Latest news with #Eras'
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Taylor Swift owns master recordings 'in spite of' Scooter Braun
Taylor Swift now owns her master recordings 'in spite of Scooter Braun, not because of him'. The 35-year-old singer / songwriter revealed in an emotional open letter to fans on her website that she had recently bought back the rights to her first six albums, which Braun acquired from her former record label, Big Machine Records, in 2019. In 2020, Braun went on to sell them to private equity firm Shamrock Capital and although it was recently claimed the music manager had 'encouraged' Shamrock Capital to make a deal with Taylor, he was not involved in the recent acquisition. A source told PEOPLE: 'Contrary to a previous false report, there was no outside party who 'encouraged' this sale. All rightful credit for this opportunity should go to the partners at Shamrock Capital and Taylor's Nashville-based management team only. Taylor now owns all of her music, and this moment finally happened in spite of Scooter Braun, not because of him.' After Scooter bought the rights to her music, Taylor decided to re-record her previous albums, calling them 'Taylor's Version'. And, she revealed in her message to fans that the huge success of her 'Eras' tour and the new versions of her albums, actually helped her to buy back her music. She wrote: "To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it. To my fans, you know how important this has been to me - so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released 4 of my albums, calling them Taylor's Version. The passionate support you showed those albums and the success story you turned The Eras Tour into is why I was able to buy back my music. I can't thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now. '"I'm extremely hearted by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry among artists and fans. Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I'm reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen. Thank you for being curious about something that used to be thought of as too industry-centric for broad discussion. You'll never know how much it means to me that you cared. Every single bit of it counted, and ended us up here."
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Julión Álvarez fails to enter US, concert at AT&T Stadium postponed, Texas fans stunned
Julión Álvarez's sold-out concert at AT&T Stadium was postponed after the singer was unable to enter the United States in time. Nearly 50,000 fans are now awaiting news on the rescheduled date. The regional Mexican music star's return was highly anticipated following past issues with US authorities Julión Álvarez's sold-out AT&T Stadium concert in Texas has been postponed due to his delayed US entry, leaving nearly 50,000 fans awaiting a new date Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Julión Álvarez and his beloved Norteño band were set to perform on Saturday, May 24 at Arlington's AT&T Stadium. With nearly 50,000 tickets sold, the regional Mexican music icon was gearing up for what would have been one of the biggest live music events in Texas this a sudden and forced change in plans disrupted the show. According to a joint statement from promoters CMN and Copar Music , the decision to postpone was out of their read: Piano man pauses the music: Billy Joel cancels all upcoming concerts amid concerning brain disorder diagnosis 'Due to unforeseen circumstances, Julión was unable to enter the United States in time for the event,' the statement the disappointment, the promoters and Julión's team were quick to reassure fans that the concert would be rescheduled. 'All previously purchased tickets will be valid for the new date,' the announcement said. Customers can expect to receive updates by email and will also be given instructions on how to request a refund if they are unable to attend the new concert Álvarez extended heartfelt thanks to his loyal fanbase, expressing gratitude for their patience and continued support. He also confirmed he is eager to return to the stage in Texas as soon as Álvarez, known to fans as 'The King of the Box Office,' has faced challenges with US entry before. In 2017, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) blacklisted the singer amid allegations of money laundering, allegations that were never proven in read: Coldplay's 'Music of the Spheres' becomes most-attended tour ever, dethrones Taylor Swift's 'Eras' tour The case was resolved in Álvarez's favor in 2022, allowing him to resume touring in the United States without issue until now. While no new legal troubles have been reported, this unexpected travel setback has reignited public curiosity about the singer's relationship with US authorities.
Toronto Star
10-05-2025
- Health
- Toronto Star
Ottawa looks to off-load costly, seldom-used mobile hospitals bought for the pandemic
OTTAWA - The federal government expects to spend about $7 million this fiscal year to store and maintain four custom-made, portable hospitals that cost taxpayers more than $200 million to buy — facilities meant to bolster overwhelmed hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic that were barely used. Early on in the pandemic, as the federal government moved at breakneck speed to respond to a global health crisis, it issued rush orders for these Mobile Health Units. They are deployable field hospitals designed to deal with acute respiratory illness cases and were meant to backstop overflowing hospitals. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW But the facilities are now packed away in controlled storage spaces in Brockville and Chesterville, Ont., and the federal government is spending millions of dollars every year to maintain them there. Documents obtained through the Access to Information Act reveal that off-loading the massive, technically complex structures — which were deployed during the pandemic but saw only a handful of patients — has turned out to be a difficult and slow-moving task. The same documents also suggest Ottawa has been negotiating agreements to sell or donate the field hospitals since last year, and that GCSurplus, which handles surplus federal government assets, 'aims to clear both warehouses by September 2025.' While cost forecasts for the field hospitals for 2025-26 were redacted from the documents, the federal government has said it expects to spend 12 to 18 months and $8.4 million in maintenance fees to turn the facilities over to new owners. 'Public Services and Procurement Canada is actively pursuing multiple divestment avenues for Mobile Health Unit assets,' department spokesperson Nicole Allen said in an email. 'This includes transferring the assets to other federal government departments, selling assets, and donating assets to eligible organizations and other levels of government within Canada.' The four units take up 588 tractor trailers worth of space and need constant access to electricity to refrigerate medicine. Fully deploying one can take about seven weeks. One of the units takes 75 transport trucks to move — almost as many as pop star Taylor Swift's 'Eras' tour. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Documents show PSPC struggled to get speedy approval to get rid of the units — after learning that the obvious places to off-load them already had smaller versions of their own. 'PSPC purposed all opportunities to donate the MHUs, such as working with Global Affairs Canada and National Defence to support situations in places such as Ukraine, Turkey, the Middle East and Libya. The department also received inquiries from municipal governments such as Toronto and Ottawa, to temporarily alleviate homelessness situations,' an internal government memo says. 'In all cases, it was determined that the MHUs did not meet the needs for various reasons, including the size of the units, the high complexity of deployment, the configuration of the equipment, the significant maintenance costs of these units, etc.' Global Affairs Canada said there was no benefit to keeping the units or donating them to the international arm of the Red Cross. The government said the facilities 'would not be practical for international deployments for humanitarian purposes,' according to an internal draft Public Safety slide deck from 2023. The Canadian Red Cross maintains its own mobile health units, which are smaller and can be deployed quickly, while the Canadian Armed Forces has a 50-bed structure that does not come with an intensive care unit or advanced medical equipment. Ottawa had allocated up to $300 million for the units at the outset of the pandemic in spring 2020, when it granted two contracts — one to Weatherhaven and another to SNC-Lavalin in a joint venture with Pacific Architects and Engineers — to build them. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Documents said the purchase followed a 'limited tendering process' and the firms were chosen because they had made 'similar types of structures' for National Defence. As of Jan. 3, 2024, Ottawa had paid $124.9 million to Weatherhaven Global Resources Inc. and $82.1 million to SNC-Lavalin-PAE to build the units, an internal memo said. Internal emails show procurement bureaucrats were frustrated because they were stuck managing the structures as their pandemic funding was running out. The units were supposed to be shipped off to another department, such as National Defence or the Public Health Agency of Canada. No other department wanted them. The Department of Finance told PSPC to try to divest the assets back in October 2022. A year later, on Dec. 18, 2023, the Deputy Minister Emergency Management Committee, which originally endorsed the swift purchase of the health units in 2020, approved a plan to get rid of them. A departmental memo signed by then-public services minister Jean-Yves Duclos, dated Feb. 27, 2024, declared them surplus and granted GCSurplus approval to sell them at below market value, sell off sub-components or donate them. One procurement manager in November 2023 said it was 'deflating' that it took a year after recommending next steps to get top-level officials to advance the file, only for the project to end up back at 'square one' without a divestment plan or the goods declared surplus. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Ottawa ordered two of the units in 2020. Then, in the second wave of the pandemic in 2021, Ontario requested federal permission to use them, so the federal government ordered another two. The two units dispatched in Ontario were temporarily deployed at Sunnybrook Health Sciences in Toronto and at Hamilton Health Sciences. Neither one was actually used to deal with critical hospital overflow, federal documents said, although the one at Sunnybrook took in 32 'low-risk' patients, according to a 2021 media report. Other provinces weren't interested in requesting them because — according to Duclos' 2024 memo — the 'size (capacity) and design of the units made deployment and takedown complex and too long,' and provinces were short of health-care workers who could operate them. The oxygen concentration system from one of the units was deployed to Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife, then was moved to a hospital in Northwest Territories in 2022. The federal government donated the units' expiring supplies to schools and moved some of their medical equipment into the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2025. Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Politics Headlines Newsletter You're signed up! You'll start getting Politics Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
Global News
10-05-2025
- Health
- Global News
Ottawa looks to off-load costly, seldom-used mobile hospitals bought for the pandemic
The federal government expects to spend about $7 million this fiscal year to store and maintain four custom-made, portable hospitals that cost taxpayers more than $200 million to buy — facilities meant to bolster overwhelmed hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic that were barely used. Early on in the pandemic, as the federal government moved at breakneck speed to respond to a global health crisis, it issued rush orders for these Mobile Health Units. They are deployable field hospitals designed to deal with acute respiratory illness cases and were meant to backstop overflowing hospitals. But the facilities are now packed away in controlled storage spaces in Brockville and Chesterville, Ont., and the federal government is spending millions of dollars every year to maintain them there. Documents obtained through the Access to Information Act reveal that off-loading the massive, technically complex structures — which were deployed during the pandemic but saw only a handful of patients — has turned out to be a difficult and slow-moving task. Story continues below advertisement The same documents also suggest Ottawa has been negotiating agreements to sell or donate the field hospitals since last year, and that GCSurplus, which handles surplus federal government assets, 'aims to clear both warehouses by September 2025.' While cost forecasts for the field hospitals for 2025-26 were redacted from the documents, the federal government has said it expects to spend 12 to 18 months and $8.4 million in maintenance fees to turn the facilities over to new owners. 'Public Services and Procurement Canada is actively pursuing multiple divestment avenues for Mobile Health Unit assets,' department spokesperson Nicole Allen said in an email. 'This includes transferring the assets to other federal government departments, selling assets, and donating assets to eligible organizations and other levels of government within Canada.' The four units take up 588 tractor trailers worth of space and need constant access to electricity to refrigerate medicine. Fully deploying one can take about seven weeks. One of the units takes 75 transport trucks to move — almost as many as pop star Taylor Swift's 'Eras' tour. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Documents show PSPC struggled to get speedy approval to get rid of the units — after learning that the obvious places to off-load them already had smaller versions of their own. 'PSPC purposed all opportunities to donate the MHUs, such as working with Global Affairs Canada and National Defence to support situations in places such as Ukraine, Turkey, the Middle East and Libya. The department also received inquiries from municipal governments such as Toronto and Ottawa, to temporarily alleviate homelessness situations,' an internal government memo says. Story continues below advertisement 'In all cases, it was determined that the MHUs did not meet the needs for various reasons, including the size of the units, the high complexity of deployment, the configuration of the equipment, the significant maintenance costs of these units, etc.' Global Affairs Canada said there was no benefit to keeping the units or donating them to the international arm of the Red Cross. The government said the facilities 'would not be practical for international deployments for humanitarian purposes,' according to an internal draft Public Safety slide deck from 2023. The Canadian Red Cross maintains its own mobile health units, which are smaller and can be deployed quickly, while the Canadian Armed Forces has a 50-bed structure that does not come with an intensive care unit or advanced medical equipment. Ottawa had allocated up to $300 million for the units at the outset of the pandemic in spring 2020, when it granted two contracts — one to Weatherhaven and another to SNC-Lavalin in a joint venture with Pacific Architects and Engineers — to build them. Documents said the purchase followed a 'limited tendering process' and the firms were chosen because they had made 'similar types of structures' for National Defence. As of Jan. 3, 2024, Ottawa had paid $124.9 million to Weatherhaven Global Resources Inc. and $82.1 million to SNC-Lavalin-PAE to build the units, an internal memo said. Story continues below advertisement Internal emails show procurement bureaucrats were frustrated because they were stuck managing the structures as their pandemic funding was running out. The units were supposed to be shipped off to another department, such as National Defence or the Public Health Agency of Canada. No other department wanted them. The Department of Finance told PSPC to try to divest the assets back in October 2022. A year later, on Dec. 18, 2023, the Deputy Minister Emergency Management Committee, which originally endorsed the swift purchase of the health units in 2020, approved a plan to get rid of them. A departmental memo signed by then-public services minister Jean-Yves Duclos, dated Feb. 27, 2024, declared them surplus and granted GCSurplus approval to sell them at below market value, sell off sub-components or donate them. One procurement manager in November 2023 said it was 'deflating' that it took a year after recommending next steps to get top-level officials to advance the file, only for the project to end up back at 'square one' without a divestment plan or the goods declared surplus. Ottawa ordered two of the units in 2020. Then, in the second wave of the pandemic in 2021, Ontario requested federal permission to use them, so the federal government ordered another two. The two units dispatched in Ontario were temporarily deployed at Sunnybrook Health Sciences in Toronto and at Hamilton Health Sciences. Story continues below advertisement Neither one was actually used to deal with critical hospital overflow, federal documents said, although the one at Sunnybrook took in 32 'low-risk' patients, according to a 2021 media report. Other provinces weren't interested in requesting them because — according to Duclos' 2024 memo — the 'size (capacity) and design of the units made deployment and takedown complex and too long,' and provinces were short of health-care workers who could operate them. The oxygen concentration system from one of the units was deployed to Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife, then was moved to a hospital in Northwest Territories in 2022. The federal government donated the units' expiring supplies to schools and moved some of their medical equipment into the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ottawa looks to off-load costly, seldom-used mobile hospitals bought for the pandemic
OTTAWA – The federal government expects to spend about $7 million this fiscal year to store and maintain four custom-made, portable hospitals that cost taxpayers more than $200 million to buy — facilities meant to bolster overwhelmed hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic that were barely used. Early on in the pandemic, as the federal government moved at breakneck speed to respond to a global health crisis, it issued rush orders for these Mobile Health Units. They are deployable field hospitals designed to deal with acute respiratory illness cases and were meant to backstop overflowing hospitals. But the facilities are now packed away in controlled storage spaces in Brockville and Chesterville, Ont., and the federal government is spending millions of dollars every year to maintain them there. Documents obtained through the Access to Information Act reveal that off-loading the massive, technically complex structures — which were deployed during the pandemic but saw only a handful of patients — has turned out to be a difficult and slow-moving task. The same documents also suggest Ottawa has been negotiating agreements to sell or donate the field hospitals since last year, and that GCSurplus, which handles surplus federal government assets, 'aims to clear both warehouses by September 2025.' While cost forecasts for the field hospitals for 2025-26 were redacted from the documents, the federal government has said it expects to spend 12 to 18 months and $8.4 million in maintenance fees to turn the facilities over to new owners. 'Public Services and Procurement Canada is actively pursuing multiple divestment avenues for Mobile Health Unit assets,' department spokesperson Nicole Allen said in an email. 'This includes transferring the assets to other federal government departments, selling assets, and donating assets to eligible organizations and other levels of government within Canada.' The four units take up 588 tractor trailers worth of space and need constant access to electricity to refrigerate medicine. Fully deploying one can take about seven weeks. One of the units takes 75 transport trucks to move — almost as many as pop star Taylor Swift's 'Eras' tour. Documents show PSPC struggled to get speedy approval to get rid of the units — after learning that the obvious places to off-load them already had smaller versions of their own. 'PSPC purposed all opportunities to donate the MHUs, such as working with Global Affairs Canada and National Defence to support situations in places such as Ukraine, Turkey, the Middle East and Libya. The department also received inquiries from municipal governments such as Toronto and Ottawa, to temporarily alleviate homelessness situations,' an internal government memo says. 'In all cases, it was determined that the MHUs did not meet the needs for various reasons, including the size of the units, the high complexity of deployment, the configuration of the equipment, the significant maintenance costs of these units, etc.' Global Affairs Canada said there was no benefit to keeping the units or donating them to the international arm of the Red Cross. The government said the facilities 'would not be practical for international deployments for humanitarian purposes,' according to an internal draft Public Safety slide deck from 2023. The Canadian Red Cross maintains its own mobile health units, which are smaller and can be deployed quickly, while the Canadian Armed Forces has a 50-bed structure that does not come with an intensive care unit or advanced medical equipment. Ottawa had allocated up to $300 million for the units at the outset of the pandemic in spring 2020, when it granted two contracts — one to Weatherhaven and another to SNC-Lavalin in a joint venture with Pacific Architects and Engineers — to build them. Documents said the purchase followed a 'limited tendering process' and the firms were chosen because they had made 'similar types of structures' for National Defence. As of Jan. 3, 2024, Ottawa had paid $124.9 million to Weatherhaven Global Resources Inc. and $82.1 million to SNC-Lavalin-PAE to build the units, an internal memo said. Internal emails show procurement bureaucrats were frustrated because they were stuck managing the structures as their pandemic funding was running out. The units were supposed to be shipped off to another department, such as National Defence or the Public Health Agency of Canada. No other department wanted them. The Department of Finance told PSPC to try to divest the assets back in October 2022. A year later, on Dec. 18, 2023, the Deputy Minister Emergency Management Committee, which originally endorsed the swift purchase of the health units in 2020, approved a plan to get rid of them. A departmental memo signed by then-public services minister Jean-Yves Duclos, dated Feb. 27, 2024, declared them surplus and granted GCSurplus approval to sell them at below market value, sell off sub-components or donate them. One procurement manager in November 2023 said it was 'deflating' that it took a year after recommending next steps to get top-level officials to advance the file, only for the project to end up back at 'square one' without a divestment plan or the goods declared surplus. Ottawa ordered two of the units in 2020. Then, in the second wave of the pandemic in 2021, Ontario requested federal permission to use them, so the federal government ordered another two. The two units dispatched in Ontario were temporarily deployed at Sunnybrook Health Sciences in Toronto and at Hamilton Health Sciences. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Neither one was actually used to deal with critical hospital overflow, federal documents said, although the one at Sunnybrook took in 32 'low-risk' patients, according to a 2021 media report. Other provinces weren't interested in requesting them because — according to Duclos' 2024 memo — the 'size (capacity) and design of the units made deployment and takedown complex and too long,' and provinces were short of health-care workers who could operate them. The oxygen concentration system from one of the units was deployed to Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife, then was moved to a hospital in Northwest Territories in 2022. The federal government donated the units' expiring supplies to schools and moved some of their medical equipment into the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2025.
