13-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams has written and produced music for a who’s who of music, including Prince, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, and dozens more stars. Few people in music have a more impressive resume. Of all the special artists he’s worked with, he declares one legend as the greatest of all time.
“Charlie Wilson is the GOAT, bro. Charlie Wilson, the Gap Band, he tells Variety. “My parents used to play that music, and it’s always been an honor to work with Uncle Charlie.”
Pharrell and Wilson have recorded several songs together, including “That Girl” from Pharrell’s 2006 debut solo album, In My Mind. They’ve also released five collabs with Snoop Dogg, led by the 2003 platinum single, “Beautiful,” which is a staple of Charlie’s concert list.
In 2013, Pharrell joined Snoop and Timberlake in performing a tribute to the former Gap Band lead singer when Wilson was honored for Lifetime Achievement at the 13th annual BET Awards.
Charlie is a favorite for hip-hop features, and Pharrell is thrilled that many other artists are embracing the 68-year-old icon.
“Seeing him get his flowers so many times with Kanye and Tyler, the Creator,” he continues, “and just continuing to be out there, still doing it and sounding amazing.”
Say “Hello” to the latest business venture from Lionel Richie: a new flavor of super-premium ice cream.
Lionel has teamed with Tyra Banks‘ new gourmet ice cream brand SMiZE Cream to create his own flavor, dubbed “All Night Love.” It features flavors that Lionel grew up loving: vanilla ice cream, Midnight cookie crumble swirls and a salted caramel ribbon, plus milk chocolate-covered fudge hearts, which were Tyra’s suggestion.
There’s also a SMiZE SURPRiZE hidden inside: a “caramel-scotch” cookie-dough truffle. The container for the flavor comes with a QR code that links to videos featuring Tyra and Lionel, as well as an illustrated version of Lionel that comes alive via Augmented Reality.
Tyra, a huge fan of Lionel’s who even appeared in one of his videos back in the day, says, “His music and presence light up any room. And now, Lionel’s delectable ice cream flavor will light up your palate!”
Lionel, who actually helped create the frozen concoction, notes, “I am so happy to have some of my favorite hometown tastes featured in my very own SMiZE Cream flavor. It’s been fun to work with the incredible Tyra Banks and to be able to share this special treat with everyone.”
You can pre-order “All Night Love” now; it starts shipping on September 8.
Graham Nash has had a passion for photography since he was a child, and now the 79-year-old folk-rock legend has curated a collection of photos he’s taken throughout his long life for a new book that will be released on November 16.
A Life in Focus: The Photography of Graham Nash will include photos of his family, friends and musical associates, self-portraits and images of artwork he’s created, as well as commentary he’s written to accompany the pics.
“I’m four months from being 80 years old,” Nash tells Rolling Stone. “I just wanted a collection of my images that turned me on. I’m basically the same as everybody else — if it turns me on, it will probably turn you on, too.”
A Life in Focus features images spanning from photos he snapped of his mother when he was growing up in the U.K. to pics of himself that he took recently at a doctor’s office. The book also includes pics of such famous friends, collaborators and musical contemporaries as Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Mama Cass Elliot, Leon Russell, Bonnie Raitt, his ex-girlfriend Joni Mitchell and his former band mates David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Neil Young.
Regarding his approach to taking photos, Graham tells Rolling Stone, “I want to be invisible. I don’t want people to know that I’m taking their image. I always want to look like James Dean and Tony Curtis, someone cool…[I]n most of these shots, these people never knew I was there.”
The book features a preface written by famous filmmaker and music journalist Cameron Crowe, and a foreword penned by Nash’s friend, veteran rock photographer Joel Bernstein.
The wait for Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is almost over! The film hits theaters for preview screenings tonight but until then, Meng’er Zhang, who stars as Shang-Chi’s butt-kicking sister, gave ABC Audio a preview of what to expect.
“It’s a film about family. It’s a film about bond and love. We have a lot of drama, good comedy and countless breathtaking action sequences in it,” the actress spilled. “And I mean, it’s just it’s unlike anything you have ever seen in the Marvel Universe, right?”
Also unlike anything seen before, Shang-Chi is Marvel’s first Asian superhero movie and it was important to avoid the typical stereotypes when it comes to Asian characters on screen — so much so that they ditched over a month’s worth of content.
Explaining that her character once had red extensions, Zhang said, “…One day I read an article from Teen Vogue talking about how Asian female characters in Hollywood films, they always had some color in their hair to show that they’re a rebel, to show that they can fight, to show that they are tough. And I don’t want my character to follow that trend. So I called our director, Destin [Cretton], and asked him if we could take that out. And just the next day we took it out.”
Another first is that Shang-Chi is Zhang’s first film and its also the first time she’s done martial arts training — which is what might have contributed to her punching co-star Simu Liu in the face.
“I didn’t mean to! It was an accident… but I did enjoy it,” she said with a laugh.
(NEW ORLEANS) — At least 12 people, including seven children, were hospitalized in New Orleans on Wednesday with carbon monoxide poisoning after using a generator indoors, according to the New Orleans Emergency Medical Services.
Four days after Hurricane Ida tore across the Gulf, more than 1 million people in Louisiana and Mississippi are currently stranded without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us.
On Wednesday, the heat index in Louisiana peaked to what felt like 100 degrees. Some turned to portable generators for the power to cool down indoors.
If used improperly, generators indoors can cause carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the New Orleans Emergency Medical Services.
The New Orleans Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness announced Wednesday that eight cooling centers across the city will run through Friday.
Charging stations, water and air conditioning are provided on site, according to a release.
More than 20,000 electric workers have worked to help restore power in the area, power company Entergy New Orleans said.
Entergy, which provides power to more than 1 million customers in the greater Baton Rouge area, said that crews were able to restore power to one of the eight transmission lines in New Orleans on Wednesday, returning power to nearly 85,000 customers in eastern New Orleans.
(LAPLACE, La.) — After the devastating Hurricane Ida tore across the state last weekend, communities in Louisiana and beyond are rallying to support their friends and neighbors.
In LaPlace, Louisiana, local volunteers Desiree Nye and Hunter Louque helped Darrin Heisser and his dog, Sonny, evacuate from their flooded home.
Help is not only coming from next door, but also from across the country.
Over in Texas, which borders Louisiana, Gallery Furniture posted a sign that says, “Louisiana residents sleep here free.”
The store is collecting donations and has already raised $24,000 for Louisiana residents so far.
Nonprofit organization Operation BBQ Relief traveled to Hammond, Louisiana, to make as many as 50,000 meals a day for those in need.
Co-founder Stan Hays said it’s the small actions that can sometimes have the biggest impact for folks in need.
“Our team’s putting together some hot BBQ meals to serve to the first responders and those in the community affected by Hurricane Ida. Many of those without water, without power, are just trying to get by right now,” Hays said. “And a little bit of comfort food goes a long way.”
(PATERSON, N.J) — Dafani Peralta said she had to drop out of high school when she became pregnant 12 years ago and didn’t have the support of her mom to continue her education.
“I saw that my mom didn’t even care about my education. She was really mad at me because I was pregnant,” Peralta, now 28, told “Good Morning America.” “It was really hard for me because I had my friends there and I wanted a better future for my daughter.”
Peralta, of Paterson, New Jersey, was 15 when she gave birth to her daughter, Viarnneyra.
She and her daughter bounced between family members’ homes, with Peralta struggling to find a job because she lacked day care for her daughter.
“Everything was new that first year, just the responsibility and trying to keep my baby alive,” she said. “I wasn’t really thinking about education that first year but as she got older, I wanted to [go back to school] to help her education at home.”
When Viarnneyra entered pre-K, Peralta decided to work on finishing her high school degree, but by that time, she also had a 1-year-old son with her now-husband.
Peralta started at a school that also had day care for her son, but then faced additional obstacles, including becoming pregnant with her third child.
“I was struggling with the transportation because I’d have to walk my daughter to school and then wait at the bus stop for 45 minutes to an hour in snow and rain to get to school,” she said. “While pregnant, for me, that was too difficult.”
After Peralta gave birth, she said she returned to school but due to lack of child care availability, had to take her infant to a relative’s house while she took her middle child with her to school.
“I had to take my daughter to school, walk with the stroller to the bus stop to go to drop one off and then take another bus and go to school [with the other child],” she said. “It was too much and sometimes I didn’t have money for the bus.”
Peralta tried to return to school again when her children got older, but she said she was beset by more obstacles, including one of her sons being diagnosed with autism.
“There were a lot of situations going on and I had to give up something and I gave up my education to focus on my kids,” said Peralta, who would go on to have six children in total. “I really love my kids and enjoy being with them at home but I really felt that I wanted [an education] to go forward.”
“Every time I’d go to get a job, they always ask for a high school diploma and I didn’t have it,” she said. “And I couldn’t give [my kids] simple things like help them with their math or their homework because I don’t understand. It was really frustrating.”
This summer, with her kids now ages 12, 10, 8, 7, 5 and 4, Peralta decided that she was going to get her high school equivalency diploma, or GED, no matter what it took.
She said she realized now was the time to do it because, due to the coronavirus pandemic, she could take the courses at home, and not have to worry about commuting or finding full-time child care for her kids.
“I was asking God for this opportunity to do it from home, from the computer, and I thought it was an impossible thing to happen, but I asked anyways,” said Peralta. “I thought this is the time and I’m not going to quit this time.”
Peralta said she also felt like she received a sign that now was the time to do it when her sister-in-law volunteered to spend her vacation with the family so that she could watch the kids while Peralta studied and her husband worked.
Over the course of one month this summer, Peralta took online classes through the Spanish High School Equivalency (S-HSE) program at Paterson Adult & Continuing Education (P.A.C.E.) in New Jersey.
“They gave us one month of class that is normally taught in three months, so it was intensive,” Peralta said. “I took it seriously because I thought this was the opportunity of my life. I thought I’m not going to take it for granted. Now that my sister-in-law was there, I had no excuses.”
Peralta’s teachers at P.A.C.E. say they noticed her determination right away.
“The first thing she said was, ‘I am a 28-year-old woman with six children and my goal is to graduate,'” recalled Vilma Carranza, a teacher in the S-HSE program. “I noticed that the more work I gave her, the more effort she put into it. She really put her mind and her heart into what she was doing.”
In July, Peralta was one of nine students out of an original class of 20 to graduate and earn her GED from the New Jersey Department of Education, according to Carranza.
“The program is very rigorous. It’s not a simple, easy class to pass,” said Carranza. “And she was superb.”
Peralta said receiving her high school diploma not only fulfilled a lifelong personal goal for herself, but also helped her fulfill the goal of being an example for her children.
“I want them to see what their minds can do,” she said. “I don’t have to just say to go to school and graduate, I’m doing it.”
The day that Peralta learned she had passed all of her exams, her oldest daughter Viarnneyra, with whom she became pregnant in high school, was the first to celebrate her mom’s accomplishment.
“The day that I told her that I passed all of my tests, she said we had to go to a bakery and celebrate it because she saw all my hard work,” said Peralta. “She said, ‘I’d go to your room and you were studying. It was nighttime and you were still studying. I saw the hard work and now we have to celebrate it.'”
Now that Peralta has her GED, she is looking into taking online college courses and her husband, an electrician, is going to pursue his high school degree, also at P.A.C.E.
“We have struggled so much as a family,” said Peralta, adding that now she and her husband can show their children “what’s possible.” “Now we have opportunity, but it took us a long [time].”
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 639,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 61.3% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing Wednesday. All times Eastern:
Sep 01, 6:54 pm
US hospital admissions could surge to 22,000 a day by late September: CDC
On average, approximately 12,200 Americans are being admitted to the hospital each day with COVID-19. The forecast models used by the CDC suggest that by Sept. 27, that number could surge to as high as 22,400 a day.
The lower end of the forecast puts the daily hospital admissions at around 6,400.
There are signs the rate of hospital admission nationwide may be slowing, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting hospital admissions will likely “remain stable or have an uncertain trend over the next 4 weeks.”
Kentucky currently tops the list of states expected to see the most hospital admissions, per capita, in the next two weeks, followed by Florida and Georgia.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulous
Sep 01, 6:08 pm
Medical, pharmaceutical associations call for ‘immediate’ end of prescribing deworming drug ivermectin for COVID-19
The American Medical Association, American Pharmacists Association and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists are calling for an “immediate end” to prescribing, dispensing or using the deworminig drug ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19.
Ivermectin is available in different formulations for both people and animals to treat parasites. It is not approved to treat or prevent COVID-19, nor is there enough evidence to support its use. Though amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the U.S., internal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed by ABC News estimates a 19-fold increase of the medicine being distributed during the first week of August, alongside an increase in reported cases of illness related to ivermectin toxicity.
The prescribing and dispensing of ivermectin has increased 24-fold since before the pandemic, according to the medical and pharmaceutical associations, which said in a joint statement they were “alarmed” by an exponential increase in recent months as well.
“[We] are urging physicians, pharmacists, and other prescribers — trusted healthcare professionals in their communities — to warn patients against the use of ivermectin outside of FDA-approved indications and guidance, whether intended for use in humans or animals, as well as purchasing ivermectin from online stores,” the associations said. “Veterinary forms of this medication are highly concentrated for large animals and pose a significant toxicity risk for humans.”
-ABC News’ Sony Salzman
Sep 01, 5:37 pm
Moderna submits data to FDA on vaccine booster
Moderna has submitted initial data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on its vaccine booster, the pharmaceutical company announced Wednesday.
Its booster candidate would be half the dose (50 micrograms) of the original dosing (two shots of 100 micrograms each).
Federal officials have said they hope to begin administering booster shots for many Americans starting on Sept. 20, with the third shot at least eight months after the second.
The FDA has only authorized booster shots of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines for people who are immunocompromised. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent advisory board also recommended booster shots for those with weakened immune systems.
Pfizer is also seeking authorization for a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA announced Wednesday it will hold a public meeting of its independent advisory committee on Sept. 17 to discuss the application.
-ABC News’ Eric Strauss
Sep 01, 3:18 pm
Schools still safe amid delta if guidelines are followed: CDC
Even with the delta variant, schools are still safe for children if guidelines are followed, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday at a town hall with the National Parent Teacher Association.
For the most part, Walensky said, “there’s more disease happening outside of school than there is happening within a school.”
Walensky, a mother of three, said she understands why parents are anxious.
But she added, “What we do know is when we implement the guidance for safe schools — we implement the masking, the ventilation strategies, the cohorting and the screening strategies — that we can have our kids be safe.”
American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. Lee Beers said at the town hall that it’s still a very small percentage of children who get severely sick. The U.S. saw 200,000 cases among kids in the last week with about 2,000 of them hospitalized, Beers said.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Sep 01, 12:50 pm
Hospitalizations at highest point in over 7 months
With nearly 104,000 hospitalized, U.S. hospitalizations are now at the highest point in more than seven months, according to federal data.
Alabama’s ICUs remain 100% full while Georgia’s ICUs are over 96% full, federal data show.
Nearly 1,000 COVID-19 deaths are now being reported in the U.S. each day, the highest average in more than five months.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Sep 01, 11:38 am
Booster shots start in France
Booster shots are beginning in France on Wednesday.
Eligible recipients include people over the age of 65 and people with underlying health conditions. They must be at least six months out from their second Pfizer or Moderna shot.
Those who received the single-dose J&J vaccine are also eligible to receive an mRNA booster if at least four weeks have passed since they were vaccinated.
As of Tuesday, 65.6% of France’s total population was fully vaccinated.
Sep 01, 10:42 am
Pfizer studying new pill in hopes it’ll help with mild COVID symptoms
Pfizer is launching a large clinical study for a new pill that it hopes could prevent worse symptoms for patients with mild COVID-19.
The first participant has now been dosed in this “pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trial,” Pfizer said.
Drugs like Remdesivir and Dexamethasone can help people recover faster, but those are only reserved for people who are extremely ill and in the hospital.
If proven effective, Pfizer will ask the FDA for authorization.
Sep 01, 9:52 am
Virginia Tech disenrolls 134 students who didn’t meet vaccination policy
Virginia Tech says 134 students have been disenrolled after they didn’t comply with COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
The university’s roughly 37,000 students were required to submit vaccination documentation or receive a medical or religious exemption, Virginia Tech said.
“The university does not know whether any of these [134] students were not planning to return for reasons unrelated to the COVID-19 vaccine requirement,” Virginia Tech said.
Sep 01, 9:19 am
TSA screens lowest number of travelers since May
Just 1,345,064 travelers were screened at U.S. airports on Tuesday, the lowest since May 18 when 1,408,017 were screened, the TSA said.
United CEO Scott Kirby said Monday he thinks holiday travel will return to normal.
Sep 01, 8:52 am
San Diego County declares medical misinformation a public health crisis
San Diego has become the first county in the U.S. to declare that health misinformation is causing a public health crisis in its community. This follows the County Board of Supervisors’ 3-2 vote Tuesday night.
Changes to county strategy to combat the pandemic will include: labeling health misinformation and providing timely health information to counter it; modernizing public health communications; investigating in digital resources and training for health practitioners and health workers; and developing a website to be a central resource for fighting health misinformation.
The new policy was introduced when 96.7% of hospitalizations in San Diego County were residents who were not fully vaccinated.
Aug 31, 8:01 pm
Gene Simmons tests positive for COVID, KISS postpones shows
KISS co-lead singer Gene Simmons tested positive for COVID-19, the band shared on its Twitter page Tuesday evening.
In a statement, the band said the 72-year-old was experiencing “mild symptoms.”
His diagnoses comes less than a week after co-lead singer Paul Stanley, 69, tested positive for COVID-19 as well.
In a statement released on Aug. 26, the band said that, “everyone on the entire tour, both band and crew, are fully vaccinated.”
KISS has postponed four of its “End of the Road” tour shows from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5.
“The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next 10 days,” the band said in a statement.
Aug 31, 6:56 pm
2 officials working on COVID-19 vaccine review to leave FDA
Peter Marks, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), announced the upcoming departure of two top vaccine regulators to his staff in an internal memo, which was obtained by ABC News.
Dr. Marion Gruber, director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR) and her deputy, Dr. Phil Krause, are set to leave the agency in October and November respectively, according to the memo.
Krause, who’s been with the agency for over a decade, and Gruber, who has been with the FDA for over 30 years, were instrumental in the review and authorization of the three COVID-19 vaccines, the memo said.
The memo said that Gruber will be “retiring” and gave no other details about Krause’s departure.
ABC News has reached out to both Gruber and Krause for comment.
When reached for comment about their departure, an FDA spokesperson told ABC News the agency is “confident in the expertise and ability of our staff to continue our critical public health work, including evaluating COVID-19 vaccines.”
Their departures come at a critical time for the vaccine review team. After facing pressure to move as fast as possible to get vaccines’ full licensure done, the agency is now weighing booster shots for a wider pool of Americans.
The timing of the booster shot approval has been a bone of contention amongst federal agencies after the Biden administration announced the availability of booster shots would begin ahead of any ruling from the FDA or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory groups.
Aug 31, 4:57 pm
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s wife out of ICU
Jacqueline Jackson, the wife of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, is out of the ICU as both Jacksons continue to fight COVID-19, their family said.
“Our father remains at The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab where he is continuing to receive intensive occupational and physical therapy,” their son, Jonathan Jackson, said in a statement Tuesday.
Jesse Jackson, who is 79 and has Parkinson’s disease, was vaccinated, reported ABC Chicago station WLS.
“Our mother remains in the Northwestern Memorial Hospital and has been moved out of the ICU and back into her regular hospital room where she continues to receive oxygen,” the statement said. “Both of our parents are continuing to receive excellent medical care and we thank God for the progress that both seem to be making.”
Aug 31, 4:24 pm
Vaccination rate nearly double than it was in mid-July
The U.S. vaccination rate per day is now nearly double than it was in mid-July, according to the White House.
“Back in mid-July we were averaging 500,000 vaccinations per day. Today, we’re averaging 900,000,” White House COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters Tuesday. “Last week we got over 6 million shots, the biggest weekly total since July 5.”
The increase in vaccinations comes amid fear about the rapidly spreading delta variant.
The delta variant, which is more transmissible, has also been part of the conversation around booster shots of the mRNA and J&J vaccines. The Biden administration said Americans would need a third shot eight months after their second because of waning immunity.
The Biden administration is standing by its decision to call for vaccine boosters beginning Sept. 20 despite questions about whether there’s enough data and the unusual process of announcing a plan before the FDA has evaluated the data and made a recommendation.
In addition to painting the town, Twenty One Pilots are painting the Billboard charts.
The duo’s current single, “Saturday,” has hit number one on the Alternative Airplay ranking, giving Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun a total of nine leaders on the tally.
Twenty One Pilots now have the sixth-most Alternative Airplay number-ones in the history of the chart, which first began in 1988. Red Hot Chili Peppers have the most, with 13.
“Saturday” appears on the new Twenty One Pilots Scaled and Icy, which was released in May. The record’s lead single, “Shy Away,” also hit number one on Alternative Airplay.
Twenty One Pilots will perform “Saturday” on this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, airing September 12. The video for “Shy Away” is nominated in the Best Alternative category.
“Scream,” which is available now via digital formats, is a stripped-down yet upbeat tune that kicks off the album.
“Many of the songs on this album are about the work and discipline it takes in maintaining a long-term relationship,” Buckingham explains in a press statement. “Some of them are more about the discipline and some of them are more about the perks. ‘Scream’ is about the perks. It felt very celebratory and it was also very, very simple and short. To the point.”
He adds, “It made its case and got the hell out. It just seemed like a good place to start the album, somehow. It’s very upbeat and very optimistic and very positive. It’s a celebration of an aspect of life.”
As previously reported, the upcoming album is Buckingham’s first solo studio effort since 2011’s Seeds We Sow and his seventh overall.
The 10-song collection, which Buckingham wrote, produced and recorded at his home studio in Los Angeles, will be available on CD, as a vinyl LP, and on digital and streaming platforms.
The release of “Scream” coincides with the launch of Buckingham’s new U.S. tour, kicking off tonight in Milwaukee. This marks the first time that Lindsey will be playing in-person concerts since he underwent emergency heart surgery in February 2019.
In other news, Buckingham contributed acoustic guitar to a song called “Darling” from pop star Halsey‘s recently released album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power.
