We’ve all gotten to know Dr. Anthony Fauci pretty well over the past year and a half. Brad Pitt even played him on Saturday Night Live! But a new documentary aims to take us deeper into Dr. Fauci’s life and why he emerged on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
NatGeo’s Fauci, out now on Disney+, explores the immunologist’s storied career and takes us all the way back to when he was appointed director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease in 1984.
Co-director Janet Tobias spoke with ABC Audio about the new doc and reveals that it was actually in the works well before the word “coronavirus” touched headlines.
“Tony Fauci has served now seven presidents [and] innumerable congresses. He’s testified in front of Congress more than any other living figure,” she said. “I was really interested in the idea of what it means in the 21st century to be a public servant.”
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the documentary’s original focus, of which Tobias said excited her colleagues because it meant they were handed a front row seat to watch history unfold.
“Tony was forged in the AIDS epidemic as a doctor, as a scientist, as a communicator,” the director said. “Then, of course, in COVID, he was tested in all those ways [again].”
Tobias said the documentary explores how he built “bridges between scientists and activists” during the AIDS epidemic and how, nearly 30 years later, he rebuilt those bridges “every single day” during the pandemic.
However, there was one major condition under which crew members were taken behind the scenes of Fauci’s life: “If you interfere with my work in any way, we will stop,” Tobias shared, adding, “Dr. Fauci was very clear with us from the beginning.”
Kelly Clarkson has a unique way to open her daytime chat show, which tasks her to serenade the audience with a “Kellyoke” segment. She typically covers a pop song and one of her recent song choices included a subtle lyric change that some of her fans believe was aimed at her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.
While covering the title track from Billie Eilish‘s second studio album, Happier than Ever, Clarkson changed the last line from, “I don’t relate to you/ I don’t relate to you, no/ ‘Cause I’d never treat me this sh****/ You made me hate this city,” to “I get it, you hate this city.”
The significance, fans believe, is that Kelly is in the midst of a contentious divorce with Blackstock, where she was recently awarded the couple’s Montana ranch. Brandon, a talent manager, had claimed his future plans for the property had involved sponsoring rodeos and, therefore, allowing him to become a full-time rancher.
Clarkson did not alter the final lines of “Happier Than Ever” and belted out, “You ruined everything good/ Always said you were misunderstood/ Made all my moments your own/ Just f****** leave me alone.”
Notably, Kelly chose leave in most the expletives, opting instead to have them bleeped out.
Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock in June 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage.
A few months ago, Walker Hayes was a country singer who’d had a couple of hits. But his ode to date nights at Applebee’s, “Fancy Like,” turned him into a TikTok celebrity, and then a bonafide pop star.
“The idea really spawned from a conversation when me and my co-writers about the misconception that all celebrities live a very lavish lifestyle,” Walker explains to ABC Audio. “I think most people just think that if you’re an artist, if you’re a performer, if you’re a songwriter and you’re paying the bills, you live in a mansion and you always eat at Ruth’s Chris and you always wear expensive shoes. And that’s not necessarily true,” he points out.
“I just basically wrote the song to say, ‘Hey, I’m pretty simple guy, ’bout as fancy as it gets for me is Applebee’s on a date night,'” says Walker, a father of six. He adds. “You know, like, just me talking guy to guy, ‘How fancy do you get?’ ‘Well, hey, we fancy like Applebee’s!'”
After Walker and his teen daughter came up with a dance to go with “Fancy Like,” it went viral on TikTok and inevitably ended up in an Applebee’s commercial. The restaurant chain even put its Oreo Shake back on the menu, after Walker shouted it out in the song’s lyrics. The song hit number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and is now a pop radio hit; there’s even a remix with Kesha.
“We had no idea that we would do a dance to this, that it would just pop off, that it would go viral, that it would just transcend genres!” Walker laughs. “We had no idea. We were just telling the truth, man!”
Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
It appears Måneskin‘s “Beggin'” days may be over.
The Italian band’s viral Four Seasons cover has hit number-one on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart, giving the group their first-ever leader on the chart.
Måneskin’s also been having success with their single “I Wanna Be Your Slave,” which currently sits in the top 25 on Alternative Airplay and the top 40 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay ranking. Back in August, they released a new version of the song featuring the one and only Iggy Pop.
The Måneskin train is set to keep rolling this week with the release of a new single called “MAMMAMIA.” That’ll arrive Friday, October 8.
Here’s wishing a happy 70th birthday to longtime REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin.
Cronin first joined the Illinois-based band in 1972 in time to record their second album, R.E.O./T.W.O., but he left the group because of creative differences during the making of their next record, Ridin’ the Storm Out.
In 1976, Kevin rejoined REO Speewagon and has fronted the band ever since. During the group’s heyday in the late 1970s and early ’80s, Cronin split main songwriting duties with guitarist Gary Richrath. In 1978, REO scored minor hits with the Cronin-penned “Roll with the Changes” and “Time for Me to Fly,” which were both featured on the band’s You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tuna Fish album.
REO Speedwagon’s real commercial breakthrough came in 1980 with Hi Infidelity. The album spent 15 non-consective weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 in 1981, more than any other album that year. It featured the chart-topping ballad “Keep On Loving You” and the #5 hit “Take It on the Run,” both written by Cronin. Hi Infidelity has gone on to be certified Diamond by the RIAA for sales of over 10 million in the U.S.
Numerous other Cronin-penned Billboard Hot 100 hits followed for REO Speedwagon during the ’80s, including “Keep the Fire Burnin’,” which peaked at #7 in 1982, and the band’s second chart-topping single, “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” which was #1 for three weeks in 1985.
Richrath was fired from REO over conflicts with Cronin in 1989, and Kevin has continued to lead the band. REO’s most recent studio album was the 2009 holiday collection Not So Silent Night…Christmas with REO Speedwagon, but the group still tours regularly.
The band’s next concert is scheduled for this Friday, October 8, in Boerne, Texas.
ohnny Nunez/2021 BET Hip Hop Awards/Getty Images for BET
This year’s BET Hip Hop Awards was a star-studded event that included appearances by some of this year’s most respected emcees.
The evening’s big winners included Tyler, the Creator, who was received the inaugural Cultural Influence Award, as well as Hip Hop Album of the Year for Call Me If You Get Lost. Lil Baby won four awards, including Artist of the Year, and Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion took home three trophies for “WAP.”
Additionally, Yung Bleu was named Best New Hip Hop Artist, while J. Cole took home Lyricist of the Year.
Young Thug & Gunna, Latto, Bia featuring Lil Jon, Baby Keem, Tobe Nwigwe, and Isaiah Rashad were just a few of the artists who took the stage to perform some of their hits. Meanwhile, hip-hop powerhouses Trina, Remy Ma and Rapsody presented some of the night’s top honors.
Hosted by DC Young Fly, Karlous Miller, and Chico Bean — also known as the comedy group 85 South — the show was fused with comedy skits and hip hop ciphers throughout the night.
Rapper-actor Nelly received the 2021 “I Am Hip Hop” Award from So So Def producer Jermaine Dupri before taking the stage to perform his own medley of songs, which included “E.I.”, “Country Grammar”, “Air Force Ones”, “Grillz”, “Ride With Me”, “Dilemma”, and “Hot in Herre”. Legendary rapper and 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee LL COOL J presented the first-ever “Rock the Bells Cultural Influence Award” to Grammy Award-winning rapper-producer Tyler, the Creator.
Before the night ended, Big Daddy Kane paid tribute to his fellow Juice Crew member, rapper Biz Markie, who passed away in July at the age of 57.
Here’s the list of 2021 BET Hip Hop Award winners:
Hip hop album of the year Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler, the Creator
Song of the year
“WAP,” Produced by Ayo & Keyz (Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion)
Hip hop artist of the year
Lil Baby
Best hip hop video
Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”
Best new hip hop artist
Yung Bleu
Best collaboration
Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”
Best duo or group
Lil Baby & Lil Durk
Best live performer
Tyler, the Creator
Lyricist of the year
J. Cole
Best international flow
Little Simz (U.K.)
Video director of the year
Missy Elliott
DJ of the year
DJ Scheme
Producer of the year
Hit-Boy
Hustler of the year
Saweetie
Best hip hop platform
Genius
Sweet 16: best featured verse
Jay-Z, “What It Feels Like” (Nipsey Hussle feat. Jay-Z)
Impact track
Nipsey Hussle feat. Jay-Z, “What It Feels Like”
(WASHINGTON) — As the nation barrels toward default, Republicans are poised to sink a Democratic effort to suspend the federal borrowing limit.
Republicans in the Senate are filibustering a House-passed measure that would suspend the debt limit until December 2022. At least 10 Republicans would need to join all Senate Democrats to break a GOP filibuster and allow a simple majority vote to pass the bill.
Democrats argue that this would give Republicans exactly what they’re asking for: an increase to the nation’s borrowing limit approved solely by Democrats.
“Tomorrow’s vote is not a vote to raise the debt ceiling. It’s, rather, a procedural step to let Democrats raise the debt ceiling on our own,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday. “We’re telling Republicans that we’re not asking you to vote for it, just let us vote for it.”
But Republicans aren’t backing down. They’ve maintained for months that Democrats must act to raise the federal debt limit on their own, because they have total control of Washington and are planning to pass a multi-trillion social and economic package with zero input from Republicans.
“They said they’re perfectly prepared to do the job themselves,” Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell insisted to reporters Tuesday. “The easiest way to do that is through the reconciliation process as I pointed out for two months.”
McConnell, R-Ky., has said repeatedly that Democrats should have to hike the debt limit to cover the cost of potentially trillions in yet-passed parts of President Joe Biden’s agenda, though the debt limit must be raised to cover spending that already took place under the Trump administration with unified GOP support.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told ABC News on Tuesday he won’t support moving forward on a vote.
“We are not going to empower a radical march toward socialism,” Graham, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Senate budget committee chairman, floated a potential solution that would involve temporarily suspending the chamber’s filibuster rules that require 60 votes for most legislation.
“Where it may come down to is a demand that at least for the debt ceiling that we end the filibuster … and pass it with 51 votes,” Sanders suggested.
But the 50-member Democratic caucus would have to remain unified to do this, and both moderates Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema have balked at any changes to the filibuster rules.
No Republican has yet gone on the record to say he or she is prepared to join Democrats to clear the way for a final vote on the debt limit Wednesday, though moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, opened the door to potentially joining the majority.
“I want to make sure we are doing everything that we can to not send us into a situation of default, and I don’t even want to get close,” Murkowski said. “We have to make sure. We just have to ensure.”
The nation technically hit the debt ceiling Aug. 1, with the Treasury Department using extraordinary measures to pay the nation’s bills. But Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that by Oct. 18, her department’s efforts would be fully exhausted and default would be all but certain.
Pressure is mounting alongside partisan gridlock, with no backup plan emerging.
McConnell and his conference are insisting that Democrats use a fast-track budget tool called reconciliation that allows the majority to break a filibuster to pass certain legislation. Use of this arcane process is cumbersome, could take weeks and opens up Democrats to a series of potentially politically painful votes.
But there could be an added political benefit for Republicans in insisting that this process be used. It would put Democrats on the record raising the debt ceiling by a hefty dollar amount, whereas Wednesday’s vote — simply suspending the debt limit by no specified amount — does not. That would feed into the GOP narrative that Democrats are out-of-control spenders.
“We’re very interested in a specific dollar amount,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said Tuesday. “They’re going to have to come before the American people and say, ‘We’re going to increase the debt ceiling by X amount, because this is the amount we intend to spend’, and one way or another, it puts them on the record as to their spending proposals.”
Some Democrats say they’d support using reconciliation if it meant a swift resolution of the debt limit issue. Manchin said the process should be considered, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told reporters that “everything should be on the table” when pressed on whether the fast-track budget tool should be considered.
But each passing day limits the time Democrats would have to fast track a debt ceiling increase through the multi-step process to final passage, and Democrats tell ABC News that no work has begun on the reconciliation process, even behind the scenes.
“No, not at the moment,” Sanders told ABC News.
Some Democrats were more emphatic.
“Reconciliation was never on the table,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. “There’s not enough time to make reconciliation work.”
But on Tuesday, Schumer did not expressly rule it out.
When asked if he was ruling out using the budget process, Schumer repeatedly referenced the Wednesday vote as the preferred way to go about hiking the debt cap.
“Reconciliation is a drawn out, convoluted process. We’ve shown the best way to go. We’re moving forward in that direction,” Schumer said, refusing to entertain a Plan B.
If the nation defaults, the results are sure to be catastrophic. The White House has warned that an unprecedented default could send shockwaves through the global economy and trigger a recession. The political implications for both parties are unclear.
(WASHINGTON) — Days after the Biden administration reimbursed two Florida school districts whose board members lost their salaries for mandating masks for students, the state’s top education official is trying to strip the districts of the money.
In a series of memoranda, Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran recommended Monday that the Florida Board of Education, which meets Thursday, withhold “state funds in an amount equal to any federal grant funds awarded” to districts that defy Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on school mask requirements.
Corcoran said he found probable cause that 11 school districts, including Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, violated state laws by implementing a mask mandate.
He also recommended that the Board withhold the salaries of the board members in each district, a punishment already handed down in late August to officials in Alachua and Broward counties.
In response to that crackdown, the U.S. Department of Education awarded the Alachua and Broward districts hundreds of thousands of dollars to make up for the lost paychecks. The money was issued through the Project SAFE grant program, which was created last month to reimburse school districts that lose state money for implementing coronavirus mitigation strategies.
The Florida Department of Education has not announced that it has begun withholding salaries from school board members in other districts requiring masks.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona indicated in August that districts punished by Florida for requiring masks for students would be eligible for grant money. “I want you to know that the U.S. Department of Education stands with you,” he wrote in a letter to superintendents.
The 11 districts that Corcoran said violated the law will be under the microscope Thursday, when the Board of Education meets to decide whether to implement the commissioner’s recommendations and punish them.
District officials in Alachua and Broward counties questioned the legality of blocking federal funding on Tuesday.
“We’re always concerned when funds are withheld from public education, but we’re particularly concerned about the state interfering with federal funding. This will almost certainly have to be settled in court,” Dr. Carlee Simon, superintendent of Alachua County Public Schools, said in a statement to ABC News.
Dr. Rosalind Osgood, chair of the school board in Broward County, called Corcoran’s recommendations to the Board of Education “extremely displeasing” and said her district was complying with the law “and saving lives.”
“Our students and staff need academic support, mental health support and job security. The way that the Governor and Commissioner of Education have handled this issue has caused added trauma, unemployment and a major disruption in school board operations,” Osgood said in a statement to ABC News.
20th Century Studios has released a nearly five-minute-long peek at Ridley Scott‘s new film The Last Duel, which stars, and was co-written by, childhood friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
The film from the Gladiator Oscar winner is based on real events: Damon plays a respected warrior named Jean de Carrouges, who faces off against Adam Driver‘s Jacques Le Gris, who is accused of assaulting de Carrouges’ wife, Marguerite, played by Killing Eve Emmy winner Jodie Comer.
The accusations set de Carrouges against his friend, the playboy Count Pierre d’Alençon, and the conflict eventually is settled by mortal combat between the warrior and Driver’s Le Gris.
The clip shows Le Gris and de Carrouges being suited up for that final showdown, which begins with jousting, and goes into hand-to-hand combat. The sneak peek cuts away without revealing any major spoilers.
The Last Duel opens October 15.
20th Century Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
(NEW YORK) — Volvo is recalling over 460,000 cars due to an air bag defect that could result in passenger injury.
The recall affects older sedans, including 2001-2009 S60s and 2001-2006 S80s.
According to documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the driver’s air bag inflator “may explode during deployment,” which could result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants. There has been at least one death due to the defect, according to the documents.
“Our investigations have identified an issue where driver airbag inflators may under certain circumstances be subjected to excessive pressures during deployment potentially resulting in an inflator rupture,” a Volvo spokesperson said. “The excessive pressure can occur if the inflator has been subjected to elevated levels of moisture and high inflator temperatures frequently during its lifetime.”
To remedy the issue, Volvo will contact owners of cars subject to the recall. Dealerships will replace the driver’s air bag for free.
