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Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers will miss Hall of Fame induction

Sad news for Bad Company fans.

Paul Rodgers, one of the original members of the English rock supergroup, announced Tuesday that he will miss the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday where Bad Company will be honored as part of the 2025 class.

“My hope was to be at the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and to perform for the fans, but at this time I have to prioritize my health,” Rodgers wrote in a statement posted to Bad Company’s Instagram page. The singer had planned to reunite with former bandmate and drummer Simon Kirke on stage to perform a couple songs at the ceremony.

While Rodgers did not elaborate on his health in the statement, in 2023 he told CBS News that he had suffered two major strokes in 2016 and 2019, as well as 11 minor strokes, which had temporarily stripped him of his ability to speak.

“I have no problem singing, it’s the stress of everything else,” Rodgers’ statement continued. “Simon along with some outstanding musicians will be stepping in for me — guaranteed to rock.”

Best known for hits such as “Can’t Get Enough,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Ready for Love” and, of course, “Bad Company,” the hard rock group formed in London in 1973. In addition to Rodgers and Kirke, who had played together in the rock band Free, Bad Company’s original members included guitarist Mick Ralphs and bassist Boz Burrell.

The band initially disbanded in 1982 but over the years reunited to record or tour, though not always with the same lineup. Rodgers and Kirke are Bad Company’s only surviving original members — Burrell died in 2006, followed by Ralphs this June.

In addition to Bad Company, the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees include Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, OutKast, Soundgarden and the White Stripes in the performer category. Additional inductees Salt-N-Pepa, Warren Zevon, Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins and Carol Kaye will all be honored either for musical influence or excellence, while Lenny Waronker is the recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award for lifetime achievement.



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Best pumpkin spice lattes and seasonal fall drinks to try in Los Angeles

Thank You Coffee began serving its play on pumpkin spice in 2020, but the Chinatown and Anaheim coffee counters riff on Asian ingredients and flavor profiles with options such as the five-spice latte year-round. Around fall, however, the scent of gourd spice always makes its return: the seasonal, signature KSL — or kabocha spice latte — which swaps pumpkin for kabocha squash.

“We don’t really eat pumpkin, but we eat a lot of kabocha,” said co-owner Jonathan Yang. “My wife, Julia, and I love kabocha but not all people know it, and we realized this is a neat way to highlight that kabocha is pretty much like a Japanese pumpkin.”

Thank You Coffee’s KSL derives its chief flavors from a blend of toasted spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom and ginger, which are turned into a syrup with a combination of white and dark brown sugars and ginger bitters; it all gets steeped and strained. Yang steams fresh kabocha squash, then purées it and incorporates it into the spice syrup, adding depth without detracting from the spices, he says. In both locations, a hint of condensed milk is added to the lattes, and they’re dusted with kinako, a roasted soybean flour, for added earthiness and a pie-crust effect. This year they’re adding another fall-inspired drink to the menu at both locations: a persimmon-and-apple latte that’s meant to evoke coziness and comfort throughout the season.

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Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum lift Sparks to win over Seattle

Less than 10 days ago, the Seattle Storm and the Sparks battled deep into a second overtime — the first of the 2025 WNBA season — wringing every drop of drama out of Climate Pledge Arena. On Sunday night, the same stakes were at play as the teams tried to strengthen their playoff chances.

The intensity didn’t let up till the final horn. With 5.6 seconds left, Dearica Hamby roared into the paint and scored on a driving layup to put the Sparks ahead for good. After the Storm missed their final chance to win, pandemonium spilled onto the floor — Sparks players leaping into one another’s arms, fans hollering over the hardwood, chanting “Hamby” in celebration of the Sparks’ 94-91 victory.

In addition to Hamby’s last-minute heroics, Kelsey Plum proved vital to helping the Sparks win for the ninth time in 11 games. She finished with 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Sparks coach Lynne Roberts has painted Plum as a shape-shifter — able to twist her game into whatever the game demands.

“That’s what your best players should do — get everybody else involved and make sure we’re flowing,” Roberts said before the game, “and then when they need you, you step up. She’s done a tremendous job.”

Trailing the Storm (16-16) by 17 in the first quarter, Plum, who still hadn’t scored yet, tore into a one-on-five fast break, freezing the defense with a hesitation at the arc and a glide into the basket for an and-1.

Seconds later, Plum created another opportunity off an extended right elbow, drilling a three-pointer in Erica Wheeler’s face.

Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, right, drives against Seattle guard Brittney Sykes in the fourth quarter Sunday.

Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, right, drives against Seattle guard Brittney Sykes in the fourth quarter Sunday.

(Luke Hales / Getty Images)

It was the spurt of momentum the Sparks (15-16) needed to overcome a sputtering start.

Playing the entire first half, Plum went from the table-setter to shot-maker in the second quarter — springing Rae Burrell for a corner three before splashing a triple to tie the score 29-29 early in the second quarter.

Azurá Stevens and Cameron Brink were strong in the key early, but the Sparks clanked jumpers, dribbled into traffic and watched offensive possessions die on the rim in addition to committing eight first-quarter turnovers. So Roberts rolled the dice on a smaller look — swapping her paint patrol of Stevens and Brink for guards Julie Vanloo and Burrell.

Plum and Julie Allemand kept the smaller unit in constant motion, whipping passes from wing to wing and slicing open lanes for Burrell and Rickea Jackson, while Vanloo, Allemand and Plum cashed in from beyond the arc. Roberts rode that group into the second quarter, and they eventually whittled the deficit.

When the final buzzer faded, players were still grinning through hugs, and the crowd’s enthusiasm continued — excitement for a Sparks team that had yanked itself out of the fire.

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Wednesday season 2 part 1 is sinisterly moreish apart from one irritating new addition

Wednesday season two part one is ready to watch on Netflix after fans had to endure a three-year wait.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Wednesday.

Wednesday has made a comeback and it’s just as devilishly hilarious and gripping as its first outing.

Jenna Ortega has donned her iconic black plaits and terrifying scowl for another series with Wednesday returning for season two on Wednesday, August 6, on Netflix.

Only the first four episodes have been released so far, picking up after the summer holidays, where everyone was able to take a step back following the wreckage caused by Marilyn Thornhill (Christina Ricci) and Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan).

Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) has spent her free time mastering her psychic abilities with the help of Goody’s book as well as catching a prolific serial killer – so the norm.

What the morbid teenager didn’t predict though was her newfound popularity as she is warmly greeted by her fellow students and the new principal, Principal Dort (Steve Buscemi), much to her disgust.

Wednesday season two will see Pugsley bring a zombie to life which he calls Slurp.
Wednesday season two will see Pugsley bring a zombie to life which he calls Slurp.(Image: NETFLIX)

But, as teased in the official Netflix trailer, Wednesday soon gets her first vision of the semester, warning her of best friend Enid Sinclair’s (Emma Myers) death.

What’s even more disturbing is that Enid herself in the vision screams that it’s all Wednesday’s fault so as she awakens with black tears down her cheeks, she knows she must do all that she can to ensure it doesn’t come true.

It comes to pass that her vision could have something to do with murderous crows lurking around every corner but what is the connection?

As the Addams Family icon busies herself with preventing Enid’s pending doom, Enid herself stumbles into more typical teenage problems as she develops feelings for fellow werewolf Bruno (Noah B Taylor), leaving Ajax (Georgie Farmer) in the lurch.

While only the first four episodes have dropped so far, Wednesday season two is everything fans of the first series were hoping for: menacingly funny with twists that’ll catch subscribers off guard.

Wednesday season two, part two, will premiere on Wednesday, September 3, on Netflix.
Wednesday season two, part two, will premiere on Wednesday, September 3, on Netflix. (Image: NETFLIX)

Ortega is unsurprisingly brilliant, with her razor sharp tongue and supported by a fantastic cast in the adorable Myers, as well as Catherine Zeta Jones and Luis Guzman as Morticia and Gomez Addams.

What makes this series potentially even better than the first are all the other famous faces joining the cast, including Joanna Lumley, Steve Buscemi, Thandiwe Newton and Billie Piper and the hotly anticipated cameo of none other than Lady Gaga.

However, there is one new addition which makes the spine tingle but not in a good way.

One word: Slurp.

Shortly after arriving at Nevermore Academy, Wednesday’s brother Pugsley Addams (Isaac Ordonez) manages to awaken a dead boy with a clockwork heart using his powers of electricity.

This results in Pugsley and Eugene (Moosa Mostafa) looking after a disgusting zombie with a frighteningly long tongue and a hunger for any and all meat.

Whenever this grotesque creature pops up on screen, these are the only moments where I lose interest in the new series, zoning out until Jenna and the rest of the stars are back.

Despite Slurp not exactly winning me over, every other aspect of Wednesday season two has yet to disappoint with more yet to come with part two dropping next month.

Wednesday season two, part two, premieres on Wednesday, September 3, on Netflix.

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‘Avatar 3’ trailer: ‘Fire and Ash’ introduces the Ash People

The “Avatar: Fire and Ash” trailer is finally here.

The third installment in James Cameron’s “Avatar” series returns to Pandora and introduces a new Na’vi tribe: the Mangkwan Clan, also known as the Ash People, led by the fierce Varang (Oona Chaplin).

While not much is known about the Mangkwan Clan and its leader, the trailer offers a first look at their ashen home, destroyed by a volcanic eruption. The footage positions Varang, who wears a red headdress and can manipulate fire, as an adversary to Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and her family. It’s a stark departure from 2022’s “The Way of Water,” which took viewers underwater into the world of the Metkayina Clan.

The trailer also shows a tense exchange between Varang and Kiri (Sigourney Weaver): “Your goddess has no dominion here,” the fiery leader, donning a red and black headdress, says.

“Varang is the leader of a people who have gone through an incredible hardship. She’s hardened by that,” Cameron told Empire in an interview published in January. “She will do anything for them, even things that we would consider to be evil.”

In addition to the Ash People, the trailer includes a look at the Wind Traders, a nomadic Na’vi clan that travels aboard airborne ships drawn by massive jellyfish-like creatures. It also teases that the film will see Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) being captured by humans.

Also returning to the ensemble are Kate Winslet (Ronal) and Jack Champion (Spider). In addition to Chaplin, David Thewlis joins the cast as Peylak, the chief of the Wind Traders.

The trailer was first unveiled at CinemaCon in April and was launched exclusively in theaters ahead of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” which opened Thursday.

“Fire and Ash” comes three years after “Way of Water” and 16 years after the original film. The first two movies were nominated for best picture at the Oscars and “Way of Water” was the highest-grossing film of 2022. But Cameron has hinted that the third installment may be surprising to fans of its predecessors.

“One thing we wanted to do in this film is not be black-and-white simplistic,” he told Empire. “We’re trying to evolve beyond the ‘all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good’ paradigm.”

“Fire and Ash” hits theaters Dec. 19. The fourth and fifth installments are expected Dec. 21, 2029, and Dec. 19, 2031, respectively.

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Grammys 2026: Addison Rae among 3,600 invited to join Recording Academy

Thanks to breakout singles like “Diet Pepsi” and to praise from the likes of Charli XCX and Lana Del Rey, Addison Rae is considered by many prognosticators to be in the mix for a best new artist nomination at next year’s 68th Grammy Awards.

Now the 24-year-old singer could help determine the results of the ceremony as well.

The Recording Academy on Wednesday said that it’s invited nearly 3,600 music professionals to become members of the organization behind music’s most prestigious awards ceremony — among them the former TikTok star who’s become a major pop presence in the last 12 months or so.

In addition to Rae, the academy extended invites to the rapper Joey Badass, the singer Mariah the Scientist, the comedian Nikki Glaser and the members of the K-pop-style girl group Katseye and the regional Mexican music band Grupo Firme.

In a statement, Rae called the invitation “a huge honor” and said she’s “so lucky to be surrounded by talent and poise that inspires me to create fearlessly.” Added Glaser: “This is the greatest thing the Grammys have given me since the half of Benson Boone’s tuxedo I kept” after February’s show.

Of the 3,600 new invitees, approximately 2,600 (including the aforementioned artists) are being offered voting membership in the academy. The group currently has around 13,000 members who vote on the Grammys; last year, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told The Times that in addition to adding new members — part of a broader effort to diversify an electorate long criticized for being too old, too male and too white — the group was shedding voters that no longer met the organization’s qualifications for membership.

As an example, Mason described “voters that maybe had a hit record or a song published in the ’70s or ’80s and just kept voting.” His goal, he added, was a voting body composed of “relevant music people.”

In its statement, the academy said that 49% of the new invitees are women, 56% are people of color and 60% are people under the age of 40. Those invited have until July 31 to accept the invitation in order to take part in next year’s ceremony. First-round voting for the 68th Grammys (in which nominations are determined) opens Oct. 3; the show itself will take place Feb. 1 at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.

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