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Elton John, Michael Caine comically encourage fellow Brits to get their COVID vaccine

• No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Craig Sjodin(LONDON) — Elton John joined film legend Michael Caine for a comedic video aimed at urging people in Britain to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The more people in society who get vaccinated, the more chance there is of eradicating the national COVID pandemic,” the 73-year-old singer says in the clip, adding, “It’s really important to know that the vaccines have all been through and met the necessary safety and quality standards.”

A voice off-camera then directs Elton to pretend he’s getting the vaccine, before bursting into his 1983 hit, “I’m Still Standing.”

The off-camera voice, seemingly unimpressed with Elton’s acting skills, tells him, “We’ll let you know,” to which the artist angrily replies, “Well, on this short notice, you won’t find anyone bigger.”

The scene then switches to Caine, who assures people that he just received the vaccine, and “it didn’t hurt.”

After praising the 87-year-old actor’s performance, the voice off-camera, referring to Elton, tells an assistant to “let the little fella know he didn’t get the job.”

“I wanted to take part in this film to help show people the benefits of getting vaccinated and how it helps protect ourselves and the people we love,” Elton says in a statement obtained by The Guardian.

“The more people in society who get vaccinated, the more chance there is of eradicating the national Covid pandemic,” he continues. “It’s really important to know that the vaccines have all been through and met the necessary safety and quality standards.”

John and Caine, incidentally both veterans of the Kingsman series of films, have had the vaccine, according to the publication.

By George Costantino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

At least 100 million Americans under weather alerts as major winter blast to get worse

• No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBy DANIEL MANZO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — The winter blast that is occurring across much of the country is going to get worse before it gets better.

On Wednesday, winter weather alerts stretch nearly coast to coast, affecting at least 100 million Americans, due to several major weather concerns.

Arctic Air is locked in place over much of the Midwest and Chicago will see its sixth straight day below freezing, with at least another full week or more of the same weather expected.

The Arctic air has pushed the jet stream pretty far south and is causing several storms expected to move across the country in the coming week.

A major concern is an ice storm that will develop from Texas to mid-Atlantic over the next few days with rounds of freezing rain and snow hitting the region through Friday.

Ice accumulation will cause power outages and dangerous travel for the next few days as well.

As the precipitation becomes all snow in the mid-Atlantic, it will accumulate locally over 6 inches of snow, especially in the higher elevations from Virginia to Pennsylvania with the heaviest and most organized snow for the mid-Atlantic coming on Friday.

There could be, locally, over a half inch of ice — especially in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky — and this could have major impacts on the region through the end of the week.

Additionally, a winter storm will hit Oregon and Washington on Thursday and Friday, including Portland and Tacoma.

Locally, up to 1 to 8 inches of snow is possible, including freezing rain which could have major impacts in those metro areas.

A look ahead at the computer models shows this Arctic blast is going to get much worse this weekend and early next week.

Computer guidance suggests the bitter cold will make a surge into the southern U.S. and expand eastward, especially Sunday and Monday.

This will likely result in widespread record lows in the central U.S., where temperatures at times could be 50 degrees below average.

This will force the jet stream to become quite amplified and still favor storms to track along the southern U.S. and then up the East Coast.

Simply put, the recipe for more impactful weather, mainly in the form of snow and ice will remain across much of the U.S. through the next week.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Pilot disorientation, flight rule violations blamed for crash that killed Kobe Bryant: NTSB

• No Comments • Sports News

David McNew/Getty ImagesBy AMANDA MAILE, MINA KAJI and ALEX STONE, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Federal investigators on Tuesday said the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others, including the pilot, crashed last January when the pilot became disoriented after flying in thick fog.

The pilot did not follow training, violated visual flight rules and was unable to differentiate between up and down, investigators found.

The pilot, Ara Zobayan, was flying under Visual Flight Rules, meaning he needed full visibility. Instead of diverting the Jan. 26, 2020, flight to a nearby airport, Zobayan continued the flight into dense clouds, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. The investigators said he tried to climb out of the cloud cover but instead turned left and descended, slamming the helicopter into nearby hills.

Bryant and their close family friends were headed to a basketball game at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy on the day of the crash.

Zobayan had been employed by Island Express Helicopters since 2011, logging about 8,500 hours of pilot-flying time. He had been flying in the area of the crash for a decade and often flew Kobe Bryant.

Zobayan reportedly told air traffic control they were “climbing” to 4,000 feet, when in reality the aircraft was falling, according to the NTSB.

“The scenario we believe happened is that he is flying along, he realizes he’s getting boxed in with visibility, and he must have made the decision that I’m going to punch up through these clouds and get on top,” NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt said.

Board members said the crash could have been prevented and the pilot “went contrary to his training.”

The Los Angeles Police Department had grounded its own fleet of helicopters the morning of the crash due to poor visibility. One eyewitness described the fog as “like jumping into a pool of milk.”

Zobayan sent a text message the morning of the crash, saying, “Weather looking ok” after expressing concerns the day before that the flight may not take off due to poor conditions. Zobayan frequently piloted flights for Bryant and “likely did not want to disappoint him” the NTSB said. Despite this, the agency said Zobayan was not pressured to conduct the flight by neither Island Express nor his client.

The helicopter involved in the crash was a Sikorsky S-76B owned and operated by Island Express. It was not equipped with a flight-data recorder nor a cockpit voice recorder, both of which were not required.

The agency disclosed that the engines were working at the time of impact and there appeared to be no mechanical issues with the chopper.

There were 184 aircraft crashes from 2010 to 2019 from spatial disorientation — 20 of them were fatal helicopter crashes, the NTSB said.

The crash has led to a slew of lawsuits including one from Vanessa Bryant in February 2020 against the pilot and the company that owned the helicopter for negligence and wrongful deaths. Families of the other victims have sued the helicopter company.

Island Express did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Scoreboard roundup — 2/9/21

• No Comments • Sports News

iStockBy ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Detroit 122, Brooklyn 111
New Orleans 130, Houston 101
Miami 98, New York 96
Golden State 114, San Antonio 91
Portland 106, Orlando 97
Philadelphia 119, Sacramento 111
Utah 122, Boston 108

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Florida 2, Detroit 1
Edmonton 3, Ottawa 2
Chicago 2, Dallas 1 (OT)
Tampa Bay 6, Nashville 1
Calgary 3, Winnipeg 2
Vegas 5, Anaheim 4
San Jose 4, Los Angeles 3 (SO)
Philadelphia at Washington (Postponed)
St. Louis at Minnesota (Postponed)
Arizona at Colorado (Postponed)

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
West Virginia 82, Texas Tech 71
Alabama 81, South Carolina 78
Texas 80, Kansas St. 77
Creighton 63, Georgetown 48
DePaul at Villanova (Postponed)
Florida St. at Virginia Tech (Postponed)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Shia LaBeouf checks into rehab, reportedly parts ways with talent agency

• No Comments • Entertainment News

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Disgraced actor Shia LaBeouf has reportedly ended his working relationship with talent agency CAA, reports Variety. 

The Honey Boy actor, who stands accused by ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs of physical and emotional abuse, is taking a hiatus from acting and has since checked himself into rehab to treat his mental health.

Sources to Variety say CAA did not fire LaBeouf, but rather it was his decision to end their partnership because he will not be working as an actor.  Sources say the 34-year-old intends to spend as much time as needed to work on his recovery and, in order to do so, chose to step away from acting so that he could focus solely on recovery.

Sources claim he has been seeking treatment longer than five weeks and currently resides at an inpatient facility.  It is unknown when he will be released.

The actor’s representatives, along with CAA, have not responded for requests for comment at this time.

As previously reported, LaBeouf is embroiled in a lawsuit filed by ex-girlfriend, FKA Twigs, who claimed the actor “hurts women.”  “

“He uses them. He abuses them, both physically and mentally. He is dangerous,” the lawsuit states.

FKA, born Tahliah Barnett, claimed the actor “tormented” her, brandished a firearm while driving, and “knowingly” gave her an STD, among other accusations of similarly violent and controlling behavior during their relationship. 

Other women have come forward with their own accusations against LaBeouf, including Sia, who worked with him on her 2015 music video “Elastic Heart,” and his former girlfriend Karolyn Pho.  

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.