New benefit for people of State Pension age with health issues due to start later this year

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor A celebration of “The Daily Show” took place earlier this week — but not on the network that airs it. The program won an Emmy award for “Outstanding Variety Series” and its former host, Trevor Noah, and one of its former top contributors, Roy Wood, Jr., were on hand to take part. Veteran behind-the-scenes executives like Jen Flanz, who runs the program, and Daniel Radosh, a writer who has been with the series since the days of Jon Stewart, were easily viewed.

R.E.M., Steely Dan, Timbaland, and songwriters Dean Pitchford (“Footloose”) and Hillary Lindsey (“Jesus Take The Wheel”) are this year’s inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the organization announced today.

CNN has dropped plans to hold a Republican debate on Sunday, after former UN ambassador Nikki Haley said that she would only participate in the event if former President Donald Trump did. That left Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the only candidate who had committed to participate.

Mumford & Sons have opened up about their collaboration with Pharrell on new single ‘Good People’ – their first new music in five years.The British band returned with the single yesterday (January 16), which was produced by Pharrell and features his backing vocals.The artists also brought in the vocals of a six-piece vocal choir from the USA and Canada, hailing from Native American Tribes within the Northern Great Plains.In a new interview with The Zane Lowe Show on Apple Music, Marcus Mumford recalled meeting Pharrell almost 10 years ago on the festival circuit, sharing that they “instantly got on”.“There was a mutual kind of respect and admiration straight away,” he added.”And we’ve always talked about making music together. We’ve always talked about just getting in the studio and seeing what happened.”The band were performing at Pharrell’s festival Something in the Water in Virginia Beach last year when they committed to getting in the studio.“And I said to him, man, we’ve got to do that thing we’ve always talked about doing and get in the studio together,” Mumford said.

Mumford & Sons have returned to music after five years with their new track ‘Good People’ featuring Pharrell.Produced by Pharrell, the song features a thumping beat with chanting and choir-like backing vocals. Frontman Marcus Mumford sings: “Good people / been down / for so long / and now / it’s like / the sun is rising” describing the joy, hope and energy within room.Pharrell also provides backing vocals on the track alongside the Native Vocalists, a 6-piece dynamic vocal choir from the USA and Canada, hailing from their respective Native American Tribes within the Northern Great Plains.Mumford & Sons and Pharrell’s friendship spans over a decade and have always discussed the possibility of teaming up to work on music.

Retirement may be a while off for some people or just around the corner for others, but pensions expert Helen Morrissey, is urging everyone to give some serious thought to deferring making a claim for State Pension, as it could boost their annual later-life income by more than £600.

A new online petition is calling for the UK Government to reform the State Pension system and link the payment rate to the National Living Wage. Petition creator Michael Thompson, also proposes making a ‘universal State Pension’ available to everyone over the age of 60, worth £549.12 each week - equivalent to 47 hours at the National Living Wage rate.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Two years ago, the hashtag #EmmysSoWhite began trending when the Television Academy failed to award any major acting trophies to people of color. The pendulum has swung, with this year’s ceremony awarding a record-breaking number of POC across all major categories: drama, comedy, limited, reality and variety series — a first in the TV Academy’s history.

Pixar Animation Studios is planning to reduce its workforce in the coming months, an insider confirmed to Deadline, as part of overall content spending trims at Disney.

The Black Keys have announced details of a new star-studded album, and shared the lead single ‘Beautiful People (Stay High)’. Check it out below.Announced today (January 12), the band’s upcoming album will be titled ‘Ohio Players’, and will arrive as a follow-up to 2022’s ‘Dropout Boogie’.Scheduled to arrive on April 5 via Nonesuch, it will feature a variety of guest appearances too, including collaborations with the likes of Noel Gallagher and Beck. Pre-order/pre-save it here.To celebrate the album announcement, The Black Keys have shared the previously-teased lead single: the retro-inspired, feel-good anthem ‘Beautiful People (Stay High)’.Written by the band’s own Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, alongside help from longtime friends Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and Beck, the joyful track also comes with a vintage-looking music video.

Ariana Madix is putting Le Scandoval behind her!

The Scottish Government recently announced a new devolved disability payment designed to provide additional financial support for people of State Pension age will not include a mobility component. However, it has also confirmed the new benefit will not include any face-to-face assessments as part of the application process.

Leave it to Lucasfilm to throw us a curveball when it comes to “Star Wars” films. Just when we were all set to speculate about the three films currently in development, led by the next film being Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s feature starring Daisy Ridley, Lucasfilm has gone ahead and turned everyone upside down.

Nearly 1.5 million older people with a long-term health condition claiming Attendance Allowance are set for a significant income boost in April following confirmation from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt that benefits will rise in line with the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figure of 6.7 per cent. During the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor also announced that the State Pension will increase by 8.5 per cent - the earnings growth measure of the Triple Lock policy.

Justine Triet gave an emotional thank you to her cast and said that with Anatomy Of A Fall she’d tried to show how truly hard it is to capture truth.

It’s not every year that an animated feature premieres at the Cannes Film Festival to such universal acclaim. But that was the case with “Robot Dreams,” Pablo Berger‘s latest film about the misadventures of a dog and a robot in 1980s NYC.

The new year has started and for anyone planning to retire this year, whether they are reaching the official State Pension age, or leaving the workforce early, retirement expert Helen Morrissey has shared five key tips that are essential to ensure financial resilience in later life.

An independent investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) into changes made to the State Pension age is expected to conclude early this year. The Ombudsman recently confirmed any recommendations it makes to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), following the publication of its final report into ‘injustice caused by the maladministration’ of changes to the State Pension age, will be applied to “everyone who has been similarly affected” by the failings it identifies.

Maggie Rogers has teased the arrival of new music in a social media post this week (January 1).The clip of new music was first shared back in summer, when Rogers also confirmed that she has finished writing and recording her third album. As revealed in on Instagram, the follow-up to 2022’a ‘Surrender’ LP was laid down at Electric Lady Studios in New York.The new song snippet Rogers shared seems to be from ‘Don’t Forget Me’, a song that has appeared during several of Rogers’ live shows in 2023.The lyrics for the song read: “So close the door and change the channel/ Give me something I can handle/ A good lover, or someone that’s nice to me/ Take my money. Wreck my Sundays/ Love me til your next somebody/ But promise me when it’s time to leave, don’t forget me.”You can check out the clip of the song here:A post shared by Maggie Rogers (@maggierogers)Last August, Rogers met the fan who posted a viral video with Pharrell Williams that launched her music career.

Jack White has teased new music for 2024.The former White Stripes man took to his Instagram page on New Year’s Day (January 1) to share a new snippet of what appears to be new music.The clip doesn’t contain any vocals but features White’s trademark guitar riff.