Omicron Subvariant BA.2 Now Accounts For Nearly 25% Of New U.S. Covid Cases Being Sequenced

Mo'Nique and Lee Daniels are putting their years-long feud to rest! The pair has been at odds since the release of the Academy Award-winning film in 2009.After winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2010 for her critically acclaimed performance as the titular character's abusive mother Mary, the 54-year-old comedian made headlines when she claimed she was «blackballed» from Hollywood, naming Daniels as one of the culprits.Years later, on Saturday, the actress brought the director onstage during her  show on Staten Island, New York.«I am so sorry for hurting you in any way that I did. She was my best friend, my best friend.

EXCLUSIVE: Leonard Cohen’s relationship with muse Marianne Ihlen is going under the microscope in a 1960s-set drama co-production for Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

EXCLUSIVE: Time Studios has entered a shopping agreement with Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper, fourth-generation members of the Russ family who now own its iconic New York culinary brand Russ & Daughters, to develop a scripted series examining its history and the family behind it.

Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art has set Audrey Diwan’s Happening and The African Desperate by Martine Syms will bookend the 51st edition of their collaboration, New Directors/New Films running April 20–May 1 in NYC.

The more transmissible strain of Omicron, BA.2, is now the dominant Covid variant in the United States. In just the last week, it has risen from 35% of all new cases genetically sequenced to 55%, per CDC data. That’s a remarkable 80% jump in just seven days.

Arcade Fire are set to perform a special livestream show in New Orleans, Louisiana this Friday (April 1).The Canadian band, who recently returned with the single ‘The Lightning I, II’, will play a live set as part of a “block party” event hosted by the US phone company AT&T.Per an official listing, fans will be able to “experience Arcade Fire from every angle with real-time, multi-camera views” via “the power of AT&T 5G”. Support comes from King Princess and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.Win Butler and co.

Los Angeles County Public Health officials announced today that the county of 10 million people had finally begun to experience a trend that has already hit many parts of the United States: a rapid rise in the number of Covid cases attributed to the more transmissible Omicron BA.2 variant.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran dance music executive Patrick Moxey has announced details of his new label group and has signed a new, worldwide deal for two key record labels with Warner Recorded Music.The agreement, which encompasses the legendary Payday Records and the newly created Helix Records, will see Warner Recorded Music handling global digital distribution via its independent services arm ADA Worldwide, and includes the option for the parties to co-sign new repertoire.The move comes just weeks after Moxey left Ultra, the label he founded during the 1990s, and Sony Music.Helix Records, the group’s new flagship electronic dance music label, which was officially launched this week at Miami Music Week, has already signed several artists, including electronic duo Snakehips, British-Australian band AR/CO, legendary house dj/producer Marshall Jefferson, and tech house maven DJ Susan. Helix and Payday Records have offices in Los Angeles, New York, and London with 36-member team covering marketing and promotions in Canada, Sweden, Germany, France, and Australia.

Mitski has postponed two upcoming shows due to a positive COVID-19 test in her touring party.The Japanese-American artist is currently out on the road in the US in support of her acclaimed sixth album ‘Laurel Hell’, which came out on February 4.This week’s shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York tomorrow (March 24) and Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia on Friday (March 25) will now take place at a later date, according to a post on Twitter. Earlier this week, Mitski’s shows in Boston were also postponed for the same reason.“This week’s Mitski shows in NYC and Philadelphia will be postponed due to a positive Covid test in the Mitski touring party,” the post read.

Numbers updated this morning by the CDC indicate that the percentage of new Covid cases across the United States tied to the even more transmissible BA.2 variant has jumped from 23% in early March to 35% this week. On the positive side, that means the rate of increase has slowed from two 100% jumps over the previous month to a little less than 50% in the past two weeks. But there are portions of the country that are much worse. See map below, where BA.2 is represented in pink.

P1Harmony have postponed the remaining dates of their ongoing US tour after their staff and several members tested positive for COVID-19.Today (March 22), concert organiser SubKulture Entertainment took to Twitter to announce the news. It revealed that five of the boyband’s members, excluding Intak, along with their staff had recently contracted the coronavirus.As a result, the remaining dates of ‘2022 P1Harmony Live Tour [P1ustage H : PEACE]’, which includes dates in Chicago, Denver, San Jose and Los Angeles, have been postponed and will be rescheduled.“We ask for your kind patience as we navigate these abrupt changes and find ways to adjust in light of these developments,” wrote SubKulture, which also apologised to fans who had taken time off or travelled in order to attend the concerts.Postponement announcement for remaining cities of #P1HARMONYinUSA pic.twitter.com/SDiLkFx8bM— SubKulture Entertainment (@SubKultureEnt) March 22, 2022SubKulture also emphasised that it had done its utmost to enforce strict COVID-19 protocols throughout the tour, including providing hand sanitisers and masks for concert-goers, but were “unable to force certain venue staff members to stay masked” due to local state-wide mask mandates being lifted.“Despite our efforts, we’ve once again realised how unpredictable and ever-changed COVID-19 is, and we strong urge everyone to remain vigilant and stay safe,” it added.P1Harmony’s ‘2022 P1Harmony Live Tour [P1ustage H : PEACE]’ kicked off with its first show in Seoul, Korea back in February.

K.J. Yossman The first newly built large live events venue in central London for 80 years is set to open this summer.Outnet Live is a state of the art 2,000-capacity venue.

Amanda Warren has been tapped as the lead in the CBS drama pilot East New York.