Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Michael J. Fox Foundation
Michael J. Fox is being honored with AARP’s 2022 Purpose Prize, which the organization bestows on “extraordinary Americans who tap into the power of life experience to build a better future for us all.”
Through his work with his Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the Back to the Future series star is being heralded with a group of others aged “50-plus who are using their knowledge and life experience to solve tough social problems.”
In an interview with AARP about the honor, Fox said, “Awards are funny. You can always find 10 thousand words why you don’t deserve them.”
He added, “But I do have a purpose, and I appreciate the purpose in other people and intention to do the right thing and do well in society other than just paying taxes and going to work. To be part of something powerful and life-changing and world-changing. And I have that opportunity with the Foundation.”
Ringo Starr and dozens of other well-known drummers have teamed up for a new version of the 1969 Beatles classic “Come Together” to raise money to support the WhyHunger charity’s mission to end global hunger.
Dubbed “Drum Together,” the recording also features the E Street Band‘s Max Weinberg, Pearl Jam‘s Matt Cameron, The Police‘s Stewart Copeland, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, Yes‘ Alan White, Bad Company‘s Simon Kirke, Vanilla Fudge‘s Carmine Appice, Rolling Stones touring drummer Steve Jordan, Iron Maiden‘s Nicko McBrain, famed session musician Jim Keltner, and pre-teen drumming sensation Nandi Bushell. More than 100 drummers in total lent their talents to the song.
“We all can agree that no kid should be hungry, and everyone should have access to nutritious food,” says Ringo in a statement. “This is a great cause that I’ve supported in the past and a great track — one of my favorite Beatles songs. So when Jim Keltner asked me to join all these other drummers I was happy to. Peace and love.”
A variety of non-drummers also contributed to the track, including singer Jen Chapin — daughter of late WhyHunger co-founder Harry Chapin — and such acclaimed session musicians as bassists Lee Sklar, Will Lee and Nathan East.
Ninety cents from every dollar raised by the Drum Together campaign will go toward WhyHunger programs that focus on community-led initiatives, the goal of which is to provide nutritious food to those who need it across the U.S. and the globe.
You can check out an official video for the song that features composite footage of all of the participants performing individually on the WhyHunger YouTube channel.
A list of all the participating musicians has been posted on WhyHunger.org.
Ringo Starr and dozens of other well-known drummers have teamed up for a new version of the 1969 Beatles classic “Come Together” to raise money to support the WhyHunger charity’s mission to end global hunger.
Dubbed “Drum Together,” the recording also features the E Street Band‘s Max Weinberg, The Police‘s Stewart Copeland, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, Yes‘ Alan White, The Bangles‘ Debbi Peterson, Bad Company‘s Simon Kirke, ex-Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine, Vanilla Fudge‘s Carmine Appice, Rolling Stones touring drummer Steve Jordan, Santana‘s Cindy Blackman Santana, Styx‘s Todd Sucherman and famed session musician Jim Keltner. More than 100 drummers in total lent their talents to the song.
“We all can agree that no kid should be hungry, and everyone should have access to nutritious food,” says Ringo in a statement. “This is a great cause that I’ve supported in the past and a great track — one of my favorite Beatles songs. So when Jim Keltner asked me to join all these other drummers I was happy to. Peace and love.”
A variety of non-drummers also contributed to the track, including singer Jen Chapin — daughter of late WhyHunger co-founder Harry Chapin — and such acclaimed session musicians as bassists Lee Sklar, Will Lee and Nathan East.
Ninety cents from every dollar raised by the Drum Together campaign will go toward WhyHunger programs that focus on community-led initiatives, the goal of which is to provide nutritious food to those who need it across the U.S. and the globe.
You can check out an official video for the song that features composite footage of all of the participants performing individually on the WhyHunger YouTube channel.
A list of all the participating musicians has been posted on WhyHunger.org.
New music from Slashfeaturing Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators is “coming soon.”
That’s according to a new Facebook video posted by the Guns N’ Roses shredder featuring footage of him jamming along with his solo band.
“I think the record itself is probably the best one that we’ve done so far,” Slash says in the clip, referring to the upcoming fourth Conspirators album. “We’re showing no signs of slowing down.”
The most recent Conspirators effort is 2018’s Living the Dream.
Slash, meanwhile, just released a pair of new singles with Guns N’ Roses, “Absurd” and “Hard Skool.” The tunes mark the first fresh material from the “Welcome to the Jungle” rockers since Slash and Duff McKagan rejoined Axl Rose in the band in 2016.
Usher is giving the fans what they want: More Las Vegas residency shows.
Due to popular demand, the singer has announced two bonus dates at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace this December. He’ll be performing on Thursday, December 23 and Friday, December 24, in addition to his previously planned shows on December 28, 29, 31 and January 1, 2022.
Tickets for the new shows go on sale to the general public Saturday, Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. PT. Fan pre-sale tickets will be available beginning Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. PT until Friday, Oct. 8 at 10 p.m. PT.
The residency, which debuted in July, features a set list spanning Usher’s 20-year career, with performances of “U Remind Me,” “Burn,” “You Make Me Wanna…,” “Don’t Waste My Time,” “Scream,” “Yeah!” and more, backed by a live band and over two dozen dancers.
Usher, Live Nation Las Vegas and Caesars Entertainment are donating $1 of every ticket purchased to Usher’s New Look, Inc., an organization the singer founded in 1999 to help transform the lives of underserved youth.
Sydney Park says she knows exactly why her latest project, There’s Someone in Your House, is more than your cliché slasher film.
“Well, first of all, I really love that Makani isn’t your average scream queen,” Brooks tells ABC Audio of her lead role. “She is Asian and Black. She hails from Hawaii.”
Based on Stephanie Perkins‘ 2017 novel of the same name, There’s Someone in Your House follows Park as Makani, a recently transferred high school student stalked by a killer intent on exposing her and her classmates. Park says Makani is far from a one-dimensional figure.
“It’s really cool that she is this internal character and we sense that there is some instability, or some inkling of, like, a tragic past,” she shares. “And she’s struggling with that. So that really drew me in.”
In fact, Park’s character is so mysterious at times that the actress says she even began to question Makani’s true intentions.
“[W]hile I was reading the script, I kept on thinking about all of these different possibilities,” she says. “Like, is Makani the one who’s doing all of this? What’s really going on?”
It’s that unpredictability — along with plenty of high school angst — that makes Park believe that this slasher film is “sort of like [a] John Hughes horror film.”
“I love the mystery and… the emotional rollercoaster of it all,” she says. “It’s very unique and we bend a lot of genres.”
There’s Someone in Your House, also starring Asjha Cooper, Jesse LaTourette, Dale Whibley and Diego Josef, launches on Netflix this Wednesday, October 6.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) HBO Max has released a preview of its new Peacemaker spin-off series from The Suicide Squad starring John Cena‘s vigilante, Peacemaker.
The clip of the character’s self-titled show has returning characters from director James Gunn‘s film meeting Cena’s character at a diner. When he shows up “in full cosplay mode,” wearing his garish get-up including a polished chrome cowl, they tease him behind his back — and then to his face.
When jabbed that his red-and-white costume isn’t “exactly conducive to lurking in the shadows,” Peacemaker, AKA Christopher Schmidt, replies, “It’s not a costume. It’s a uniform,” adding “When people see this uniform it strikes fear in their hearts.”
One character replies, “What people, the other people at the Village People trials?”
It doesn’t help that Peacemaker showed up in a red-white-and-blue car, with his pet eagle in the back seat — or that he named the bird “Eagley.”
“Is your dog named Doggy?” a character jabs.
“Do you have a daughter named Daughtery?” another snipes.
“Jealous of a guy’s pet eagle much?” Cena huffs under his breath.
Guardians of the Galaxy writer-director Gunn wrote the Peacemaker series and directed several episodes, after he wrapped work on The Suicide Squad. He called the series “an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero-supervillain-and world’s biggest d****bag.”
The DC Comics character, who was shown to have survived the events of The Suicide Squad via an after-credits scene, fights for “freedom” regardless of the body count — of even innocent people.
(NEW YORK) — The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine remains 90% effective at reducing a person’s risk of hospitalization from the virus six months after it is administered, a new study has found. This is true even in the face of the delta variant as well as if the person has not received a booster shot.
Still, when it comes to preventing infections, the vaccine’s effectiveness wanes rapidly as time passes, the study found. After five months, it is just 47% effective at preventing infection.
In the study, funded by Pfizer, researchers assessed data from Kaiser Permanente and calculated the percentages of fully vaccinated patients who contracted COVID-19 on a monthly basis after vaccination. Data from roughly 3.4 million people was analyzed between December 2020 and August 2021.
The results of the study are in line with previously published data from Israel and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that looked at vaccine effectiveness over time, but the Pfizer-funded study is the first to consider how the delta variant may impact Pfizer vaccine effectiveness over time.
“The effectiveness of the vaccine against the delta and non-delta variants remained high during the study, suggesting that the vaccines worked well even when a variant was present,” Dr. Simone Wildes, an infectious disease specialist and ABC News contributor, said.
The delta variant was virtually non-existent in the United States when mass vaccinations began in the winter, but it now comprises more than 99% of all coronavirus cases in the country.
Vaccines might be less effective for older adults and people with underlying medication conditions, the study found.
The new data is particularly timely given that the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC recently authorized Pfizer vaccine booster shots in people who fall into certain risk categories — many of whom are over six months past their first dose.
“Our findings support policymakers who continue to monitor vaccine effectiveness over time,” Sara Y. Tartof, PhD, MPH, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation, and a lead author on the study, said. “Given the observed waning, it will be vital for policymakers to assess whether recommendations for booster doses may be warranted … to help control heightened transmission of delta, especially as we enter the upcoming fall/winter viral respiratory season.”
The study followed patients for nearly half a year, but experts still don’t know if Pfizer vaccine effectiveness continues to decrease over time or plateaus. It is also unclear what happens to vaccine effectiveness after the third shot or how factors such as adherence to mask mandates and social distancing measures could impact the data.
Britney Spears emotionally acknowledged the #FreeBritney movement Monday, thanking her fans for their tireless support over the years.
Sharing a video of her posing in a white off-the-shoulder crop top — her signature style — the 39-year-old Grammy winner admitted that she has “no words” to describe her gratitude.
“#FreeBritney movement … I have no words … because of you guys and your constant resilience in freeing me from my conservatorship … my life is now in that direction !!!!!” she celebrated on Monday.
The “Toxic” singer added that she is overwhelmed by her fans’ passion, adding, “I cried last night for two hours cause my fans are the best and I know it … I feel your hearts and you feel mine … that much I know is true.”
She closed the sentimental post with two twirling pink heart emojis.
Britney’s fiancé, Sam Asghari, also shouted out his bride-to-be’s fans in the comment section, asking them, “From a scale of 0-Britney how free are you?”
Britney, 39, has had her life governed by a conservatorship since 2008. Her father, Jamie Spears, acted as the conservator of her personal affairs until 2019, when he stepped down, citing health issues. However, he still maintained control over her finances until last Thursday, when Judge Brenda Penny suspended him, citing a “toxic environment.”
The singer also hinted Monday that she is getting ready to walk down the aisle by asking her 35 million followers in a subsequent post, “It’s not actually France folks … it’s French territory! Psss where should we get married????”
Spears toyed with a filter that gave her Disney princess styled eyes in the video, where she joked about wanting dessert.
“Psss don’t get me started on the concept of NOW,” she continued in the caption and declared in all capital letters, “GOD BLESS YOU ALL!”
Credit: James Marcus Haney x Heo Jae Young x Kim So Jung
Coldplay and BTS have reclaimed the top spot of the BillboardHot 100, this time for “My Universe,” their new collaboration.
The single, which was released on September 24, becomes the K-pop group’s sixth number-one hit in the U.S., and Coldplay’s second, after 2008’s “Viva La Vida.” Even more impressive, BTS has notched all their number ones in the span of a year, starting with “Dynamite,” released on September 5, 2020.
That’s the quickest an act has ever racked up six number ones since The Beatles, who also sent six singles to the top spot in the span of a year and two weeks, between 1964 and 1966.
However, BTS has yet to best The Beatles’ all-time record of placing six songs atop the Hot 100 in the span of 10 months and three weeks, which the Fab Four accomplished all the way back in 1964.
In other history-making moves, “My Universe” is now, as Billboard reports, “the first Hot 100 No. 1 by two groups each sporting lead billing on a song.” The only other groups to come close are The Temptations with Diana Ross and The Supremes back in 1969, when their hit “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” peaked at #2.
Thanks to the out-of-this-world debut for “My Universe,” the track also now sits atop Billboard‘s Digital Song Sales chart — allowing BTS to break its own record for having the most number ones on that tally, with nine number ones in all. As for Coldplay, this becomes their second leader on that chart.
