An archival film focusing on the performances that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band gave at the historic 1979 “No Nukes” concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City will be released later this year, the popular Springsteen fan site Backstreets.com reports.
According to the website, Sony Music announced Tuesday that restored footage of Springsteen and his group’s performances at the shows, which took place on September 21 and 22, 1979, are being edited together by frequent Bruce collaborator Thom Zimny to create a full-length concert flick called The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts.
The audio of the shows also has been remixed and remastered.
The “No Nukes” shows, also known as the MUSE Concerts, were a star-studded series of performances that ran from September 19 through September 23 at Madison Square Garden. They were organized to advocate against the use of nuclear energy by Musicians United for Safe Energy, or MUSE, an activist organization co-founded by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, ex-Orleans member John Hall and others.
Besides Springsteen and the E Street Band, performers included The Doobie Brothers, Browne, Raitt, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
A 1980 documentary about the shows only featured a few of the songs that The Boss and his group played, as did the triple-LP soundtrack released in 1980.
An official press release about The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts film is expected to arrive in September.
Alec Tabak/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein was extradited Tuesday morning to California, having been extradited to face sex assault charges there.
Weinstein was taken from New York’s Wende Correctional Facility, where he’s been serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault in Manhattan, and “was handed over to the appropriate officials for transport to the state of California per a court order,” according to a statement from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
Weinstein’s lawyers had argued that the former movie mogul has been suffering from physical ailments that left him in no condition to be extradited, but a judge denied the petition to stay the extradition. The Los Angeles District Attorney charged Weinstein with rape in January 2020, just as his trial was beginning in New York.
In Los Angeles, Weinstein’s charged with four counts of rape, four counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint and one count of sexual penetration by use of force. The counts involve five women and stem from alleged events in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills that took place from 2004 to 2013.
Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys recently celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary with an elaborate “72-hour date night.”
The singer shared a “photo dump” from their vacation on Instagram Monday, which included a helicopter ride and a nightcap featuring a starter kit from Key’s skincare line, Soulcare. Other photos find Keys and Swizz enjoying food by the water and lounging on a couch.
According to her husband’s Instagram, the photos were taken in the French territory of Corsica, where the couple tied the knot in 2010.
“72 hr date trip dump Zaaaaa. Celebrating our 11th anniversary month all month. Them Deans,” Swizz wrote in the caption. “The fact we haven’t been back to the house in Corsica we got married at 11 [years] ago until now is crazy! Time goes by fast make every moment count.”
Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys tied the knot on July 31, 2010, and welcomed their son, Egypt, later that year, in October. They had their second son together, Genesis, in November 2014. Beatz has three children from other relationships.
(NEW YORK) — A Guantanamo Bay detainee who spent nearly two decades at the notorious facility and thought he might not make it out alive spoke out after being released — the first prisoner freed by the Biden administration.
“I was born again on July 19. My birthday is no longer March 4. I was born yesterday on July 19,” Abdul Latif Nasser said in a statement shared with ABC News. “I have no words to describe my overwhelming sense of happiness and joy. It is like a miracle after 20 years to be home and celebrate Eid together with my family.”
On Tuesday, the legal charity Reprieve, which campaigned for his release and provided legal support, confirmed to ABC News that Nasser was reunited with his family in Morocco.
Nasser, whose case was profiled by ABC News in 2019, was first cleared for release from Guantanamo more than five years ago. He had been detained there for 19 years after he was captured in Afghanistan, alleged by the U.S. government to be an active member of the Taliban and then to have trained with al-Qaeda.
During his time at Guantanamo, he was never charged with a crime, and his lawyers stress that none of the U.S. government’s claims have been aired in a court of law. He was cleared for release in 2016 following a Periodic Review Board (PRB) hearing, set up by the Obama administration in 2011, in order to speed up the process recommending individuals for transfer away from the facility.
The PRB consists of officials from six major agencies, and all members of the board must recommend that law of war detention is no longer justified.
However, after a series of bureaucratic missteps and a political reversal from the Trump administration, which declared that no more prisoners would be released, he remained imprisoned in the facility.
“I want to thank everyone, all the people who worked very hard and spared no efforts to make this possible,” said Nasser in the statement. His case was also the subject of a recent podcast series, ‘The Other Latif’ on New York Public Radio.
With Nasser’s release, the first from the facility since 2016, 39 detainees remain at Guantanamo, 10 of whom have been cleared for release. Seventeen of the remaining are eligible for review, 10 are part of the military commissions process and two detainees have been convicted for their crimes, officials said at a press briefing on Monday.
“On June 17th of this year, the Department of Defense notified Congress of its intent to repatriate Mr. Nasir to Morocco, and, in consultation with our Moroccan partners, we have undertaken a responsible transfer,” a senior administration official said. “The Biden administration remains dedicated to a deliberate and thorough process focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing of the Guantanamo facility.”
The United States is grateful to the Kingdom of Morocco for its willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility,” the senior administration official said.
In a statement from Nasser’s brother, Mustafa, his family said were delighted Nasser was home in time for the Islamic festival, Eid al-Adha.
“This is a dream for us as a family that came true at a very special moment,” he said in a statement. ” We want to thank everyone involved who made this miracle possible. Now we would just like some peace and some time to ourselves to help our brother begin his new life in Morocco.”
Advocacy groups celebrated Nasser’s release, but said that the Biden administration must do more to make good on the Obama-era promise to shut the facility down.
“Abdul Latif Nasser’s release is hugely encouraging, but he’s only one man among many who have suffered the same grave injustice of years of detention without trial, even after long since being cleared for release,” Reprieve deputy director Katie Taylor said in a statement. “There are 10 other men cleared for transfer who should be sent home without any further delay or resettled in countries where they can safely begin to rebuild their lives.”
(NEW YORK) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos blasted to the edge of space and spent a few minutes outside Earth’s atmosphere Tuesday on the first crewed flight from his firm Blue Origin.
An elated Bezos could be heard calling it “the best day ever” after landing back on Earth.
The milestone launch in the modern commercial space race comes on the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s moon landing in 1969, though the space-faring landscape has evolved by giant leaps since then as billionaires emerge as key players driving the new race to the cosmos.
Bezos, who holds the title of the richest man in the world per Bloomberg data, has said the spaceflight will fulfill a lifelong dream and he is also curious how it will “change” him.
Jul 20, 12:55 pm
Bezos discusses ambitious plans for Blue Origin’s future
Bezos revealed what the astronauts spoke about as they were in the capsule ahead of the launch, saying he told his crew mates that the flight is not just about “adventure” but also the start of “something big.”
“What we’re doing is the first step of something big, and I know what that feels like, I did it three decades ago, nearly three decades ago, with Amazon,” Bezos said. “Big things start small, but you can tell when you’re onto something, and this is important.”
“We’re going to build a road to space so that our kids and their kids can build the future, and we need to do that, we need to do that to solve the problems here on Earth,” Bezos added. “This is not about escaping Earth.”
The billionaire said Earth is “the only good planet” in our solar system, and “we’ve sent robotic probes to all of them.”
“When you go to space and see how fragile it is, you want to take care of it even more, and that’s what this is about,” Bezos said.
He also estimated that Blue Origin has approached some $100 million in private ticket sales already.
While building space infrastructure will take decades, Bezos said, “This is how it starts.”
Jul 20, 12:25 pm
’I want to go again,’ says an emotional Wally Funk
Funk officially became the oldest person ever to go to space on Tuesday and fulfilled a lifelong dream that had been put on hold for decades because she is a woman.
Funk trained with the so-called Mercury 13 program for women astronauts in the ’60s, but NASA at the time was only sending men into space.
She called her trip to space on Tuesday “wonderful” and “a great time.”
Jul 20, 12:01 pm
Bezos thanks Amazon employees, customers
Bezos, who stepped down as Amazon CEO earlier this month ahead of the launch, thanked the staff and customers of his e-commerce empire for funding the trip.
“I also want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer, because you guys paid for all of this,” he said during the post-launch news conference.
“Seriously, for every Amazon customer out there and every Amazon employee, thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he added.
Bezos has previously said that he sold some $1 billion in Amazon stock annually to fund Blue Origin in its infancy.
Jul 20, 12:01 pm
New Shepard crew receives astronaut pins
Blue Origin’s Jeff Ashby, a former Space Shuttle commander, presented astronaut wings to the four crew members at a post-launch press conference.
Ashby said the wings were designed with “a tiny blue sapphire” at the top, “to remind these folks that they are from planet Earth and that they have a mission to protect this home.”
While presenting wings to the Amazon founder, Ashby told Bezos, “There are few people I know more deserving of this.”
“I don’t know what you are going to do next, but I can’t wait to watch,” Ashby added.
An emotional Funk said it was the best pin she has ever received — and promised there would be “more to come.”
Jul 20, 11:31 am
Newly minted astronaut Jeff Bezos says spaceflight left him ‘speechless’
Shortly after landing back on Earth, the elated Amazon founder opened up about his experience in a brief interview with ABC News’ Michael Strahan.
“I’m speechless in a way … I don’t have the talent to put into words what we just experienced, maybe we need to send a poet up at some point or something,” Bezos said. “But it was incredible.”
Ahead of his flight, Bezos told Strahan he was curious how leaving Earth’s atmosphere would “change” him. Now that he’s returned, the billionaire said he was awestruck by how “tiny” and fragile our planet is.
“When you get up there, you see that it’s this tiny, thin little thing that makes you realize just how precious it is and how fragile it is how much we need to take care of it,” he added.
Jul 20, 10:29 am
Crew capsule reached an altitude of 347,563 feet
Blue Origin released some statistics on the mission shortly after the capsule landed back on Earth.
The crew capsule reached an altitude of some 347,563 feet above ground level (or 351,210 mean sea level).
The maximum ascent velocity was some 2,233 mph.
In total, the mission was 10 minutes and 10 seconds.
Jul 20, 10:04 am
Richard Branson congratulates Bezos on a successful flight
Sir Richard Branson, who flew to the edge of space via his own company Virgin Galactic earlier this month, sent well-wishes to Bezos and his crew on Tuesday.
“Impressive! Very best to all the crew from me and all the team at @virgingalactic,” the commercial space entrepreneur wrote.
After the capsule landed back on Earth, Jeff Bezos was seen through the window pumping his fists and giving a thumbs-up.
The Bezos brothers, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemon then exited the capsule with huge smiles on their faces and were greeted with cheers and hugs.
Jul 20, 9:26 am
Capsule lands back on earth
After an approximately 10-minute journey, the capsule floated back down to the earth via a parachute and touched down at approximately 9:23 a.m ET.
“It was so amazing, it was so amazing,” Daemen can be heard saying upon landing.
Jul 20, 9:22 am
Booster lands back on earth
The booster has returned to earth, landing successfully while the capsule carrying the crew has crossed the Karman line — the boundary between earth’s atmosphere and space.
“You have a very happy crew up here, I want you to know,” one of the astronauts can be heard saying.
Jul 20, 9:18 am
Capsule separates from booster, astronauts are experiencing ‘Zero-G’
Mission Control has confirmed the capsule has separated from the booster and the astronauts are now experiencing a few minutes of weightlessness.
Audio from the capsule captures the joyful moments the crew discovered they were in microgravity.
Jul 20, 9:13 am
New Shepard soars in first flight with humans aboard
The New Shepard spacecraft lifted off at around 9:12 a.m. ET, carrying the Bezos brothers, Funk and Daemen to the edge of space.
The spacetrip will be 11 minutes total.
Jul 20, 9:06 am
New Shepard is a ‘go’ for launch
The go poll is now complete, and New Shepard is officially a “go” for launch.
Jul 20, 9:02 am
Launch has been delayed by a few minutes
With the astronauts in the capsule and the hatch closed, there was a temporary pause in launch activities for approximately five minutes while Blue Origin staff did final checks. Launch activities have since resumed, and liftoff is just 11 minutes away.
Jul 20, 8:46 am
The hatch has been closed
The hatch for the New Shepard capsule has officially been closed, and the final checks are now underway ahead of the launch.
The Bezos brothers were seen waving and smiling through the windows of the capsule.
Jul 20, 8:46 am
Crew is buckling in their seats
The crew are now getting in their seats on the capsule and buckling-in ahead of the closing of the hatch. A communications check with each astronaut has also commenced.
Jul 20, 8:38 am
Led by Wally Funk, astronauts climb the crew tower
The astronauts, led by 82-year-old Funk, were seen climbing the tower and preparing to ingress the New Shepard capsule.
The crew arrived atop at the so-called astronaut safety shelter, with approximately 30 minutes to go before launch.
Jul 20, 8:24 am
Crew is en route to the launchpad
The four soon-to-be astronauts were spotted emerging from the astronaut training center around 8:15 a.m. ET and entering vehicles that will take them to the launchpad.
The Bezos brothers, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemon were greeted with cheers from Blue Origin staff as they cruised past mission control on the way to the launchpad. The launch remains on schedule for a 9 a.m. liftoff.
Jul 20, 8:12 am
Meet the history-making crew
The Amazon founder will be accompanied on the historic journey by his brother, Mark Bezos, as well as the oldest and youngest people ever to go to space, Wally Funk, 82-years-old, and Oliver Daemon, 18.
Funk is a trailblazing female pilot who trained to be an astronaut with the so-called “Mercury 13” program during the original U.S.-Soviet space race era but was then told they were only sending men to space at the time. Funk still blazed trails for women in aerospace, becoming the first female Federal Aviation Administration inspector.
Daemon is a Dutch student set to begin classes at Utrecht University this fall, and is the first paying customer for Blue Origin after the initial auction winner backed out. Daemon graduated high school in 2020, and has said he hopes his trip inspires other young people. Blue Origin said the anonymous bidder who paid $28 million won’t make it on Tuesday due to “scheduling conflicts.” The company has not disclosed how much Daemon paid for his seat.
Jul 20, 7:08 am
New Shepard rocket rolled out onto launchpad
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and capsule is now on the launchpad at the company’s “Launch Site One” facility in a remote area in the West Texas desert, about 25 miles north of the small town of Van Horn.
The reusable suborbital rocket system, which launches and lands vertically, was rolled out early Tuesday morning, before its scheduled take-off at 9 a.m. ET.
“The launch team completed vehicle rollout this morning and final preparations are underway,” Blue Origin tweeted at 6:53 a.m. ET.
Jul 20, 5:50 am
Bezos jokes he’s not having his ‘last meal’
Bezos joked with reporters that he did not have his “last meal” before taking off on his space travel company’s first flight with people on board.
As the Amazon and Blue Origin founder served food to members of the press gathered at the remote rocket launch site in the West Texas desert, one reporter jokingly asked: “Is this your last meal?”
“Hey, did somebody say ‘last meal?'” Bezos, wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses, responded to laughter. “I don’t think we should put it that way. Let’s talk about it in a different way.”
Chicken thighs, mac ‘n’ cheese and black-eyed peas were on the menu — a “favorite” recipe by Bezos’ grandmother. He also handed out copies of the recipe.
“Now, if you don’t like this, just keep it to yourself,” Bezos said to more laughter.
Bezos told reporters that he and his three crewmates had finished their training.
“We’re going to have a little refresher early tomorrow morning,” he added. “We have an early wake up tomorrow.”
What is happening and how to watch
Liftoff of the inaugural Blue Origin flight is scheduled for 9 a.m. ET from a rural complex just north of Van Horn, Texas. In total, the flight will be 11 minutes, with approximately three minutes spent above the so-called Karman line that is defined by some as the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. After re-entry, the astronauts are set to descend back to Earth in their capsule with a parachute-landing in the west Texas desert.
ABC News will carry live coverage of the event, which will also be streamed on Blue Origin’s website. The live broadcast will begin at 7:30 a.m. ET. Unlike most spaceflights, there are no on-site public viewing areas in the vicinity of the launch site. The newly-minted astronauts are set to have a press conference shortly after landing back on earth.
There is no pilot aboard the fully-autonomous capsule. While Blue Origin’s New Shepard has flown 15 test flights, Tuesday’s will be the first with humans on board.
The definition of “space” has emerged as a heated debate point in the new space race, as Sir Richard Branson took heat for not passing the Karman line (roughly 62 miles above earth) during his Virgin Galactic spaceflight earlier this month. Neither Blue Origin nor Virgin Galactic’s flights will reach Earth’s orbit, however, the way Elon Musk’s SpaceX missions have. Musk, also a billionaire player in the new space race, on Twitter has called out this “big difference.”
While the modern space race has become the arena of the ultra-wealthy at a time when a global pandemic on earth has exacerbated inequities, some argue the rise of private sector involvement has saved NASA money and accelerated technological advances — which in the long-term has the potential to open up space tourism to all who have been curious about the cosmos.
Still, the billionaire daredevils using themselves as guinea pigs for their private space tourism firms have not had the same support astronauts garnered during the original U.S.-Soviet space race. Animosity was exacerbated by reports that Bezos and Musk have avoided income taxes. A Change.org petition calling for Bezos to stay in space has garnered headlines and more than 160,000 signatures.
In an interview with ABC News’ “Good Morning America” just one day ahead of the spaceflight, Bezos said he is curious how briefly leaving Earth will “change” him.
“I don’t know what it’s going to mean for me,” Bezos said. “I don’t know, I’m very curious about what tomorrow is actually going to bring. Everybody who’s been to space says it changes them in some way. And I’m just really excited to figure out how it’s going to change me.”
As Metallica gears up to celebrate its 40th anniversary, a new book will examine the impact the band and its music have had on our culture.
Metallica: The $24.95 Book, written by Ben Apatoff after years of exhaustive research, features chapters dedicated to each band member and each album. It’ll also cover touring, fashion, books, film, influences, fandom, history and more.
“I wanted it to be more than a fact book, and not just something people could look up on the Internet,” says Apatoff.
The book covers Metallica through 2021, and is the first one written with access to the band’s box set materials. Unpublished photos, new transcriptions of video interviews and magazine quotes that were previously unavailable online round out the tome.
The book’s foreword was written by Laina Dawes, the author of the 2013 memoir What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal.
Metallica: The $24.95 Book will be released in August, but you can pre-order it now. We’re sure you can figure out how much it costs.
After landing his first platinum-certified album,Pray 4 Love, rapper Rod Wave has now earned a spot on Billboard’s Money Makers list of the highest-paid music artists in the U.S in 2020, placing 25th.
Throughout the year, most artists hosted virtual performances due to COVID-19, which drastically diminished or elimnated touring revenue. However, the Florida native managed to close out last year with $7.37 million in earnings.
Rod Wave reportedly made $1.3 million from publishing and $66,400 in royalties, which came entirely from digital downloads. Yet he made his biggest earnings from streaming services, in the amount of $6 million. His music videos account for close to 20% of his 4.1 billion combined streaming plays.
Pray 4 Love debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart in April 2020, with singles such as “Girl of My Dreams” and “Rags2Riches” landing on the Hot 100.
Rod Wave is among the many hip-hop artists who dominated last year and earned a spot on Billboard’sranking of the highest-paid musicians of 2020, including Travis Scott, DaBaby, Kanye West, Roddy Ricch, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and Lil Uzi Vert. Out of 40 artists, Taylor Swift returned to the number-one spot on the 2020 list, earning $23.8 million — which is $75.8 million less than what she made in 2018, the last time she appeared on the list.
“The Bigger Picture” rapper Lil Baby came in at number ten, earning $11.7 million behind heavyweights such as Drake, who earned $14.2 million, putting him in sixth place.
Walker Hayes has a hit on his hands with “Fancy Like,” and he’s opening up about the inspiration behind the infectious track.
In June, Walker and his daughter, Lela, went viral on TikTok after posting a video of themselves doing an original dance to the hip-hop-meets-country track that’s amassed nearly 20 million views so far.
The hitmaker hints that he’s been in contact with Applebees, and says the restaurant chain is considering returning to their menu the Oreo milkshake he references in the lyrics, due to the song’s popularity.
“I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but one thing that truly excites me is that the Oreo shake actually came off the menu several years back and it’s coming back because of the song,” he teases. “I can’t wait [until] I have grandkids and we’re at Applebee’s and they’re drinking a shake and I could say, ‘you know why’s it on the menu? It’s because I saved it.'”
As for how the TikTok video came about, Walker tells Billboard he and Lela “came home from church and put [the song’s] chorus on repeat and made it simple and we popped it off on the porch. We did two takes and then we slapped it on TikTok. [By] that night it surpassed a million [views].” He calls the response “bonkers,” saying, “I just left a Planet Fitness and people were walking up to me and [saying] ‘My daughter loves the dance. Can I get a picture?'”
Walker co-wrote “Fancy Like” for his latest EP, Country Stuff, which has become his highest-charting single to date, reaching the top 20 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It’s currently climbing the Billboard Country Airplay chart.
After releasing her new album, Sling, to rave reviews, Clairo is hitting the road.
The 22-year-old singer will kick off a tour February 16 in Charlotte, NC, and wrap it up April 16 in Atlanta, GA. Arlo Parks will open for the majority of the tour; the final three shows will feature Widowspeak.
For the tour, Clairo is partnering with several organizations that will ensure a safe and harassment-free experience at each show by establishing a text helpline and proactively canvassing each concert to look for, as she put it in an interview with NME, “any misconduct that goes on within the crowd.”
In addition, Clairo’s band and crew, as well as venue staff, will undergo sexual harassment prevention and response training.
Clairo also told NME, ” “I’m lucky that [misconduct] never happened to me, but experiencing some of that in my adult life, I can’t believe how brave I was to go to shows by myself and be so carefree. If I can’t provide this [security] on tour, then I won’t tour — that’s my mentality at the moment.”
In a statement, she added, “Everyone deserves a resource and everyone deserves to enjoy the show in peace. I want the audience to know that there is someone who will listen and believe them at every show.”
Tickets for the tour go on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. local time. Visit Clairo.com for the full itinerary and pre-sale information.
Mariah Carey‘s daughter is starring in a new brand campaign inspired by her famous mom.
Monroe Cannon, the singer’s 10-year-old daughter with Nick Cannon, stands front and center in a new ad for kids’ clothing company OshKosh B’gosh, titled “Today Is Someday.” In the clip, Monroe plays a younger version of Mariah and models an OshKosh B’gosh that pays homage to the singer’s 1990 “Someday” video.
“Someday it’s going to be different,” Monroe says in the ad. “The melodies that live in my head, someday they’ll live at the top of the charts. The songs in my heart will touch millions of hearts. Artist of the year, artist of the decade, artist of the millennium. But the meaning is in inspiring generations of little girls to hit their high note. How’s that for a daydream?”
“As a little girl, I was determined to realize my dreams. Now as a mother, it brings me so much joy to see my children visualize and develop the dreams they hold in their own hearts,” Mariah, who’s also mom to Monroe’s twin brother, Moroccan, says in a statement. “We did the campaign because we love the message of empowering kids to dream boldly and blaze their own path.”
The “Today Is Someday” campaign also pays tribute to the childhood experiences of Muhammad Ali and Outkast.
