The Full Belmonte, 5/2/2023
New alarm on debt ceiling
President Biden takes a call from Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was in Israel to address the Knesset, during a Rose Garden event yesterday. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
“The months-long silence between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was broken yesterday by an urgent warning:
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. could be unable to ‘continue to satisfy all of the government’s obligations’ by June 1 if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time.
Why it matters: Yellen's new debt-ceiling deadline gives the White House and Congress as little as a month to avert a catastrophic default, spurring Biden to call an emergency meeting with congressional heads.
Reality check: The timeline is more urgent than it looks, and a vast chasm remains between the two parties.
Biden plans to push a clean debt ceiling increase (without McCarthy's spending cuts) at the planned May 9 meeting with congressional leadership despite Republicans ruling it out.
The Senate is only in session for 14 days before June 1, while the House is in for 12 days.
Biden will be in Japan and Australia from May 19-24.” [Axios]
Supreme Court Takes Up Case That Could Curtail Agency Power to Regulate Business
The court’s Republican-appointed majority appears poised to chip away again at the authority of the administrative state to issue rules for the economy.
“WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take up a case that could make it easier to curtail the power of administrative agencies, a long-running goal of the conservative legal movement that could have far-reaching implications for how American society imposes rules on businesses.
In a terse order, the court said it would hear a case that seeks to limit or overturn a unanimous 1984 precedent, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. According to the decision, if part of the law Congress wrote empowering a regulatory agency is ambiguous but the agency’s interpretation is reasonable, judges should defer to it.
At issue in the case, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, is a rule that requires fishing vessels to pay for monitors who ensure that they comply with regulations meant to prevent overfishing. The National Marine Fisheries Service established the rule, and a group of companies has challenged whether the agency had the authority to do so.
When the Supreme Court decides on the case, most likely in its next term, the outcome could have implications that go beyond fisheries….” Read more at New York Times
“Hollywood writers are officially on strike against major studios like Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Disney. Negotiators could not agree on a new contract before the old one expired at midnight this morning. The Writers Guild of America says picketing will begin this afternoon.” [NPR]
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing today on Supreme Court Ethics — without the justices. Justice Clarence Thomas has been scrutinized for failing to disclose two decades of luxury gifts from a wealthy Republican donor. Chief Justice John Roberts declined to testify, citing ‘separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving Judicial independence.’” [NPR]
E. Jean Carroll, Trump Lawyer Spar in Civil Rape Case
Before columnist’s third day of testimony, judge denies Trump request for mistrial
A courtroom sketch shows Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina cross-examining E. Jean Carroll during a civil trial in New York. PHOTO: JANE ROSENBERG/REUTERS
“Donald Trump’s lawyer for a second day sought to discredit columnist E. Jean Carroll’s allegations that she was raped by the former president in a Manhattan department store, after a federal judge rejected Mr. Trump’s request for a mistrial in the civil case.
Joe Tacopina, Mr. Trump’s lead attorney, suggested Ms. Carroll in the years since the alleged attack had acted in ways that were inconsistent with being a victim of sexual assault.
Mr. Tacopina played for the jury a 2019 interview of Ms. Carroll by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, in which she recounted the alleged assault from the 1990s. ‘You used the word fight, not rape,’ Mr. Tacopina said.
‘I just liked the word fight,’ Ms. Carroll said. ‘It gave me action, I took action. It wasn’t something done to me.’
Mr. Tacopina also said Ms. Carroll once made a Facebook joke about having sex with Mr. Trump and was a fan of ‘The Apprentice,’ the reality television show in which Mr. Trump previously served as the host.
‘I was very impressed by it,’ Ms. Carroll said.
She acknowledged making the 2012 Facebook post that Mr. Tacopina showed the jury, which asked, ‘Would you have sex with Donald Trump for $17,000,’ before offering the caveats of donating the money to charity and closing one’s eyes.
Monday was Ms. Carroll’s third day on the witness stand in the federal trial of her 2022 civil lawsuit, in which she is seeking damages against Mr. Trump for alleged battery and defamation. Ms. Carroll, 79 years old, testified last week that Mr. Trump raped her in a lingerie-department dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman, likely in 1996, an attack she said had scarred her for decades. She first made the allegation in 2019.
In a letter filed before court began Monday, Mr. Tacopina asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan for a mistrial, based on what he called ‘pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings by the Court.’ The judge denied the motion without explanation….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Dozens injured after dust storm causes 'horrific' pile-up on Illinois' I-55
“At least six people are dead and dozens injured after a blinding dust storm caused a multi-vehicle pileup late Monday morning south of Springfield, Illinois, that Gov. J.B. Pritzker described as ‘horrific.’ As of late Monday, the Illinois State Police said 72 vehicles were involved in the crashes which included passenger cars and multiple tractor-trailers. Starrick said two tractor-trailers had caught fire. According to Montgomery County authorities, 10 helicopters were called to the scene in addition to a hazardous materials team to suppress fires, including a power-tool battery blaze on a semitrailer. Read more at USA Today
Dust storm in Illinois causes massive pileup on I-55; several fatalities reported
Nathan Cormier via Storyful
Missouri Judge Blocks Limits on Transgender Healthcare
Restraining order halts state attorney general’s rules that could have ended most gender-transition care
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, issued the restrictions on transgender-related healthcare for minors and adults last month. PHOTO: PATRICK SEMANSKY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“A Missouri judge has temporarily blocked an attempt by the state attorney general to impose strict regulations on transgender-related healthcare for minors and adults.
St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo issued a temporary restraining order Monday that prevents the state until May 15 from enforcing restrictions announced last month by state Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, that could have ended most, if not all, gender-transition care in the state.
The judge set a May 11 hearing to decide whether to block the restrictions on a longer-term basis.
Mr. Bailey’s regulations would require that patients undergo months of extensive mental-health assessments, and that doctors meet a host of prerequisites, before providing transgender healthcare. The rules also require doctors to present patients with nearly two dozen statements indicating that such care is experimental and risky.
Healthcare providers and a group of transgender Missouri residents represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal sued last month, arguing Mr. Bailey overstepped his authority and the state legislature in issuing the rule, leaving doctors and residents at a loss on how to proceed with necessary medical care.
The judge said that without court intervention patients ‘are at high risk of having their medical care interrupted for an unknown length of time.’ Her order also said providers faced risks, including for medical negligence if they presented patients with scientifically questionable statements required by the attorney general.
Mr. Bailey issued the restrictions last month as an emergency rule that cited state consumer-protection authority, saying they were needed to protect public safety. He said any healthcare provider who didn’t follow the terms of the rule would be committing an ‘unfair, deceptive, fraudulent, or otherwise unlawful practice.’
The attorney general’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Ron DeSantis’s Oversight Board Sues Disney
Lawsuit marks latest salvo in escalating battle between company and Florida governor
The oversight board said that development approvals Disney struck with a previous board were null and void. PHOTO: ZACK WITTMAN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
“The board overseeing the district covering Walt Disney Co.’s Orlando-area theme parks sued the entertainment giant in state court, accusing the company of striking a ‘backroom deal’ in an effort to preserve its ability to essentially self-govern the district.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, which includes Orange and Osceola counties, marks the latest salvo in the escalating battle between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The complaint focuses on development approvals Disney struck with a previous board just before the current board was due to take over in March. Those agreements effectively allowed the company to retain control over future development in the district.
‘Disney covertly cobbled together a series of eleventh-hour deals with its soon-to-be-replaced puppet government,’ the lawsuit read. ‘Disney hoped to tie the hands of the new, independent Board.’…” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin to Leave Senate
Democratic lawmaker won’t run for re-election in 2024
Sen. Ben Cardin, shown at an April news conference, was first elected to the Senate in 2006. PHOTO: J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“WASHINGTON—Sen. Ben Cardin (D., Md.),whose political career stretches back to the 1960s, said he wouldn’t run for re-election next year, a decision expected to send other state Democrats scrambling for the seat.
‘I have run my last election and will not be on the ballot in 2024, but there is still much work to be done,’ Mr. Cardin said in a statement. ‘I plan to make the most of every moment left.’
Mr. Cardin, 79 years old, said that his priorities include helping restore the Chesapeake Bay, helping people in Baltimore and permanently expanding access to telehealth and mental and behavioral health.
He was first elected to the Senate in 2006 after serving in the U.S. House for two decades. He was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1966.
Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said Mr. Cardin is ‘the epitome of what it means to be a public servant.’
Democrats currently control the Senate with a 51-49 margin, heading into a 2024 election that is expected to favor Republicans. The GOP is defending 11 seats compared with 23 for Democrats, including Mr. Cardin’s seat and three seats held by independents who caucus with Democrats….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Seven bodies found during search for missing Oklahoma teenagers
“Authorities found seven bodies, including two missing teenagers, during a search Monday in eastern Oklahoma, state officials confirmed. Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said 14-year-old Ivy Webster and 16-year-old Brittany Brewer were found dead on a rural property near the town of Henryetta after they were declared missing. Authorities believe they also found the body of Jesse McFadden, 39, a convicted sex offender the teen girls were thought to be with, on the property. Though the bodies have not yet been identified by the medical examiner, Rice told reporters late Monday afternoon his office believed they had found ‘everything that we were seeking this morning.’” Read more at USA Today
McCarthy speaks to Israeli legislature
“House Speaker Kevin McCarthy became the second U.S. speaker Monday to deliver remarks before the Israeli Knesset, the national legislature of Israel, where he reinforced U.S.-Israeli relations and announced the formation of a House-Knesset parliamentary friendship group. McCarthy led a bipartisan congressional delegation to the country to celebrate its 75th anniversary of independence. ‘This will be part of a new chapter of U.S.-Israel relations,’ he said. Read more at USA Today
U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, center, is joined by a U.S. Congressional delegation as he speaks after a session of Israel's parliament, the Knesset in Jerusalem, Monday, May 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Ohad Zwigenberg, AP
‘El Chapo’ sons charged with smuggling cheap fentanyl to US
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN and MARK STEVENSON
FILE - This frame grab from video, provided by the Mexican government, shows Ovidio Guzman Lopez being detained in Culiacan, Mexico, Oct. 17, 2019. Ovidio's brothers, Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, are the lead defendants among 23 associates charged with running a criminal enterprise, fentanyl trafficking, among other things, in a New York indictment unsealed April 14, 2023 in Manhattan, while Ovidio, alias “the Mouse,” is facing similar charges in another indictment in the same district. Another brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, is charged in the Northern District of Illinois. (CEPROPIE via AP File)
“MEXICO CITY (AP) — With Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán serving a life sentence, his sons steered the family business into fentanyl, establishing a network of labs churning out massive quantities of the cheap, deadly drug that they smuggled into the U.S., prosecutors revealed in a recent indictment.
Although Guzmán’s trial revolved around cocaine shipments, the case against his sons exposes the inner workings of a cartel undergoing a generational shift as it worked ‘to manufacture the most potent fentanyl and to sell it in the United States at the lowest price,’ according to the indictment unsealed April 14 in Manhattan.
Synthetic opioids — mostly fentanyl — now kill more Americans every year than died in the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined, feeding an argument among some politicians that the cartels should be branded terrorist organizations and prompting once-unthinkable calls for U.S. military intervention across the border….” Read more at AP News
A global contest for influence is gathering pace.
“It’s at the root of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to Kenya and Ethiopia this week in a continuation of his tour of the “Global South.” He’s made the rise of a multipolar world a theme of his chancellorship and is reaching out to nations he sees as important swing states.
Scholz is far from the only one.
The world is fragmenting as a result of the US-China geopolitical rivalry, with each side and its respective allies seeking to bring non-aligned states on board and set the narrative.
So Washington and fellow Group of Seven members such as Germany are attempting to counter China’s success in building infrastructure projects across Africa through President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the current G-7 chair, is meanwhile touring Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique.
They’re also seeking to correct Moscow’s claims that economic sanctions and not Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are responsible for grain shortages and fuel-price inflation that have hit poorer countries in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America especially hard.
Russia’s war on Ukraine is the key dividing line, with large economies including Brazil and South Africa unwilling to accept the US and European apportioning of blame solely on Moscow and refusing to go along with the G-7 in sanctioning Russia for its aggression.
Venezuela is another arena for the great power competition, as evidence emerges that China is re-engaging with Caracas after years of cooling ties, Patricia Laya and Fabiola Zerpa report.
Venezuela, whose ability to export its massive oil reserves has been crippled by US-led sanctions, was the subject of outreach from Washington last year as President Joe Biden’s administration sought to bring more crude to market to tamp down inflation. Now it appears to be turning back to China.
The struggle for global sway is just beginning. As Scholz and the US are finding, the outcome is far from certain.” — Alan Crawford [Bloomberg]
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with Xi at the Great Hall of the People on April 14 in Beijing. Photographer: Ken Ishii/Getty Images
“Russia has incurred more than 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed, in fighting in Ukraine since December, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington. He said about half of those killed belonged to the Wagner mercenary force, ‘the majority of whom were Russian convicts that were thrown into combat” in the eastern city of Bakhmut, where fighting has raged for months.’ [Bloomberg]
“The anti-incumbent wave sweeping Latin America came to a halt in Paraguay on Sunday, with the conservative Colorado Party winning a third straight mandate to run the nation. The election results make Paraguay an outlier in a region where angry voters in countries including Chile and Colombia dumped more traditional parties in recent years to embrace left-wing candidates promising change.” [Bloomberg]
IBM halts hiring for roles AI could kill
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
“IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told Bloomberg that the company will pause hiring for roles that could be replaced with artificial intelligence — a potential loss of 7,800 jobs over the next five years.
Why it matters: ‘Krishna’s plan marks one of the largest workforce strategies announced in response to the rapidly advancing technology,’ Bloomberg writes.
Krishna said hiring for back-office roles, including human resources, will be suspended or slowed. IBM has 26,000 of these non-customer-facing roles.
‘I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period,’ Krishna told Bloomberg.” [Axios]
Pornhub blocks access in Utah
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
“Pornhub blocked access in Utah due to a new state law requiring adult websites to verify users' ages, writes Erin Alberty of Axios Salt Lake City.
Pornhub now opens on devices in the Beehive State with a message saying the company has "made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in Utah."
It's a response to an Utah age verification law taking effect tomorrow. It requires websites with adult content to obtain age verification each time someone tries to access the site.” [Axios]
Vice preps for bankruptcy
Vice Media offices in Venice, Calif., in 2019. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
“Vice Media has taken steps to file for a possible bankruptcy if it cannot secure a buyer in the next few weeks, sources told Axios Media Trends expert Sara Fischer.
Why it matters: Vice was once considered one of the most successful news startups of all time when investors valued it at $5.7 billion in 2017. Now it's struggling to sell itself for more than $1 billion.
How we got here: Vice raised well over $1 billion in financing from a slew of investors, including A&E Networks, Disney and 21st Century Fox.
Things went sour once investors began to realize that Vice's growth was slowing, which made it hard to justify the massive valuations it received from investors over the years.” [Axios]
Americans fault news media for dividing nation: AP-NORC poll
By DAVID KLEPPER
FILE - President Donald Trump stands in front of microphones as he speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, before boarding Marine One. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults say the news media is increasing political polarization in this country, and just under half say they have little to no trust in the media's ability to report the news fairly and accurately, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
“WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to the news media and the impact it’s having on democracy and political polarization in the United States, Americans are likelier to say it’s doing more harm than good.
Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults say the news media is increasing political polarization in this country, and just under half say they have little to no trust in the media’s ability to report the news fairly and accurately, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
The poll, released before World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, shows Americans have significant concerns about misinformation — and the role played by the media itself along with politicians and social media companies in spreading it — but that many are also concerned about growing threats to journalists’ safety….” Read more at AP News
“Nearly one-third of nurses say they're likely to quit their job for another profession because of COVID-19, and the nursing shortage could continue for years, according to a new survey from AMN Healthcare. Nursing unions say they've warned of the crisis since before the pandemic. Nurses reported higher stress levels, burnout and less time for breaks or lunch breaks, which could have a negative impact on patient care.” [NPR]
In San Francisco, a Troubled Year at a Whole Foods Market Reflects a City’s Woes
Tech workers have stayed home, and ongoing social problems downtown are forcing civic and business leaders to confront harsh realities about the city’s pandemic recovery.
By Thomas Fuller and Sharon LaFraniere
“SAN FRANCISCO — Last year, with pandemic lockdowns in the rearview mirror, Whole Foods Market made a bet on a gritty San Francisco neighborhood. The high-end supermarket chain opened a giant flagship store in a part of the city that is home to both tech companies like Twitter and open-air drug dealing.
But the store was soon confronted head-on with many of the problems plaguing the area. People threatened employees with guns, knives and sticks. They flung food, screamed, fought and tried to defecate on the floor, according to records of 568 emergency calls over 13 months, many depicting scenes of mayhem.
‘Male w/machete is back,’ the report on one 911 call states. ‘Another security guard was just assaulted,’ another says. A man with a four-inch knife attacked several security guards, then sprayed store employees with foam from a fire extinguisher, according to a third.
In September, a 30-year-old man died in the bathroom from an overdose of fentanyl, a highly potent opioid, and methamphetamine.
When Whole Foods announced in mid-April that it was closing the store, citing the safety of its employees, many in San Francisco saw it as a representation of some of the city’s most intractable problems: property crimes like shoplifting and car break-ins, an entrenched network of dealers selling fentanyl and other illicit drugs and people suffering from untreated mental illness wandering the streets.
The closure also seemed to be the latest indicator of San Francisco’s faltering economic prospects, providing more grist for an ongoing debate over where the city is headed after tying its fate to the tech industry. The Whole Foods was supposed to cater to tech workers and other professionals, part of a long-term redevelopment plan downtown. But the store fell victim to a grinding decline in the city's center that began with the pandemic and could continue for years as companies vacate offices because of remote work….” Read more at New York Times
Looming AI catastrophes
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
“The "godfather of AI" quit Google and joined a growing chorus of experts warning that the rush to deploy artificial intelligence could lead to disaster.
Why it matters: When some of the smartest people building a technology warn it could turn on humans and shred our institutions, it's worth listening, Axios global tech correspondent Ryan Heath writes in his debut.
Geoffrey Hinton, a top machine-learning pioneer, says he left Google so he can speak freely about the dangers of rushing generative AI products.
"It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things," Hinton, 75, told The New York Times(subscription).
Axios asked AI experts — developers, researchers and regulators — to sketch their most plausible disaster fears. Their top 5:
1. Cyberattacks explode. The right prompts can now generate working malicious code, meaning more, bigger and increasingly diverse cyberattacks.
Dario Amodei, CEO at Anthropic, which offers a rival to ChatGPT, told Axios CEO Jim VandeHei during a recent Axios HQ event that a massive expansion of such attacks is his biggest near-term worry.
2. Scams proliferate. Forget clumsy emails The new AI-assisted phishing and fraud schemes will take the form of real-sounding pleas for help in the faked voices of your friends and relatives, harvested from their social media.
3. Disinformation detonates. Propaganda and partisan assault will be optimized by algorithms and given mass distribution by tech giants.
Multimodal AI — text, speech, video — could make it impossible for the public to separate fact and fiction.
4. Surveillance increases. America’s 70 million CCTV cameras and unregulated personal data already enable authorities to match people to footage.
AI can supercharge this kind of tracking for both corporations and governments, enabling behavior prediction on a mass scale but with personalized precision.
5. Strongmen crack down. Mass digital data collection can give would-be autocrats a means to anticipate and defuse social anger that bypasses democratic debate.
Reality check: The tech industry's AI product race is accelerating.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has warned of a "mismatch" between how fast AI is developing and how quickly our institutions can adapt. But he has also responded to competition from Microsoft and OpenAI by flooring the gas pedal on the company's AI product launches.” [Axios]
Loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking, surgeon general warns
By AMANDA SEITZ
FILE - Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 8, 2022, on youth mental health care. Widespread loneliness in the U.S. is posing health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said Tuesday in declaring the latest public health epidemic. About half of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced loneliness, Murthy said in a new, 81-page report from his office. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said Tuesday in declaring the latest public health epidemic.
About half of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced loneliness, Dr. Vivek Murthy said in a report from his office.
‘We now know that loneliness is a common feeling that many people experience. It’s like hunger or thirst. It’s a feeling the body sends us when something we need for survival is missing,’ Murthy told The Associated Press in an interview. ‘Millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows, and that’s not right. That’s why I issued this advisory to pull back the curtain on a struggle that too many people are experiencing.’
The declaration is intended to raise awareness around loneliness but won’t unlock federal funding or programming devoted to combatting the issue….” Read more at AP News
Aerosmith announces farewell tour starting in September
By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr.
FILE - Tom Hamilton, from left, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, John Douglas and Brad Whitford of Aerosmith, perform on Sept. 8, 2022, at Fenway Park in Boston. Aerosmith will be touring a city near you for the last time to celebrate their 50-plus years of being together. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band announced Monday, May 1, 2023 the dates for their farewell tour called “Peace Out” starting Sept. 2 in Philadelphia. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Invision/AP, file)
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aerosmith will be touring a city near you for the last time to celebrate the rock band’s 50-plus years together.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band announced Monday the dates for their farewell tour called “Peace Out” starting Sept. 2 in Philadelphia. The 40-date run of shows, which includes a stop in the band’s hometown of Boston on New Year’s Eve, will end Jan. 26 in Montreal.
‘I think it’s about time,’ guitarist Joe Perry said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Perry said the group, with frontman Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer and guitarist Brad Whitford, learned from the staging and production from their recent Las Vegas residency shows.
Perry believes the time to say goodbye is now, especially with every founding band member over the age of 70. Tyler, 75, is the oldest in the group.
‘It’s kind of a chance to celebrate the 50 years we’ve been out here,’ Perry said. ‘You never know how much longer everybody’s going to be healthy to do this. … It’s been a while since we’ve actually done a real tour. We did that run in Vegas, which was great. It was fun, but (we’re) kind of anxious to get back on the road….’” Read more at AP News
Gordon Lightfoot, the Canadian singer who shaped folk music, died yesterday.
Gordon Lightfoot in Toronto in 2012. (Chris Young/Canadian Press/AP)
The details: Lightfoot was 84. He had canceled tour dates last month because of health issues.
How we’ll remember him: As a folk legend who documented Canadian culture, while gaining an international following. He broke out in 1970 with ‘If You Could Read My Mind.’ [Washington Post]