Telethon raises $44 million for Hurricane Harvey, Irma relief

LOS ANGELES | A celebrity-packed telethon for the victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma raised some $44 million, organizers said on Wednesday, after more than 130 stars including George Clooney, Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey and Justin Bieber joined forces to sing, man the phones or appeal for donations.

The hour-long Hand in Hand telethon, which aired across broadcast, cable and digital platforms on Tuesday night, raised more than $14 million during the live broadcast.

Organizers on Wednesday said that the total rose to $44 million in pledges made after West Coast and other re-broadcasts.

Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic Ocean storms on record, ravaged several islands in the northern Caribbean, killing at least 60 people. It barreled into the Florida Keys on Sunday, where 90 percent of homes are believed to be destroyed or heavily damaged.

Beyonce, appearing in a taped message, spoke of the urgent need for supplies in her hometown of Houston after Harvey became the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, killing more than 60 people, displacing more than 1 million and damaging some 203,000 homes.

During the show, Stephen Colbert said Apple Inc had donated $5 million, which the comedian quipped, “is also the price of the new iPhone.”

The telethon aired from New York, Nashville and Los Angeles, where Stevie Wonder kicked off the event singing “Lean On Me,” with a gospel choir as stars such as Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand and Cher clapped along while sitting at their phone stations.

source: interaksyon.com

Sting feted at Kennedy Center Honors

WASHINGTON | British rock star Sting was the toast of Washington on Sunday as he was feted with fellow recipients of this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.

He took time off from his Broadway show “The Last Ship” to join Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, 1970s soul man Al Green, comedienne Lily Tomlin and ballerina Patricia McBride at a gala ceremony in the US capital.

“I feel very happy in my trophy,” Sting told AFP on the red carpet going into the soiree, pointing to the rainbow-colored laurel draped around his neck.

“I’m not sure when I’ll wear it again, but I think I look rather fetching in it,” he quipped.

“It’s still pretty overwhelming. I’m dealing with it quite well.”

Bestowed by the nation’s premier performing arts center, the Kennedy Center Honors are regarded as the highest recognition of cultural achievement in the United States.

Sting is the eighth British rock and pop musician to receive a Kennedy Center Honor.

Others include Elton John, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend from The Who, Paul McCartney and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.

This year’s honorees were all smiles and laughter as they took their balcony places alongside President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in the Kennedy Center’s vast opera house.

First to be honored was Green, with Earth, Wind and Fire putting the black-tie crowd in a soul-swinging groove, Usher crooning “Let’s Stay Together” and a huge chorus backing Mavis Staples and Sam Moore on “Take Me To The River.”

Earlier, on the red carpet, Green — an ordained pastor in Memphis, Tennessee who branched out into gospel music in the 1980s — said the honor was merely a milestone in a career that is still unfolding.

“They give me all these great accolades and then they tell you, ‘Alright, go out and earn it’,” he said. “So we gotta keep writing and keep making songs.”

“Soul music is alive and well. You’ll never get rid soul music. It’s in here,” added Green, playfully poking the heart of an AFP reporter before breaking into a few lines of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.”

TV satirist Stephen Colbert, making his debut as a Kennedy Center Honors emcee, ironically dubbed the event “the only awards ceremony in America that does not feature Taylor Swift.”

The three-hour gala is to be telecast in the United States on the CBS network December 30.

source: interaksyon.com