Tag: E

Keith Urban plays free pop-up concert outside a Buc-ee’s store in Alabama

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ATHENS, Ala. (AP) — Country singer Keith Urban gave just a few hours’ notice before performing a free concert Friday night in the parking lot of a large convenience store and gas station in north Alabama.

About 5,500 people turned out for the show in Athens, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south of Nashville, said Athens Police Department Capt. Brett Constable. The concert was outside a Buc-ee’s, a chain of roadside stores known for barbecue.

“I came down to this Buc-ee’s about a month ago. And when I left, I went, ‘It’d be kind of fun to do a show there,’” Urban told the crowd during the concert, according to an Instagram video posted by WAFF-TV in Huntsville, Alabama.

Urban said his “cave man brain” told him it would be fun to set up a little stage for a small audience.

“I swear to you, I thought maybe 100, 200 people,” Urban said as a video showed a larger crowd.

People started gathering hours before the show, news outlets reported.

“I was at work and we heard it on the radio that there was going to be a surprise concert at Buc-ee’s in Athens,” Cindy Wilson told FOX 54 WZDX-TV in Huntsville. “And I was like, ’Oh my God, it’s on my way home.’ And it’s 15 minutes from my house. So I couldn’t believe it.”

While he was at the store, Urban also worked behind a food counter. A video showed him wearing a Buc-ee’s T-shirt and apron as he poured barbecue sauce on some brisket and chopped the meat into smaller pieces.

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August 18, 2024
Judge blocks plans for sports joint streaming venture among Fox, ESPN and Warner Brothers

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The launch of Venu Sports will be delayed after a federal judge granted FuboTV’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the planned sports streaming venture by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.

U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in the Southern District of New York said in her 69-page ruling that Fubo was likely to be successful in proving during a trial that the joint venture would violate antitrust laws, and Fubo and consumers would “face irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction.”

ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery said they would appeal the ruling.

FuboTV filed the lawsuit two weeks after ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery and Hulu announced their plan to offer a sports streaming service on Feb. 6.

FuboTV said in its filing that it has tried for years to offer a sports-only streaming service but has been prevented from doing so because of ESPN. Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery have imposed bundling requirements on FuboTV which it says forces “Fubo to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to license and broadcast content that its customers do not want or need.”

“Today’s ruling is a victory not only for Fubo but also for consumers. This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options,” Fubo co-founder and CEO David Gandler said in a statement. “But our fight continues. Fubo has said all along that we seek equal treatment from these media giants, and a level playing field in our industry.”

“A fair and competitive marketplace is necessary to provide consumers with multiple, robust and more affordable sports streaming options,” Gandler continued. “We will continue to fight for fairness and for what’s best for consumers.”

Venu Sports announced on Aug. 1 it would be available for $42.99 per month with its planned launch in the fall. That launch will likely be delayed until at least next year.

The platform would include offerings from 14 linear networks — ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS, truTV — as well as ESPN+.

Subscribers would have the ability to bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.

ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery said in a joint statement: “We believe that Fubo’s arguments are wrong on the facts and the law, and that Fubo has failed to prove it is legally entitled to a preliminary injunction. Venu Sports is a pro-competitive option that aims to enhance consumer choice by reaching a segment of viewers who currently are not served by existing subscription options.”

ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will each share one-third ownership in the joint venture. The initial term for the three companies to be involved in Venue Sports is nine years, according to term sheets and court filings.

The ruling also drew reaction from cable and satellite companies, who are watching with interest due to their bundling requirements and what companies generally charge in subscriber fees.

“We are pleased with the court decision and believe that it appropriately recognizes the potential harms of allowing major programmers to license their content to an affiliated distributor on more favorable terms than they license their content to third parties,” DirecTV spokesman Jon Greer said.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

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August 17, 2024
Songwriter-producer The-Dream seeks dismissal of sexual assault lawsuit

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawyers for The-Dream, a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer, are seeking the dismissal of a woman’s lawsuit that accused him of sexual assault and other abuse.

The producer, whose legal name is Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, was a writer and producer on huge hits including Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” He has denied allegations of sexual assault, rape and other abuse made in a June lawsuit by singer Chanaaz Mangroe.

Gesteelde-Diamant’s lawyers want the suit to be thrown out entirely, writing in their motion filed Friday in a Los Angeles federal court that Mangroe’s lawyers are “using the judicial system to propagate a false and defamatory narrative about Diamant, a highly respected Black musician in the arts industry, for their own financial gain and to his extreme detriment.”

Mangroe, who performed under the stage name Channii Monroe, alleged in the June lawsuit that Gesteelde-Diamant lured her into “an abusive, violent, and manipulative relationship filled with physical assaults, violent sexual encounters, and horrific psychological manipulation” after she left her native Netherlands for the U.S. with hopes of making it big as a singer.

The motion also aims to dismiss or, alternatively, strike the lawsuit’s rape claim, on technical grounds.

In a statement Friday, Desirée F. Moore, who is representing Gesteelde-Diamant and his company, argued the lawsuit is a “shotgun pleading,” which she says is grounds for dismissal because it doesn’t specify specific factual allegations against each defendant.

Meredith Firetog, one of the lawyers representing Mangroe, said in an email to The Associated Press Friday that the arguments made in the motion to dismiss are “wholly unpersuasive.”

“We look forward to opposing the motions” and proceeding with the case, Firetog said.

If the case isn’t dismissed, Gesteelde-Diamant’s lawyers want a judge to strike portions of the complaint they deemed “impermissibly immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous material.” They also want the company he co-owns, Contra Paris, LLC, dismissed because it primarily does business in Atlanta and is registered in Delaware.

The Associated Press doesn’t typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Mangroe has.

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August 17, 2024
Fire breaks out at London’s Somerset House, home to priceless works by Van Gogh, Cezanne

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LONDON (AP) — Priceless paintings by Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh and others were unharmed Saturday after firefighters worked to douse a blaze that broke out in the roof of Somerset House, a large central London arts venue, officials said.

Heavy smoke and flames seen coming from the top of the historic building around noon had been knocked down by firefighters who poured water on it from buckets on ladder trucks.

Firefighters were working to extinguish the final pockets of flames in the early evening and were expected to be on the scene until Sunday, said Keeley Foster, assistant commissioner of the London Fire Brigade.

“The age and design of the building proved a challenge to crews as they initially responded,” Foster said.

The complex and technical response required the use of a 63-meter (205-foot) ladder to reach the flames and fire breaks had to be created in the roof to limit the spread of flames.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, Foster said.

Staff and the public were safe and artworks were not in the area of the fire, a Somerset House official said.

“A fire was spotted at about midday in one corner of the west wing, the site was immediately evacuated and the London Fire Brigade called, who arrived very quickly,” Jonathan Reekie, director of Somerset House Trust, said. “The west wing is mainly offices and back-of-house facilities, there are no artworks in that area.”

The venue next to the River Thames had been scheduled to host a breakdancing event to celebrate the sport’s debut at the Paris Olympics that was canceled.

The fire was on the opposite side of the large complex from The Courtauld Gallery that features works such as Vincent Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear” and “The Descent From The Cross” by Peter Paul Rubens.

The gallery is scheduled to reopen Sunday, Reekie said.

The neoclassical building was reconstructed nearly 250 years ago after the original Somerset House was demolished after becoming neglected.

The original palace was built in 1547 by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, who was later executed at the Tower of London.

Queen Elizabeth I lived in the palace as a princess for five years before ascending to the throne.

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August 17, 2024

Top 20 Global Concert Tours from Pollstar

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The Top 20 Global Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows Worldwide. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.

TOP 20 GLOBAL CONCERT TOURS

1	Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band	$7,291,819	57,273	$127.32
2	Luke Combs	$6,664,581	49,928	$133.48
3	P!NK	$6,530,410	48,372	$135.00
4	Dead & Company	$4,692,214	15,874	$295.58
5	Bad Bunny	$4,036,577	16,405	$246.06
6	Kenny Chesney	$4,022,134	36,143	$111.28
7	Justin Timberlake	$2,779,786	14,431	$192.62
8	blink-182	$2,598,386	21,886	$118.72
9	Karol G	$2,381,886	22,668	$105.08
10	Chris Brown	$2,222,878	13,018	$170.75
11	Aventura	$1,979,243	12,638	$156.61
12	Luis Miguel	$1,952,914	13,565	$143.96
13	Noah Kahan	$1,952,693	17,281	$113.00
14	TOMORROW X TOGETHER	$1,948,937	11,781	$165.42
15	Take That	$1,862,798	17,970	$103.66
16	Feid	$1,662,722	13,595	$122.30
17	Lady Gaga	$1,638,194	5,299	$309.11
18	Missy Elliott	$1,420,850	10,779	$131.81
19	Roland Kaiser	$1,372,461	18,974	$72.33
20	Melanie Martinez	$1,323,832	13,364	$99.05

For free upcoming tour information, go to www.pollstar.com

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TOP 20 GLOBAL CONCERT TOURS

1	Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band	$7,291,819	57,273	$127.32
2	Luke Combs	$6,664,581	49,928	$133.48
3	P!NK	$6,530,410	48,372	$135.00
4	Dead & Company	$4,692,214	15,874	$295.58
5	Bad Bunny	$4,036,577	16,405	$246.06
6	Kenny Chesney	$4,022,134	36,143	$111.28
7	Justin Timberlake	$2,779,786	14,431	$192.62
8	blink-182	$2,598,386	21,886	$118.72
9	Karol G	$2,381,886	22,668	$105.08
10	Chris Brown	$2,222,878	13,018	$170.75
11	Aventura	$1,979,243	12,638	$156.61
12	Luis Miguel	$1,952,914	13,565	$143.96
13	Noah Kahan	$1,952,693	17,281	$113.00
14	TOMORROW X TOGETHER	$1,948,937	11,781	$165.42
15	Take That	$1,862,798	17,970	$103.66
16	Feid	$1,662,722	13,595	$122.30
17	Lady Gaga	$1,638,194	5,299	$309.11
18	Missy Elliott	$1,420,850	10,779	$131.81
19	Roland Kaiser	$1,372,461	18,974	$72.33
20	Melanie Martinez	$1,323,832	13,364	$99.05

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August 17, 2024

What is ketamine, the drug involved in Matthew Perry’s death?

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The investigation into the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry has led to a sweeping indictment that pulled in five people who prosecutors say contributed to his ketamine overdose in October, including two doctors and a street dealer involved in providing Perry large amounts of the powerful anesthetic.

Here’s what to know about ketamine.

What is ketamine?

Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic approved by U.S. health regulators for use during surgery. It can be given as an intramuscular injection or by IV.

The drug is a chemical cousin of the recreational drug PCP. Ketamine itself has been used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It can cause hallucinations and can impact breathing and the heart.

How was Matthew Perry using ketamine?

Ketamine has seen a huge surge in use in recent years as a treatment for depression, anxiety and pain. While the drug isn’t approved for those conditions, doctors are free to prescribe drugs for so-called off-label uses.

In Perry’s case, he was using it to treat depression. He was receiving ketamine infusion therapy from his physicians, but prosecutors said the actor turned to other sources when his doctors refused to give him more doses.

Prosecutors said Thursday that Perry obtained ketamine illicitly through a network that included a pair of doctors, his assistant and a woman they dubbed the “Ketamine Queen.” Perry’s assistant, who has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, injected the actor with ketamine — including several times on the day he died.

“We are not talking about legitimate ketamine treatment,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said while announcing the charges. “We’re talking about two doctors who abused the trust they had, abused their licenses to put another person’s life at risk.”

How else is ketamine being used?

Ketamine also has been used by paramedics as a sedative, often while working alongside police when they believed subjects were out of control. Some states and agencies have begun to rethink the practice due to its dangers. The 2019 death in Colorado of a young Black man named Elijah McClain brought scrutiny to the practice and led to a pair of paramedics being convicted for giving McClain an overdose of ketamine.

Overall, the practice of giving ketamine and other sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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August 17, 2024
BeatKing, a Houston rapper known for viral TikTok song ‘Then Leave,’ dies at 39

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Houston rapper BeatKing, whose booming voice and eccentric songs brought him fame in nightclubs and on social media, has died, his manager said Friday. He was 39.

The rapper, whose name was Justin Riley, died Thursday after fainting during a recording session, Tasha Felder told The Associated Press. Felder, his manager, said Riley was taken to a hospital and that he had a pulmonary embolism.

“His daughters were with him the entire time,” Felder said. “It is truly sad, we loved him so much.”

BeatKing, whose club music anthems earned him the name Club Godzilla, achieved his biggest hit in 2020 when his song “Then Leave” went viral on social media and peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. He also scored hits with the songs “Crush” and “Thick.” His final album, “Never Leave Houston on a Sunday,” was released last month.

He was known for humorous, raunchy lyrics and broke through the Houston music scene in 2010 with “Kings of the Club,” reaching Houston’s younger generation not as familiar with the city’s famous slowed music style from The Screwed Up Click and Swisha House.

As a rapper or producer, BeatKing collaborated with major artists including 2 Chainz, Bun B, T-Pain and Ludacris. Although BeatKing didn’t achieve the national prominence of fellow Houstonians such as Travis Scott and Megan Thee Stallion, he found fame throughout the South among fans who admired his sound and authenticity to Houston.

“My condolences @clubgozilla,” 2 Chainz wrote on social media. “God Bless your soul and family.”

“Just a great spirited person,” Bun B said in a tribute to the rapper on Instagram.

Fans on social media recalled BeatKing’s dominance over the club scene in the 2010s. He formed an image for himself by wearing black T-shirts with phrases such as “I unfollow back” and “Stop moving to Houston.”

He is survived by two daughters and his partner.

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Hamilton reported from New York.

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Lathan is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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August 17, 2024
Woman charged in brazen plot to extort Elvis Presley’s family and auction off Graceland

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A Missouri woman has been arrested on charges she orchestrated a brazen scheme to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion and property before a judge halted the mysterious foreclosure sale, the Justice Department said Friday.

Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, of Kimberling City, falsely claimed Presley’s daughter borrowed $3.8 million from a bogus private lender and had pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan before her death last year, prosecutors said. She then threatened to sell Graceland to the higher bidder if Presley’s family didn’t pay a $2.85 million settlement, according to authorities.

Finley posed as three different people allegedly involved with the fake lender, fabricated loan documents, and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing the auction of Graceland in May, prosecutors said. A judge stopped the sale after Presley’s granddaughter sued.

Experts were baffled by the attempt to sell off one of the most storied pieces of real estate in the country using names, emails and documents that were quickly suspected to be phony.

Graceland opened as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982 and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. A large Presley-themed entertainment complex across the street from the museum is owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises. The announcement of charges came on the 47th anniversary of Presley’s death at the age of 42.

“Ms. Findley allegedly took advantage of the very public and tragic occurrences in the Presley family as an opportunity to prey on the name and financial status of the heirs to the Graceland estate, attempting to steal what rightfully belongs to the Presley family for her personal gain,” said Eric Shen, inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group.

AP correspondent Jackie Quinn reports an arrest had been made in an effort to steal away the ownership of Elvis Presley’s Graceland property.

An attorney for Findley, who used multiple aliases, was not listed in court documents. A voicemail left with a phone number believed to be associated with Findley was not immediately returned, nor was an email sent to an address prosecutors say she had used in the scheme.

She’s charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. The mail fraud charge carries up to 20 years in prison. She remained in custody after a brief federal court appearance in Missouri, according to court papers.

In May, a public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre (5-hectare) estate said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Riley Keough, Presley’s granddaughter and an actor, inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year. An attorney for Keough didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Friday.

Keough filed a lawsuit claiming fraud, and a judge halted the proposed auction with an injunction. Naussany Investments and Private Lending — the bogus lender authorities now say Findley created — said Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice. Keough’s lawsuit alleged that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan in September 2023 and that Lisa Maria Presley never borrowed money from Naussany.

Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose name is listed on Naussany’s documents, indicated she never met Lisa Marie Presley nor notarized any documents for her, according to the estate’s lawsuit. The judge said the notary’s affidavit brings into question “the authenticity of the signature.”

The judge in May halted the foreclosure sale of the beloved Memphis tourist attraction, saying Elvis Presley’s estate could be successful in arguing that a company’s attempt to auction Graceland was fraudulent.

The Tennessee attorney general’s office had been investigating the Graceland controversy, then confirmed in June that it handed the probe over to federal authorities.

A statement emailed to The Associated Press after the judge stopped the sale said Naussany would not proceed because a key document in the case and the loan were recorded and obtained in a different state, meaning “legal action would have to be filed in multiple states.” The statement, sent from an email address listed in court documents, did not specify the other state.

After the scheme fell apart, Findley tried to make it look like the person responsible was a Nigerian identity thief, prosecutors said. An email sent May 25 to the AP from the same email as the earlier statement said in Spanish that the foreclosure sale attempt was made by a Nigerian fraud ring that targets old and dead people in the U.S. and uses the Internet to steal money.

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Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee.

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August 17, 2024
They look like — and link to — real news articles. But they’re actually ads from the Harris campaign

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If you’re not looking too closely, some recent Kamala Harris ads may give the false impression that some leading news organizations are taking sides in the campaign for president.

The advertisements, which have turned up in some Google search feeds, include links to legitimate news stories but feature — in words that appear to be headlines from the originating news organizations — pro-Harris messages written by the Democrat’s campaign. They were revealed in an article by Axios this week.

Google and the campaign defend the practice as legitimate and legal, used in the past by both Democrats and Republicans. But it has raised concern from some of the outlets and others.

Said Jane Kirtley, a media ethics professor at the University of Minnesota: “What it’s about is confusion and deception.”

Assorted methods of advertising

While television remains the dominant form of political advertising, the under-the-radar Google ads also indicate there will be many different ways political campaigns try to reach voters this fall.

The Google ads have popped up for consumers making searches, usually in targeted geographic regions. One ad, for example, has the headline, “VP Harris’s Economic Vision — Lower Costs and Higher Wages.” Copy underneath reads, “a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead. We won’t go back to the failed trickle-down policies that hurt working families.”

The ad includes a link to a story on The Associated Press’ website, where those messages do not appear. Similarly, an ad that links to a story by The Guardian says Harris “is a champion for reproductive freedom and will stop Trump’s abortion bans.”

A spokesman for the Guardian said that “while we understand why an organization might wish to align itself with the Guardian’s trusted brand, we need to ensure that it is being used appropriately and with our permission. We’ll be reaching out to Google for more information about this practice.”

The AP also said it was unaware that one of its articles was being used for this purpose. “AP’s journalism is independent, fact-based and non partisan and must not be misrepresented in any way,” spokesman Patrick Maks said.

Other Google search ads have run using material from CBS News, CNN, Time, PBS and USA Today, according to the Google Ads Transparency Center.

There is no indication that any of the linked articles were altered in any way. But Kirtley said she questioned how many people who see the advertisement will click on those links, and instead mistakenly think the ads were quoting from the articles. For news organizations, that’s crucially important at a time they’re fighting against perceptions of bias by some in the public.

“Their brand is being co-opted for political advertising without permission or prior knowledge,” she said. “It’s fine if they chose to endorse someone, but you don’t want your reporting to be turned into an endorsement.”

News content used outside of news spaces

It’s not the only instance of news outlets needing to be cognizant of their work being used in a political context in an unauthorized way. The AP would not discuss on Thursday whether it has needed to take action to prevent unauthorized uses of its now-iconic photograph of former President Donald Trump following an assassination attempt this summer; it will reportedly be on the cover of Trump’s upcoming book.

Google notes that the Harris ads are clearly labeled as “sponsored” so they are distinguishable from regular search results, and reveal that they are paid for by the Harris campaign. “It’s fairly common for advertisers to link out to or cite external websites, including news sites, in their ads,” Google said in a statement.

What to know about the 2024 Election

Indeed, the campaigns of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn used similar Google ads during Republican primary campaigns. But in 2017, Facebook decided to ban a similar practice in its advertising after the Wall Street Journal raised questions about it.

The Harris Google ad campaign seems limited in scope. The ads linking to Guardian and AP articles both appeared only in searches by users in the swing state of Pennsylvania, and both have appeared less than 2,000 times, according to the Ads Transparency Center. The Harris campaign said it had no plans to discontinue the ads.

“I just don’t think it’s a big deal,” said Robert Shrum, a veteran Democratic political strategist and director of the Center for the Political Future at the University of Southern California.

Harris’ Google effort is an indication that campaigns will be searching for new and creative ways to reach voters in the next few months, said Steve Caplan, who is teaching a class in political advertising at USC this fall. One expected trend: an explosion of commercials on streaming services like Netflix that never used to accept advertising.

“You’re trying to find new and innovative ways to break through in a media environment that’s very cluttered, and that takes strategy and creativity,” Caplan said.

Still, television ads — especially in swing states — are expected to dominate.

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Associated Press correspondent Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.

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August 16, 2024
Matthew Perry’s death leads to sweeping indictment of 5, including doctors and a reputed dealer

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nearly 10 months after the death of Matthew Perry, the long-simmering investigation into the ketamine that killed him came dramatically into public view with the announcement that five people had been charged with having roles in the overdose of the beloved “Friends” star.

Here are key things to know about the case, including the two key figures who could be headed for trial and the possibility of the steepest of prison sentences.

A sweeping set of indictments

One or more arrests had been expected since investigators from three different agencies revealed in May they had been conducting a joint probe into how the 54-year-old Perry got such large amounts of ketamine.

The actor had been among the growing number of patients using legal but off-label medical means to treat depression, or in other cases chronic pain, with the powerful surgical anesthetic.

Recent reports suggested indictments might be imminent, but few outside observers, if any, knew how wide-ranging the prosecution would be, reaching much further than previous cases stemming from celebrity overdoses.

When Michael Jackson died in 2009 from a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol, his doctor was charged with providing it. After rapper Mac Miller died in 2017, two men who prosecutors described as a dealer and a middleman were convicted of providing fentanyl-laced oxycodone that helped kill him.

But Perry’s case pulled in both, with indictments against doctors and illegal distributors who prosecutors say preyed on his long and public struggles with addiction. The investigation even went after the live-in personal assistant who prosecutors say helped him get ketamine and injected it directly into him before Perry was found dead in his hot tub on Oct. 28, 2023.

“They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry. But they did it anyway,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the charges.

The prosecution was well under way even before the announcement. Two people including the assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, and a Perry acquaintance, Eric Fleming, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute the drug. A San Diego physician, Dr. Mark Chavez, has agreed to enter a guilty plea.

That leaves prosecutors free to pursue their two biggest targets.

The doctor and the ‘Ketamine Queen’

An indictment unsealed Thursday alleges Perry turned to Los Angeles doctor Salvador Plasencia when his regular doctors refused to give him more ketamine. Prosecutors allege Plasencia cashed in on Perry’s desperation and addiction, getting him to pay $55,000 in cash for large amounts of the drug in the two months before his death.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted a co-defendant, according to his indictment.

He pleaded not guilty to seven counts of distribution of ketamine in an appearance in federal court on Thursday afternoon.

Plasencia’s attorney, Stefan Sacks, said outside court that he “was operating with what he what he thought were the best of medical intentions,” and his actions “certainly didn’t rise to the level of criminal misconduct.”

Prosecutors allege Jasveen Sangha, whom they describe as a drug dealer known to customers as the “Ketamine Queen,” provided the doses of the drug that actually killed Perry, injected into the actor by Iwamasa with syringes supplied by Plasencia.

Sangha also pleaded not guilty. Her attorney Alexandra Kazarian derided the “queen” moniker as made-for-media consumption during the hearing. The lawyer declined comment on the case outside court.

Prosecutors say the other doctor in the case, Chavez, helped Plasencia obtain the ketamine he gave to Perry, while Perry’s acquaintance, Fleming, helped get ketamine from Sangha to Perry.

Chavez could get up to 10 years in prison, Iwamasa up to 15 years and Fleming up to 25 years.

Multiple messages seeking comment from attorneys for the three men were not returned.

Looking ahead to trial

Sangha could get life in prison if convicted as charged, while Plasencia could get up to 120 years. Each has a trial date in October, but it is highly unlikely any would be facing a jury by then, and the two may be tried together. They also could face testimony from the co-defendants who reached plea agreements.

Magistrate Judge Alka Sagar ruled Sangha should be held without bond while awaiting trial, citing prosecutors’ contentions that she had destroyed evidence and funded a lavish lifestyle with drug sales even after Perry’s death.

The judge agreed to release Plasencia after he posted a $100,000 bond.

His attorney argued the Perry case was “isolated” and the doctor should be allowed to treat patients who depended on him at his one-man practice while awaiting trial.

“I’m not buying that argument,” Sagar said, but agreed Plasencia could see patients so long as they signed a document in which he acknowledged the charges.

“People have probably already heard about it from the amount of press,” Sacks told the judge, noting if they hadn’t, they would soon.

Records show Plasencia’s medical license has been in good standing with no records of complaints, though it is set to expire in October and he could face action. He already has surrendered his federal license to prescribe more dangerous drugs.

What is ketamine?

Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic approved by U.S. health regulators for use during surgery. It can be given as an intramuscular injection or by IV.

The drug is a chemical cousin of the recreational drug PCP. Ketamine itself has been used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It can cause hallucinations and can impact breathing and the heart.

Pushing back against ketamine

Prosecutors and police presented the Perry case as part of a major pushback against a rise in the illegal use of ketamine that has shadowed the broadening of its legal use.

Los Angeles police said in May they were working with the U.S. Drug Enforcment Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with a probe into how Perry got the drug. His autopsy, released in December, found the amount of ketamine in his blood was in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery.

“As Matthew Perry’s ketamine addiction grew, he wanted more and he wanted it faster and cheaper. That is how he ended up buying from street dealers and stole the ketamine that ultimately led to his death,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrator Anne Milgram said Thursday. “In doing so, he followed the arc that we have tragically seen with many others. The substance use disorder begins in a doctor’s office and ends in the street.”

Perry had years of struggles with addiction dating back to his time on NBC’s megahit sitcom, “Friends,” for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. Playing Chandler Bing, he became one of the biggest television stars of his generation alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.

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August 16, 2024
What to know about the 5 people charged in Matthew Perry’s death

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Five people have been charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death from a ketamine overdose last year, including the actor’s assistant and two doctors.

“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said Thursday while announcing the charges.

The five have been charged for their respective roles in supplying Perry with large amounts of ketamine, causing his October 2023 overdose death.

Here is what we know so far about those charged after a sweeping investigation into Perry’s death.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia

Plasencia, a Santa Monica area doctor, was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.

He pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Thursday, where he wore street clothes and was in handcuffs and leg chains. A judge ruled he can be released after posting a $100,000 bond.

An indictment filed Wednesday alleges that Plasencia, who was commonly known as “Dr. P,” used encrypted messaging applications and coded language to discuss drug deals, referring to bottles of ketamine as “Dr. Pepper,” “cans,” and “bots.” He is accused of facilitating the transfer of drugs from himself and others who have been charged to Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.

According to the indictment, Plasencia exchanged text messages with others involved in the drug sales, sending ones that said: “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets find out.”

After Plasencia’s court appearance, his attorney, Stefan Sacks, said: “Ultimately, Dr. Plasencia was operating with what he thought were the best of medical intentions,” and his actions “certainly didn’t rise to the level of criminal misconduct.

“His only concern was to give the best medical treatment and to do no harm,” Sacks said. “Unfortunately harm was done. But it was after his involvement.”

Plasencia, 42, graduated from medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2010 and has not been subject to any disciplinary actions, records show. His license is due to expire in October.

Possible sentence: Imprisonment for up to 10 years for each ketamine-related count and up to 20 years for each records falsification count.

Jasveen Sangha

Prosecutors allege Sangha is a drug dealer whose North Hollywood residence was a distribution point for the ketamine that killed Perry. She is known as the “Ketamine Queen,” according to court filings.

Sangha, 41, was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.

The indictment alleges that Sangha’s distribution of ketamine on October 24, 2023, caused Perry’s death days later.

She pleaded not guilty on Thursday, but a magistrate judge said she should remain in custody. Her attorney derided the “media-friendly nickname” — Ketamine Queen — that prosecutors used for her client. Her attorney declined comment outside of the courtroom.

Possible sentence: 10 years to life in prison.

Kenneth Iwamasa

Iwamasa worked as Perry’s live-in personal assistant and often communicated in coded language with the others charged in connection with Perry’s death to obtain ketamine, authorities said. He has admitted to administering several ketamine injections to Perry, including on the day he died.

He has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.

Iwamasa, 59, did not have any medical training or specific knowledge of how to administer controlled substances, prosecutors say. He found Perry dead in his home.

Attorneys for Iwamasa did not return requests for comment.

Possible sentence: 15 years in prison.

Dr. Mark Chavez

Chavez, a doctor from San Diego, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Chavez sold ketamine that he had previously obtained by writing a fraudulent prescription to Plasencia, who then sold it to Iwamasa.

Chavez, who used to run a ketamine clinic, also got additional ketamine from a wholesale distributor of controlled substances and falsified statements on forms, saying the drug would not be sold to a third party or distributed or used for any other purpose.

Chavez, 54, graduated from medical school at UCLA in 2004 and started a company, The Health MD, that appears to be a concierge medicine practice focused on longevity and fitness. Like Plasencia, Chavez has not been subject to any disciplinary actions, according to his records. His medical license expires in 2026.

Multiple messages left seeking comment from Chavez’s company and his personal email address have not yet been returned.

Possible sentence: 10 years in prison.

Erik Fleming

Fleming, 54, was a friend of Perry’s and communicated with Iwamasa to sell drugs to him for Perry’s use. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.

Prosecutors say Fleming got ketamine from Sangha and distributed it to Iwamasa. In all, he delivered 50 vials of ketamine for Perry’s use, including 25 handed over four days before the actor’s death.

Attorneys for Fleming did not return requests for comment.

Possible sentence: 25 years in prison.

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August 16, 2024
‘David Makes Man’ actor Akili McDowell is charged with murder in man’s shooting in Houston

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HOUSTON (AP) — Actor Akili McDowell, who starred in the television series “David Makes Man” and had roles in “Billions” and “The Astronaut Wives Club,” has been charged with fatally shooting a man in the parking lot of a Houston apartment complex, authorities said.

McDowell, 21, was charged last week with murder in the July 20 shooting death of Cesar Peralta, 20, the Harris County sheriff’s office said. McDowell remained in jail Monday on $400,000 bond on the murder charge. The attorney listed for him in court records did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

“This is an unfortunate situation and I am in prayer for Akili and those impacted by this tragedy,” said his manager, Jonell Whitt, adding that she had no further comment.

The sheriff’s office said deputies found an unresponsive man with gunshot wounds after responding to a call about a shooting at an apartment complex on July 20. The sheriff’s office said several witnesses told deputies the man had been in a physical altercation with another man, who fled on foot after the shooting.

“David Makes Man,” which aired on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN, followed a teen named David, played by McDowell, who tried to juggle relationships between his magnet school friends and drug dealers in his impoverished South Florida neighborhood.

According to the entertainment database IMDb, McDowell appeared in some episodes of “Billions” and “The Astronaut Wives Club,” and has a role in the recently released movie “The Waterboyz.”

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August 7, 2024
From cookbooks to billboards, poets laureate hope to spread the words with help of $50,000 grants

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NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty-two poets around the country each will be receiving $50,000 grants for projects ranging from a poetry cookbook in Kansas to a billboard campaign in Michigan.

On Tuesday, the Academy of American Poets announced its latest round of gifts through the Poet Laureate Fellowship Program, through which it has given out $6.55 million since 2019, along with more than $440,000 in matching grants.

Among this year’s Fellows are: Michigan laureate Nandi Comer, whose billboard project includes excerpts from Michigan poets and a QR code directing readers to the Library of Michigan’s website; Kansas laureate Traci Brimhall, who hopes to bring chefs and poets together for a state community cookbook; and Angelika Brewer, poet laureate of Ogden, Utah, who is working on a local archive.

Other Fellows include Maine laureate Julia Bouwsma, Colorado laureate Andrea Gibson and Joseph Rios, laureate of Fresno, California.

The fellowship program was made possible by the Mellon Foundation.

“These exceptional writers share the distinctive responsibility of advancing action, advocacy, and civic transformation in their communities through the power of poetry,” said Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander. “We at Mellon are pleased to provide them with the additional resources needed to carry out this mission, building further appreciation of and engagement with the written word across the United States.”

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August 7, 2024
Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst has book out this fall on Oct. 7 Hamas invasion of Israel

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NEW YORK (AP) — The chief foreign correspondent for Fox News, Trey Yingst, will have a book out this fall timed to the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.

“Black Saturday” will be published Oct. 1 by Fox News Books, a HarperCollins imprint. According to the publisher, Yingst will offer “a vivid picture of horrors and violence, matched by acts of courage and humanity that cut through the darkness on the morning of October 7th.”

Yingst said in a statement Tuesday that he and his colleagues “arrived in southern Israel on the morning of October 7th as the massacre was unfolding.”

“‘Black Saturday’ plunges the reader into that day while exposing the realities of war told by Israelis and Palestinians,” he added.

Yingst, 30, has covered conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East since joining Fox in 2018. He received widespread attention for his reporting on Oct. 7, during which a Hamas rocket landed 100 feet (30 meters) from him.

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August 7, 2024
Pitbull Stadium is the new home of FIU football. The artist has bought the naming rights

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Welcome to Pitbull Stadium, the home of your FIU Panthers.

Florida International announced what could end up as a 10-year agreement on Tuesday with international recording artist, Grammy winner and entrepreneur Armando Christian Pérez — the Miami native better known as Pitbull — to put his name on their on-campus stadium.

Pérez will pay $1.2 million annually for the next five years, the university said, for the naming rights. He will have an option in August 2029 to extend the deal for another five years and continue the rebranding.

“Yes, we’re going to create history in Pitbull Stadium,” Pérez said during a news conference in Miami. “This isn’t just an announcement. This is a movement. This is truly history in the making.”

FIU said it is the first agreement where an artist possesses the naming rights to a stadium. Pérez will also be involved with FIU’s efforts in the name, image and likeness space, athletic director Scott Carr said.

“This is a historic day for FIU athletics to uniquely partner with a world-renowned artist and amazing person who truly values relationships and his community,” Carr said. “Armando’s financial support is program-changing, but him providing a microphone to amplify FIU will be even more beneficial to growing our brand.”

As part of the deal, Pérez gets use of the stadium for 10 days each year rent-free, with some tickets to those events to be set aside for FIU students. A vodka brand he owns will be a preferred brand at the stadium going forward, he will receive use of two suites and 20 VIP parking passes for FIU football home games, and he’s being asked to create an “FIU Anthem” to be played at the school’s athletic contests.

“It’s a true blessing, a true honor,” Pérez said. “Let’s make history.”

Pitbull — who also goes by “Mr. 305,” a nod to Miami’s area code — kicked off his music career in the South Florida rap scene around 2004, eventually becoming one of the world’s most recognized artists.

“Pitbull’s career trajectory mirrors FIU’s ascent as one of the nation’s top public research universities,” FIU President Kenneth A. Jessell said. “Like FIU, he started out very 305 and became worldwide.”

Pérez has been a longtime proponent of supporting education in South Florida. FIU said he founded the first SLAM! (Sports Leadership, Arts, and Management) tuition-free public charter school in Miami in 2012.

“This is about uniting everybody,” he said. “This is about bringing everybody together. … Hard work is what pays off. They tell me, ‘You so lucky.’ Well, the harder I work, the luckier I get.”

___

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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August 7, 2024
Yuval Sharon to direct Met Opera’s new stagings of Wagner’s Ring Cycle and `Tristan und Isolde’

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NEW YORK (AP) — Yuval Sharon, an American known for innovative productions, will direct the Metropolitan Opera’s next stagings of Wagner’s Ring Cycle and “Tristan und Isolde,” both starring soprano Lise Davidsen and conducted by music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

The Met also said Tuesday that Nézet-Séguin’s contract had been extended by six years through 2029-30.

Sharon’s “Tristan” opens March 9, 2026. The Ring launches with “Das Rheingold” starting the second half of the 2027-28 season, includes “Die Walküre” and “Siegfried” in 2028-29, and will be completed with “Gotterdämmerung” in 2029-30. Davidsen will sing Brünnhilde, and there will be complete cycles in the spring of 2030.

Sharon was chosen by Nézet-Séguin and Met general manager Peter Gelb.

“We were both committed to a very highly theatrical Ring but we need at the Met to have something that is reaching seats that are pretty far from the stage,” Nézet-Séguin said. “After a while, it became kind of evident for us that is should be Yuval.”

Sharon, 44, has presented a shortened version of Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods)” at parking lots in Detroit and Chicago, the third act of “Die Walküre” in Los Angeles and Detroit with a green screen for animation and computer graphics, and Puccini’s “La Bohème” reversing the order of acts to portray Mimì as getting healthier rather than succumbing to illness.

Sharon did not want to publicly discuss his Met projects, spokeswoman Amanda Ameer said.

“He wants to have the concept fully worked out before he starts talking about it,” Gelb said. “I would put that down as his artistic eccentricity, which I can sympathize with.“

In addition, Davidsen will star in Verdi’s “Macbeth” opening the 2026-27 season on Sept. 22, 2026, with Nézet-Séguin conducting.

“I’m glad if Lisa Davidsen has chosen the Met as being her house of choice,” Nézet-Séguin said.

Davidsen plans a fully staged “Tristan” before her Met production and will sing Brünnhilde in at least one of the Ring operas before New York.

Sharon founded The Industry Opera in Los Angeles in 2010 and has been Detroit Opera’s artistic director since 2020. He became the first American to direct at the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany, in 2018 with “Lohengrin.”

Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)” contains 15 hours of music over four days and is considered opera’s biggest, priciest challenge.

The Met announced in February 2021 a co-production with the English National Opera directed by Richard Jones starting in 2025, with full cycles by 2026-27. The ENO scrapped the project last year halfway through because of funding uncertainty.

Sharon’s production will replace a Robert Lepage staging that appeared in 2012, 2013 and 2019, and gained infamy for “The Machine,” a 45-ton metal structure with 24 planks that malfunctioned on several occasions. New Yorker critic Alex Ross called it “the most witless and wasteful production in modern operatic history.”

The Met gave the Ring’s U.S. premiere in 1889 and has presented five integrated cycle productions since the start of the 20th century that include Franz Hörth directing with Hans Kautsky’s sets (1914-44), Herbert Graf directing with Lee Simonson’s sets (1948-62), Herbert Von Karajan’s staging with Günther Schneider-Siemssen’s abstract sets (1975), and Otto Schenk’s Ring with Schneider-Siemssen’s traditional sets (1989-2004).

Met chair Ann Ziff will be lead funder of Sharon’s Ring, and Gelb said it likely will not be co-produced with another company.

Nézet-Séguin, 49, became Met music director in 2018-19 following the end of James Levine’s 40-year tenure in 2016. A four-time Grammy Award winner, Nézet-Séguin has been music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2012-13 and last year was given a contract through 2029-30. He has been music director of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2010.

As part of the Met’s pivot to contemporary works, Nézet-Séguin is scheduled to conduct the company premieres of Mason Bates’ “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” (opening 2025-26 season on Sept. 21), Gabriela Lena Frank’s “El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego” (May 14, 2026), Missy Mazzoli’s “Lincoln in the Bardo” (Oct. 23, 2026), Carlos Simon’s “The Highlands” (March 8, 2027) and Huang Ruo’s “The Wedding Banquet” along with also a new Robert Carsen staging of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro.” He will lead revivals of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” Puccini’s “Tosca” and Wagner’s “Parsifal.”

“It’s important to show a broad palette of composers,” Nézet-Séguin said. “It’s at the core actually of my mission, and this is also why I’m renewing. I feel like we just embarked on that journey.”

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August 7, 2024
Charles Barkley says he will not retire and remain with TNT Sports even if they don’t have the NBA

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Charles Barkley intends to remain with TNT Sports through the remainder of his contract.

The Hall of Fame player announced Tuesday that he will not retire next season, reversing the announcement he made in June during the NBA Finals.

Barkley said at the time that the 2024-25 season would be his last on television, no matter what eventually happened with the NBA’s media deal negotiations. He signed a 10-year contract extension with TNT Sports in 2022.

Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports, has sued the NBA in New York state court after the league did not accept the company’s matching offer for one of the packages in its new 11-year media rights deal, which will begin with the 2025-26 season.

“I love my TNT Sports family. My (number one) 1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible. We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me,” Barkley said in a statement. “I have to say … I’ve been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about. I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support, and most importantly our fans. I’m going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come.”

ESPN/ABC, NBC and Amazon Prime Video were expected to try to court Barkley before Tuesday’s announcement. “Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson has also said he intends to remain with TNT but the futures of Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith remain uncertain.

Barkley joined TNT in 2000 and has been a part of the iconic “Inside the NBA” show, which has won 21 Sports Emmy Awards and has been a model for studio shows. Barkley took home his fifth Sports Emmy for Outstanding Studio Analyst in May.

What Barkley’s future looks like if TNT does not have the NBA remains to be seen. Turner has had an NBA package since 1984 and games have been on TNT since the network launched in 1988.

However, the relationship started to become strained when Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said during an RBC Investor Conference in November 2022 that Turner and WBD “don’t have to have the NBA.”

TNT Sports also carries the NHL and NCAA men’s basketball tournament with CBS. It recently has added the College Football Playoffs, Big East basketball, NASCAR and the French Open.

“Charles is one of the best and most beloved sportscasters in the history of television. I know I speak for all the members of the TNT Sports family when I say we are incredibly thrilled to share this mutual commitment to continue showcasing Charles’ one-of-a-kind talents and entertain fans well into the future,” TNT Sports Chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser said in a statement. “We continue to add to the breadth and depth of our sports portfolio and it’s fantastic to have Charles for this journey as we develop new content ideas and shows for our fans.”

Barkley was the co-host of “King Charles,” a weekly talk show on CNN with “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King. But the limited-run series ended in April after six months.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

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August 7, 2024
From the opening ceremony to DiscOlympics, Cerrone still reigns nearly 50 years on

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PARIS (AP) — As the Eiffel Tower shimmered with laser lights, a tune from the man known as the French Disco King set the stage for the final leg of the Olympics opening ceremony.

As Cerrone’s “Supernature” pulsed through Paris, sports legends like Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal glided down the Seine, with deaf choreographer Shaheem Sanchez grooving to the beat through American Sign Language dance. This 1977 classic proved that disco’s glittering charm still reigns supreme on one of the world’s grandest stages.

For Cerrone, 72, this moment once again proved his cross-generational music has staying power.

“The sounds changed every decade, but for my part I never lose the movement,” the music producer told The Associated Press on Sunday night before he hit the stage as the headliner at DiscOlympics, which brought out more than 3,000 energic concertgoers to a riverfront nightclub.

The event paid homage to the roots of dance music and Cerrone, who shaped the disco genre in France in the mid-1970s with jams such as “Supernature,” “Give Me Love” and “Je Suis Music.”

Cerrone performs at Wanderlust during the DiscOlympics (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Cerrone said he still has indescribable emotions after watching the opening ceremony segment featuring his song, released nearly a half-century ago. He was surprised when the ceremony’s composer and music director, Victor le Masne, approached him nine months ago. Le Masne proposed updating it with a more symphonic sound, featuring orchestral arrangements.

Cerrone said the creative process was like witnessing a woman enduring months of pregnancy before giving birth.

“I think it’s my best work of my career,” said the producer, who has released 23 albums and sold more than 30 million records worldwide.

Along with Cerrone, the 12-hour DiscOlympics had several performers such as Agoria, He.She.They., and Kartell. The diverse lineup showcased disco’s evolution into a foundation for subgenres such as hip-hop, house music and electronic dance music.

Disco initially made a splash in the early 1970s in New York City with various musical influences from funk, soul and Latin music. Cerrone, along with other French artists including Dalida and Amanda Lear, were a part of the Euro disco movement in the mid-1970s.

European artists with disco influences, like Daft Punk and Giorgio Moroder, have found success in the U.S.

The crowd dances as Cerrone performs (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Apolline Wolak dances (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

A bar at the DiscOlympics (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

People dance as Cerrone performs (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

“Everybody knows the real disco has never left,” Cerrone said. “It never stopped. Sometimes it was bigger then lower. … With the young people, it’s funny. I performed at a big festival. I see 60,000 people in front of me. I stop the music and (they’re singing) ‘Supernature.’ It’s never changed. Sometimes, it’s like that.”

Waël Mechri-Yver, a French-Tunisian musician, said Cerrone is deserving of high recognition, calling him a disco musical savant. After he first heard about the legendary producer’s involvement with the opening ceremony a few months ago, he reached out to Cerrone’s manager about being a headliner at DiscOlympics.

“He’s the father of disco. He’s the king of disco music,” said Mechri-Yver, who performs under the stage name WAÏ. His culture collective company BABËL and Silencio hosted the DiscOlympics.

When Mechri-Yver heard Cerrone’s song during opening ceremony, he knew it was perfect timing for his event.

“Disco is coming back really strong and we really want to be the champion of that music,” said Mechri-Yver. Along with Kosmo Kint and Cerrone’s son Greg Cerrone, Mechri-Yver recorded the song “Are You Ready,” which was performed for the first time publicly Sunday and received a favorable response from the crowd.

Cerrone (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

“It’s very joyful, celebratory, inclusive, grateful music that is about giving praise to the Lord, giving praise to nature. That’s why ‘Supernature’ was such an incredible performance. The Eiffel Tower lit up. The whole world started to sing. It was absolutely beautiful,” Mechri-Yver said.

DiscOlympics attendee Alexia Charles was extremely pumped up about the event. The Parisian, who’s in her mid-30s, rarely frequents the nightclub scene but felt compelled to see Cerrone perform — especially after the opening ceremony.

“It’s amazing to see,” she said. “You can hear the people screaming for him. That’s a good representation of electro music in France.”

Cerrone said seeing people cheer him on in his 70s fuels him.

“That’s the best deal to live a long time,” he said. “It makes me happy to sing about that.”

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For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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August 6, 2024
MrBeast’s giant reality competition faces safety complaints from initial contestants

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NEW YORK (AP) — YouTube’s biggest star MrBeast is facing complaints about the safety of contestants from the preliminary round of his ambitious “Beast Games” game show, which boasts 1,000 competitors hoping for a $5 million grand prize.

Some contestants complained online and to other YouTube influencers that they lacked regular access to food, water and medication during early production at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and that some competitors were injured during the production.

A spokesperson for MrBeast said his team is reviewing the process and soliciting attendees’ feedback ahead of the next phase of production in Toronto.

The stakes for “Beast Games” aren’t just high for the contestants, but for MrBeast himself, whose real name Jimmy Donaldson, as well as the recipients of his brand of “stunt philanthropy” that often entails direct gifts of cash or even houses. The complaints about the “Beast Games” production coincide with Donaldson’s acknowledgement this week that he used racial and homophobic slurs years ago in recordings he made as a teenager.

The show, which has already been picked up by Amazon Prime Video to air in 240 countries, is part of Donaldson’s cultural expansion beyond YouTube — where his channel has 307 million subscribers, including countless young consumers who already purchase his Feastables line of candy or the burgers that bear his name.

“My goal is to make the greatest show possible and prove YouTubers and creators can succeed on other platforms,” Donaldson said in a March press release from Amazon.

Donaldson’s companies cast 2,000 people to take part in an initial tryout of sorts at Allegiant Stadium in July, with 1,000 of them presumably advancing to the actual show. Amazon Prime Video was not involved and did not respond to a request for comment.

A MrBeast spokesperson said Friday that the promotional video shoot was “unfortunately complicated” by extreme weather, the widespread CrowdStrike outage that wreaked global technological havoc and “other unexpected logistical and communications issues.”

We “have taken steps to ensure that we learn from this experience and we are excited to welcome hundreds of men and women to the world’s largest game show in history,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

MrBeast offered eliminated contestants $1,000 upon leaving the competition and the spokesperson said most of those who remain in contention are ready to keep going.

Some contestants expected challenges similar to those from the dystopian Netflix show “Squid Game,” a fictional series — and eventual reality game show — where deeply indebted people compete for millions in high-stakes children’s games.

The Associated Press reached out to several contestants about “Beast Games,” but most either did not respond or declined to speak on the record because they had signed nondisclosure agreements.

Scott Leopold, a 53-year-old father from Austin, Texas, told the AP he thought he was competing in the actual “Beast Games,” not a precursor to the show. He said he felt deceived about his chances of winning and that the competition in Las Vegas would not stream on Amazon Prime Video.

He said that Donaldson should not be “villainized” but added that “an apology would go a long way.”

“All I can conclude is that he was in over his head,” Leopold said. “There were too many people, and I don’t think he knew how to handle the situation.”

Nancy Libby, a Navy veteran from California who said she was one of the last people eliminated, told AP that she applied after seeing a casting call on Facebook. Her daughters watch MrBeast videos, she said, and she’d already planned to take off work anyway.

On-set conditions met her expectations. Libby said she was instructed by recruiters beforehand to watch previous MrBeast challenges to gain some understanding of the experience. Because of that, she said, she was unsurprised by meals of oatmeal and nights spent sleeping on the floor.

Libby said that “crowd control” was an issue at times and that more staffing could help ensure competitors do not injure their counterparts. But Libby said the MrBeast team appeared to take safety seriously and that she only witnessed rude behavior from outside contractors.

“Sometimes when you run things that are first of their kind, things come up that you can’t foresee,” Libby said. “I think that the template was there for a really good competition.”

MrBeast has also previously had some contentious relationships with its contractors. One of Donaldson’s companies sued and then was countersued by a vendor they worked with on the “MrBeast Burger” that got widely panned.

Fans have also previously complained about not receiving merchandise they ordered from MrBeast or receiving the wrong items or wrong sizes. A vendor working with MrBeast to ship some of those orders acknowledged in an online post last year that they’d let the fan down.

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

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August 6, 2024
Book Review: What’s it like to be a rental stranger? Kat Tang’s debut novel imagines an answer

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As our lives become more automated, increasingly niche jobs materialize to fill in the gaps. Ours is a society in which people hire celebrities to make birthday videos, or pay “job leaving agents” in hopes of a more frictionless quitting experience. What would it be like to be that stranger for hire, to inhabit whatever role someone paid you by the hour to be?

Kat Tang’s debut novel, “Five-Star Stranger,” follows one man over a months-long spiral as he realizes he’s getting attached to his clients — a violation of his first rule for himself as a rental stranger — forcing him to confront his past and examine why he got into the business in the first place.

Tang never reveals the Stranger’s real name — one of the many ways he becomes a blank slate onto which others can project what they want. He’s a self-described attractive man, whose Japanese American heritage means he can code-switch easily between white and Asian depending on his clients’ needs. His apartment is full of wigs and outfits for different personalities and occasions, and he can use makeup to age himself up or down.

If this isn’t giving you identity crisis vibes yet, he also takes accents, mannerisms and stories from clients that he can later whip out for another gig. His evening client just wants to hear stories for an hour — so he regurgitates the stories his afternoon client told him nonstop, even adopting the original teller’s voice.

The juxtaposition shows how an insidious isolation has crept into our hyperconnected psyche, and how loneliness might have been solved genuinely and for free had they just met the right kind of person — or anyone at all.

But why risk rejection when you can hire someone instead? The Stranger notes that, “like everything else in this intensely connected yet deeply lonely life, there was an app for that.”

The narration often dips into philosophical before yanking back to the safety of light-hearted and funny; a whiplash between deep interrogations of society and the Stranger’s humorous deflection to avoid getting too lost in it.

Tang makes it easy to become engrossed in the characters. Even the brief encounters are made interesting by the psychoanalytical lens the Stranger sees them through. It’s a smart book, and it has to be to tackle such a topic in a thoughtful and thought-provoking way without digging itself into an existential hole.

“Five-Star Stranger” starts bright, hopeful and funny. By the end it’s a tangled gloomy mess that’s strangely still hopeful, the protagonist emptied out but not empty.

With its cool premise, great descriptions and amazing attention to emotion and relationships, “Five-Star Stranger” is a strong debut, and Tang an author to keep an eye on.

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AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews

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August 6, 2024