Culkin (left) and “Succession” cast — David Livingston/Getty Images
Being the brother of an uber famous celebrity has its perks. However, it also gives insight to some of the not so fun parts, which Kieran Culkin is opening up about.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporterpublished Wednesday, the Succession star recalled the unfortunate incidents his brother, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, would experience when they were young child stars.
“He would get harassed on the street,” Kieran said. “One time, a woman pulled off his hat and looked at him and said, ‘Yeah, it’s him! You’re not that cute.’ And then handed the hat back and walked away.”
Kieran also shared a story of his own about a fan who apparently wouldn’t accept that he was not Macaulay.
“When I was doing one of the Father of the Bride movies, this woman ran up to me and said, ‘Are you Macluckly Macluckly?’ And I went, ‘No.’ She goes, ‘Can I get a picture?’ I said, ‘I’m not him.’ And in my mind, I’m thinking, ‘Nobody’s that.’ “
Fast forward three decades. Thanks to landing HBO’s Succession, Kieran has finally found the role that solidified his desire to be an actor.
“I’m trying to remember the exact moment it hit me,” he said. I think it was at the end of the first season. I remember coming home and thinking, ‘This is what I want to do with my life. I think I want to be an actor.’ I was, like, 36. I’d already been doing it for 30 years.”
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have shared another new song from their upcoming collaborative album, Raise the Roof.
The track, titled “High and Lonesome,” was written by the Led Zeppelin vocalist alongside producer T Bone Burnett. It’s the lone original tune on Raise the Roof, which is otherwise filled with covers of “legends and unsung heroes of folk, blues, country and soul music.”
You can listen to “High and Lonesome” now via digital outlets.
“High and Lonesome” is the second song to be released from Raise the Roof, following the lead single “Can’t Let Go,” originally written by Randy Weeks. The whole album is set to arrive November 19.
Plant and Krauss, of course, previously collaborated on the 2007 album Raising Sand. The record won a total of five Grammys in 2009, including Album of the Year.
(WASHINGTON) — With the fall of the Afghan government, the Biden administration has so far brought roughly 60,000 Afghans to the U.S., with plans for tens of thousands more to arrive in the next year.
But those high numbers belie a broken refugee resettlement program that has been struggling to bring new refugees to the U.S. — and now, new data shows just how bad the situation is.
In the 2021 fiscal year — from Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30 of this year — the U.S. admitted its lowest number of refugees in the program’s over 40-year history: just 11,411, according to newly released State Department data.
That means that in the last year, including President Joe Biden’s first nine months, the U.S. resettled fewer refugees than former President Donald Trump’s final full fiscal year, when 11,814 total refugees were admitted. Biden had pledged to admit up to 62,500 refugees during his young term, while Trump’s administration took several steps to dismantle the refugee resettlement program and bring admissions to a halt.
The Afghans who have been brought to the U.S. in the last two months do not count toward this total because they were granted entry under “humanitarian parole” — a short-term legal status — given the urgency of the unprecedented U.S. airlift that evacuated them from Kabul.
Those Afghans will now have access to support and services usually given to refugees because of the federal government funding bill that passed last week, but their future legal status is in question, as a White House proposal to fast track them to receive a green card was left out.
Either way, they’re not legally considered refugees. Just 872 Afghans were admitted under that category in the 2021 fiscal year, according to the data.
Trump admitted 604 Afghans as refugees in his final full fiscal year.
Biden had vowed to boost refugee admissions during the 2020 campaign and in his administration’s earliest days, but in the spring, he signed a memo that kept Trump’s refugee cap of 15,000 — the program’s lowest — only to then backtrack and raise it to 62,500 after outrage among Democrats and refugee advocates.
But those Trump-era efforts to dismantle the program led to this small number, and now they endanger Biden’s promise to admit 125,000 refugees in the fiscal year of 2022, which runs through next Sept. 30.
There had been some uptick in the number of admissions under the Biden administration — climbing from 283 in March to 1,533 in June to 3,774 in September — but advocates say the administration didn’t do enough to make repairs and expand those numbers.
“If we are to reach President Biden’s goal of welcoming 125,000 refugees, the administration must be aggressive and innovative in ramping up processing,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, the largest U.S. faith-based resettlement agency. “We urge the Biden administration to do everything in its power to align refugee admissions with our core values as a welcoming nation.”
There have been warnings for months now that the U.S. refugee resettlement program has not recovered from the previous four years. In particular, the major resettlement agencies in the U.S. had been forced to slash staffing as federal funds dried up, the pipeline of potential refugees had been blocked by new rules advocates have called onerous, and the pandemic meant the required in-person interviews weren’t happening.
While several resettlement agencies in the U.S. say the Trump-era damage is obvious, they expressed some disappointment that Biden’s team hasn’t done more to reverse that, saying responsibility now lies with them.
“The U.S. is taking in fewer refugees than ever at a time when there are more refugees in the world than at any point in recorded history, which is unacceptable. The Biden administration will need to prioritize creating more efficient and equitable methods of processing for refugees in order to reach the ceiling of 125,000 refugees for the fiscal year that’s just begun,” said Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief, another Christian humanitarian group.
In his executive order last February, for example, Biden directed the Departments of State and Homeland Security to “consider all appropriate actions” to permit virtual interviews between USCIS case officers and refugee applicants, as the pandemic makes in-person interviews still challenging.
But eight months later, no changes have been made in that process. The number of refugee interviews conducted in the first quarter of this fiscal year was zero, according to USCIS data, compared to 1,373 in all of fiscal year 2020 and 44,538 in FY 2019. Data from USCIS is so far only available for the first quarter of FY 2021.
(WASHINGTON) — Americans will soon be seeing new, empowering faces on some U.S. quarters.
On Wednesday, the United States Mint announced its quarter designs for 2022, which feature five trailblazing American women.
The five women featured are Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood; Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman to soar into space; award-winning writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou; Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and an activist for Native American and women’s rights; and Nina Otero-Warren, a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools.
“These inspiring coin designs tell the stories of five extraordinary women whose contributions are indelibly etched in American culture,” the United States Mint’s acting director, Alison L. Doone, said in a statement.
The designs are part of the American Women Quarters Program, a four year program featuring coins with reverse (tails) designs of women who have made their mark in American history.
For each year until 2025, the Mint will issue five quarters honoring individuals with a wide range of accomplishments and fields, including suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space and the arts.
“Generations to come will look at coins bearing these designs and be reminded of what can be accomplished with vision, determination and a desire to improve opportunities for all,” Doone said.
(ARAB, Ala.) — More than 10 inches of rain pounded northern Alabama over the last 24 hours, leaving some neighborhoods underwater.
A child died as a result of the flooding in Arab, located in northern Alabama, the Marshall County Coroner’s Office said.
In Hoover, near Birmingham, crews have been searching through the night for two people who were in a car that was swept away in the floodwaters. The vehicle is believed to be submerged, officials said, adding that divers are at the scene.
In Pelham, fire officials said they responded to 282 calls for service. Officials conducted 82 rescues from homes and over a dozen rescues from cars.
Schools in Pelham are closed Thursday due to the excessive flooding. A flash flood watch remains in effect through Thursday night.
The flash flooding threat will expand east Thursday into Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, where more than 3 inches of rain is expected.
Flash flooding is also possible in Tennessee and Florida.
Ariana Grande has been granted a five-year restraining order against the man who showed up at her Hollywood Hills home last month and allegedly threatened her security personnel with a large knife.
Legal documents obtained by The Blast show a judge ordered the fan, previously identified as 23-year-old Aharon Brown, to stay away from the “Positions” singer and her loved ones.
Ariana submitted a statement to a Los Angeles court and expressed that she is “fearful for my safety and for the safety of my family.” She requested the court grant them a protection order, adding that she fears Brown “will continue to come to my home and attempt to physically harm or murder me or members of my family” without one in place.
The restraining order will remain in effect until October 5, 2026.
Ariana previously detailed the incident that precipitated in Brown’s arrest. According to her statement to police, obtained by TMZ, she said, “I am informed that his visits were sporadic at first, but that in the last approximately two to three weeks, (He) has come to my home nearly every day, and sometimes multiple times a day… [A]t approximately 10:20 p.m., while I was home, (he) was again observed near my home. I am informed that he became combative when asked to leave and displayed a large hunting knife.”
During that encounter, Ariana claims Brown threatened to kill her and her security team.
It was previously reported that Brown was arrested following the September incident and was charged with two felony counts of making criminal threats. TMZ reports that Brown is still in custody.
(NEW YORK) — As Americans continue to cook, do laundry and use more electricity at home amid the pandemic, utility bill prices are predicted to rise this winter.
Ken Gurny, a homeowner in New York told Good Morning America their family has tried to conserve energy since the pandemic sent their utility bill sky high.
But even as residents work to lower electricity consumption, the cost to heat homes is going up.
The National Energy Assistance Directors Association predicts gas bills in the U.S. could rise up to 30% this winter.
“Going forward this year, there are no signs of these prices coming down,” executive director Mark Wolfe told GMA.
The Natural Gas Association of America told GMA in a statement that while it does not expect shortages, “natural gas market prices are higher due to the economic recovery, strong natural gas demand from last winter, and slower than anticipated production.”
From January to March last winter, the Gurney family said they paid roughly $2,300 to heat their home which means this year, that number could go up by $700 for a total of $3,000 in the same time period.
Beyond putting on a sweater inside and lowering the thermostat, there are other savings strategies to consider.
A smart thermostat like the Nest lets people program a lowered temperature at specific times of day via a smartphone app. The company estimates it saves users 10-12% on heating costs each year.
Amazon has entered the market with its Alexa-compatible smart thermostat due on the market in November.
The U.S. Energy Department suggests a simpler fix: Swap out an old, dirty filter on the furnace to save between 5 to 15% on a heating bill.
The Natural Gas Association suggests: “if customers have trouble paying their natural gas bills, there are programs that can help.”
Wolfe said the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is a “federal program that helps people pay their energy bills, they have enough money to do so — but it’s not just for poor people, a family can have to $40,000 a year and still qualify.”
Additionally, experts suggest heat loss can be prevented by checking for cold spots with a thermal gun. Point the device at the ceiling, wall and doors to see where weatherstripping could help, replace insulation or patch up cracks.
More heating and cooling units will also run off electricity rather than gas or oil, providing greater energy efficiency and serving as better options for the environment.
Angelina Jolie is no longer the co-owner of Château Miraval, a French vineyard, which she’d shared with ex-husband husband Brad Pitt.
According to Wall Street Journal, Jolie sold her share of the winery to the group Tenute del Mondo for an undisclosed amount of money. The vineyard is valued around $164 million and is located in Correns, France.
The Eternals actress and Pitt are currently locked in a bitter divorce battle and the two have warred over their winery before, with WSJ reporting that Jolie attempted to sell her stake last month.
Pitt filed suit shortly after and claimed his ex-wife was being “vindictive” by not only cutting him out of the sale, but making a decision that could negatively impact the company that owns Château Miraval. After a few weeks of back and forth, the pair saw eye to eye and a judge allowed Jolie to proceed with the sale on September 23.
The two first bought the winery in 2008 and held their wedding at the location in 2014.
Jolie, 46, and Pitt, 57, divorced in April 2019, but chose to mediate custody and other issues separately via a private judge.
John Tesh is on the mend after his prostate cancer returned for a second time.
Speaking withGood Morning America on Wednesday, Tesh, who is 69, said he knew something was wrong when he began to feel a strange pain in October 2020.
“All of a sudden, I started feeling some really serious pain in my pelvis,” the former Entertainment Tonight co-host recalled, noting that he first ignored it because he thought he had pulled a groin muscle. “Then it got worse and worse… I couldn’t sleep.”
Tesh booked an appointment with his doctor and, after undergoing a scan, discovered “the cancer had returned with a vengeance. The scans showed that there were tumors wrapped around my pelvis and one of [the tumors] was strangling my right kidney. So, it got serious really quickly.”
The Grammy-nominated musician was first diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of prostate cancer in 2015. He revealed that the doctor told him his cancer was terminal and, in order to cope, he turned to alcohol and prescription drugs.
He credits his wife of 30 years, Connie Sellecca, for pulling him out of that dark place over five years ago by “giving me an ultimatum… to get straightened out.”
Tesh explained that overcoming that low point in his life helped him become battle ready when cancer knocked on his door a second time.
Now, he says he is “feeling great” and credits his wife and his faith for helping him ride out the storm.
(NEW YORK) — With the vaccination rate for staffers in New York state’s long-term care facilities jumping from 70% to 92% following a state mandate last week, nursing home advocates are urging the Biden administration to launch a similar mandate for long-term care facilities nationwide — but the federal agency that oversees nursing home standards has yet to provide guidance on the matter.
Biden administration officials announced in August that long-term care staffers would soon have to get vaccinated, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has yet to implement the policy. In the meantime, the vaccination rate among long-term care employees nationwide is languishing at just over 65%.
“The federal mandate was welcomed, but the lack of guidance is concerning,” said Michael Wasserman, the past president of the California Association for Long Term Care Medicine and a member of California’s Vaccine Advisory Committee. “Having unvaccinated staff caring for residents will result in the transmission of the virus and therefore deaths.”
“We cannot implement this soon enough,” Wasserman said. “Every day that goes by without guidance will inevitably lead to more deaths.”
CMS officials said in a press release last month that they intend to release emergency vaccine regulations in mid to late October. In the meantime, CMS officials told ABC News, the agency is encouraging staff across all health care settings to get vaccinated, and are encouraging all facilities to “take advantage of the resources available from CMS” to promote the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Back in August, John Knox Village in Missouri was among the providers that were waiting to get additional guidance from CMS before taking further action, so they could fully understand exactly what the mandate entails. Two months later, they’re still waiting for further guidance.
John Knox Village spokesperson Emily Banyas told ABC News that in the meantime, the facility is continuing with its voluntary biweekly vaccination clinics. The staff vaccination rate at the facility is up 5% over last month — but is still only around 65%.
Overall, only about half the staff in Missouri’s long-term care facilities had been fully vaccinated as of Sept. 19, according to the latest data available from CMS, making Missouri one of the lowest-vaccinated states in the country.
In Oklahoma, where the staff vaccination rate is 51.7%, a long-term care executive told ABC News she’s hopeful the federal mandate will increase staff vaccination rates — especially in rural areas. Mary Brinkley, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the elder advocacy group LeadingAge, said that in the meantime, providers in rural areas are making a concerted effort to increase their voluntary vaccination rates, with some nursing home operators achieving rates of 80% to 95%.
But in Montana, where the staff vaccination rate is 59.8%, the federal mandate could be the only way the state will see a big increase in employee vaccinations. Due to a state law that bans employers from requiring vaccinations, Montana Health Care Association Executive Director Rose Hughes said that unless a federal mandate is implemented to create an exception for long-term care providers, there’s “nothing else they can do” other than to “continuously try to convince staff to get vaccinated through education and information.”
However Hughes also told ABC News that she expects a “significant number” of staff to resign when the federal mandate takes effect. Some facilities have already reported losing staff amid the looming order, Hughes said.
In Kentucky, where the vaccination rate among long-term care staff is just 56.2%, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities said that despite concerns about possible staff resignations, the organization supports employer vaccine mandates and is hopeful that Biden’s mandate will result in a significant increase in COVID-19 vaccinations among staff.
As of Sept. 19, about a month after the Biden administration announced plans to require long-term care facilities to vaccinate their staffs or lose Medicare and Medicaid benefits, the national staff vaccination rate had only risen 4.3%, from 61.1% to 65.4%, according to CMS data. The previous month, it had risen by 2.5%.
Eric Carlson, a long-term care expert with the advocacy group Justice in Aging, says that the mandate is needed “in order to prevent deaths and to keep nursing facilities open to visitors.”
“The COVID vaccines have been game-changers in nursing facilities,” Carlson told ABC News. “We know that COVID is particularly deadly for nursing facility residents, and that broad vaccination can reduce COVID rates to close to zero. No one should be waiting for someone else in order to do the right thing.”
Lisa Sanders, a national spokesperson for LeadingAge, says it is “highly likely” that an increase in workplace vaccine mandates will lead to an overall increase in the vaccination rate.
“What’s needed now — urgently — is both the actual rule and guidance for implementation,” she said.
In Tennessee, where the staff vaccination rate is just under 54%, Tennessee Health Care Association spokesperson Jay Moore told ABC News that while a few long-term care facilities have voluntarily imposed their own mandate, many providers are waiting for the national guidance because “the landscape is changing so rapidly, and there will always be unexpected nuances when the CMS rules are finally promulgated.”
Moore said it’s a “fair assessment” to say that the lack of additional CMS guidance has put providers in limbo, but that the federal agency is just being careful because it knows that the mandate will have a “tremendous impact on individuals working in health care, the facilities, and the patients in need of services.”
“CMS hopefully is just trying to get it right,” Moore said.
