Elton John‘s holiday song “Step Into Christmas” was released way back in 1973, but it has finally been certified Platinum by the RIAA.
“Step Into Christmas” has re-entered Billboard‘s Holiday Airplay chart every year over the past decade and has returned to the U.K. singles chart every year since 2011. Last year, a new video was created for the song, starring Cara Delevingne as Elton.
Elton has posted a video poking fun at how ubiquitous “Step Into Christmas” becomes each holiday season: In it, he’s in his kitchen, and every time he opens something — a drawer, the oven, a cabinet, the refrigerator — the song starts playing, prompting him to scream in horror.
In other Elton news, Monday, Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, and he’s announced in an email to fans that all donations to his Elton John AIDS Foundation will be tripled on this day.
“I lost hundreds of friends to AIDS. I built a chapel in my home so I’d never forget them. But the real danger is that the world has already forgotten,” he writes. “Every single minute, someone dies of AIDS-related causes. This is happening right now. On our watch.”
“It’s not because we lack the tools … What’s missing is the global attention and political will, but I’ve seen compassion move mountains before, and I believe it can again,” he notes. “You’ve stood by me for decades, and this World AIDS Day, I’m asking if you will stand with me and my Foundation to ensure no one is left behind.”
Luigi Mangione appears at a hearing for the murder of UHC CEO Brian Thompson at Manhattan Criminal Court, Feb. 21, 2025, in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — For the first time, prosecutors played the 911 call that led to the arrest of Luigi Mangione, as the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is in court in New York City on Monday for a multi-day hearing that could determine the balance of evidence in his state murder trial.
Mangione, 27, was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the fatal shooting of Thompson in midtown Manhattan last year.
“I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of, that he looks like the CEO shooter from New York,” an unnamed McDonald’s manager told a Blair County emergency dispatcher, according to a recording of the 911 call played in open court in Manhattan.
The recording was played during the testimony of Emily States, the 911 Coordinator for Blair County Emergency Services. She authenticated the video before prosecutors played it for the judge.
According to the manager, an older female customer was “really upset” and “frantic” after seeing Mangione eating breakfast in the rear of the McDonald’s. She noted that the customer was trying to be “non-discreet” while she scoped out the suspected killer.
“I can’t approach him,” the female manager told the dispatcher, identifying Mangione by his black jacket, surgical mask and tan beanie.
“He shot the CEO. I got you,” the dispatcher responds at one point.
The manager tried to identify Mangione by his size — “mid height” and “mid weight” — but appeared to struggle to list any identifiable characteristics beyond his clothing, according to the recording.
“The only thing you can see are his eyebrows,” the manager said. “I don’t know what to do here, guys.”
The recording itself is occasionally muffled and interrupted by the sounds of a bustling McDonald’s in the background, including breakfast orders being placed. Toward the end of the recording, the dispatcher confirms that an officer is en route to the McDonald’s.
“I do have an officer on the way for you. Just keep an eye on him. If he leaves, let us know,” the dispatcher said.
Mangione, sitting in the courtroom, leaned forward in his chair while the audio played, occasionally writing down notes of the call.
The judge has not yet ruled on whether to allow the audio into the trial.
Mangione’s attorneys are trying to limit prosecutors from using key evidence — including a 3D-printed gun and purported journal writings — police say they obtained when they arrested him in Pennsylvania last year.
Earlier during Monday’s hearing, Mangione leaned on his left hand and stared at a large screen at the front of the courtroom, gazing at images police in New York City disseminated following the murder of Thompson.
The images allegedly depict Mangione at a Starbucks, on a bicycle, at a hostel, in the back of a taxi and with a gun taking aim at Thompson as the United Healthcare chief executive strolled toward the Hilton in Midtown.
The NYPD posted the images to social media following the killing as it asked the public for help identifying the suspect wanted for a “premeditated targeted attack” and announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to arrest.
With Sgt. Christopher McLaughlin on the witness stand, prosecutor Joel Seidemann played a video of the shooting allegedly depicting Mangione firing more than once, Thompson buckling against the building facade, and Mangione calmly walking by the victim.
Prosecutors seem intent on firmly establishing Mangione as the definitive suspect as the defense raises questions about officers approaching him five days later at the McDonald’s in Altoona.
Bernard Pyles, who works for the company that installed security cameras at the McDonald’s, testified Monday that he was asked to retrieve footage for the police.
“We were told there was an arrest made and they need footage,” Pyles said. “We were looking for a certain individual on the footage in order to cut out the pieces they needed.”
On Dec. 9, McDonalds cameras allegedly captured Mangione ordering from a kiosk, waiting at the counter and picking up his order. Mangione is allegedly seen on a different camera carrying his food, taking a seat in a back corner table and wiping it down.
The individual that police identified as Mangione remained at the table 25 minutes before camera showed police officers arriving and confronting him.
Defense attorneys have argued Altoona police officers questioned Mangione for 20 minutes before reading him his rights, and also searched his backpack without a warrant.
Nearly two dozen Mangione supporters seated in the back row of the courtroom craned their necks to get a look at the accused killer as he entered the courtroom at the start of Monday’s hearing. Some were dressed in T-shirts displaying slogans about the case, including one saying “Justice is not a spectacle.”
Though no trial date has been set for either Mangione’s state or federal criminal cases, the outcome of this week’s hearing will determine the shape of the case Mangione and his lawyers will face at trial. If they succeed in limiting key evidence, prosecutors could lose the ability to use Mangione’s writings — which prosecutors say paint a clear motive for the crime — and the alleged murder weapon.
“I finally feel confident about what I will do,” Mangione allegedly wrote in a notebook seized from his backpack, later included in court filings. “The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
This week’s hearing in New York’s State Supreme Court — where Mangione is charged with second-degree murder — follows a legal victory for Mangione’s defense when the judge in September tossed two murder charges related to an act of terrorism. He is still charged with second-degree murder and other offenses, as well as a separate criminal case in federal court. If convicted in state court, Mangione faces a potential life sentence, and he could face the death penalty in his federal case.
Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson — a father of two who spent two decades working for UnitedHealthcare before being named its CEO — last December outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel before allegedly fleeing the city. He was arrested on Dec. 9 at the McDonald’s in Altoona after someone reported seeing a “suspicious male that looked like the shooter from New York City.”
Defense lawyers are trying to bar prosecutors from using any of the evidence recovered from the backpack — including electronic devices, a 3D-printed gun, silencer, and a journal — as well as referencing any statements Mangione made to police. Lawyers with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have defended the lawfulness of the arrest and search and are expected to argue that the evidence would have inevitably been recovered during the discovery process ahead of trial.
“Despite the gravest of consequences for Mr. Mangione, law enforcement has methodically and purposefully trampled his constitutional rights,” Mangione’s attorney argued in their motion.
Defense lawyers argue the constitutional issues began almost immediately after officers approached Mangione, who was seated in the McDonald’s to have breakfast. After Mangione allegedly provided officers with a fake driver’s license, they immediately began questioning Mangione about whether he was recently in New York and why he lied about his identity, defense lawyers say. As he was questioned, defense lawyers say officers filled the restaurant to form an “armed human wall trapping Mr. Mangione at the back of the restaurant.”
Citing time-stamped police body camera footage, Mangione’s attorneys allege police waited 20 minutes to read his Miranda Rights and extensively questioned him without informing him he was under investigation or that he had the right to remain silent. They have asked New York State Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro to prohibit prosecutors from introducing any evidence or testimony related to what they say was an illegal interrogation at the McDonald’s.
Defense lawyers also contend that an officer illegally searched Mangione’s bag while he was being interrogated, eventually discovering a loaded magazine and handgun. Despite another officer commenting, “at this point we probably need a search warrant” for the bag, Mangione’s attorneys argue that the officer continued searching the bag and claimed she was trying to make sure there “wasn’t a bomb or anything” in the bag.
“[The officer] did not search the bag because she reasonably thought there might be a bomb, but rather this was an excuse designed to cover up an illegal warrantless search of the backpack,” they argue. “This made-up bomb claim further shows that even she believed at the time that there were constitutional issues with her search, forcing her to attempt to salvage this debacle by making this spurious claim.”
Mangione’s attorneys argue that any of the items recovered from the backpack, including his alleged writings and weapon, should be limited as “fruit” of an illegal search.
Ahead of the hearing, Mangione’s attorneys have previewed plans to call at least two witnesses from the Altoona Police Department. During an unrelated court hearing last week, one of Mangione’s attorneys claimed that the hearing could include more than two dozen witnesses and hours of body camera footage.
Judge Carro has set aside several days beginning Monday to hear arguments about whether the testimony and evidence can be suppressed.
Ozzy Osbourne Save the Chimps painting. (Credit: Save the Chimps)
Ozzy Osbourne‘s charity paintings for the organization Save the Chimps are going up for display at the Spectrum Miami art fair.
The paintings were created by the late Prince of Darkness and completed with brushstrokes from the chimp residents of the Save the Chimps sanctuary. The pieces went up for auction on July 17, just days before Ozzy’s death on July 22.
“I paint because it gives me peace of mind, but I don’t sell my paintings,” Ozzy said at the time. “I’ve made an exception with these collaborations as it raises money for Save the Chimps, a sanctuary for hundreds of apes rescued from labs, roadside zoos and wildlife traffickers.”
Spectrum Miami takes place Wednesday through Sunday, coinciding with Ozzy’s birthday on Dec. 3. The fair will be offering limited-edition prints, as well as scarves and T-shirts displaying the artwork.
“Chimps are our closest relatives in the animal world, and I’m proud of Ozzy for summoning the energy to support them during his last months, despite his health challenges,” Sharon Osbourne says in a new statement. “The original paintings raised much needed funds for the sanctuary, and the prints, scarves and t-shirts will give even more fans the opportunity to help.”
The B-52s Las Vegas residency admat/(courtesy of Live Nation)
The B-52s are returning to Las Vegas in 2026.
The band has announced three new shows at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, taking place April 22, 24 and 25. The residency has the band performing some of their biggest hits, including “Rock Lobster,” “Private Idaho,” “Roam” and “Love Shack.”
A Citi presale for tickets begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT, with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. PT.
The B-52s launched their Vegas residency in May 2023. Although they wrapped a farewell tour in January of that year, they have continued to play shows, including hitting the road with Devo on the Cosmic De-Evolution tour. The two acts are set to bring the show to the U.K. this summer for two dates, June 20 in London and June 21 in Manchester.
A complete list of dates can be found at TheB52s.com.
Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas on season 34 of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ (Disney/Eric McCandless)
This Mormon wife is trading in her ballroom shoes for the Broadway stage.
Whitney Leavitt, one of the stars of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and a season 34 Dancing with the Stars contestant, will be making her Broadway debut in the Tony-winning revival of Chicago. Leavitt will star as Roxie Hart in the production, which marks her first-ever professional theatrical role.
The reality TV show personality and dancer made the announcement in a post shared to Instagram on Monday.
“Grateful beyond words to ANNOUNCE that I will be joining @chicagomusical in the iconic role of Roxie Hart,” Leavitt wrote. “See you in New York City! #chicagoonbroadway.”
Leavitt’s fellow DWTS contestant Elaine Hendrix sent support her way in the post’s comment section.
“Congratulations! Getting exactly what you wanted is pure girl fire,” Hendrix wrote alongside a fire emoji and a red heart emoji.
Leavitt will take over the role starting on Feb. 2, 2026. She’ll star for a six-week limited engagement that ends on March 15.
This isn’t her first time publicly dancing to Chicago‘s music. Leavitt performed an Argentine tango to “Cell Block Tango” with her professional dance partner, Mark Ballas, during an episode of DWTS last season.
Academy of Country Music Awards 2026 (dcp/ACM/Prime Video)
The 2026 edition of the Academy of Country Music Awards is heading back to Sin City.
The 61st annual ACMs will take place May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and will stream live on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch. Tickets will go on sale early next year.
The Academy of Country Music Awards marked its 60th anniversary this year with a ceremony hosted by Reba McEntire in Frisco, Texas. The big winners included Lainey Wilson, Ella Langley, Chris Stapleton, Old Dominion and Brooks & Dunn.
Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine performs at Day 3 at Cala Mijas Festival 2023 on September 02, 2023 in Mijas, Spain. (Bianca de Vilar/WireImage)
Florence + the Machine and Fontaines D.C. are among the headliners for Reading & Leeds 2026.
The twin U.K. festivals take place simultaneously over the same weekend: Aug. 27 to Aug. 30. The initial bill also includes sombr and Role Model.
Luigi Mangione appears at a hearing for the murder of UHC CEO Brian Thompson at Manhattan Criminal Court, Feb. 21, 2025, in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — One year after prosecutors say Luigi Mangione brazenly assassinated UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan, the 27-year-old is back in court Monday for a multi-day hearing that could determine the balance of evidence in his state murder trial.
Mangione’s attorneys are trying to limit prosecutors from using key evidence — including a 3D-printed gun and purported journal writings — police say they obtained when they arrested him in Pennsylvania last year.
Mangione entered the courtroom and took a seat next to his attorneys, Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo, as nearly two dozen Mangione supporters seated in the back row of the courtroom craned their necks to get a look at the accused killer. Some were dressed in T-shirts displaying slogans about the case, including one saying “Justice is not a spectacle.”
During the hearing, Mangione leaned on his left hand and stared at a large screen at the front of the courtroom, gazing at images police in New York City disseminated following the murder of Thompson.
The images allegedly depict Mangione at a Starbucks, on a bicycle, at a hostel, in the back of a taxi and with a gun taking aim at Thompson as the United Healthcare chief executive strolled toward the Hilton in Midtown.
The NYPD posted the images to social media following the killing as it asked the public for help identifying the suspect wanted for a “premeditated targeted attack” and announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to arrest.
With Sgt. Christopher McLaughlin on the witness stand, prosecutor Joel Seidemann played a video of the shooting allegedly depicting Mangione firing more than once, Thompson buckling against the building facade, and Mangione calmly walking by the victim.
Prosecutors seem intent on firmly establishing Mangione as the definitive suspect as the defense raises questions about officers approaching him five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Bernard Pyles, who works for the company that installed security cameras at the McDonald’s, testified Monday that he was asked to retrieve footage for the police.
“We were told there was an arrest made and they need footage,” Pyles said. “We were looking for a certain individual on the footage in order to cut out the pieces they needed.”
On Dec. 9, McDonalds cameras allegedly captured Mangione ordering from a kiosk, waiting at the counter and picking up his order. Mangione is allegedly seen on a different camera carrying his food, taking a seat in a back corner table and wiping it down.
The individual that police identified as Mangione remained at the table 25 minutes before camera showed police officers arriving and confronting him.
Defense attorneys have argued Altoona police officers questioned Mangione for 20 minutes before reading him his rights, and also searched his backpack without a warrant.
Though no trial date has been set for either Mangione’s state or federal criminal cases, the outcome of this week’s hearing will determine the shape of the case Mangione and his lawyers will face at trial. If they succeed in limiting key evidence, prosecutors could lose the ability to use Mangione’s writings — which prosecutors say paint a clear motive for the crime — and the alleged murder weapon.
“I finally feel confident about what I will do,” Mangione allegedly wrote in a notebook seized from his backpack, later included in court filings. “The target is insurance. It checks every box.”
This week’s hearing in New York’s State Supreme Court — where Mangione is charged with second-degree murder — follows a legal victory for Mangione’s defense when the judge in September tossed two murder charges related to an act of terrorism. He is still charged with second-degree murder and other offenses, as well as a separate criminal case in federal court. If convicted in state court, Mangione faces a potential life sentence, and he could face the death penalty in his federal case.
Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson — a father of two who spent two decades working for UnitedHealthcare before being named its CEO — last December outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel before allegedly fleeing the city. He was arrested on Dec. 9 at the McDonald’s in Altoona after someone reported seeing a “suspicious male that looked like the shooter from New York City.”
Defense lawyers are trying to bar prosecutors from using any of the evidence recovered from the backpack — including electronic devices, a 3D-printed gun, silencer, and a journal — as well as referencing any statements Mangione made to police. Lawyers with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have defended the lawfulness of the arrest and search and are expected to argue that the evidence would have inevitably been recovered during the discovery process ahead of trial.
“Despite the gravest of consequences for Mr. Mangione, law enforcement has methodically and purposefully trampled his constitutional rights,” Mangione’s attorney argued in their motion.
Defense lawyers argue the constitutional issues began almost immediately after officers approached Mangione, who was seated in the McDonald’s to have breakfast. After Mangione allegedly provided officers with a fake driver’s license, they immediately began questioning Mangione about whether he was recently in New York and why he lied about his identity, defense lawyers say. As he was questioned, defense lawyers say officers filled the restaurant to form an “armed human wall trapping Mr. Mangione at the back of the restaurant.”
Citing time-stamped police body camera footage, Mangione’s attorneys allege police waited 20 minutes to read his Miranda Rights and extensively questioned him without informing him he was under investigation or that he had the right to remain silent. They have asked New York State Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro to prohibit prosecutors from introducing any evidence or testimony related to what they say was an illegal interrogation at the McDonald’s.
Defense lawyers also contend that an officer illegally searched Mangione’s bag while he was being interrogated, eventually discovering a loaded magazine and handgun. Despite another officer commenting, “at this point we probably need a search warrant” for the bag, Mangione’s attorneys argue that the officer continued searching the bag and claimed she was trying to make sure there “wasn’t a bomb or anything” in the bag.
“[The officer] did not search the bag because she reasonably thought there might be a bomb, but rather this was an excuse designed to cover up an illegal warrantless search of the backpack,” they argue. “This made-up bomb claim further shows that even she believed at the time that there were constitutional issues with her search, forcing her to attempt to salvage this debacle by making this spurious claim.”
Mangione’s attorneys argue that any of the items recovered from the backpack, including his alleged writings and weapon, should be limited as “fruit” of an illegal search.
Ahead of the hearing, Mangione’s attorneys have previewed plans to call at least two witnesses from the Altoona Police Department. During an unrelated court hearing last week, one of Mangione’s attorneys claimed that the hearing could include more than two dozen witnesses and hours of body camera footage.
Judge Carro has set aside several days beginning Monday to hear arguments about whether the testimony and evidence can be suppressed.
Chicago & Styx tour admat (courtesy of Live Nation)
Styx and Chicago are teaming up for a new summer tour.
The bands have announced dates for The Windy Cities Tour – All The Hits…Your Kind of Tour. It’s set to begin July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and wrap Sept. 6 in Los Angeles.
“We are excited about the summer tour,” Chicago’s trumpeter Lee Loughnane says in a statement. “Chicago has never toured with Styx before so it’s going to be a lot of fun, we’re looking forward to it.”
“In my early days of live performing I had several mentors who were kind enough to let me join in and play with them despite not being able to read charts,” adds Styx singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw. “By the time Chicago released their first album, I had enough experience to begin learning their amazing music on my own. Now, the idea of Styx touring with Chicago is a major thrill all on its own. We can’t wait to spend the summer with them!”
Various ticket presales will begin Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. local time.
John Paul Densmore, drummer of the rock band The Doors, was born in Los Angeles, California.
Densmore co-founded The Doors in 1965 along with frontman Jim Morrison, guitarist Robby Kreiger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek. They released their self-titled debut in 1967, which featured their breakthrough single “Light My Fire.” Both the album and the song were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.
The Doors released six studio albums and in addition to “Light My Fire,” are known for such classic tunes as “L.A. Woman,” “Riders on the Storm,” “Break on Through (To the Other Side),” “Hello, I Love You” and more.
Following the 1971 death of Morrison, Densmore has been the member of the band to veto any attempts to license The Doors’ music for commercial purposes. He even went to court to protect the use of the band’s name and music. Densmore also teamed with the Morrison estate to stop Kreiger and Manzarek from touring under The Doors’ name.
Densmore was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Doors in 1993.
