(OAKLAND, CALIF.) — The city of Oakland, California, recorded its 100th homicide of the year on Monday, marking the second consecutive year of triple-digit homicides.
It’s a somber milestone for the city, which recorded 10 homicides in just the past week, police said. In 2020, there were 109 homicides, police data shows.
At a press conference on Monday, a 100-second moment of silence was held to honor the victims, and Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong pleaded with the public to “put down guns.”
“So much violence. So many guns. So many senseless lives lost. If this is not a calling to everybody in this community that there is a crisis, I don’t know what is,” Armstrong said. “I say this every time we have a press conference. I’m tired of appearing before you. We’ve got to do the work. I’ll be out in the community meeting with people, but I need people to step up and grab your loved ones and tell them, ‘Put the guns down.'”
In a chat with Marc Maron on his WTF with Marc Maronpodcast, Sopranos creator David Chase explained how Journey ended up soundtracking the show’s controversial finale — and how the rest of his team loathed the idea of using that song.
As you may remember, in the finale, James Gandolfini‘s Tony Soprano and his family members sit down for dinner at a diner, and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” starts playing on a jukebox — before the entire scene, and the song, cut to black.
While Chase wasn’t re-litigating what the vague ending means — spoiler alert: he apparently once accidentally called it Tony’s “death scene” — he did talk about what went into choosing that song.
Discussing the topic with members of his crew at the time, Chase said he was left with three choices — Al Green‘s “Love and Happiness,” another song which he can’t remember, and the Journey song.
When he mentioned “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Chase recalled, “[T]hey went, ‘Oh, Jesus Christ, no. Don’t do that! Ugh. F***.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s it. That’s the one.'”
Chase explained, “I wasn’t saying that just to throw it in their face. That was kind of my favorite, and it got a reaction of some kind. So I can make this song lovable, which it had been.”
Of course, the song’s inclusion in the 2007 finale sent downloads soaring, and the renewed interest in Journey motivated the band to find a new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, and get back on the road. The song remains the best-selling digital song that was recorded in the pre-digital era.
The Sopranos prequel, Chase’s The Many Saints of Newark, starring Gandolfini’s son Michael as a young Tony Soprano, hits theaters and HBO Max on October 1.
Yusuf/Cat Stevens performs his contribution to “Peace Train” around the world live outside in Istanbul, Turkey; Credit: Playing for Change
Cat Stevens, the legendary singer/songwriter now known as Yusuf, is celebrating the International Day of Peace — September 21 — with a new version of his 1971 classic, “Peace Train.”
Yusuf has teamed up with Playing for Change, the project that aims to connect the world through music, to record more than 25 musicians from 12 countries around the world, all performing “Peace Train.” The artists participating include The Doobie Brothers‘ Pat Simmons, blues artist Keb’ Mo’, Grammy-winning Americana artist Rhiannon Giddens, Sengalese star Baaba Mal and many more.
The countries range from Mali, Pakistan and India to Argentina, Australia and Turkey, the latter of which is where Yusuf himself is seen performing in the video. You can watch it now on Playing for Change’s YouTube channel.
“We are privileged to be able to create a glimpse of unity through music,” says Yusuf in a statement. “However, if you want to make the Peace Train real, then you need two tracks: one track has to be Justice, and the other must be Well-being. Everybody should have access to these two things, then the Peace Train can really get going.”
Mark Johnson, the co-founder of Playing for Change, adds, “This song’s powerful message is as relevant today as the day it was written and as we celebrate the International Day of Peace, we hope that everyone will join us as we stand up for a more equitable and compassionate world.”
Tobias Menzies couldn’t accept his Emmy for his work in The Crown on Sunday night, but he just gave his “acceptance speech” via social media — and dedicated his win to actor Michael K. Williams, who died on September 6.
A “very humbled” Menzies congratulated his “brilliant fellow nominees,” adding, “[I] want to dedicate this to Michael K Williams, his performance as Omar in The Wire is one of the great screen performances, he will be deeply missed. RIP.”
Williams, 54, was also nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category, for his work on HBO’s Lovecraft Country.
The actor, who had been open with his struggles with addiction in the past, was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment earlier this month. ABC affiliate WABC-TV in New York reported that drug paraphernalia was found at the scene. Police said the investigation is ongoing and the medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
Very humbled to win @TheEmmys last night, huge thanks to @TVAcademy & congrats to all my brilliant fellow nominees. But want to dedicate this to Michael K Williams, his performance as Omar in The Wire is one of the great screen performances, he will be deeply missed. RIP🙏
(NEW YORK) — A 20-year-old gas station cashier was fatally shot in Germany Saturday after telling a customer to put on a face covering, according to the Trier Police Department.
A 49-year-old man was taken into custody on suspicion of murder after the shooting in the town of Idar-Oberstein, in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The customer entered the gas station around 7:45 p.m. local time and got into an argument with the cashier, who asked him to mask up, police said in a press release. Germany currently has a requirement to wear masks in stores.
(NEW YORK) — From Snoopy and Power Rangers to Hot Wheels and Pokemon, McDonald’s has long provided a jolt of joy with its kid-friendly toys inside the iconic Happy Meal. Now, the Golden Arches is making an earth-friendly move toward using sustainable materials in an effort to reduce plastic.
In the midst of Climate Week 2021, McDonald’s announced its goal that by the end of 2025, every toy in every Happy Meal sold around the world will be more sustainable and reduce conventional plastic by 90%, thus lowering demand on fossil fuel plastic production.
“Our next generation of customers care deeply about protecting the planet and what we can do to help make our business more sustainable,” Jenny McColloch, McDonald’s chief sustainability officer said in a statement. “With this transition for our toys, we’re working closely with suppliers, families and play experts and engineers to introduce more sustainable, innovative designs and help drive demand for recycled materials, to keep McDonald’s communities and beyond smiling for generations to come.”
McDonald’s said some of its toys such as “fan-favorite movie characters that used to be plastic figurines may reappear as 3D figures that can be built and decorated.” Other products such as mini board games with virgin fossil fuel-based plastic game pieces “may be swapped out in favor of accessories made from certified plant-derived or recycled materials.”
The transition to making toys with more renewable, recycled or certified materials will result in an approximately 90% reduction in virgin fossil fuel-based plastic use, which is nearly equal to the population of Washington, D.C., eliminating plastics from their lives for a year.
The fast food chain’s Happy Meal toy innovation efforts have been in motion since 2018 in other global markets including the U.K., Ireland and France, which McDonald’s said has reduced virgin fossil fuel-based plastic by 30%.
“Sustainable material sourcing is a necessary strategy for mitigating the impact of supply chains on our ecosystems and climate, including the plastic waste crisis,” said Sheila Bonini, the senior vice president of private sector engagement at World Wildlife Fund.
The lower demand for fossil fuel plastic will “instead create new markets for responsibly sourced renewable and recycled content,” Bonini said. “McDonald’s can engage its millions of daily customers around the world in the transition to a more sustainable, circular future.”
The company will continue to work with other industry partners to innovate renewable materials that meet both play and safety standards and can help remove the remaining conventional plastics within the toy portfolio.
McDonald’s was the first global restaurant company to set a science-based target to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today, McDonald’s said it is on track to meet its 2030 targets, achieving an 8.5% reduction in the absolute emissions of restaurants and offices and a nearly 6% reduction in supply chain emissions intensity, compared to 2015.
The California-founded fast food restaurant also noted in Tuesday’s press release that “by the end of 2020, McDonald’s was approximately 80% of the way to its goal to source all guest packaging from renewable, recyclable or certified sources by 2025.”
McDonald’s credited the achievements this year to cross-industry collaboration from suppliers, producers and franchisees as well as investments in renewable energy and its 2020 Responsible Sourcing Goals across beef, soy, coffee, fish, palm oil, packaging fiber and forests.
(NEW YORK) — President Joe Biden found videos of tactics used by Border Patrol agents on horseback against Haitian migrants at the Texas border “horrific and horrible,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.
“I don’t know anyone who could watch that video and not have that emotion,” Psaki said on “CBS Mornings.”
The videos from outlets including Reuters and Al Jazeera appear to show a mounted Border Patrol agent snap his horse’s reins in the direction of a migrant who then stumbles back into the Rio Grande near Del Rio, Texas.
Radiohead is teasing the video for “If You Say the Word,” a newly released song from the band’s upcoming Kid Amnesiae compilation.
A preview clip shows a group of men in a forest attempting to move an unconscious body. The whole video is set to premiere this Thursday, September 23, at 10 a.m. ET.
“If You Say the Word” is among “half-remembered, half-forgotten sessions and unreleased material” collected on Kid Amnesiae. The recordings date back to the eras of Radiohead’s 2000 and 2001 albums, Kid A and Amnesiac.
Kid Amnesiae will be released alongside reissues of Kid A and Amnesiac on November 5.
The Rolling Stones No Filter 2021 photo, taken prior to Watts’ death/Credit: J. Rose
A series of videos uploaded to YouTube Tuesday morning shows the Rolling Stones performing their first concert since 2019, and their first show without late drummer Charlie Watts.
According to the Boston Globe, the band performed Monday night at a private concert hosted by Patriots owner Robert Kraft at Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough, MA.
The Globe reports that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards told the crowd of 300 people that they were dedicating the performance, and their upcoming tour, to Watts, who died August 24 at age 80. Veteran drummer Steve Jordan was behind the kit last night, and will be for the tour.
Academy Award-winning Fargo co-writer-director Joel Coen has raised the curtain on his upcoming take on Shakespeare‘s The Tragedy of Macbeth.
Featuring multiple Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, Coen’s wife and frequent collaborator, the teaser is brief, but creepy and stark. Shot in black and white, it shows Washington as the title character and McDormand as his Machiavellian wife, who eyes Scotland’s throne for her husband.
The teaser features no dialog from the acclaimed actors, only The Witch’s haunting line, “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”
The project is a return to The Bard for Denzel, who has performed Shakespeare both on stage and on the big screen, the latter in Kenneth Branagh‘s 1993 adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing.
Also starring Brendon Gleeson and The Queen’s Gambit co-star Moses Ingram, The Tragedy of Macbeth — Coen’s first movie without his filmmaking partner and brother, Joel — hits theaters December 25, and Apple TV+ on January 14.
