Diddy is famous for his spectacular New Year’s Eve parties, however he’s reportedly being forced to cancel his December 31 Miami bash for the second year in a row.
TMZ reports that the Bad Boy Entertainment founder made the decision because Omicron cases are increasing in Florida and around the country. Diddy also canceled his 2020 NYE celebration due to COVID-19. Instead of a formal party on New Year’s Eve, the two-time Grammy winner handed out $50 bills in the Overtown section of Miami
His last NYE party, in 2019 at Miami’s Story Nightclub, was attended by 500 people, including Fat Joe, Meek Mill, DJ Khalid, and DaBaby.
(LOS ANGELES) — The family of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta, who was fatally shot by Los Angeles police at a clothing store on Dec. 23, is demanding answers from the department.
“To see a son or daughter die in your arms is one of the pains — the greatest pains and most profound pains — that any human being can imagine,” said Valentina’s mother, Soledad Peralta. “Now, our sweet angel has left us forever. Please give us strength, Valentina.”
The family is being represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has also represented the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.
Valentina was killed on Dec. 23 while holiday shopping with her mother at a Burlington clothing store in North Hollywood, California. She was fatally struck by a stray bullet in a dressing room, while holiday shopping with her mother, when LAPD officers opened fire on a suspect who had allegedly committed assault with a deadly weapon in the store.
Valentina’s mother and father wore signs Tuesday that said “justice for our daughter.”
“The pain of opening Christmas presents for her that were delivered for Christmas Day cannot be described,” said Valentina’s father, Juan Pablo Orellana Larenas, in Spanish at Tuesday’s press conference. “Now, those gifts will be brought to her grave because she’s gone.”
“It’s like my heart was torn out,” he said.
The LAPD published 911 calls, radio transmissions, body camera footage and surveillance video four days after the incident. The department’s policy is to release video of incidents like police shootings within 45 days.
In a Dec. 27 statement, LAPD Chief Michel R. Moore said, “This chaotic incident resulting in the death of an innocent child is tragic and devastating for everyone involved. I am profoundly sorry for the loss of this young girl’s life and I know there are no words that can relieve the unimaginable pain for the family.”
He added, “My commitment is to conduct a thorough, complete and transparent investigation into the circumstances that led up to this tragedy and provide the family and public with as much information as possible.”
According to the LAPD’s body camera footage and 911 audio recordings, several callers notified 911 dispatchers of a possible shooting in progress at the store. One 911 caller can be heard asking customers to evacuate and telling the dispatcher that he is breaking things.
The suspect, Daniel Elena-Lopez, did not have a gun at the scene, according to officials. He had a metal bike lock that was allegedly used to assault a woman and break glass.
Elena-Lopez carried his bicycle to the store’s second floor, where he set it down and wandered around trying on clothes, according to surveillance footage provided by LAPD. He was confronted by a store employee about his bicycle when he broke a computer monitor with his metal bike lock.
According to surveillance footage, Elena-Lopez repeatedly hit the glass railing by the store’s escalators and walked around the store erratically.
The footage shows Elena-Lopez attacking a woman on the escalator with his bike lock. She escaped and left the store. He then attacked another woman but she also fled.
Later, according to the footage, Elena-Lopez repeatedly beat a third woman with his bike lock on the second floor of the store. As she tried to escape, he dragged her toward the dressing rooms. She was injured and bleeding from the attack when police arrived, officials say.
Armed officers then entered the store, confronted Elena-Lopez and fatally shot him, according to LAPD. A bullet is believed to have pierced a wall behind the suspect and hit Valentina.
“We heard screams and we sat down, and hugged, and started praying,” said Peralta, through a translator. “When something hit my daughter, Valentina, it threw us to the floor … and she died in my arms.”
She added, “There was nothing I could do.”
Officials say Valentina was out of sight from the officers.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner declared Valentina’s manner of death as a homicide, with the cause of death being a gunshot wound to the chest.
(NEW YORK) — A new study suggests immunocompromised Americans people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are more likely to have breakthrough infections than people without weakened immune systems, but found full vaccination still adds more protection than being partially vaccinated.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Washington found people with so-called immune dysfunction, including immunocompromised people like those with HIV or on immunosuppressant medications, had rates of breakthrough cases up to twice as high as those with normally-functioning immune systems.
“People with immune dysfunction conditions have a higher risk for COVID-19 breakthrough infection than those without such a condition, suggesting continued use of nonpharmaceutical interventions (mask-wearing, social distancing, avoid crowd gathering and travel, etc.) and alternative vaccine strategies (additional doses or immunogenicity testing) should be recommended even after full vaccination.” Dr. Jing Sun, corresponding author of the study and an assistant scientist in the department of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told ABC News.
For the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine Tuesday, the team looked at data from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative, which is a central database of COVID-19 data from academic medical centers across the country.
More than 664,000 people were included in the study between December 2020 and September 2021.
Patients were broken into two groups: with and without immune dysfunction. Those with compromised immune systems were broken down even further into patients with diagnoses such as HIV, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis as well as people who had undergone organ transplants and bone marrow transplants.
A breakthrough infection was defined as someone who contracted COVID on or after the 14th day following vaccination.
Compared with only being partially vaccinated against COVID-19, being fully vaccinated was linked to a 28% reduced risk of breakthrough infection, regardless of immune system status.
However, those with weakened immune systems were at higher risk for breakthrough infection.
Throughout the study period, patients without immune dysfunction had a breakthrough infection rate of 7.1 per 1,000 person-months.
By comparison, those who had undergone bone marrow transplants had a breakthrough case rate of 8.6 per 1,000 person-months and multiple sclerosis patients had a rate of 8.9 per 1,000 person-months.
HIV patients had a rate of 9.1 per 1,000 person-months and rheumatoid arthritis patients had a rate of 9.3 per 1,000 person-months.
The highest breakthrough case rate was seen among organ transplant patients at 15.7 per 1,000 person-months — twice as high as those who are not immunocompromised.
Researchers believe this is because transplant patients must be on immunosuppressants for the rest of their lives so their bodies don’t reject their new organs. However, this also weakens their immune systems and makes them more susceptible to infection such as COVID-19.
The team said the findings provide further evidence that immunocompromised people may be at higher risk for breakthrough infection and that these Americans — which make up an estimated 3% of the population — should continue to wear masks even after being vaccinated and also should receive a third dose.
The findings have three caveats, with the first being that the study was conducted during the delta wave, before the omicron variant — which appears to be more transmissible — became dominant in the U.S.
Secondly, researchers only looked at the risk of breakthrough infection after a first and second dose of the vaccine and did not study the risk after a booster shot.
Finally, they only looked at certain immunocompromising conditions but not all, like cancers.
Booster shots were approved by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for immunocompromised people in August and have been shown to boost antibody levels in immunocompromised people after being fully vaccinated.
Charlie Puth was one of the most-viewed artists on TikTok in 2021 so it’s no surprise the “See You Again” singer has been tapped to perform on the social media platform’s New Year’s celebration.
The TikTok New Year’s Eve Concert will stream live December 31 at 6 p.m. PT to 7:15 p.m. PT and will also feature Kali Uchis, whose hit “telepatía” was TikTok’s Top Latin Song of 2021. Rapper Rico Nasty is also on the bill.
During the celebration, each artist will perform a set on a different floor of an apartment-themed production space. Popular TikTok creators will also appear on the LIVE.
Magic Johnson celebrates after the Los Angeles Lakers win the NBA championship on May 16, 1980; Focus on Sport via Getty Images
NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, but he says he will not watch the upcoming HBO series about how his team dominated the decade.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty will debut in March without the support of the Lakers legend. When asked by TMZ if he was going to watch, Magic bluntly said, “No,” adding, “I’m not looking forward to it. I’m going to leave it at that.”
The three-time NBA Most Valuable Player explained that he is creating his own series about the Lakers dynasty, in addition to team owner Jeanie Buss producing a separate project.
In other news, Academy Award winner Halle Berry has created her own distinct identity during her 32-year career, so she found it comical that she was mistaken for a 21-year-old singer/actress.
On Monday, she received a tweet reading, “Can’t wait to see ya under the sea,” with a mermaid emoji. The person was referring to Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle, who is starring in the upcoming Disney live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
The 55-year-old Bruised star replied, “Wrong halle lol. I can’t wait to see her too though.”
When Bailey’s casting was announced in 2019, Berry was full of praise. “In case you needed a reminder… Halles get it DONE. Congratulations on this amazing opportunity, we can’t wait to see what you do!” Berry wrote on Twitter.
Finally, congratulations to Forest Whitaker, who will be one of the recipients of the International Peace Honors on February 27, 2022. The Oscar winner is being recognized for his Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, which provides educational and economic opportunities for disadvantaged youth.
In 2021, we said goodbye to stars of stage and screens big and small, with luminaries like groundbreaking actress Cicely Tyson, Emmy winning Lou Grant star Ed Asner, and legendary broadcaster Larry King. Here’s a look back at those we lost:
January
January 23 — Larry King, 87 – Emmy-winning journalist; Hal Holbrook, 95 – Stage and screen actor, Wall Street
January 27 — Cloris Leachman, 94 – Actress, Young Frankenstein, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
January 28 — Cicely Tyson, 96 – Actress, Sounder, The Help
February
February 1 — Dustin Diamond, 44 – Actor and comic, Saved by the Bell
February 5 — Christopher Plummer, 91 – Actor, The Sound of Music, Knives Out
February 8 — Mary Wilson, 76 – Supremes singer
February 17 —Rush Limbaugh, 70 – Firebrand conservative broadcaster
March
March 23 — George Segal, 87 – Actor, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Just Shoot Me!, The Goldbergs
March 24 — Jessica Walter, 80 – Actress, Play Misty for Me, Arrested Development, Archer
April
April 9 — Prince Phillip, 99 – Husband of Queen Elizabeth II; DMX, 50 – rapper, actor
April 11 — Joseph Siravo, 64 – Actor, Sopranos co-star
April 16 — Helen McCrory, 52 – Actress, Peaky Blinders, Harry Potter films; Felix Silla, 84 – Cousin Itt on TV’s original The Addams Family
May
May 1 — Olympia Dukakis, 89 – Moonstruck actress
May 7 — Tawny Kitaen, 59 – actress, Whitesnake music video icon
May 18 — Charles Grodin, 86 – actor, Midnight Run, Heaven Can Wait, talk show host
May 19 — Paul Mooney, 79 – Legendary writer and comedian, Chappelle’s Show star
May 24 — Samuel E. Wright, 74 – Stage and screen actor; voice of Sebastian in The Little Mermaid
May 26 — Kevin Clark, 32 – Freddy Jones in 2003’s School of Rock
May 29 — Gavin MacLeod, 90 – Actor, The Love Boat; BJ Thomas, 78 – singer
June
June 6 — Clarence Williams III, 81 – Actor, The Mod Squad, Tales from the Hood
June 13 — Ned Beatty, 83 — actor, Back to School, Deliverance, 1978’s Superman, TV’s Homicide: Life on the Street
July
July 5 — Richard Donner, 91 – Superman, Scrooged, Lethal Weapon series director
July 7 — Robert Downey Sr., 85 – filmmaker dad of Robert Downey, Jr.
July 16 — Biz Markie, 57 – “Just a Friend” rapper and Men in Black II actor
July 24 — Jackie Mason, 93 – Emmy- and Tony-winning comedian
August
August 7 — Markie Post, 70 – Actress, Night Court, Hearts Afire
August 12 — Una Stubbs, 84 – Actress, Sherlock‘s Mrs. Hudson
August 28 — Matthew Mindler, 19 – My Idiot Brother co-star
August 24 — Charlie Watts, 80 – Rolling Stones drummer
August 29 — Ed Asner, 91 – Actor, Lou Grant, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Elf, Up
September
September 1 — Gregg Leakes, 66 – husband of Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes
September 4 — Willard Scott, 87 – Today weatherman
September 6 — Michael K. Williams, 54 – Actor, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Lovecraft Country
September 8 — Michael Constantine, 94 – Actor, Room 222, My Big Fat Greek Wedding
October 4 — Alan Kalter, 78 – Former Late Show with David Letterman announcer
October 10 — Ruthie Tompson, 101 – veteran Disney animator
October 18 — William Lucking, 80 — Actor, Sons of Anarchy
October 22 — Peter Scolari, 66 – Bosom Buddies, Newhart
October 21 — Halyna Hutchins, 41 – cinematographer fatally shot by Alec Baldwin on Rust set; Willie Garson, 57 –actor, Sex and the City, …And Just Like That
October 24 — James Michael Tyler, 59 – Actor, Gunther on Friends
November
November 6 — Peter Aykroyd, 66 – SNL writer, brother of Dan
November 17 — Art LaFleur, 78 – Actor, Field of Dreams
November 26 — Stephen Sondheim,91 – Lyricist and composer, Broadway icon
November 27 — Eddie Mekka, 69 – Actor, Laverne and Shirley
November 28 — Virgil Abloh, 41 – Louis Vuitton designer
December
December 10 — Michael Nesmith, 78 – Musician, The Monkees
December 23 — Joan Didion, 87 – Author, The Year of Magical Thinking
December 25/26—Jean-Marc Vallée, 58 – Director, Dallas Buyers Club, Big Little Lies
(NEW YORK) — Citing the “astronomical” spread of the omicron variant and the potential risk the coronavirus poses to derail proceedings, the judge overseeing the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell wants the jury to deliberate later into the evening and without a holiday interruption.
As the jury began its fourth full day of deliberations Tuesday, Judge Alison Nathan expressed concern about the “high and escalating risk that jurors or trial participants may need to quarantine” if they contract the virus, “putting at risk our ability to complete this trial.”
On Monday, Nathan asked jurors to deliberate until 6 p.m. from that day forward. She offered to take back the request if any jurors found the extra hour to be a hardship, but said on Tuesday that none have so far.
“We are seeing an astronomical spike in the number of COVID-positive cases in New York City,” Nathan said. “We are very simply at a different place regarding the pandemic than we were only one week ago.”
In addition to the extra daily hour, the judge said she would ask jurors to deliberate without a break over the New Year’s holiday on Thursday and Friday.
“In light of the variant, my concern about the interruption of the trial, given the increasing daily risk of exposure to either a juror or trial participant requiring quarantine — it is time to think about having the jury make plans to deliberate until a verdict is reached,” Nathan said.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Maxwell’s attorneys asked the judge to clarify her response to the jury’s question late Monday regarding Maxwell’s alleged involvement in the transportation of one of her accusers, known as “Jane,” for which Maxwell is facing a count of Transportation of an Individual Under the Age of 17 with Intent to Engage in Illegal Sexual Activity.
“Under count four, if the defendant aided in the transportation of Jane’s return flight, but not the flight to New Mexico, where/if the intent was for Jane to engage in sexual activity, can she be found guilty under the second element?” the jury asked.
The charge is a violation of New York state law, and the defense — concerned that the jury could convict Maxwell based on something that happened in New Mexico — sent a letter to the judge asking for “additional instructions to correct apparent errors in the jury’s understanding” of the charge. Judge Nathan had referred the jury to her instructions, but the defense argued that was insufficient.
“They are looking at the instructions that they have been given thus far … and they are unclear,” defense attorney Christian Everdell said. “They are confused by those instructions.”
MORE: Defense rests after Ghislaine Maxwell says there is ‘no need’ for her to testify in her own defense
Prosecutors opposed the defense’s request for additional clarification.
“It was a correct legal instruction when the court referred the jury to it yesterday afternoon,” prosecutor Alison Moe said. “No relief is appropriate here.”
The judge agreed with the government and declined to tell the jury anything more.
“The proposal made by the defense is wrong,” Nathan said. “I continue to not know how to parse the jury’s question.”
Maxwell is the longtime associate of serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced millionaire who died by suicide in jail in 2019. She is facing charges related to the alleged abuse and trafficking of underage girls between 1994 and 2004, and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
(LOS ANGELES) — Twenty-four states, from California to Maine, are on alert for extreme cold, freezing rain, heavy snow and avalanche danger on Tuesday.
Western storms, which brought snow to parts of California and the West are headed east, bringing an icy mix, severe weather and a tornado threat to the South and Northeast.
A few more storms will move through the West over the next few days, bringing more heavy snow for the mountains where an avalanche warning has been issued from California to Colorado. Locally, there could be an additional 2 to 4 inches of snow.
In southern California, 2 to 3 additional inches of rain are possible, which could cause minor flooding.
In the Northeast, as one storm move out, another will move in, with more icy roads forecast Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
Blizzard conditions raged the Midwest on Monday from the Dakotas into Minnesota, where winds gusted near 50 miles per hour and almost 2 feet of snow fell.
Between 3 to 6 inches of snow are expected in the Midwest, with up to 4 inches possible in the Northeast over the next few days.
From Chicago to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the Twin Cities, a winter weather advisory has been issued where a mix of freezing rain and snow is expected on Tuesday. Roads could become very slick.
In the South, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee are under a threat for severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and a few tornadoes on Wednesday.
The northern half of the country is expecting an arctic outbreak, with some of the coldest arctic air so far this season. The air will move from the northern Rockies into the Upper Midwest.
Wind chills in parts of Montana and the Dakotas have dropped close to 30 to 50 degrees below zero. This air mass will move east into the western Great Lakes and the upper Midwest. The actual temperature is forecast to be well below zero for places like Minneapolis.
As the new year begins, afternoon temperatures will be well below zero in Fargo, North Dakota, and minus 2 in Minneapolis. Temperatures in Denver and Kansas City, Missouri, will also be below freezing.
Another Travis Scott endorsement has been put on hold in the wake of the Astroworld Festival tragedy.
Dior announced Tuesday that it has indefinitely postponed its capsule collection collaboration between its men’s artistic director Kim Jones and Scott’s Cactus Jack line, which was slated to launch in January.
“Out of respect for everyone affected by the tragic events at Astroworld, Dior has decided to postpone indefinitely the launch of products from the Cactus Jack collaboration originally intended to be included in its summer 2022 collection,” the luxury fashion house said in a statement to Women’s Wear Daily.
Scott’s team told WWD that he and Dior mutually decided to postpone the collection’s launch. It would have marked the first time Dior partnered with a musician on a collection.
Dior is the latest brand to press pause on a collaboration with the “Franchise’ rapper.
Nike announced on November 16 that it was postponing the launch of Scott’s Baroque Brown and Saturn Gold Air Max 1 X Cactus Jack sneakers. On December 11, Anheuser-Busch revealed that it will no longer distribute Scott’s Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer.
Ten people died at Astroworld from compression asphyxia after crowds rushed the stage at the NPG Park in Houston on November 5. Scott organized the event and was the headliner.
Sandra Bullock’s The Unforgivable is unstoppable at Netflix.
The film has officially made Netflix’s Top 10 Most Popular films list, joining her 2018 Netflix film Bird Box. This makes Bullock the first actress with two entries on the tally, which is based on hours viewed in the first 28 days of release.
The Unforgivable comes in at number nine, having been viewed 186,900,000 hours to date, according to Netflix, though it is expected to rise once it hits the 28-day mark. Bird Box is at number two.
Bullock is matched only by Ryan Reynolds, who also has two entries on the list: Red Notice is currently at number one, while 6 Underground is at number six.
The Unforgivable, released December 10 on the streaming service, stars Bullock playing a woman who’s released from prison after serving 20 years for murder.
