Latest news with #MedalofFreedom
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
I've known Bono for decades – real reason he doesn't deserve half the ‘ridiculous' grief he gets and new album secrets
TOP DJ Dave Fanning has defended his long-time pal Bono and insisted: 'He does not deserve half of the grief he gets.' The Advertisement 4 RTE DJ Dave Fanning has defended his pal Bono Credit: Bryan Meade 4 Fanning said Bono 'doesn't deserve half of the grief he gets' Credit: SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images) 4 Fans are eagerly awaiting a new U2 album Credit: Getty images - Getty And Dave told The Irish Sun: ' Advertisement 'He gets a lot of grief, which I think it's ridiculous. 'That's my opinion. I know a lot of people love Bono, a lot of people don't. As a humanitarian, I know how many things he has done in his downtime.' Bono, 65, was criticised after accepting the Medal of Freedom from then-US President Speaking to 'And anyone who thinks that I'm not shocked and appalled by what's going on in Gaza and to the children of Gaza . . .' Advertisement Meanwhile, Dave believes the themes of the next U2 album will be similar to the frontman's Apple special The RTE host, who always gets the first play of every new U2 record, believes there will be huge interest in the group's 15th studio album, their first since Dave said: 'Are people going to be interested in this new U2 record? Absolutely, because this is the longest gap between U2 albums we have ever had. Fans all go wild as Lady Gaga collabs with Bono at surprise gig 'I still think that U2 have it in them to do something amazing. Do people want a new U2 album? Bloody right they do.' The DJ, who still plays U2 on his RTE Gold show from 6-8pm each weekday, also thinks the band will be selling out Advertisement Dave added: ' 4 Dave first met U2 when they knocked on the door of Dublin's Big D Radio in the late Seventies
USA Today
2 days ago
- General
- USA Today
Who was Harvey Milk? Navy vessel may be stripped of gay rights leader's name
Hear this story A U.S. Navy oil tanker named after civil rights leader Harvey Milk is reportedly set to be given a new title — another apparent move to strip military diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. U.S. officials confirmed to Reuters on June 3 that the USNS Harvey Milk, which was christened in 2021, will be renamed. An official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity that the directive came from Hegseth's office. In a statement to USA TODAY, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth "is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos." "Any potential renaming(s) will be announced after internal reviews are complete," the statement said. The Navy did not immediately respond to request for comment. Here's what to know about Milk and the Navy vessel named after him. USNS Harvey Milk Navy to strip gay rights activist Harvey Milk's name from oil tanker Who was Harvey Milk? Harvey Milk became one of the nation's first openly gay elected officials when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Born on May 22, 1930, Milk enlisted in the Navy in 1951. He resigned four years later after being officially questioned about his sexuality, according to the Harvey Milk Foundation. Milk moved to San Francisco in 1972, where he eventually became involved in politics. After several failed candidacies for roles in local office, Mayor George Moscone appointed Milk to the city's Board of Permit Appeals, making him the first openly gay city commissioner in the United States, according to the Milk Foundation. A year after Milk won election to the city's Board of Supervisors, he and Moscone were assassinated by a disgruntled former city Supervisor. Milk was posthumously recognized for his work advocating for the LGBTQ community. A statue of Milk sits in San Francisco City Hall's rotunda, and a terminal in the city's airport is also named after him. In 2009, President Barack Obama awarded him the Medal of Freedom. What is the USNS Harvey Milk? Navy ship is named after gay rights leader In 2016, the Navy announced it would be naming a tanker after Milk as part of the John Lewis-class of oilers — which is named after late congressman Rep. John Lewis. The USNS Harvey Milk, which is identified by hull No. T-AO 206, was christened in 2021. After successfully completing acceptance trails, the ship was delivered to the Navy in 2023. It's unclear when the tanker will be officially renamed. A U.S. official told Reuters it would not be surprising if additional ships in the John Lewis class were renamed, since others also honor civil rights leaders. Stuart Milk, Harvey Milk's nephew and the executive chair of the Harvey Milk Foundation, said in a statement on social media that the organization is "heartbroken" to hear of the possible renaming. "His legacy has stood as a proud and bright light for the men and women who serve in our nation's military - including those who have served on the USNS Harvey Milk - and a reminder that no barriers of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or physical infirmity will restrain their human spirit," the statement said. Defense Department pushes to cut diversity, equity, inclusion programs The potential renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk would mark the Defense Department's latest move to cut diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the military. Hegseth nixed identity month celebrations at the Defense Department, like Black History Month and Pride Month. In March, the department pulled down then scrambled to restore websites on military achievements by veterans like Jackie Robinson to information on the Navajo Code Talkers. At military schools around the world, the department has also pulled books from shelves, barred courses and defunded student clubs. President Donald Trump has also vocally pushed to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at
RTÉ News
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Bono defends his decision to accept Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden
U2 frontman Bono has spoken out against criticism of his decision to accept the Medal of Freedom from then-US President Joe Biden earlier this year. Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show on Saturday morning, he said that he accepted the medal on behalf of those who couldn't. "Being a conscientious objector with somebody else's conscience is quite a stretch," he said. "I've worked with Joe Biden for 25 years. I've worked with him when he was in the Senate on Drop the Debt. I've worked with him on universal access to antiretroviral drugs, on increasing aid flows. This is a man who I have deep respect for and a real relationship with. "There are other aspects to that which are just inaccurate and people just not understanding. These are complex affairs and I should be flattered. I am grateful that people expect such a lot of me, but I've been doing this for 25 years. And anyone who thinks that I'm not shocked and appalled by what's going on in Gaza and to the children of Gaza . . , " The US Presidential Medal of Freedom was formally given to the singer last January. Mr Biden presented the highest American civilian honour to Bono, real name Paul David Hewson, at the White House along with a total of 19 people from across politics, sports, entertainment and other fields. The awards are given for "exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavours". Bono added that "competitive empathy" was much more prevalent now than ever. "It's strange, this competitive empathy that's going around. 'I feel this wound more than you,' and 'my emergency is more important than your emergency'. Outrage," he said. "When I was younger, I had a lot of rage. An outrage, in some respects, was enough to write a certain kind of song. But as I got older, I demanded more of myself. "I looked towards outcomes. And so, I became that most boring of all things, a single-issue protagonist fighting with, working with both sides," he added. Having turned 65 two weeks ago, Bono says he is taking a step back from activism. "It might be bewildering, but I was trying not to speak about stuff that I didn't really understand, and even my understanding of development issues has, I would say, decreased," he said. "The governance of it, the in-depth understanding of the subject that you need to have, meetings where you can sit across from lawmakers and really talk in depth, is one that I am not sure I'm capable of whilst being in U2 at the level that that now demands. "I'm also the wrong sex, perhaps. Actually, more importantly, I'm the wrong ethnicity. It would be just Africans doing this for themselves now. "There's an extraordinary woman, Ndidi (Okonkwo Nwuneli) who has taken over the One campaign, and I'm backstage now," he added. On Thursday night in London, U2 became the first ever Irish band to become recipients of the Ivor Novello Academy Fellowship in London. Having published his autobiography, Surrender, in 2022, which then became a one-man stage show, Apple TV+ will air a new film entitled Bono: Stories of Surrender on 30 May. Asked how the rest of the band felt about him singing U2 songs without them during the theatre production and in the film, Bono said, "I dread their memoirs. I don't know. Edge has definitely seen the film. He thought my head looked even bigger on the screen, if that was possible. Larry's more a Western man. "I don't think Larry believes anything I do outside of U2 exists and that's the way it should be. Adam, yeah, he was good but all of this is really the absence of a new U2 album and everybody knows that and it is extraordinary to have Apple pay for this and get my little family opera on record. "But I understand. It's the band who gave me permission to sell my wares in other ways, whether it's activism or telling my story but I thought it would help with them because when you get to a certain level of recognition, inevitably you turn into a bit of a caricature and that doesn't suit U2 either so I wanted to explain to people the ordinariness behind all this extraordinary success that U2's had. "I wanted to let people in and take off the armour." The first time the singer performed his one-man show was at the Olympia theatre in Dublin in late 2022, and asked did he have any first-night nerves, Bono said, "My mother's only remaining sister, Olive, was there so that mattered a lot. "We were having drinks afterwards and only in a country like Ireland would the Taoiseach come up and say, `do you want anything up at the bar, there?'" "I said, `I'll have a pint' and my Aunty Olive said, `G&T, please', and he went around the table and took the orders and I said, `Olive, that's the Taoiseach there - Leo Varadkar 'and she said `oh isn't that great! Will he remember all the orders?' Bono added, "On that first night, I didn't want to blow it; I didn't want to screw it up and of course there is some level of narcissism involved in thinking that people might be interested in your story."
IOL News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Move over Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, Gary Player is still the biggest Donald Trump supporter
PRO-TRUMP Gary Player remains the most vocal supporter of Donald Trump among South African golf legends, surpassing Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL While Els in particular has come in for criticism for his support of Trump in the past, he is not the most vocal in his political beliefs among legendary SA golfers. SA businessman and massive supporter of SA golf, Johann Rupert was also in attendance. The two veteran golfers were roped in to help ease diplomatic relations between the two nations, as the US President is an avid golfer. Els and Goosen are also known to be personal friends with Trump. It's fair to say that it was met with mixed reaction as Ernie Els and Retief Goosen joined SA President Cyril Ramaphosa in his much-publicised meeting with Donald Trump , in Washington, on Wednesday. Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Gary Player's Controversial Tribute to Trump at Sun City Invitational That honour should fall to Gary Player. Player, 89, has not hidden his support for Trump over the years - most notably accepting the Medal of Freedom during the President's first term in office back in 2021. At the Gary & Vivienne Player Invitational in November last year at Sun City, the nine-time major champion bizarrely gave his thoughts on Trump in a speech to open the tournament. 'You know we talk about legacies. Winston Churchill for me was one of my all-time heroes, but it wasn't for him we wouldn't be standing here tonight,' said Player. 'He said the youth of the nation are the trustees of posterity. In the White House, which I have spent a lot of time in the office, the President, there was a picture or a statue of Winston Churchill. '[Joe] Biden and [Barack] Obama took it down, in spite of what he did to win the war, and Donald Trump put it back! And now it's going to thank God come back into the office.' As Player finished talking about Trump there was muted applause from the guests in attendance for the speech at The Palace hotel. Player also went on to say he suffered like a junkyard dog in the early part of his career and how he 'never choked' during his career. @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
USA Today
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Bono talks revealing film, new U2 music: 'It's time to face the future and dance'
Bono talks revealing film, new U2 music: 'It's time to face the future and dance' Show Caption Hide Caption Biden awards Medal of Freedom to Hillary Clinton and Bill Nye President Biden presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 people, including Denzel Washington, Robert F. Kennedy, and Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Bono turns his head and pulls off his tinted glasses, the profile of his aquiline nose and hint of stubble on his chin drawing your attention. 'If I turn to the left, I'm younger," he says over a video call. "And that's the person who played Bono.' He twists his neck the other direction, the shimmering ocean of the French Riviera behind him. 'If I turn to the right, I'm older. I'm the person who played my father,' he says. 'For such a demonstrative performer as I am with U2, (I learned) that just turning your head is enough.' Bono is seated in a hotel suite in Cannes, preparing for the city's famed film festival to premiere 'Bono: Stories of Surrender' the next night. It's set to debut on Apple+ May 30. It's a striking film – black and white and exceedingly vivid – and, like the memoir it pulls from, 'Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story,' is alternately stirring and poignant, heartbreaking and wickedly funny and, as with all things Bono, deeply philosophical in an Irish-bloke-knocking-back-pints-at-the-pub kind of way. Before the book bore the film, it inspired Bono's one-man stage show, 'Stories of Surrender: An Evening of Words, Music and Some Mischief…,' performed in select cities around the world in 2022-23, including a mini-residency at the Beacon Theatre in New York. In his 25 performances, Bono – one of the most mega of music stars on the planet – played to intimate theater crowds a fraction of the size of the stadiums U2 commands and learned that sometimes the most gripping props are an empty chair and a spotlight. 'There's a sense of undressing yourself in taking off the armor and your sword and your shield and just letting people in,' Bono, 65, says. 'I can pull off the swagger. I can do the macho thing. I'm Irish. I can give you lots of that. But at this point I just thought it would be better to be closer to who I am when I'm at my most insecure, I suppose.' More: The Sphere in Las Vegas really is a 'quantum leap' for live music: Inside the first shows Bono says he's 'done singing about all the dead people I was close to' Throughout the almost 90-minute film, Bono touches on the tenants of family, music, faith and charity. He opens with the devastating and dramatic tale of his 2016 surgery to repair a potentially fatal aortic aneurysm, leaping on a table that will become symbolic for many reasons in the show. He shares the unfathomable story of his mother collapsing at her father's funeral and dying that day from an aneurysm when Bono was only 14. Close-ups of his visage amplify the lived-in lines that crease at his eyes when he smiles. 'The face, after a while, it just is a map. It tells a story of where you've been,' Bono says from France, adding that director Andrew Dominik encouraged him to embrace his sincerity by reminding him, 'The lens will know if you're lying.' He weaves in U2 songs including 'Vertigo,' 'City of Blinding Lights,' 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' and 'Where The Streets Have No Name,' reimagined inventively by producer Jacknife Lee, who plays in the onstage shadows along with cellist Kate Ellis and harpist Gemma Doherty. Using empty chairs as stand-ins, Bono unwraps his U2 mates Larry Mullen Jr., Adam Clayton and his brother in all but name, the Edge. But the star of the show isn't Bono, says Bono. It's his father, Bob Hewson, whose emotional distance and hard-shelled manner shaped his son. 'He's got all the best lines!' Bono says with a smile before imitating Bob, who died in 2001, bellowing at him as a teenager, as he does with that subtle head turn in the show. ''You. You're the baritone who thinks he's a tenor',' Bono sneers before pulling out of character. 'I ended up, as much as loving my father, I ended up liking him,' Bono says. 'That's a beautiful thing, to end up closer to him. My mother I've always felt close to. I'd just wished I'd known her and because my father or any of us never spoke of her after she passed, I lost all of those memories. The book was an attempt to retrieve memories of her and I'm still getting some of them returned to me.' He leans back and clasps his hands with a slight laugh. 'But I think I'm done now singing about my dead ma and my dead da, all the dead people I was close to. Edge says, 'Nostalgia is a thing of the past, Bono.' And I agree. U2 are getting ready for the future and this is, well, a privilege to be given a chance to record this most intimate story that, in a way, the band wrote. Edge wrote this story. Larry, Adam, (wife) Ali wrote this story, not just my father and mother. So now it's time to face the future and dance.' More: U2's Sphere concert film is staggeringly lifelike. We talk to the Edge about its creation New U2 music 'sounds like the future' That future for U2 has ignited anticipation from fans eager to hear what the band creates, now a year removed from their groundbreaking residency to open the Las Vegas Sphere. Mullen, who was sidelined for the Vegas run to recover from neck surgery, is 'back from his injuries, that's for sure,' Bono says. 'I've never seen him play like this. He's at his most innovative, I would say.' While there is no timeline or specific blueprint about the stylistic leanings the band is crafting, Bono mentions 'the songs we're making presently sound like the future.' Edge, he says, is 'determined to take the guitar into the future.' And as for Clayton, Bono jokes that U2 has to make another record 'just to get Adam off Gardeners' World,' the long-running BBC gardening show where Clayton showcased his shovel skills last year. Bono shares an anecdote that he was standing next to Clayton when the latter received a text from JJ Burnel, a punk legend and bassist for the London band the Stranglers. U2, it turns out, played on a bill with the band in the '70s, but because Burnel refused to wear a button stating 'U2 can happen to anyone,' Bono and the boys robbed their dressing room. Bono cackles at the memory. 'JJ was a tough guy and a genius bass player and he's texting Adam 40 years later to say, 'So excited to see you on Gardeners' World tonight.' I said to Adam, 'this is a long way from punk rock,'' Bono says. 'And Adam went, 'No, it' isn't. Doing precisely what you want to do is the most punk rock thing we can do.''
