Rob Halford says Gene Simmons gave him best advice about music business

Ethan Shanfeld The American branch of Russian state-funded media network Russia Today (RT) is shutting down and laying off most of its staff, CNN reports.According to a memo, RT America will be “ceasing production” due to “unforeseen business interruption events.”“Unfortunately, we anticipate this layoff will be permanent, meaning that this will result in the permanent separation from employment of most T&R employees at all locations,” the memo said (via CNN).Per CNN, Misha Solodovnikov, the general manager of T&R Productions, the production company behind RT, delivered the news in person to hosts, correspondents, producers and others in the Washington, D.C. bureau.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.The air will be thick with tension inside the Octagon on Saturday, when Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal face off during the main event of UFC 272.Despite there being no championship on the line, or even a shot at a belt, the headlining pay-per-view event is highly anticipated because of the public feud between the two fighters, who were former training partners before becoming rivals in the ring. Neither Covington nor Masvidal have lost a fight to anyone other than Kamaru Usman since 2017, making for a must-see fight between two evenly matched athletes.The event will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 5, kicking off with a series of prelims at 6 p.m.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterAariel Maynor, the man accused in the fatal shooting of philanthropist Jacqueline Avant at her home in December, pleaded guilty on Thursday to a charge of murder.Maynor, 30, also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Avant’s security guard and to carrying a firearm as a felon. Maynor is scheduled to be sentenced on March 30.Avant, 81, was the wife of music industry legend Clarence Avant and the mother of Nicole Avant, a former ambassador and prominent political fundraiser who is married to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.The Avants were at their home in the Trousdale Estates neighborhood of Beverly Hills when Jacqueline was shot after 2 a.m.

WACO Theater Center in Los Angeles for a special screening of the new OWN series, Profiled: The Black Man. Created by Trell Thomas, the four-part docuseries examens the origins of widespread stereotypes that have haunted Black men in America over centuries and combats those myths with modern-day examples to the contrary.The most recent episode of the series, “Black Men Devalue Black Women,” tackled issues of colorism, self-hate, dating preferences, and more while also addressing the hurdles Black women face in America.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterJack Hanick, a onetime producer at Fox News, has been indicted on charges of working for a sanctioned Russian oligarch to establish TV networks in Russia and in other European countries.Hanick, 71, is accused of working for Konstantin Malofeyev, who since 2014 has been under U.S. sanctions that were imposed in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

inspiring “the next generation of female leaders…by shining a light on women who are leaders in their in their respective industries of tech, wellness, STEM, education and more with one-of-a-kind Barbie dolls in their likeness.”Of those being honored with a doll figurine are two Black icons in their respective industries—Shonda Rhimes, prolific television showrunner and Pat McGrath, “the world’s most influential and in-demand makeup artist.”Senior Vice President and Global Head of Barbie and Dolls for Mattel Lisa McKnight said, “We know that children are inspired by what they see around them, which is why it’s so important for young girls to see themselves reflected in role models who’ve daringly pushed past roadblocks and overcome the Dream Gap to become the brave women they are today…This International Women’s Day, we’re proud to honor 12 global trailblazing women to help empower the next generation of female leaders by sharing their stories.”Research by NYU’s Cognitive Development Lab funded by Mattel spurred this novel campaign.

Derek Jeter announced an unexpected decision, declaring he is stepping down as CEO of the Miami Marlins, and explaining that the vision of the future of the franchise seems to be very different from the one he “signed up to lead.”“Today I am announcing that the Miami Marlins and I are officially ending our relationship and I will no longer serve as CEO nor as a shareholder in the Club,” he admitted in a recent statement, taking a moment to show his appreciation for the fans and the players, as the community is now “stronger today than it was five years ago.”Jeter went on to explain that they “had a vision five years ago to turn the Marlins franchise around,” revealing that as CEO, he has been “proud to put my name and reputation on the line to make our plan a reality.”“Through hard work, trust and accountability, we transformed every aspect of the franchise, reshaping the workforce, and developing a long-term strategic plan for success,“ he shared.Jeter has had undeniable success and an incredible career, winning the World Series five times playing with the New York Yankees, and being elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020, after announcing his retirement in 2014.He went on to join the Marlins in September 2017, as a part of the ownership group led by Bruce Sherman, Marlins chairman, who thanked Jeter “for his many contributions,” adding that they “are determined to build a team that will return to the postseason and excite Marlins fans and the local community.”

Jason Momoa is ready for life in the fast lane. He's, in fact, joining !The star confirmed the news Wednesday to ET's Rachel Smith at premiere in New York City, where he said, «Yeah, I'm going to do » after being asked what's next on the horizon for the 42-year-old actor.Momoa, who attended the premiere in support of his stepdaughter, Zoë Kravitz (who stars as Catwoman), also said he's champing at the bit to, finally, dabble as a villain.«I get to be the bad boy,» he told ET.

EXCLUSIVE: Comedian and actor Bill Burr (F Is for Family) is writing, directing and starring alongside Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire) and Emmy nominee Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo) in the original comedy Old Dads, which Miramax has come aboard to produce in conjunction with Burr’s All Things Comedy.

EXCLUSIVE: Things just got a lot better for fans of Better Things.

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Kate Ferdinand was every inch the "proud" wife as her husband Rio was awarded an Honorary Doctorate. Formally recognised for his work on addressing inequality, racism and the stigma around mental health, the former professional footballer was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from London South Bank University on Thursday.

Amityville in Space is coming!

Kim Kardashian‘s recent Twitter “like” has piqued the interest of her fans, especially those who are following the drama that involves her ex husband Kanye West.

There might be some new changes for the royal institution once Queen Elizabeth passes away — including the ways in which Prince Harry and Meghan Markle potentially fit into the family dynamics in the future!

Exhausted women and children stumble out from overfilled buses. It is just another step in their ongoing journey to safety after crossing the border from Ukraine to Poland.

Kanye West is once again being called out by some of the creatives he hired for his live show.

The family of an elderly man who had £30,000 stolen by a scheming carer said he was so devastated that he 'gave up living' after her vile crimes were revealed.

Shirley Hughes was a British children’s author and illustrator known for “Dogger” and the “Alfie” series.  Shirley Hughes wrote and sold millions of children’s books that were praised for their look at everyday family life. She illustrated her own work and did illustrations for other writers.

Allen Media Group announced that its fast-growing, free streaming platform, Local Now, has signed PBS Digital Studios to offer viewers curated PBS Digital Studios content. Starting today, PBS Digital Studios content will be available on the Local Now streaming platform. Streamers can expect an awesome line-up of PBS Digital Studios content including hit series, BE SMART, EONS, SOUND FIELD and much more.

Sherri Shepherd is making her wishlist of guests for the first season of her upcoming talk show Sherri, premiering in September. And she would “of course” welcome Wendy Williams as a guest on the show.

A new doctor’s coming to Grey’s Anatomy as Skylar Astin (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) joins the long-running ABC drama in a recurring role.

Lupin suffered an on-set robbery on late last month, according to reports.It’s the second Netflix show to suffer a theft in recent weeks after prop items worth £150,000 were stolen from the set of The Crown last month.Now, it’s believed the theft on the set of Lupin occurred just days later.Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Netflix said: “There was an incident on 25th February while filming the upcoming season of Lupin. Our cast and crew are safe and there were no injuries.

Madonna and Canadian producer Sickick have added Nigerian singer Fireboy DML to a second version of their ‘Frozen’ remix.Madonna and Sickick first released a remix of the 1998 classic – taken from the queen of pop’s ‘Ray Of Light’ album – last December, which came after it went viral on TikTok.Today (March 3), the pair have shared another reworking, but this time they’ve brought onboard Fireboy DML, who recently earned acclaim for his ‘Peru’ collaboration with Ed Sheeran.Madonna announced the remix earlier in the week when she took to Instagram to share a photo of herself and DML on the set of the song’s video, which she said is due soon after the release of the track.You can check out the new remix of ‘Frozen’ below:Earlier this week, Madonna weighed in on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, voicing her support for the latter.It comes after Ukraine severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation last Thursday (February 24). “Russia’s Pointless and Greed Driven Invasion Of the Ukraine MUST be stopped!!” Madonna captioned an Instagram post that contained a fanmade video set to a remix of her 2005 song ‘Sorry’.“Please Send in Humanitarian Aid to help millions of citizens of the Ukraine who’s lives are being affected by this CRISIS at this very moment !!”She continued: “Putin has Violated Every Human Rights Accord in Existence. Putin has no right to try to erase the existence of the Ukraine.

Iron Maiden have announced that their upcoming summer shows in Ukraine and Russia have been cancelled due to the ongoing conflict between the neighbouring countries.The band were set to perform at VDNG in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 29 before visiting VTB Arena in Moscow Russia on June 1 as part of their 2022 ‘Legacy Of The Beast’ world tour.Sharing a statement on social media, Iron Maiden said “the promoters have cancelled the two Iron Maiden shows” due to the “ongoing situation in Ukraine”.“We are very sorry to announce that due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, the promoters have cancelled the two Iron Maiden shows scheduled for May 29th in Kyiv and June 1st in Moscow on the 2022 Legacy Of The Beast World Tour,” the band tweeted.The band added that ticket-holders would we informed by the respective promoters on refunds, and concluded by stating: “Our priority is, and will always be, the safety of our fans.”Ticket-holders for both shows will be informed by the respective promoters on refunds at the appropriate time. Our priority is, and will always be, the safety of our fans.— Iron Maiden (@IronMaiden) March 3, 2022Since the conflict started, the likes of Iggy Pop, Yungblud, Green Day, Franz Ferdinand and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are among the acts who have scrapped dates due to the ongoing crisis.It comes after Ukraine severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation last Thursday (February 24).Ukraine, which has a population of 44million people, borders both Russia and the European Union.

NME on the red carpet of the BandLab NME Awards 2022 last night, where he talked about the “magic” of Jack Antonoff as well as some of his favourite memories from NME awards past. Watch our full video interview with Grimmy above.Speaking of how he was “really excited to be out, really excited to celebrate some of our favourite artists of the year,” the radio and TV personality then looked back to his previous appearance at the NME Awards back in 2020 – when he and shared a pizza with Courtney Love ahead of her accepting the Icon Award.“I was on a really fun table last time,” he recalled.

Netflix has named Marian Lee chief marketing officer, replacing Bozoma Saint John who’s been in the post since 2020.

Former TOWIE star Billi Mucklow has been spotted out and about with her baby daughter Marvel and a friend.The former reality TV star, who is engaged to footballer Andy Carroll, was seen on a day out in Essex, where the group was seen visiting baby clothing shops while Billie cradled her youngest daughter. Billi, 34, kept her look casual for the outing and went make-up free, while she wore a long, cosy puffer jacket and tied her blonde hair back in a simple ponytail.

John Terry and is wife Toni met when they were teenagers, and the pair have remained inseparable ever since. Former England ace John, 41, was completing an apprenticeship at Chelsea when he first met Toni, 41, and his future wife had no idea that he was a footballer at the time, until she eventually saw him playing live on TV. Speaking about the beginning of their romance, Toni previously told The Sun: "We hit it off straight away and I thought he was very nice.

Danniella Westbrook showed off her "new face" before she goes under the knife for another operation.The 48 year old EastEnders actress is set to undergo surgery that will see the doctors remove part of her rib and implant it into her cheek.The star is continuing her plan to "rebuild" her face after the bones at the front of her skull gradually started to crumble in the last decades. Having focused on getting filler, botox and other treatments, she unveiled her glamorous new look ahead of yet another operation. Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter The new snaps pictured Danniella lying on a lavish bed in a white robe.

Ashley Cain has had to pull out of his celebrity boxing match which was due to take place this Saturday, he informed followers regrettably on Thursday.The Showstar Boxing event at SSE Wembley was being held in honour of the 31 year old’s late daughter Azaylia, who tragically passed away in April 2021 at eight months old after a tough fought battle with leukemia. Ashley had been training hard in the weeks leading up to the fight against American YouTuber Andreas Eskander – who cancelled the match days before the big day.

Back in 2014, Gene Simmons made some controversial comments about the state of rock music.

Gene Simmons has doubled down on previous comments he made about the state of rock music.In 2014, the Kiss bassist accused record labels of failing to adequately support rock artists and declared the rock genre to be “finally dead”.Simmons doubled down on the claims in a new interview, saying there are popular bands but that doesn’t mean they’re “iconic and legacy and for all-time”.“Rock is dead. And that’s because new bands haven’t taken the time to create glamour, excitement and epic stuff,” Simmons told Gulf News.

Kiss bassist Gene Simmons has shared a photo of the band wearing face masks and urged their fans to do the same.Simmons posted the picture of the band without their conventional face paint while travelling to their forthcoming New Year’s Eve show in Dubai.“Wear your masks. Even if it’s only as a courtesy.