490, bans officers from using restraints that can cause position asphyxiation, which occurs when a person is restrained and cannot breathe.
“While many of us witnessed the untimely death of George Floyd last year, Angelo Quinto a native veteran from Northern California also lost his life at the hands of law enforcement when [they] used similar restraints,” Assemblymember Reggie Jones Sawyer, a Democrat representing south Los Angeles, said.
“The new law will not hinder law enforcement from utilizing restraints they might need to use in dangerous situations … but it will place a limit on those restraints as to not keep someone from breathing and the result be an unnecessary death,” he added.
Last year, Newsom signed legislation banning police chokeholds in wake of Floyd’s death in Minneapolis where officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes.
Assemblymember Sawyer also thanked the governor for signing the PEACE Act, which raises the minimum age of officers from 18 to 21.
The act will also have experts from community colleges and community advocates develop a framework for officers to receive a higher education that’ll include psychology, history, ethnic studies, law and emotional intelligence.
“This framework will equip officers with the skills necessary for de-escalation while also guaranteeing they develop an understanding of the history of communities from diverse backgrounds and cultures,” Sawyer said.
Another bill regulates the use of rubber bullets and tear gas at protests. It bans officers from “indiscriminately firing these weapons into a crowd or aiming them at the head, neck or other vital organs,” bill author Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a Democrat representing San Diego, said in a release.
Newsom touted the reforms as “another step toward healing and justice for all.”
“Too many lives have been lost due to racial profiling and excessive use of force. We cannot change what is past, but we can build accountability, root out racial injustice and fight systemic racism. We are all indebted to the families who have persevered through their grief to continue this fight and work toward a more just future,” he said in a statement.
Director Sam Raimi arguably is a trailblazer of the modern superhero movie, thanks to his 2001 hit Spider-Man, and his Spider-Man 2, which is considered a rare sequel that’s superior to the original.
But the third and final Tobey MaguireSpider-Man movie was panned by fans, particularly for how it treated Venom, and for thatdance sequence.
Raimi never returned to the genre — that is, until the Evil Dead series director agreed to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
In an interview with Collider, Raimi explained he was nervous to come back. “I didn’t know that I could face it again because it was so awful,” he said of the audience reaction. “The internet was getting revved up and people disliked that movie, and they sure let me know about it. So, it was difficult to take back on.”
However, his curiosity got the better of him when Doctor Strange‘s director, Scott Derrickson, decided not to call the shots on the follow-up. He’s producing instead.
“I thought, ‘I wonder if I could still do it?’ Raimi said. “They’re really demanding, those types of pictures. And I felt, ‘Well, that’s reason enough.'”
Raimi said he was a fan of the first film and “always really liked the character of Doctor Strange,” who is portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch. He adds, “I didn’t think I would be doing another superhero movie. It just happened.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be released on March 25, 2022 from Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
Named after LL Cool J’s lifestyle brand, the honor will be presented by the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee at the BET Hip Hop Awards on Tuesday, October 5. This special award recognizes an “innovative, otherworldly artist that has significantly impacted the culture while uplifting their community.’
“I am proud to honor Tyler, the Creator with the first-ever Rock The Bells Cultural Influence Award, which celebrates an artist who continues to break down the conventional boundaries of hip hop culture. His fearlessness and creativity speaks to the influence he’ll have on future hip hop generations,” LL said in a statement.
Tyler is also nominated for four BET Hip Hop Awards: Best Live Performer, Hip Hop Artist of the Year, Hip Hop Album of the Year, and Producer of the Year.
The versatile Grammy winner is also a clothing designer, and has hosted his annual Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival featuring all-star musical performances in Los Angeles since 2012.
As previously reported, Nelly will be honored with the I Am Hip Hop Award for career achievement at the BET Hip Hop Awards. Young Thug, Gunna, Bia, Lil Jon and Baby Keem will be among the stars performing, and Big Daddy Kane will pay special tribute to the late Biz Markie, who passed away July 16 in New York City at the age of 57.
Cardi B, Lil Durk and Megan Thee Stallion lead all artists, with nine nominations each, followed by Drake, with eight nods.
The 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards airs Tuesday, October 5, 2021, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will head to Capitol Hill Friday afternoon to meet with House Democrats, White House officials said, amid party infighting over passing his agenda.
Biden, who has kept a low public profile most of the week while negotiating behind the scenes trying to break the impasse, is set to meet with Democrats at 3:30 p.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has twice had to delay a vote on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan Biden supports because progressive Democrats are vowing to defeat it unless they also get a vote on $3.5 trillion social and climate policy measure he also supports — but one that two moderate Democratic senators have objected to as too costly.
Some Democrats said they were excited to be hearing from Biden directly and some had complained in recent days that he was not more involved in negotiations.
“He’s going over there to make the case for his legislative agenda, which includes the infrastructure bill, and it includes his Build Back Better agenda that would be in the reconciliation package, so he wants to speak directly to members, answer their questions and make the case for why we should all work together to give the American people more breathing room,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters shortly before Biden was scheduled to leave for the Capitol.
Asked whether he expects to walk out of there an agreement, Pskai said, “I’m not going to make a prediction of whether there will or won’t be a vote. I’ll leave that to Speaker Pelosi to determine when she will call a vote. But he’s making the case he believes it’s — it’s the right time for him to go up there.”
“The case that the White House is making is that compromise requires everybody giving little. That’s the stage we’re in. But no matter where we end, if we can get something done here, we’re going to have a historic piece of legislation passed Congress that’s going to have a huge impact on the American people,” she added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Here’s a roundup of this Friday’s new music releases:
Pentatonix has released their new spin on a classic Stevie Wonder tune. The a cappella group dropped their cover of “I Just Called to Say I Love You” on Friday. The song will appear on the group’s upcoming holiday album, Evergreen, out October 29.
JoJo has released what’s being called a “capsule project” — a 12-song EP titled Trying Not to Think About It. The project is described as an expression of different mental health issues. The singer also unveiled the music video for new single “Anxiety (Burlinda’s Theme).” JoJo says in a statement, “This song is about wanting to break up with your anxiety — talking to it like it’s an abusive relationship. CUZ IT IS. It can keep you small, isolated, unhappy, afraid, unable to perform to the best of your ability and reach your potential.”
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett‘s duets album Love for Sale is out today, and along with the album, they’ve shared a behind-the-scenes video focusing on the making of the album cover. In the clip, set to the song “I Concentrate on You,” we see Tony sketching Gaga for the album artwork and Gaga getting emotional when she sees the finished product.
(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
More than 696,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 65% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 01, 3:02 pm
White House COVID-19 team on rapid testing, vaccine updates
The White House COVID-19 team told ABC News that they are aiming to double the number of rapid tests available at market within the next two months.
“You’re right that the at-home rapid test is under a lot of demand,” said White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients. “The manufacturing is scaling up significantly, doubling across the next couple of months, and we’re just going to keep at it to encourage those manufacturers to increase capacity and to drive down the cost of those tests.”
Zients added: “Overall, we’ll continue to pull every level we can to further expand the manufacturing and the production of these tests in order to make them more widely available, and to drive down the cost per test.” He did not offer further specifics.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also said that the shots for children ages 5 to 11 are “on the horizon.” Murthy deferred to the FDA and CDC’s “rigorous review process” and independent advisory panels to determine further absolutes.
The White House team urges Americans not to let their guard down even though the latest surge of COVID-19 may be subsiding. White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said that it is not an excuse for unvaccinated Americans to remain unvaccinated.
“I think that the people who are unvaccinated, when they see the curve starting to come down, that is not a reason to remain unvaccinated, because if you want to ensure that we get down to a very low level and that we don’t re-surge again,” Fauci said. “We still gotta get a very large proportion of those 70 million people who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not been vaccinated, we’ve got to get them vaccinated.”
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Oct 01, 2:11 pm
California to require COVID-19 vaccine for all students
California will be the first state to require the COVID-19 vaccine for all eligible students, faculty and staff in public and private schools. Gov. Gavin Newsom says that the COVID-19 vaccine will be one of 11 vaccines required to attend schools in California.
The vaccine will be required at the start of the upcoming school term following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the vaccines. Terms begin in January and July.
The government has only fully approved the COVID-19 vaccine for those 16 and over.
School staff will be required to be vaccinated on the same timeline as grades 7-12, the earliest group to see full FDA approval.
There are exemptions for medical reasons and for personal and religious beliefs.
-ABC News’ Matthew Fuhrman
Oct 01, 12:20 pm
Vaccine acceptance at high amid delta surge: Polls
Polls found that coronavirus vaccine acceptance is at a high — with surveys finding 80% to 82% of people say they have been vaccinated or are likely to get vaccinated. These are the highest percentages [since the vaccine rollout began] ().
The CDC reports that 77% of adults have gotten at least one vaccine dose.
Vaccinations have gone up since August, and a study by [health policy research organization Kaiser Family Foundation] () indicates that gaps by race and ethnicity are almost eliminated — 73% of Hispanics, 71% of white people and 70% of Black people are said to be vaccinated.
However, vaccine gaps persist across party lines — KFF found that 90% of Democrats say they’ve gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with 68% of independents and 58% of Republicans.
However, unvaccinated people continue to express doubts concerning the vaccines’ effectiveness and resistance to vaccine mandates in the workplace.
In a poll by [the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index] (), 71% of unvaccinated Americans believe that the vaccine booster shots and breakthrough infections are signs that vaccines are not as effective as they are said to be.
Only about 29% of unvaccinated workers say they would get a shot if their employer mandates it, according to the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Oct 01, 8:35 am
Merck announces virus-fighting breakthrough in pill form
Merck Thursday morning announced the results of an ongoing Phase 3 study of an antiviral pill that may slash the risk of being hospitalized or dying of the virus by 50%.
The study’s results are so compelling that an independent monitoring board recommended, in consultation with the FDA, ending the trial early so the companies can swiftly seek authorization.
Sep 30, 4:33 pm
Daily hospital admissions down 32% in last month
Since the beginning of September, the U.S. has seen a drop of more than 27,000 patients in hospitals across the country, according to federal data. A little less than half of those patients come from Florida.
Daily hospital admissions are down by nearly 15% in the last week and by 32% in the last month, according to federal data.
The country’s daily case average has fallen to 107,000 — a 33% drop in the last month. However, about 97% of counties are still reporting “high” or “substantial” community transmission.
Tracy Morgan is back as Tray Barker in the fourth season trailer for TBS’ The Last O.G.
TBS announced that the new season will premiere on Tuesday, October 26, with back-to-back new episodes starting at 10 p.m. ET. The remaining eight episodes will then air Tuesday nights at 10:30 p.m. ET. The fourth season will once again follow Morgan as Tray, a recently released inmate trying to navigate and “adapt to a changing world so he can do some good for the Brooklyn he loves.” The Last O.G. also stars Ryan Gaul, Taylor Mosby, Dante Hoagland, Anna Maria Horsford and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Guest stars include Janet Hubert, Malik Yoba, Wood Harris and Gary Dourdan.
In other news, BET has released a first-look teaser for the second season of Games People Play. The new season, which stars Karrueche Tran and Lauren London, will premiere Tuesday, October 19, at 10 p.m. ET. Based on Angela Burt-Murray‘s popular book Games Divas Play, the series centers on a group of ambitious Los Angeles women and the men in their lives. Game People Play also stars Sarunas J. Jackson, Karen Obilom, Parker McKenna Posey and Jackie Long, among others.
Finally, Tyler Perry is teaming up with producer Jason Blum for a new thriller titled Help, Deadline has learned. Although plot details are being kept under wraps, it was revealed that the forthcoming film will be written and directed by Alan McElroy. Production on Help is expected to begin sometime next year at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.
