(NEW YORK) — Hugh Jackman urged fans to wear sunscreen when revealing Monday he recently underwent a skin biopsy after his doctor noticed something “a little irregular” on his skin.
The Australian actor shared a video to social media in which he pulled down his mask and showed his bandaged nose. While assuring fans that he’ll be OK, Jackman stressed the importance of wearing sunscreen on a daily basis.
“I just want to let you know, I just went to see … my amazing dermatologists and doctors, and they saw something that was a little irregular,” the Greatest Showman star explained while indicating to his bandaged nose. “So they took a biopsy, and they’re getting it checked.”
Jackman, 52, thanked fans for their concern and assured them they need not “freak out,” promising to keep everyone updated.
“They think it’s probably fine,” he continued. “But remember: Go and get a check and wear sunscreen. Don’t be like me as a kid, just wear sunscreen.”
The actor revealed in a 2015 interview with ABC News that he spent most of his childhood playing in the hot Australian sun and neglected to wear sunscreen. He was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, in 2013.
In the years since, Jackman continued to remind fans of the importance of sunscreen and revealed in 2016 that he had to undergo another biopsy.
“An example of what happens when you don’t wear sunscreen. Basal Cell. The mildest form of cancer but serious, nonetheless. PLEASE USE SUNSCREEN and get regular check-ups,” he wrote at the time.
In 2017, he shared a similar message about his ongoing battle with skin cancer and credited his “frequent checks” for catching it early.
The Mayo Clinic says basal cell carcinoma is believed to be caused by long-term exposure to UV sunlight and says the best way to prevent it is to wear sunscreen.
Music mogul Sean Combs has reinvented himself and his name numerous times since the 1990s. The artist went from Puff Daddy to P. Diddy and now he’s embracing his new middle name “Love.”
In the September cover story for Vanity Fair, Combs describes the Puff Daddy era as “this young, brash, bold hip-hop, unapologetic swagger on a million and just fearlessness and really doing it for the art and rooted.” He adds, “When I changed names, I put periods on those eras.”
The 51-year-old is predominately known for launching his legendary label Bad Boy Records and signing artists such as TheNotorius B.I.G., Junior M.A.F.I.A., Lil’ Kim, Faith Evans and 112, among others. Although the Bad Boy era brought him Grammys and plenty of hit records, it also led to a beef between Biggie and Tupac and the latter’s L.A.-based label, Death Row Records.
“Puff Daddy had just got through East-West war,” Combs says. “Nobody wanted to get in the room with me. They thought they was going to get shot.”
After that period, Combs notes about how his Diddy era began, “I wanted to get into other businesses. And so Biggie had called me Diddy because of my bop, the way I walk, my swagger, and they got something called the diddy bop that…was something before me. That’s the diddy bop. It’s the way a brother would walk around, walk down the street.”
Since those days, Combs has expanded his empire and influence over music and culture with his Sean John fashion brand, branding partnerships with liquor companies, and his “all R&B label.”
“I am the happiest I’ve ever been in life,” Combs says. “I laugh the most, I smile the most, I breathe the most.”
Rise Against‘s “Nowhere Generation” has found a home at the top of the charts.
The lead single and title track off the punk outfit’s new album has hit number one on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay tally, the first Rise Against tune to ever achieve that feat. In addition to boasting a rousing, instantly singalong-able chorus, “Nowhere Generation” the single gives Nowhere Generation the album one of its central themes with the line, “We are not the names that we’ve been given.”
“They were talking about resisting the urge to let somebody else define you, and define who you are,” frontman Tim McIlrath tells ABC Audio of the “Nowhere Generation” lyrics.
“Where you fit into the world, what the world looks like, what the world’s going to look like, whether you like it or not, the rules you have to play by to be a part of it,” he continues. “You know, ‘These are the things that we’ve done, so therefore these are the things you have to do to get where we are.'”
McIlrath wanted the song to reflect the real-world “rejection” of the idea of “letting previous generations define you, to name you.”
“When you take back your own definition and your own route to success, you kind of rename yourself, in a way,” he says. “You don’t let somebody else name you.”
Interestingly, the word “name” pops up in four other Nowhere Generation songs. Specifically with the song “Nowhere Generation,” McIlrath wanted the message to feel “a little more dangerous.”
“Like, ‘You keep calling me that, but that’s not who I am,'” he says.
Dee Snider released his latest solo album this past week, Leave a Scar, which the Twisted Sister frontman says is a true follow-up to his 2018 studio effort, For the Love of Metal.
Like For the Love of Metal, Leave a Scar finds Snider collaborating with Hatebreed‘s Jamey Jasta and exploring heavier, contemporary metal sounds.
Snider notes that while he left songwriting duties to Jasta and other collaborators for his previous album, with Leave a Scar, he felt motivated to co-write the new tunes, inspired by the state of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was very much driven by ‘I need to say something,'” Snider tells ABC Audio. “This record is of the time. Every song is inspired by what’s going on in the world, and what [we’re]…all going through.”
He adds, “It was the pandemic. It was the social unrest, the political unrest in the world. I mean, our country was a mess, but it was going on in England and Brazil and all around the globe.”
While the songs on Leave a Scar tackle some heavy subjects, Snider says he also wanted the tunes to offer messages of hope for people dealing with the frustration of life during the pandemic.
The album kicks off with “I Gotta Rock (Again),” a song in the tradition of Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock,” only much heavier, that also serves as an anthem for rock fans itching to go to live concerts again.
“By the middle of COVID, ‘I Gotta Rock (Again)’ popped in my head and I said, ‘Boy, if there was ever a Dee Snider title, that’s [one] right there,” he explains. “[I]t was supposed to be an anthem. It was supposed to be a sledgehammer. And I’m hoping it achieves its goal.”
Legendary soul vocal group The Spinners will release their first new studio album in over 30 years, ‘Round the Block and Back Again, on August 27.
In advance of the album, which you can pre-order now, the band has released a pair of singles, “Cliché” and “In Holy Matrimony,” as digital downloads and via streaming services.
The Spinners’ current lineup is led by the group’s sole surviving original member, Henry Fambrough, and also features Jessie Peck, Marvin Taylor, Ronnie Moss and C.J. Jefferson.
‘Round the Block and Back Again was produced by Preston Glass, who started his music career as a staff writer for legendary Philly soul producer Thom Bell. Bell was The Spinners’ producer during the group’s 1970s heyday and co-wrote a number of their big hits, including “I’ll Be Around” and “Rubberband Man.”
“I wanted to emphasize to the listener that these guys are the real deal — still, today, with a virtually new lineup,” says Glass. “And the phrase ‘Round the Block and Back Again’ came to my mind when describing this project and these gentlemen.”
He adds, “It was so inspiring for me to produce and write songs for this new album and I was honored that original member, Henry Fambrough, still leading the group through its vocal paces, gave the stamp of approval to do so.”
The Spinners have dozens of concerts on their schedule, including a show this Friday, August 6, in South Park Township, Pennsylvania. Visit TheSpinners.com to check out their full itinerary.
Here’s the album’s track list:
“I’m in My Prime”
“Cliché”
“Bedroom Butta”
“Missing Your Embrace”
“Down for the Count”
“So Much In Love”
“Show Me Your Heart”
“Vivid Memories”
“Love Never Changes”
“Leftover Tears”
“I’m Looking for My Baby”
“Only Want You”
“In Holy Matrimony”
Jennifer Aniston revealed that she cut ties with “a few people” who refused to get the COVID-19 shot.
Speaking to InStyle for their September cover issue, the Morning Show star expressed disbelief that some people choose to believe in hoaxes rather than research from accredited scientists and health experts.
“There’s still a large group of people who are anti-vaxxers or just don’t listen to the facts. It’s a real shame,” she remarked. “It’s tricky because everyone is entitled to their own opinion — but a lot of opinions don’t feel based in anything except fear or propaganda.”
Aniston, 52, then revealed she “lost a few people in my weekly routine who have refused or did not disclose [whether or not they had been vaccinated].”
“It was unfortunate,” the Golden Globe winner admitted before making a case why people should be comfortable with revealing whether or not they were vaccinated, adding, “I feel it’s your moral and professional obligation to inform, since we’re not all podded up and being tested every single day.”
Earlier in the interview, Aniston spoke about how she came to reset herself during the pandemic and revealed, “My level of anxiety has gone down by eliminating the unnecessary sort of fat in life that I had thought was necessary. Also realizing that you can’t please everybody.”
Aniston also expressed sympathy for Britney Spears and reflected on how she was mistreated by the media.
Saying the paparazzi was “feeding on young, impressionable girls,” the actress explained how the “Toxic” singer was manipulated because she was still figuring out who she was.
“They were being defined by this outside source,” she said. “The media took advantage of that, capitalized on them, and it ultimately cost them their sanity. It’s so heartbreaking.”
Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(ST. LOUIS, Mo.) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday that he had pardoned Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who were charged with waving guns at a group of Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home last year.
Mark McCloskey was seen holding a semi-automatic rifle while his wife was holding a handgun on their property on June 28, 2020, as a group of protesters passed by their house, prosecutors said. The couple were filmed shouting “Get out” to the crowd, but there was no physical confrontation between them and the protesters.
They contended they were protecting their property during the protests.
Several prominent conservative leaders, including President Donald Trump, defended the couple. The McCloskeys were guest speakers at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
A grand jury indicted the couple in October and Pearson told reporters he would consider pardoning them.
The couple pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and harassment charges in June. They surrendered their weapons and Patricia McCloskey was fined $2,000 while her husband was fined $750.
When Judge David Mason asked Mark McCloskey if he acknowledged that his actions put people at risk of personal injury, McCloskey replied, “I sure did, your honor.”
Mark McCloskey, who announced in May he was running for U.S. Senate, told reporters outside the courthouse after the hearing that he’d do it again.
“Any time the mob approaches me, I’ll do what I can to put them in imminent threat of physical injury because that’s what kept them from destroying my house and my family,” he said.
The couple and the governor didn’t immediately provide statements about the pardons.
(WASHINGTON) — The president took aim Tuesday at local officials, including the governors of Florida and Texas, over laws that prevented public health measures in the wake of surging COVID-19 cases.
“I say to these governors: please help, but you aren’t going to help at least get out of the way,” President Joe Biden said. “The people are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”
Biden called out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, states which Biden said account for one-third of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
“And worst of all, some state officials are passing laws or signing orders that forbid people from doing the right thing. As of now, seven states not only banned mask mandates, but also banned them in their school districts, even for young children who cannot get vaccinated,” Biden said.
Abbott issued an executive order on Thursday that banned mask mandates and other operating mandates in Texas.
“They have the individual right and responsibility to decide for themselves and their children whether they will wear masks, open their businesses, and engage in leisure activities,” Abbott said in a statement about the order Thursday. “Vaccines, which remain in abundant supply, are the most effective defense against the virus, and they will always remain voluntary — never forced — in the State of Texas.”
DeSantis has stuck to a long-time promise not to impose a mask mandate in Florida. Both states have also moved to ban institutions from requiring vaccinations.
In response to a question from a reporter, Biden criticized the measures as “bad” policy. This comes as the two states see surges in cases and hospitalizations.
“I believe the results of their decisions are not good for their constituents,” Biden said. “And it’s clear to me, and to most medical experts, that the decisions being made, like not allowing mask mandates in school and the like, are bad health policy.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki had a similar sentiment during a press briefing earlier Tuesday, calling out “extreme” measures.
“In fact, the most extreme of these measures is in Texas where … a professor or teacher can be fined if they ask a student if they are vaccinated or if they ask unvaccinated students to wear masks. And I think the fundamental question we have is: What are we doing here?”
Psaki noted the need for unity in the fight against the virus, and even praised most Republican governments who she said are “doing exactly the right thing … and taking steps to advocate for more people to get vaccinated.”
“But if you aren’t going to help, if you aren’t going to abide by public health guidance, then get out of the way and let people do the right thing to lead in their communities, whether they are teachers, university leaders, private sector leaders or others who are trying to save lives,” Psaki said.
Psaki also highlighted that the White House has extended offers of federal support to the two hard-hit states.
“Teams from (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and (Health and Human Services) are in contact with Florida officials to offer technical assistance and support,” Psaki said. “We’re also engaged with the governor’s office in Texas and the state health department to discuss the state of the pandemic there and how we can offer specific assistance, as well as Louisiana.”
Asked by a reporter whether the states had accepted the federal support, Psaki said that it is a “discussion,” and said that they are talking to the states about how the government “can provide additional assistance.”
ABC News’ Molly Nagle and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
As previously reported, the collection was personally curated by McCartney and includes covers or remixes of McCartney III tracks by Beck, Blur‘s Damon Albarn, Queens of the Stone Age‘s Josh Homme, Radiohead‘s Ed O’Brien, Anderson .Paak, St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers and others.
The album sold 21,000 copies in the U.S. during the week ending July 29, according to MRC Data, driven by its release on CD, vinyl LP and cassette. Of that 21,000 sales figure, 16,100 were vinyl LPs, 4,300 were CDs and about 300 were cassettes.
McCartney III Imagined is the former Beatles legend’s third album to peak at #1 on the Top Album Sales tally in the chart’s 30-year history, following Egypt Station in 2018 and McCartney III in early 2021.
The album got its initial release in digital formats back in April. During its first week, it debuted at #60 on Top Album Sales, after selling 2,200 downloads.
(WASHINGTON) — Amid pressure from progressive Democrats who have called on the White House to extend the eviction moratorium, and as millions of Americans are at risk this week of being forces to leave their homes, President Joe Biden on Tuesday said his administration would announce a possible new “safety valve” action to limit evictions later in the day.
He told reporters the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would provide details of what he he hoped would be a “new moratorium” that would cover about 90% of renters, although he quickly added, “I didn’t tell them what they had to do.”
The proposed CDC plan would remain in place for 60 days, congressional sources told ABC News.
At the same time, Biden said that he isn’t sure if the new moratorium effort would pass constitutional muster and expects legal challenges, but he said that some scholars he consulted think “it’s worth the effort.”
“I’ve sought out constitutional scholars to determine what is the best possibility that would come from executive action of the CDC’s judgment. What could they do that was most likely to pass muster, constitutionally? The bulk of the constitutional scholarship says that it’s not likely to pass constitutional muster, number one. But there are several key scholars who think that it may and it’s worth the effort,” he said.
Biden said “at a minimum” that by the time this works its way through the courts, some of the funds will be able to reach renters who are struggling.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement after Biden spoke saying a new CDC eviction moratorium would be “tied to Covid infection levels.”
“Today is a day of extraordinary relief. Thanks to the leadership of President Biden, the imminent fear of eviction and being put out on the street has been lifted for countless families across America. Help is Here!” her statement read.
The move comes after Pelosi told the Democratic caucus on a call Tuesday morning that the chamber is not returning to Washington to deal with the lapsed eviction moratorium legislatively and as lawmakers have amped up pressure on the Biden administration to expedite distributing congressionally-allocated funds to help with rental assistance amid the public health emergency.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined the Democratic caucus call Tuesday morning to talk about the distribution of nearly $46.5 billion in congressionally approved rental assistance through states and local governments, of which only $3 billion has been distributed. Yellen fielded questions from the caucus about the delays as Democrats continued to push for getting the funds out more quickly.
It is not entirely clear what more the Treasury Department can do to accelerate distributing the money, but it is clear progressive Democrats are livid that action wasn’t taken sooner — with Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., leading the charge and continuing to rally on the Capitol steps Tuesday for a fifth day.
Bush has been camping out on the Capitol steps
Before Biden spoke, Bush spoke to reporters on the Capitol steps Tuesday afternoon, again calling on Congress and the White House to extend the eviction moratorium.
“We want the White House to end this eviction moratorium,” Bush told reporters.
When word of a new plan surfaced, she tweeted, “On Friday night, I came to the Capitol with my chair. I refused to accept that Congress could leave for vacation while 11 million people faced eviction. For 5 days, we’ve been out here, demanding that our government acts to save lives. Today, our movement moved mountains.”
Fellow progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined Bush in immediately reacting to the news the administration was expected to take more steps with Ocasio-Cortez saying the news on evictions shows that “it is okay for us to say: ‘We can do better.'”
Bush said, “This is why this happened,” referring to her sit-in. “Being unapologetic. Being unafraid to stand up.” Schumer also praised the progressive Democrats for putting in the hard work.
At the same time, neither the Senate’s Democratic leader nor the Republican leader suggested that the upper chamber will or should take any immediate action to address the problem after the House failed to extend the moratorium before adjourning for its recess.
GOP Leader Mitch McConnell argued in his weekly press conference that the funds to help struggling renters have already been sent to states and that it’s now their responsibility to disburse those funds to struggling renters.
“It looks like the money is there,” McConnell said, referring to state governments. “It doesn’t seem to meet or require any additional legislative action they need to get the money out there that has already been made available so it can solve the problem.”
Schumer said the Senate is focused on urging the administration and states and localities to extend moratoriums and urging states to disburse rent relief funds.
The Biden administration had announced Monday a series of new measures to prevent evictions — but they fell short of the full extension Democrats pushed for, with White House officials continuing to argue they’re constrained from doing more by a Supreme Court ruling that said Congress must act to extend a moratorium.
Pelosi and House Democrats were caught flat-footed and left frustrated at the lack of involvement from the White House on the issue just days before the moratorium expired.
Bush said that her experience with homelessness gives her an incredibly unique insight into this devastating situation — when families are booted from their homes and potentially forced to live on the streets.
She was joined by other Democratic lawmakers, including Texas Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, who said even though Congress is not in town, they will continue to work on drafting legislation.
Bush said that Pelosi has been “supportive” and “communicative” with her as she continues to protest on the Capitol steps.
She also told reporters about her conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday.
“I wanted her to look me in my eyes and I wanted to look in hers, but I wanted her to see down to my soul what pain looks like,” Bush said. “That is not far from me at all, the days that I’ve been out in the car on the street moving the vehicle around the city of St Louis hoping that the police didn’t come because we were sitting in the car.”
“I remember those moments with my babies crying in the car. And I remember what that was like and not having a place to go,” Bush recalled.
Bush did not indicate how many more days she will spend sleeping on the Capitol steps. Green vowed to join her on the steps later Tuesday.
“I don’t know what the end date is,” Bush said. “Change has to happen for us to leave.”
ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks, Katherine Faulders, Molly Nagle, Allison Pecorin and Libby Cathey contributed to this report.
