Michael B. Jordan knows he cannot say much about the upcoming Black Panther sequel, Black Panther:Wakanda Forever, but that’s not stopping fans from asking if they’ll see him in the movie.
The 34-year-old actor appeared on the Jemele Hill is Unbothered podcast and chatted about the possibility of his character, supervillain Erik Killmonger, appearing in the sequel.
While Killmonger was fatally wounded in the first film, fans have been speculating that the crafty character managed to survive.
While Jordan was unable to provide a concrete answer if his character would appear in future films, he did remark, “If there’s anyone that’s going to figure it out, [Director Ryan Coogler] is going to figure it out.”
The Just Mercy star also revealed how Chadwick Boseman‘s death impacted the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor, who played T’Challa aka Black Panther, died at age 43 last year after a silent years-long battle with colon cancer.
“Having a tragedy we are all dealing with, like losing Chadwick, I think Marvel, [Kevin] Fiege, Ryan and everybody over there had to figure out what was next,” said Jordan. “I haven’t gotten the information, one way or another so I’m not sure. But, whatever it is, they’re the right people to figure it out.”
On the subject of grief, Jordan also opened up about his new Amazon movie Without Remorse, where he plays an elite Navy SEAL seeking to avenge the murder of his pregnant wife.
The actor says his co-star Lauren London was mourning rapper Nipsey Hussle, her boyfriend and father of their four-year-old child, when filming started.
Jordan applauded London for channelling her grief into a standout performance.
“It was very emotional,” he said. “She was really transparent… She’s very talented and has so much to give.”
Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
The 16-track collection, which can be pre-ordered now, is a mostly orchestral suite of songs that Kaye composed as a requiem for the many people who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the album’s release coincides with the 20th anniversary of the horrific event.
Kaye had temporarily retired from music at the time of the 9/11 attacks, which he watched unfold on TV.
“The next day I unpacked my keyboards for the first time in a long time,” the 76-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer remembers. “I didn’t know what I was going to do. It was one of those things that happened, inspiration on a musical level.”
The songs on End of Innocence thematically cover the events leading up to the tragedy, aspects of the attacks themselves and the aftermath of 9/11.
Kaye’s wife, Dani Torchia, sings on a number of the album’s tunes, while current Yes touring drummer Jay Schellen, who played with Tony in the group Circa, also lent his talents to the record.
“I wanted it, musically, to be about that day,” Kaye says of the project, “but I felt compelled to extend it to deal with the repercussions of what happened. Musically, it was quite challenging to do the battle scene and then the [song] ‘Hope and Triumph,’ a patriotic anthem and the consequences of war.”
The album ends with a tune titled “Ground Zero,” which Kaye says is about “the hope for the future, the rebuilding.”
A portion of the profits from End of Innocence will benefit the Gary Sinise Foundation, a charity that supports veterans, military members and first responders experiencing hardships.
Here’s the album’s full track list:
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/Twilight Time”
“911 Overture”
“NYC Blues”
“Battle Cry”
“285 Fulton Street”
“Let’s Roll”
“Tug of War”
“Flight 11”
“Towers Fall”
“Sweetest Dreams”
“Aftermath”
“Heroes”
“The Battle”
“Hope and Triumph”
“Homecoming”
“Ground Zero”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores for Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City 5, Milwaukee 2
NY Yankees 6, Philadelphia 4
Seattle 6, Colorado 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland 6, L.A Angels 0
Detroit 4, Texas 1
Tampa Bay 9, Baltimore 3
Houston 9, Cleveland 3
Chi White Sox, 9 Minnesota 5
Boston at Toronto (Postponed)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington 6, Miami 3
Atlanta 2, San Diego 1
Cincinnati 4, NY Mets 3
Chi Cubs 7, St. Louis 6
Arizona 11, Pittsburgh 6
LA Dodgers 8, San Francisco 6
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Milwaukee 105, Phoenix 98 (Milwaukee wins series 4-2)
With the 50th anniversary of the release of Don McLean‘s classic anthem “American Pie” approaching, a special “bookazine” has been released featuring information and stories about the famous tune and photos of the singer/songwriter throughout the years.
The 96-page publication, titled Don McLean’s American Pie: The Official 50th Anniversary Celebration, is available wherever magazines are sold. Those who purchase the bookazine will be able to download for free a digital copy of the new a cappella version of the song that McLean recorded with country vocal group Home Free.
“American Pie” originally was released on October 24, 1971, and appeared on McLean’s album of the same name, which also was issued that day. The song spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 during early 1972, while the album topped the Billboard 200 for seven weeks around that same time.
Using the tragic 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper — now commonly called “The Day the Music Died” — as its launching point, the epic eight-and-a-half-minute tune features allegorical imagery that appears to chronicle key historic and cultural events of the late ’50s and the 1960s. The song also includes poetic reflections on the disillusionment felt by the generation who came of age during the volatile 1960s.
As previously reported, McLean has co-written a new children’s book inspired by “American Pie” that will be published in September as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the song.
Veteran hard-rockers Tesla will get their show on the road for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last year with a new U.S. trek dubbed the “Let’s Get Real!” tour.
The outing is scheduled to kick off on August 5 in Grants Pass, Oregon, and is mapped out through a November 20 concert in Tupelo, Mississippi.
The band has almost 30 confirmed gigs on its schedule, including headlining shows, festival appearances and dates opening for such well-known acts as Styx, Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Tesla actually will support Skynyrd at nine concerts this year.
“We are so excited and anxious to get back to performing ‘real’ live concerts again,” says founding Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon. “There’s nothing like the energy of being in the same spontaneous moment with an audience of people.”
He adds, “We are planning some surprises for our fans on this upcoming tour by playing some deeper Tesla cuts as well as a fresh brand new song we just wrote. Of course we will play the hits as well, but introducing a fresh new track on this return is something we are very excited about!”
You can check out the group’s tour schedule at TeslatheBand.com.
Tesla’s most recent studio album, Shock, was released in 2019.
In January, ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach announced plans to tour the U.S. this fall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his old band’s 1991 album, Slave to the Grind, which he planned to perform in its entirety. Now we have details of that trek, which will kick off in the fall.
Announcing the tour on Facebook, Bach writes, “The music was crushing when we made it then and 30 years later it still stands the test of time…None of us could believe the day Slave to the Grind came out and became the First heavy Rock album to debut at Number One on the Billboard Album chart.”
“The band were naturally ecstatic as were the record company and all involved…As well as my father and my family,” Bach continues, noting that his late father, David Bierk, created and painted the album cover.
He adds, “I look forward to playing Slave to the Grind in its entirety in the USA this fall for the 30th Anniversary and for the first time offer a look behind the scenes into the creation of the album cover artwork.”
Bach further explains that during the shows, he plans to incorporate “never-before-seen-photos” taken during the creation of the album cover, “which used actual live models playing out the scene in my Dad’s studio back in 1990-1991.”
The tour begins September 24 in Waterloo, New York, and is scheduled to wrap December 17 in San Diego. Visit SebastianBach.com for the itinerary and tickets.
Bach previously launched a 30th anniversary tour for Skid Row’s 1989 self-titled debut album in 2019. He’d planned for the tour to continue in 2020, but those dates were postponed due to the pandemic.
(WASHINGTON) — When President Joe Biden was sworn in six months ago, he inherited several major challenges, including a global pandemic and subsequent economic disruption, a social and racial reckoning across America, and a fractured Washington, reeling from the divisions of the Trump era.
On the campaign trail, Biden promised to bring bipartisanship back to the federal government, calling for unity in order to stem the effects of the coronavirus, rebuild the economy and foster equity and inclusion for all Americans.
“Since taking office, the president has acted to get America back on track by addressing the crises facing this nation, vaccinating America to beat the pandemic, delivering much needed help to American families, making transformative investments to rescue and rebuild our economy, and fundamentally showing that government can deliver for the American people,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday, marking the anniversary.
While Biden has presided over a growing economy and a retreating pandemic, there is much he hasn’t been able to accomplish, as Washington remains deadlocked without more bipartisan support from Congress for his initiatives– somethings Biden acknowledged during only the second Cabinet meeting of his administration.
“There’s much more to be done and so much more to do. Tackling voting rights, which is an existential threat to democracy right now, the things that are being passed are just beyond the pale. The vice president has been working hard on this issue and going to continue to, we all are, but there’s much more to do. We have to tackle the immigration problem, which we’re working really hard to get done in a humane and serious way. Police reform and crime,” Biden said Tuesday.
Six months into his administration, here’s a look at how successful Biden has been in pursuing some of his major initiatives.
The pandemic and the economy
President Biden oversaw an unprecedented vaccination effort to end the COVID-19 pandemic, distributing more than 200 million shots of the vaccine within his first 100 days in office.
COVID-19 cases and death rates plunged to a record low since the start of the pandemic as the effects of vaccination took hold.
Still, the Biden administration has struggled with vaccine hesitancy, and failed to hit a self-imposed goal to distribute at least one shot to 70% of all adults over 18 by July 4. As of Biden’s 6-month mark, 68.3% of adults over 18 have at least one shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
“If you’re fully vaccinated, you have a high degree of protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death. If you’re unvaccinated, you are not protected. So please, please get vaccinated. Get vaccinated now,” Biden said Monday, acknowledging that cases and death rates are once again rising in the U.S.
Biden was successful in passing his economic relief package, dubbed the American Rescue Plan. The $1.9 trillion spending package delivered stimulus checks, small business aid, funding for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, and state and local government relief.
But he failed to deliver on one major campaign promise: to secure bipartisan support for his initiatives. The COVID-19 relief package passed in Congress without a single Republican vote.
“For all of those predictions of doom and gloom six months in, here is where we stand. Record growth. Record job creation. Workers getting hard-earned breaks. Look, we brought this economy back from the brink and we’ve designed our strategy not only to provide for a temporary boost, but to lay the foundation for a long-term boom that brings everyone along,” Biden said Monday in remarks touting his economic achievement and pushing a bipartisan measure to spend $1.2 trillion improving roads, bridges and other “traditional infrastructure.”
But the fate of that is unclear in the both the Senate and House where Democrats have only a narrow majority — as is the future of legislation that would spend $3.5 trillion on “human infrastructure” such as child care that Democrats hope to push through with no Republican votes.
In those same remarks, Biden had to address inflation concerns, as rising prices across the U.S. threaten the economic optimism of reopening after the pandemic.
Immigration
President Biden has struggled to stem the flow of migrants crossing the southern border of the U.S. In June, Customs and Border Patrol apprehended a ten-year record number of migrants.
Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to address the root causes of migration, and Harris has traveled to Guatemala and Mexico in her efforts to encourage potential migrants to stay in their home countries and apply for asylum legally. But with corruption, drug-related violence and extreme weather plaguing many Central and South American countries, her efforts, including offering increased aid to those countries, have not led to a significant shift in migration patterns, as illustrated by the June CBP numbers.
“No matter how much effort we put in on curbing violence, providing disaster relief, on tackling food insecurity — on any of it — we will not make significant progress if corruption in the region persists,” Harris said on May 4.
Biden was successful in overturning many of President Trump’s strict immigration policies. He ended Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban” that prevented people from traveling from several Muslim-majority countries to the United States. Biden also returned deportation priorities to the status quo in the Obama administration, which focused on people who committed crimes other than entering the country illegally.
While Biden has proposed a comprehensive immigration reform plan to Congress, there has been little movement to advance it. In July, a federal judge ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shielded young people brought illegally to the U.S. as children from deportation, is unlawful, and disallowed new applications to the program. The case is likely to be heard by the Supreme Court, but in the meantime, the defeat in the courts ramps up pressure on Biden and Congress to achieve a legislative fix for Dreamers.
“Only Congress can ensure a permanent solution by granting a path to citizenship for Dreamers that will provide the certainty and stability that these young people need and deserve,” Biden said in a statement Saturday. “It is my fervent hope that through reconciliation or other means, Congress will finally provide security to all Dreamers, who have lived too long in fear.”
Policing and Guns
One policy area proving elusive for Biden is police reform and gun control, as legislation on the issues have stalled in Congress.
The Biden White House has frequently highlighted its support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and called for it to be passed by the first anniversary of Floyd’s death in May. While the deadline was missed, they have encouraged bipartisan negotiations on Capitol Hill that have yielded little beyond a “framework” and discussions continue.
The administration also decided to forgo Biden’s campaign promise to create a commission within his first 100 days to study the issue of policing, with senior adviser Susan Rice saying the administration decided it would not be the “most effective way” to deliver on its top priority of getting the Floyd bill passed “based on close, respectful consultation with partners in the civil rights community.”
The president has not seen gun control legislation come to his desk from Capitol Hill, even after the House passed a measure that would address loopholes in the background check system. But Biden has taken unilateral action on the issue after several mass shootings during his short tenure in office.
Biden signed six gun-related executive actions on April 8, including directing the Justice Department to issue a proposed rule to regulate the sale of so-called “ghost guns” within 30 days, calling for investments in evidence-based community violence intervention and asking the Justice Department to publish model “red flag” legislation for states within 60 days.
He took additional action in June, allowing communities to spend some of the funding they received as part of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill funding to combat gun crime, such as investing in summer jobs programs for youths; hiring more police officers and court personnel; spending on gun-violence enforcement; and paying for more nurses, counselors and social workers.
Other measures include establishing a “zero tolerance” policy for gun dealers who break the law; embedding federal law enforcement officials with local police departments; and hiring more formerly incarcerated people for jobs in the federal government, according to the White House.
Even with his presidential actions, Biden is limited in what he can accomplish on his own, and has fallen short of some of his biggest campaign pledges on the issue, like stopping the importation of assault weapons, and creating a national buyback program for the U.S.
(NEW YORK) — Tom Barrack, a longtime friend of Donald Trump’s who chaired the committee that raised more than $100 million for his inauguration, has been charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government and obstruction of justice.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Tuesday that in 2016, Barrack illegally sought to use his influence with the new president on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.
In May 2016, according to the indictment, Barrack “took steps to establish himself as the key communications channel for the United Arab Emirates” to the Trump campaign and, that same month, gave a co-defendant a draft copy of an energy speech then-candidate Trump was preparing to deliver. The co-defendant then sent it to a UAE official and solicited feedback.
“Congrats on the great job today,” court records quoted the Emirati official saying in an email to Barrack after Trump delivered the speech. “Everybody here are happy with the results.”
A spokesman for Barrack, 74, told ABC News that “Mr. Barrack has made himself voluntarily available to investigators from the outset. He is not guilty and will be pleading not guilty.”
Barrack was due to make an initial court appearance in California, where he was arrested Tuesday morning.
Prosecutors are seeking to detain Barrack while he awaits trial, calling him “an extremely wealthy and powerful individual with substantial ties to Lebanon, the UAE, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” who “poses a serious flight risk.”
Between May 2016 and October 2017, Barrack “repeatedly promoted the United Arab Emirates and its foreign policy interests during media appearances” after soliciting direction from his co-defendant and UAE officials, the indictment said.
“The defendant promoted UAE-favored policy positions in the Campaign, in the Administration, and through the media, at times using specific language provided by UAE leadership,” assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis wrote in the court filing. “The defendant never registered as an agent of the UAE, as public disclosure of his agreement to act at the direction of senior UAE officials would have diminished, if not eliminated, the access and influence that the UAE sought and valued.”
The allegations involving Barrack came to light as part of a House Oversight Committee investigation, ABC News reported in July 2019.
Winston Duke played M’Baku in Black Panther, and then in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, but he said he was emotional just packing his bags for his latest Marvel movie, the Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever.
The 6’5″ actor tells Collider that the very idea of returning to the fictional African nation without its king, the late Chadwick Boseman, gave him pause. “It was very emotional to read the script,” Duke admitted. “It was emotional to pack to go back to set. But we’re all a bit of a family now and we grieve together, and we’re making something really special.”
Written and directed by Panther‘s Ryan Coogler, the film is currently underway in Atlanta.
Previously, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige noted that Boseman’s role of King T’Challa will not be recast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Last month, at a fan event for Black Widow, Feige said working on the sequel is “clearly very emotional without Chad,” before adding, “We’re going to…make Chad proud.”
Incidentally, Boseman’s final performance in the role — voicing the character for Marvel’s animated What If…? on Disney+ — can be seen on August 11.
Get ready for another edition of NOW That’s What I Call Music!
The compilation series will release its 79th volume next month, featuring 16 major hits including “deja vu” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Beautiful Mistakes” by Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion, “Peaches” by Justin Bieber, “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence and more.
The 1980s album will feature 18 of the biggest tracks of that decade, including Eurythmics‘ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” Duran Duran’s “Rio,” Daryl Hall and John Oates’ “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” Toto’s “Africa,” Survivor‘s “Eye of the Tiger” and more.
Here is the track list:
NOW That’s What I Call Music! 79
Masked Wolf — “Astronaut in the Ocean”
Riton X Nightcrawlers featuring Mufasa & Hypeman — “Friday (Dopamine re-edit)”
Doja Cat feat. SZA — “Kiss Me More”
Justin Bieber feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon — “Peaches”
Maroon 5 and Megan Thee Stallion — “Beautiful Mistakes”
Ariana Grande — “pov”
Kali Uchis — “Telepatia”
Olivia Rodrigo — “deja vu”
Billie Eilish — “Your Power”
Giveon — “Heartbreak Anniversary”
Duncan Laurence — “Arcade”
Imagine Dragons — “Follow You”
Nelly & Florida George Line — “Lil Bit”
AJR — “Way Less Sad”
Regard x Troye Sivan x Tate McRae — “You”
Marshmello x Jonas Brothers — “Leave Before You Love Me”
NOW Presents What’s Next:
Mike Mineo — “What Love Is”
Q — “Take Me Where Your Heart Is”
19 &You — “Heard/Heart”
Destiny Rogers — “West Like” feat. Kalan.FrFr
Carly Gibert — “Interstellar”
Aidan Bissett — “More Than Friends”
NOW That’s What I Call A Decade! 1890s
George Michael — “Monkey” (7″ Edit Remastered)
Eurythmics — “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (Remastered)
Simple Minds — “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” (12″ Version)
John Mellencamp — “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60’s Rock)”
The Clash — “Rock the Casbah” (Bob Clearmountain Mix)
Duran Duran — “Rio”
Tears for Fears — “Shout”
Survivor — “Eye of the Tiger”
Rick Springfield — “Jessie’s Girl”
Wang Chung — “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”
A-ha — “Take On Me”
Billy Idol — “Rebel Yell”
INXS — “Need You Tonight”
The Bangles — “Walk Like an Egyptian”
Daryl Hall & John Oates — “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”
Toto — “Africa”
Foreigner — “I Want to Know What Love Is”
Journey — “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
