Saturday Night Live is making some cast changes before its upcoming 47th season: Beck Bennett, who joined the cast in 2013, and Lauren Holt, who was made a featured cast member last season, are out.
The Emmy-winning sketch show also announced the addition of new featured cast members Aristotle Athari, James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman. Meanwhile, Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman — both of whom, incidentally, do double duty on Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens — have been upped from featured performers to the main cast.
Saturday Night Live returns on October 2 with host Owen Wilson and musical guest Casey Musgraves. The show’s other returning cast members are Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Melissa Villaseñor, and the show’s most-senior star, Kenan Thompson.
On his Instagram, Bennett wrote, “Love you, SNL. Gonna miss you so much. Thank you for 8 years
of remarkable people and incredible experiences that completely changed my life. I had so much fun,” and also shared pics of some of his favorite memories and folks behind the scenes, including his last table read with Mooney, and, well, his “nipps.”
Holt hasn’t acknowledged the career change on her social media.
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate is poised to vote on a measure aimed at averting a government shutdown and raising the federal debt limit Monday evening, but Republicans have promised to block it.
If Monday’s vote fails, as it is expected to, Congress will be left with just four days to cobble together a government funding bill.
The measure being considered by senators Monday would extend federal funding at the current levels through early December and provide billions in emergency relief funds for Afghan refugee resettlement and Hurricane Ida relief. It also includes raising the federal debt limit through December 2022.
The debt limit must be dealt with by mid-October if lawmakers hope to avert potential financial calamity. Experts warn that failure to act could lead to the stock market crashing, rising rates for mortgages, loans and credit cards, and businesses finding it more expensive to do basic business, leading to layoffs.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen put it in stark terms in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, saying, “In a matter of days, millions of Americans could be strapped for cash.”
“Nearly 50 million seniors could stop receiving Social Security checks for a time,” she wrote. “Troops could go unpaid. Millions of families who rely on the monthly child tax credit could see delays.”
But Republicans are nearly united in their resolve to block any hike to the debt limit from moving forward, though Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy may vote to advance it because he feels his state desperately needs the hurricane relief.
On Monday, Republicans are expected to deny Democrats the 60 votes necessary to move forward on a stopgap funding bill because it would raise the debt limit.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer scolded Republicans for signaling they won’t come together to vote yes on Monday’s continuing resolution, calling their refusal “unhinged” and “radical.”
“There is no scenario on God’s green Earth where it should be worth risking millions of jobs, trillions in household wealth, people’s social security checks, veterans benefits and another recession, just to score short-term meaningless political points,” Schumer said.
“We’re facing a parade of horrible that will hurt every single American in this country,” he added.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell argued Republicans have been transparent for weeks that they will not support a continuing resolution that raises the debt ceiling.
“We will support a clean continuing resolution that will prevent a government shutdown, get disaster relief to Louisiana, help properly vetted Afghan refugees who put themselves on the line for America and support the Iron Dome assistance for our ally, Israel,” McConnell said. “We will not provide Republican votes for raising the debt limit.”
McConnell has argued that Democrats can and should be responsible for raising the debt limit on their own to offset the cost of a not-yet-passed massive social spending bill that encompasses many of President Joe Biden’s agenda items.
That social spending bill is exempt from the normal 60-vote threshold in the Senate. Democrats can pass it without any GOP support, and a raise in the debt limit should be tied to that bill, Republicans argue.
“My advice to this Democratic government, the president, the House and the Senate: Don’t play Russian roulette with our economy. Step up and raise the debt ceiling to cover all that you’ve been engaged in all year long,” McConnell said last week. “This is a totally Democratic government. They have an obligation to raise the debt ceiling, and they will do it.”
But raising the debt limit is traditionally a bipartisan objective. Senate Democrats have cried foul, alleging that McConnell is being inconsistent in his position.
Democrats worked with Republicans under the Trump administration to raise the debt limit on multiple occasions, and the limit now needs to be raised largely to pay for legislation passed during the Trump presidency. New proposals from the Biden administration haven’t yet been factored in.
“For Republicans to suddenly throw their hands in the air and abscond from their responsibility to pay debt that they proudly supported is nothing short of a dine and dash of historic proportions,” Schumer said last week. “Republicans wracked trillions of dollars in debt under President Trump and are demanding American families foot the bill.”
It’s not clear exactly how the Senate might proceed in the coming days to stop a shutdown.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested last week that Congress would likely consider a stopgap funding measure that does not impact the debt limit, buying lawmakers more time to strategize on how to proceed. McConnell said Republicans would support this.
But the clock is ticking. Democrats must address both the debt limit and government funding in the coming weeks while simultaneously juggling the fate of many of Biden’s most ambitious domestic policy priorities.
Without the 60 votes necessary to advance a debt limit hike in the Senate, lawmakers will have little choice but to include it in their massive $3.5 trillion social spending bill — but that bill’s fate is anything but certain.
In the House, moderates are threatening to withhold votes unless a separate $1 trillion infrastructure bill that passed the Senate in August clears the lower chamber. The House is expected to vote on the bipartisan bill later this week, but progressives want to see more progression the larger social bill before they lend their support to it.
Biden addressed the big week on Capitol Hill while receiving his booster shot earlier Monday.
“We’ve got three things to do: the debt ceiling, continuing resolution and the two pieces of legislation. We do that, the country is going to be in great shape,” Biden told reporters.
Echoing the president at a briefing Monday afternoon, White House press secretary Jen Psaki indicated congressional negotiations could stretch beyond this week.
“You said it could go into next week? That’s your expectations?” one reporter asked.
Alan Lancaster, original bassist of the veteran U.K. rock band Status Quo, died Saturday at age 72 after a long battle with multiple sclerosis.
Lancaster’s death was announced by Australian broadcaster Craig Bennett, who wrote on his Facebook page, “At the request of his loving and deeply cherished family, I am heartbroken to announce the passing of Alan Lancaster, British born music royalty, guitar God and founding member of iconic band, STATUS QUO.”
Lancaster played with Status Quo from the band’s 1967 inception until 1985.
A tribute to Alan posted on Status Quo’s official website notes that during his tenure with the band, “Quo opened Live Aid, sold countless tens of millions of records, appeared on [popular U.K. TV show] Top of the Pops dozens of times, and had around 30 hit singles and 30 hit albums, two thirds of which went Top 10, with five reaching Number One. That was just his UK track record.”
Lancaster also was featured on the group’s sole U.S. chart hit, the 1968 psychedelic gem “Pictures of Matchstick Men,” which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lancaster reunited with the other members of Status Quo’s classic 1970s lineup — frontman Francis Rossi, guitarist Rick Parfitt and drummer John Coghlan — known as “The Frantic Four,” for major tours in 2013 and 2014.
In homage to Lancaster, Rossi wrote, “I am so sorry to hear of Alan’s passing. We were friends and colleagues for many years and achieved fantastic success together as the Frantic Four alongside Rick Parfitt and John Coghlan. Alan was an integral part of the sound and the enormous success of Status Quo during the 60s and 70s.”
Lancaster is survived by his wife of over 40 years, Dayle, three children and five grandchildren.
(LAS VEGAS) — A 6-year-old boy whose mom told him to keep his face mask on at school is now going viral for following his mom’s instructions exactly.
Mason Peoples, a first-grade student in Las Vegas, Nevada, wore his face mask for his school photo.
The photo was shared on Facebook by his mom, Nicole Peoples, who wrote that her son had the option to take his mask off.
Peoples said her son declined and told the photographer, “No Thank you, I always listen to my mom!”
“I’m so proud of him for sticking to his word, but I should have been more clear about my rules on this day,” Peoples wrote on Facebook.
While Peoples’ photo of her son quickly went viral, Mason is not the only student who chose to keep a mask on for school photos this year, according to Matthew Comfort, an account manager for Dorian Studio, the photography studio that took Mason’s school photo.
“We’ve taken hundreds and hundreds of students this fall wearing their masks,” Comfort told “Good Morning America.” “It’s not an isolated incident.”
Comfort said that Dorian Studio first asks schools if they want to give students the option to remove their mask for their school photo. If the school allows masks to be removed for the photo, then the photographer gives each student the option.
The photographer who took Mason’s school photo on Sept. 7th, followed the guidelines correctly in giving Mason the option to take off his mask and then in following his request to leave it on, according to Comfort.
“If students don’t want to [remove their mask] because of safety concerns, we don’t push them,” she said. “[The photographer] did exactly what she was supposed to do.”
Mason’s now-viral school photo with his mask on is a sign of the times, as it is now the third school year in a row upended by the coronavirus pandemic.
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that face masks be worn at schools by both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
(NOTE LANGUAGE)Dancing with the Stars pro Cheryl Burke announced on her Instagram that although she’s vaccinated, she tested positive for COVID-19 and as such won’t appear on tonight’s show — and likely the following week’s, either.
She says learned the news on Sunday, and admitted she’d “been feeling progressively worse” before she got tested.
“I feel so bad. I feel so bad for Cody,” she said of her celebrity partner, Cody Rigsby. “I feel like I’m letting him down. I just feel like s***.”
“It’s so overwhelming,” Cheryl admitted, then tearfully continued, “I just hope I didn’t spread it. For those of you who don’t think COVID is a real thing, it’s f****** real, dude.”
Burke, 37, was said she needs to quarantine for 10 days. “I’ll be in bed,” she commented. “I can’t believe this happened.”
Burke also lamented, “I’m fully vaccinated. Fully Moderna vaccinated. This is crazy.”
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge approved a plan Monday to unconditionally release John Hinckley Jr., who had shot and wounded former President Ronald Reagan in 1981, from all remaining court-ordered restrictions, if he continues to follow rules and agrees to undergo regular mental health examinations.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said he plans on issuing his ruling on the plan later this week, the Associated Press reported.
Hinckley, who was previously granted conditional release in 2016, was allowed to stay at his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Virginia. Since then, he has been kept under regular court-ordered supervision and mandated therapy.
Hinckley, now 66, is not allowed to own a gun, contact Raegan’s children, other victims or their families, or actress Jodie Foster – who he was obsessed with at the time of the 1981 shooting.
Friedman said Hinckley could be released from all court supervision by June 2022, if he continues to follow those rules.
According to the Associated Press, Hinckley has displayed no symptoms of active mental illness, no violent behavior and no interest in weapons since 1983, said Friedman.
(NEW YORK) — Facebook announced Monday that it was pausing development of its controversial “Instagram Kids” platform meant for children under the age of 13.
“While we stand by the need to develop this experience, we’ve decided to pause this project,” Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, said in company blog post Monday. “This will give us time to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators, to listen to their concerns, and to demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today.”
“Critics of ‘Instagram Kids’ will see this as an acknowledgement that the project is a bad idea,” Mosseri added. “That’s not the case. The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today.”
He noted how YouTube and TikTok have already created versions of their apps for those under 13. Instagram’s goal was to allow parents to supervise and control their tweens’ experience on a version built for users ages 10 to 12, he said.
“We firmly believe that it’s better for parents to have the option to give their children access to a version of Instagram that is designed for them — where parents can supervise and control their experience — than relying on an app’s ability to verify the age of kids who are too young to have an ID,” Mosseri wrote.
While Instagram Kids has been paused, Mosseri said the company will continue to build opt-in parental supervision tools for teens and expects to have more to share on this in the coming months.
The “Instagram Kids” proposal has faced pushback for months. In May, a bipartisan coalition of 44 state and territory attorneys general sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg urging the company to abandon the project, citing the potential for harm to children.
Lawmakers also pressed Zuckerberg over the project during a March hearing, when he argued that there is “a large number of people under the age of 13 who would want to use a service like Instagram” and that it could provide “broadly positive” benefits such as helping young people stay connected with friends and learn about content online.
Monday’s announcement also comes in the wake of a Wall Street Journal investigation that alleged Facebook’s own internal research found Instagram harmful for young users, especially teenage girls. Facebook and Instagram have argued the reporting mischaracterizes what they are trying to do and that research also shows positive benefits.
“Recent reporting from the WSJ on our research into teen’s experiences on Instagram has raised a lot of questions for people,” Mosseri wrote Monday. “To be clear, I don’t agree with how the Journal has reported on our research.”
“We do research like this so we can make Instagram better,” he added. “That means our insights often shed light on problems, but they inspire new ideas and changes to Instagram.”
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle did not seem appeased by Facebook’s announcement.
“Pausing Instagram kids is not enough,” Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colorado, wrote on Twitter Monday. “They need to abolish the program completely.”
Another vocal critic of the project, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said on Twitter, “Facebook is heeding our calls to stop plowing ahead with plans to launch a version of Instagram for kids. But a ‘pause’ is insufficient.”
“Facebook must completely abandon this project,” Markey added
Maybe this is the result of Adele dating a sports agent? One of her number-one hits is now being used by the NFL to promote an upcoming game.
The ad ran during Sunday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, and promoted next week’s Sunday Night Football match up between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots. This is a big deal because it’ll mark the first time quarterback Tom Brady returns to Massachusetts’ Gillette Stadium as a member of an opposing team since he left the Patriots in 2020.
That’s why, evidently, the NFL picked Adele’s “Hello” as the music for the ad, which has been edited down to 45 seconds of appropriate lyrics.
“Hello, it’s me,” she sings, as we see images of Brady and Patriots coach BillBelichick.
“I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet,” she continues, as we see six Patriots championship banners unfurl.
“So hello from the other side,” she sings, as we see Brady running onto the field in his Bucs uniform. “At least I can say that I’ve tried.”
Then, more scenes of Brady in action as a Buccaneer are shown, followed by footage of Patriots fans, Gillette Stadium and Belichick. One Pats fan holds a sign that says, “We’re still here.”
“It don’t matter, it clearly doesn’t tear you apart anymore,” Adele finishes. Cue Brady looking up expectantly.
The showdown, which the NFL is calling “The Return,” happens this Sunday on NBC at 7 p.m. ET.
Silversun Pickups have announced a batch of headlining tour dates for this fall.
The outing is set to kick off November 1 in Minneapolis, and will wrap up November 21 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tickets go on sale this Friday, October 1, at 10 a.m. local time.
A federal jury has found singer R. Kelly guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking involving interactions with six women, among them the late singer Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in 2001.
The verdict came in Monday afternoon after two days of deliberations following a six-week trial in Brooklyn federal court. Kelly’s face was concealed by a mask as the verdict was read, making it difficult to see what reaction he may have had.
Kelly, 54, whose birth name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, had pleaded not guilty to all charges and told a Brooklyn judge that he would not testify. He now awaits sentencing.
Kelly previously avoided prison in 2008 when he was acquitted on 14 counts in a highly publicized child pornography case. However, this time around, the jury believed Kelly was the ringleader of a criminal enterprise that bolstered his music, his image and his sexual gratification by recruiting women and girls for sex, holding them against their will and threatening them if they misbehaved.
