M.A.C. Cosmetics is honoring the legacy of the late Whitney Houston with a new cosmetics line in her name.
“The idea that is coming to fruition now is something Whitney always wanted to do,” Whitney’s sister-in-law and former manager, Pat Houston, tells People. “I’m pleased we can do something that I know she would have loved. We are just starting on this collaboration but exciting things are coming!”
M.A.C. is participating in the I Wanna Dance With Somebody biopic, scheduled to be released in 2022. Producer Clive Davis says the film will “present the full story of Whitney Houston impeccably and [ensure] that it will be realistic in every respect.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time with the team at M.A.C. looking at Whitney photos and videos and helping them understand the true essence of her,” the sister-in-law says regarding the biopic. “I think you will see all of her looks ring true to how you saw Whitney in life.”
The six-time Grammy winner passed away on February 11, 2012, at the age of 48. She was introduced to makeup early in life as a teenage model.
“Whitney was always a champion of women feeling beautiful whether it was a major event or just for everyday wear. Our work with M.A.C. is about creating a line that can meet all of those needs,” Pat adds. “The line will be true to her colors that she loved to work with.”
Halestorm is “Back from the Dead,” and there’s a lot more where that came from.
The “I Miss the Misery” rockers unleashed their latest single in August, marking the first preview of their upcoming fifth studio album. As drummer Arejay Hale tells ABC Audio, “Back from the Dead” is just a taste of the intensity you’ll hear when the full record arrives.
“I think the biggest thing that this song represents is a lot of caged energy that has just finally just been — blah! — just released, you know?” Hale laughs.
Writing “Back from the Dead,” Hale shares, was one of those special instances where it felt like the song was writing itself.
“Those are the best songs that come out of you, when they just write themselves, when it all just comes out so easily,” Hale says. “It’s rare…it’s impossible to consciously recreate that, but when it happens, it’s magical. This was one of those songs that just flowed out of us.”
It’s a feeling Hale’s had before, often on songs that turn out to be the backbone on which new Halestorm albums are built.
“Every album cycle, there’s always that one song,” Hale explains. “It was ‘Uncomfortable’ on [Vicious], it was ‘Love Bites’ on Strange Case, and it was ‘Mayhem’ on [Into the Wild Life], where we’re just, like, ‘Let’s give it everything we’ve got.’
“When we do, it’s, like, ‘Oh, OK! I think we’ve got something here, and now we have a template,'” he continues. “‘The bar has been raised up here, and now let’s bring the other songs up to this level.’ And that’s where we’re at right now.”
The new Halestorm album, the follow-up to 2018’s Vicious, is due out in 2022.
On Wednesday, #FreeBritney may become more than just a hashtag: A hearing in Los Angeles today may either result in the removal of Britney Spears‘ father Jamie Spears as her conservator, or the actual termination of the conservatorship.
Team Britney’s top priority in this hearing is to have Jamie Spears removed, but Jamie is pushing to end the conservatorship now, which would make discussion of his removal a moot point. The judge simply needs to decide what’s in Britney’s best interests.
Britney’s lawyer Mathew Rosengart has petitioned the judge to suspend or remove Jamie if he doesn’t resign, and claims he has “overwhelming evidence” proving why this should happen immediately. And while Rosengart has said he wants the 13-year conservatorship “formally wound down” this fall, he’s hasn’t filed the paperwork to do that just yet.
Jamie Spears is actually the one who petitioned the court for the conservatorship to be terminated, noting that it is “opposed by no one.” He says if it is terminated, then other issues before the court — like his removal — become unnecessary. Mr. Spears has said, essentially, that there’s no “basis ” for his removal, but if Britney is so convinced that she can handle her own life, then she “should get that chance.”
Rosengart says this is just a “desperate effort” to deflect attention from Mr. Spears’ “egregious incompetence” [and] “gross misconduct.” However, he doesn’t need to prove this today: He just needs to convince the judge that Jamie’s removal is in the “best interests” of Britney Spears.
Meanwhile, Jodi Montgomery, Britney’s Conservator of Person, who handles the star’s medical records and personal affairs, says that Britney has asked her to “continue to serve.” There are reports that Britney wants Montgomery on her payroll indefinitely, beyond the life of the conservatorship.
Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman kicks off a new U.S. solo trek, hilariously dubbed the “Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour,” on October 13 in Natick, Massachusetts.
The outing, which was postponed multiple times because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a follow-up to Wakeman’s 2019 “Grumpy Old Rock Star Tour.”
Wakeman tells ABC Audio that the tour got its updated moniker because of his frustration over the postponements.
“[E]very time it got moved, I got grumpier,” the 72-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer notes. “So it made more sense to be the ‘Even Grumpier Rock Star’ show.”
He adds, jokingly, “I think if [there had been]…any more cancellations or postponements, it would have been the ‘Unbelievably, Really Stupidly Long, Even Grumpier Rock Star’ show.”
Regarding his new concerts, Rick says, “[I]t’s basically me with a grand piano, a couple of keyboards this time as well, which will enable me to do some slightly different pieces, plus anecdotes. Got a load of new ones.”
Wakeman reveals that he plans to play select Yes tunes; pieces from solo projects like his 1973 album The Six Wives of Henry VIII; and versions of classic songs by David Bowie and Cat Stevens on which Rick played.
Wakeman tells ABC Audio that almost every show will be different because, although he often prepares a set list for each gig, he rarely sticks to it.
Meanwhile, Rick says he’s thrilled to be returning to the road.
“[I]t’s just gonna be great to be playing in front of people again,” he declares. “I can’t tell you how much I have missed talking to people on stage, and meeting with people after the shows and before the shows.”
Wakeman’s U.S. tour runs through a November 19 concert in Clearwater, Florida.
(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
More than 690,000 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 64.8% 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:
Sep 28, 7:29 pm
FDA approval for kids’ vaccinations could take longer: Source
The Food and Drug Administration’s approval for the Pfizer vaccine for children between 5 and 11 years old could begin in November, possibly before Thanksgiving, a federal official with knowledge of the agency’s process told ABC News.
This prediction comes after Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday kids will likely start getting vaccinated by late October.
Another official told ABC News that Pfizer has yet to complete its full submission, and that the FDA is not going to be rushed on this.
Pfizer submitted it initial data on younger children to the FDA earlier Tuesday.
The FDA already has scientists reviewing that initial data submitted by Pfizer, according to the official.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Eric Strauss
Sep 28, 5:07 pm
Forecasters expect US pandemic to continue to improve
The COVID-19 Forecast Hub’s ensemble forecast, used by the CDC, predicts that U.S. hospitalizations will continue to fall — perhaps to as low as 4,600 per day — by Oct. 11.
Forecasters say around 1,600 fewer people are likely to die over the next two weeks than during the past two weeks. In the two weeks ending Sept. 25, at least 27,755 people died from COVID-19 in the U.S. Over the next two weeks ending Oct. 19, just over 26,000 deaths are expected.
-ABC News’ Brian Hartman
Sep 28, 4:33 pm
Pfizer CEO says timeline on shots for kids up to FDA
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told The Atlantic Tuesday that the timeline on shots for children ages 5 to 11 is up to the FDA.
“I think it’s not appropriate for me to comment how long FDA will take to review the data. They should take as much time as they think it’s appropriate for them to have high levels of comfort,” Bourla said.
“If approved, we will be ready to have the vaccine available,” he added.
Vaccines may be authorized and available for 5- to 11-year-olds in October or November.
Bourla said he thinks once kids get vaccinated, the U.S. will get a “strong push” toward herd immunity.
Bourla said he thinks booster protection from Pfizer vaccines will likely last one year.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Sep 28, 3:46 pm
More data on mixing/matching vaccines is coming within weeks, Fauci says
At Tuesday’s White House briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci gave a loose timeline for when the FDA could have enough data to consider approving mixing and matching vaccines.
Moderna has already submitted data about using its shot as a booster for people who have received the Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. J&J will submit data on mixing its shot with the other vaccines in the next week, according to Fauci, and then Pfizer will submit its data within the first two weeks of October. Finally, the data will be examined by the FDA.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Sep 28, 3:43 pm
More data on mixing/matching vaccines is coming within weeks, Fauci says
At Tuesday’s White House briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci gave a loose timeline for when the FDA could have enough data to consider approving mixing and matching vaccines.
Moderna has already submitted data about using its shot as a booster for people who have received the Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. J&J will submit data on mixing its shot with the other vaccines in the next week, according to Fauci, and then Pfizer will submit its data within the first two weeks of October. Finally, the data will be examined by the FDA.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Sep 28, 2:37 pm
Over 400K Americans got booster shot at pharmacies this weekend: White House
Over 400,000 Americans received a booster shot at a pharmacy since Friday and nearly 1 million more have scheduled appointments in the next few weeks, according to the White House.
The U.S. is expected to hit a milestone of 200 million Americans with at least one shot on Wednesday, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said.
The White House also touted another important milestone: racial equity in vaccinations nationwide.
According to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 73% of Latinos and 70% of Black Americans have now gotten at least one shot, compared to 71% of white Americans. In May, this same poll found that 65% of white Americans were vaccinated compared to 56% of Black Americans.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Sep 28, 2:09 pm
US hospitalizations drop
At the beginning of the month, there were more than 104,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. As of Tuesday, there were 81,000 patients hospitalized — a drop of about 23,000 patients, according to federal data.
Nearly 50% of those patients — 11,000 — are from Florida, where cases and hospitalizations have been plummeting since mid-August.
In recent weeks, however, 16 states have reported higher hospital admission metrics, according to federal data: Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia.
Five states — Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky and Texas — have ICU capacities of 10% or less, according to federal data.
Alaska has the country’s highest case rate, followed by West Virginia, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota and Kentucky.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Sep 28, 1:21 pm
Vaccine mandates work, NYC mayor says
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said there’s been a 45% increase in the daily vaccination rate since vaccine mandates were launched in July.
All city-run and private hospitals appear to be operating normally after health workers faced a midnight deadline to get vaccinated or risk losing their jobs. About 500 nurses for NYC Health + Hospitals are not at work.
NYC Health + Hospitals now has a 91% vaccination rate, up from 90% on Monday. City officials said about 5,000 employees were unvaccinated in the hospital system, down from more than 8,000 a week ago.
Northwell, New York state’s largest private hospital system, said it fired about two dozen “unvaccinated leaders,” management level or above, for not getting vaccinated.
“We are now beginning the process to exit the rest of our unvaccinated staff,” Northwell said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
Sep 28, 1:00 pm
3rd Pfizer dose has similar side effects to 2nd dose: Preliminary CDC data
A new preliminary CDC report of 306 people who received a third Pfizer dose found that side effects were similar to the second dose.
The most common side effects are fatigue, headache and a sore arm. These symptoms usually last one or two days.
The CDC will continue monitoring third doses for any potential new side effects or safety issues but says so far no “unexpected” patterns have been identified.
-ABC News’ Sony Salzman
Sep 28, 8:55 am
Pfizer submits initial child vaccine data to FDA
Pfizer on Tuesday submitted data for the Phase 2/3 vaccine trial for 5- to 11-year-olds to the FDA.
Pfizer will make a formal request for authorization in the coming weeks.
The FDA will review the data and make a decision, possibly by the end of October. The timeline for authorization is not set in stone.
A three-judge panel from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dissolved a temporary injunction that halted New York City’s vaccine mandate for school staff.
The panel offered no explanation and cleared the way for the city to enforcement the public school vaccine mandate.
“Vaccinations are our strongest tool in the fight against COVID-19 – this ruling is on the right side of the law and will protect our students and staff,” New York City’s Department of Education said in a statement.
As of Monday night, 87% of DOE employees, including 91% of teachers and 97% of principals, have at least one shot, according to the DOE.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said public school employees will have until the end of day Friday to get at least one dose of vaccine.
Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, released a statement Monday night saying, “We will be working with our members to ensure, as far as possible, that our schools can open safely as the vaccine mandate is enforced.”
Sep 27, 7:02 pm
First lady Jill Biden receives booster shot
First lady Jill Biden received her COVID-19 booster shot Monday, according to Michael LaRosa, her spokesman.
The shot was administered at the White House in the afternoon, LaRosa told ABC News.
Sep 27, 6:10 pm
Judge rules Arizona ban on school mask mandate unconstitutional
An Arizona judge ruled Monday that the state’s ban on mask mandates in schools is unconstitutional.
Judge Katherine Cooper sided with the Arizona School Boards Association, which contended that the Arizona State Legislature’s law to ban school districts from issuing a mask mandate violates the state constitution’s title requirement and single subject rule.
The association argued that the legislature included policy regarding 30 subjects into one bill.
“The single subject rule precludes legislators from combining unrelated provisions into one bill to garner votes for disfavored measures. Together, these requirements promote transparency and the public’s access to information about legislative action,” the judge wrote in her decision.
The law was slated to go into effect on Sept. 29.
The state has until Nov. 1 to file an objection or response to the ruling.
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — In their first appearance before Congress since the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan, the nation’s top military leaders candidly admitted to lawmakers that they had recommended to President Joe Biden that the U.S. should keep a troop presence there, appearing to contradict his assertions.
The testimony by Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, was at odds with Biden’s comments earlier this year to ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that his military commanders did not recommend keeping a residual force.
The revelations came during at a six-hour hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee where Milley also characterized that the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan had been “a strategic failure” and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acknowledged that it was time to acknowledged some “uncomfortable truths” about the two decade U.S. military mission in Afghanistan.
Here are some key takeaways:
Military commanders wanted to keep at least 2,500 troops in Afghanistan
While Milley and McKenzie said they would not disclose the content of private conversations with Biden, both generals offered their personal opinions that they said matched their recommendations.
“My assessment was back in the fall of ’20 and remained consistent throughout that we should keep a steady state of 2,500, could bounce up to 3,500,” Milley told Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
“I recommended that we maintain 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, and I also recommended early in the fall of 2020 that we maintain 4,500 at that time, those were my personal views,” McKenzie said.
The generals’ statements were at odds with what Biden had told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an interview on Aug. 18.
“No one told — your military advisers did not tell you, “No, we should just keep 2,500 troops. It’s been a stable situation for the last several years. We can do that. We can continue to do that?,” Stephanopoulos asked Biden.
“No,” said Biden. “No one said that to me, that I can recall.”
Biden also said his military advisers were “split” on the matter.
McKenzie said he had also warned that the withdrawal of U.S. troops “would lead inevitably to the collapse of the Afghan government and the Afghan military.”
“I also had a view that the withdrawal of those forces would lead inevitably to the collapse of the Afghan military forces and eventually the Afghan government,” he said.
‘A strategic failure’
Austin and Milley told senators that the sudden collapse of the Afghan government, as well as the U.S. military’s mission in Afghanistan over the past two decades, should be examined to learn what may have gone wrong.
Milley became the first U.S. military leader to describe the American military mission in Afghanistan as “a strategic failure” that had developed over time.
“Outcomes in a war like this, an outcome that is a strategic failure — the enemy is in charge in Kabul, there’s no way else to describe that — that is a cumulative effect of 20 years,” Milley said.
The general speculated that the U.S. had trained an Afghan Army that “mirrored” the American military without taking into account local and cultural traditions and allowed it to becoe too dependent on American technology.
“We helped build a state, but we could not forge a nation,” said Austin. “The fact that the Afghan army, we and our partners trained, simply melted away – in many cases without firing a shot – took us all by surprise. It would be dishonest to claim otherwise.”
“We need to consider some uncomfortable truths,” he added. “That we did not fully comprehend the depth of corruption and poor leadership in their senior ranks, that we did not grasp the damaging effect of frequent and unexplained rotations by President Ghani of his commanders, that we did not anticipate the snowball effect caused by the deals that Taliban commanders struck with local leaders in the wake of the Doha agreement, that the Doha agreement itself had a demoralizing effect on Afghan soldiers, and that we failed to fully grasp that there was only so much for which – and for whom – many of the Afghan forces would fight. We provided the Afghan military with equipment and aircraft and the skills to use them.”
“Over the years, they often fought bravely,” said Austin. “Tens of thousands of Afghan soldiers and police officers died. But in the end, we couldn’t provide them with the will to win. At least not all of them.”
US intelligence did not predict the Taliban’s swift takeover, the generals said
The three leaders expressed surprise at how Afghan forces had quickly fallen apart leading to a Taliban takeover of the country in 11 days.
“I did not foresee it to be days. I thought it could take months,” said McKenzie, who added that he had anticipated that the Afghan military would be able to hold out against the Taliban until later this year and possibly into early next year.
“We certainly did not plan against a collapse of the government in 11 days,” Austin said.
“There’s no intel assessment that says the government is going to collapse and the military is going to collapse in 11 days that I’m aware of. And I’ve read I think all of them,” said Milley, who later described the failure to predict the scope and scale of the Taliban takeover as “a swing and a miss.”
Revelations in ‘the book’
In his opening statement, Milley explained how his two phone calls to his counterpart in China, first described in the book “Peril” by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, were authorized by then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Milley also said that the Trump national security team was fully briefed on the calls that were intended to reassure China that then-President Donald Trump was not planning a military attack.
“I know, I am certain, that President Trump did not intend to attack the Chinese, and it is my directed responsibility and it was my directed responsibility by the secretary, to convey that intent to the Chinese,” Milley said. “My task at that time was to de-escalate my message again was consistent, stay calm, steady and de-escalate. We are not going to attack you.”
He pushed back on another story in the book that, in a phone call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, he agreed with her assessment that Trump was “crazy.”
“I’m not qualified to evaluate the mental fitness or the health of a former president, present president or anybody else or anybody in this room,” Milley said. “That’s not my job. That’s not what I do. And that’s not what I did.”
Several Republican senators took Milley to task for giving access to reporters and authors.
“I think what you did with making time to talk to these authors, burnishing your image, kind of building that bluster, but then not putting the focus on Afghanistan and what was happening there,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. “General Milley, this is disappointing to me. I know it’s disappointing to people that have served with you or under you, under your command. It does not serve our nation.”
“You’re doing these interviews and doing them in 2021. Makes me wonder the books, were you a little distracted about what was going on in Afghanistan?” said GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri who then demanded that Austin and Milley should resign.
Biffy Clyro has premiered a new video combining “A Hunger in Your Haunt” and “Unknown Male 01,” the two released singles off the band’s upcoming album, The Myth of the Happily Ever After.
The 10-minute clip begins with the Scottish trio performing “A Hunger” in a warehouse covered in blue paint before transitioning outside into a Bird Box-esque world filled with people wearing blindfolds for “Unknown Male.” At the end of the video, a mysterious set of numbers flashes on the screen.
You can watch the “A Hunger in Your Haunt”/”Unknown Male 01” video streaming now on YouTube.
The Myth of the Happily Ever After, the follow-up to last year’s A Celebration of Endings, arrives October 22.
With Grandude’s Green Submarine, the sequel to Paul McCartney‘s bestselling 2019 illustrated children’s book Hey Grandude!, set to be published soon, the former Beatles legend has taken part in a fan Q&A about the project that’s been posted on his official website.
As previously reported, the new book tells the further adventures of Grandude, a magical grandfather who takes his four grandchildren — who he calls his “chillers” — on a journey in his new invention, a green submarine, to find the kids’ music-loving grandmother, Nandude.
Asked how he likes being a grandparent, Sir Paul says he loves it, noting, “Each [grandkid] has a different personality, and they keep me entertained and constantly surprised.”
Another fan asked why the submarine in the book isn’t yellow, like the one in the famous 1966 Beatles song and the 1968 animated movie inspired by the tune.
“I have been there and done that with the Yellow Submarine,” McCartney explains. “[T]his green one is related, but has completely different powers than the Yellow Submarine had.”
As for what he enjoyed most about writing the book, the 79-year-old rock legend says, “I just like the process of allowing my imagination to run wild. After I’ve got all my crazy ideas written down, it’s up to the publishers and illustrator Kathryn Durst to bring it all to life.”
Asked why he decided to pen a sequel to Hey Grandude!, McCartney explains, “Writing Grandude’s adventures is something I love, so it made sense to keep going and write more of his story.”
Grandude’s Green Submarine gets released on October 5 in the U.S. and this Thursday, September 30, in the U.K. You can pre-order the book now.
Kendrick Lamar emerged from his long hiatus to spit a verse on his cousin Baby Keem‘s “FamilyTies,” and Tyler, the Creator says it “ruined” him, because he saw a master who was not complacent.
Tyler has called the 13-time Grammy winner every two days to talk about his rhyme.
“You know why it ruined me? Because it’s someone at that level still gunning,” he tells XXL.com. “He’s trying new voices. He’s trying new s**t. He’s still learning. You can tell he was off his phone for a few months.”
The 30-year-old rapper says Lamar has inspired him to “just stay weird and stay tryin’.”
Another hip hop icon who has been a major influence is Jay-Z because of his spirit as a entrepreneur. He describes Hova as “one of the few who’s really listening and learned how to kind of run businesses since I was 17.”
Tyler reveals he’s also a big fan of Eminem, Lil Wayne, André 3000, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, and Pharrell Williams. Wayne and Pharrell are featured on his sixth and latest album, Call Me If You Get Lost, which dropped in June. Now he’s planning a tour for next year to perform music from the album.
The Creator drives a “Green Goblin” Rolls-Royce Cullinan, and he reflects on how he’s become rich and famous after growing up poor.
‘I don’t come from money, they deny it/Since I don’t mirror the stereotypical products of my environment.’ he raps on the track “Massa” from his new album. “That’s why I’m so blessed and grateful to have this stuff,” he says, “’cause I don’t come from that.”
Rick Ross loves to post Instagram photos of stacks of cash, and now he has to share some of his C-notes with the mother of three of his children.
The Boss was ordered to pay Briana Singleton $11,000 a month in child support, plus $25,000 in legal fees, according to TMZ. Ricky Rozay also must provide for health insurance and extra curricular activities for an additional $8K a month. His monthly income was stated at $585K, which is over $7 million a year.
The Maybach Music Group CEO published his fourth book, The Perfect Day to Boss Up: A Hustler’s Guide to Building Your Empire, on September 7, and he’s headlining the Legendz of the Streetz tour which kicks off September 30 in Augusta, GA. He’ll be joined by Jeezy, Gucci Mane and 2 Chainz, with special guests Fabolous, Lil Kim, Trina and Boosie Badazz.
The six-time Grammy nominee, who’s featured on Drake‘s number-one album, Certified Lover Boy, says he’s finalizing his 11th solo album, titled Richer Than I’ve Ever Been. It will be Ross’ first solo album since Port of Miami 2 in 2019.
