Tom Brady Had the Perfect Response to a Photo of Himself Attending Blackpink Concert With Daughter

Tom Brady was spotted at Blackpink‘s sold-out concert in New Jersey on Friday (Aug. 11) alongside his daughter and a group of her friends.

On Saturday morning, the retired NFL star comically responded to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, of a fan-captured photo of himself awkwardly standing on the floor of East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium. In the picture, a wide-eyed Brady is staring straight ahead while surrounded by Blinks.

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“This is the most ‘dad takes his daughter and her friends to a concert’ picture ever taken,” wrote the former quarterback, who attended the show with his 10-year-old daughter, Vivian.

Brady, who retired from the NFL in early 2023, has been spending much of his time creating loving memories with his children. In July, he and his daughter embarked on an African safari, which the 46-year-old Super Bowl champ documented on Instagram. Brady also has two sons: Benjamin, 13, with ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, and Jack, 15, with former girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.

Blackpink is approaching the end of their Born Pink World Tour, which launched in October in support of the group’s 2022 sophomore album, Born Pink. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking the girls’ first project to top the chart, and spawned two No. 1 singles on the Global 200 chart: “Pink Venom” and “Shut Down.”

Check out Brady’s response to his photo at Blackpink’s N.J. concert here.

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Billy Porter Shares Why He Still Has a Problem With Harry Styles’ ‘Vogue’ Cover From 2020

Billy Porter is once again taking aim at Harry Styles‘ appearance on the cover of Vogue in 2020.

In an interview with The Telegraph, published Friday (Aug. 11), the 53-year-old Pose star rehashes his negative feelings about Styles becoming Vogue‘s first male cover star. He also slams the magazine’s longtime editor Anna Wintour, who interviewed him shortly before Styles’ cover hit newsstands.

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“That b—- said to me at the end, ‘How can we do better?’ And I was so taken off guard that I didn’t say what I should have said,” Porter tells The Telegraph, adding that he should’ve told her, “Use your power as Vogue to uplift the voices of the leaders of this de-gendering of fashion movement … Six months later, Harry Styles is the first man on the cover.”

The December 2020 issue of Vogue features a cover photo of the British pop star wearing a Gucci dress. In the story, he discusses his gender-bending fashion and drawing inspiration from the likes of David Bowie, Prince and Elton John.

In his Telegraph interview, Porter explains that he doesn’t have a problem specifically with the former One Direction member.

“It’s not Harry Styles’ fault that he happens to be white and cute and straight and fit into the infrastructure that way,” the Tony-and Grammy-winner explains. “I call out the gatekeepers.”

He adds, “[Styles is] white and he’s straight. That’s why he’s on the cover. Non-binary blah blah blah blah. No. It doesn’t feel good to me. You’re using my community — or your people are using my community — to elevate you. You haven’t had to sacrifice anything.”

This isn’t Porter’s first time airing his frustrations with Styles’ Vogue cover. In an October 2021 interview with The Sunday Times, the Kinky Boots star called out the “Watermelon Sugar” singer’s Vogue shoot, saying it was a snub to pioneers like himself who worked to make androgynous and genderfluid fashion more mainstream.

“I’m not dragging Harry Styles, but he is the one you’re going to try and use to represent this new conversation? He doesn’t care, he’s just doing it because it’s the thing to do,” Porter said at the time. “This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars and not be gunned down. All he has to do is be white and straight.”

Porter later clarified his comments during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

“Apparently I’m famous now, and it was a slow news day, so the first thing I want to say is, ‘Harry Styles, I apologize to you for having your name in my mouth,’” he told Colbert in November 2021. “It’s not about you. The conversation is not about you… the conversation is actually deeper than that. It is about the oppression and the erasure of people of color who contribute to the culture. That’s a lot to unpack. I’m willing to unpack it sans the dragging and culture of the Internet because I do not now, nor will I ever, adjudicate my life or humanity in sound bites on social media. So when you’re ready to have the real conversation, call a b—-!”

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Morgan Wallen Trades in Famous Mullet for Newly Shaved Head & His Fans Have Strong Opinions

Morgan Wallen debuted a brand new look at his Ohio concert on Friday (Aug. 11).

The 30-year-old country music superstar surprised fans at Ohio Stadium in Columbus by walking onstage without his signature mullet hairstyle. Instead, the “Last Night” singer wore a red baseball cap with a completely bald head peeking underneath, along with a freshly shaved face.

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“Before we get any further, I didn’t like my long hair anymore, so I shaved it off,” Wallen told concertgoers in a fan-captured video on TikTok.

The bold transformation is drawing mixed reactions from fans on social media.

“Morgan Wallen shaved his mullet. No, I’m not okay and need 3-5 business days to process. Prayers welcomed,” one fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Alright, I didn’t care for Morgan Wallen’s mullet, but bald ain’t it baby,” another person added.

A different observer agreed, commenting on X, “Hey @MorganWallen why’d you do us dirty. Lookin like a cue ball and took that beautiful mullet away from us. I SCREAMED and I’m HEARTBROKEN.”

But some fans are embracing Wallen’s hairless look.

“After @MorganWallen chopped off that mullet, bet there’s a mile long line at every barber in Nashville today. Looking sharp bud,” one person wrote on X.

Another added, “Yes, his mullet is gone, BUT he’s still sexy as hell. Look at that face, that smile, and …..that voice! Yup! Still sexy @Morganwallen You do you baby!”

Wallen is currently touring North American in support of third album, One Thing At a Time, which spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. He’s also enjoying success with his hit single “Last Night,” which has spent 15 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

See more reactions to Wallen’s shaved head on X below.

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8 Best Moments of Hip Hop 50 Live: Nas, Run-D.M.C., Fat Joe & More

“If you remember anything from tonight, remember this one thing: I ain’t s— without you,” proclaimed Lil Wayne at the Hip Hop 50 Live concert on Friday (Aug. 11). As tens of thousands of fans descended upon Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most important and influential art forms in the world, Wayne’s message was proven correct.

Hip Hop 50 Live, which featured headliners Run-D.M.C. in their final show, was a celebration of the genre’s roots and evolution as much as it was a celebration of the fans and community that have kept pushing the culture forward for 50 years and counting. Featuring a crowd as diverse as New York City itself, the concert placed a heavy emphasis on honoring the genre’s pillars such as The Sugarhill Gang and Melle Mel. From undisputed icons like Roxanne Shante to new-school innovators like A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Friday night’s concert was the physical embodiment of the cross-generational impact of hip-hop.

Assembling a lineup that effectively conveys the cultural, regional, sexual, and generational diversity of a genre as multilayered as hip-hop is no easy task. While the show was notably lacking in contemporary stars, the concert’s lineup was more than capable of captivating the massive stadium. Performances included sets from Nas, Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, Wiz Khalifa, Ghostface Killah, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Cam’Ron, T.I., Lil’ Kim, Trina, Remy Ma, Fat Joe, Slick Rick, EPMD, Snoop Dogg and more.

Hip Hop 50 Live specifically commemorated a legendary party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue hosted by Cindy Campbell and DJed by DJ Kool Herc — a party that birthed hip-hop. As such, the celebration took things all the way back to the beginning. The Sugarhill Gang delighted the audience with a rousing rendition of “Rapper’s Delight,” which is widely regarded as the first commercially released hip-hop song, and rap pioneer Grandmaster Caz rocked the house with performances of “It’s Us,” among other Cold Crush Brothers selections.

Of course, hip-hop is about more than just the rappers. DJs also got their due at Friday’s concert, with legendary DJs like Marley Marl and Mannie Fresh keeping the energy flowing with sets that frequently highlighted the sub-genres and sounds of hip-hop not present on the official bill.

As the night transitioned into lengthier sets, both Lil Wayne (one of Billboard’s 2023 Hip-Hop Hall of Fame inductees) and T.I. reminded attendees that both have an endless stream of hits across eras and genres. T.I. held it down for the South and 20 years of Trap Muzik with a set that included such hits as “Swagga Like Us,” “Whatever You Like,” and “Live Your Life.” Lil Wayne, who masterfully tore through countless anthems, pulled out hits like “A Milli,” “Uproar,” “I’m Goin’ In,” and a cruel tease of “Back That Azz Up,” that left the crowd hanging.

Hip Hop 50 Live was co-produced by Mass Appeal, Live Nation, and the New York Yankees. Emmy Award-winner BASSic Black Entertainment CEO Adam Blackstone and producer and keyboardist Omar Edwards served as the concert’s creative music directors.

Here are the 8 best moments of Hip Hop 50 Live:

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Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor Says Cancer Drug Has Extended His Life Five More Years

Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor is sharing some positive news about his battle with cancer.

The 62-year-old musician, who revealed his stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis in November 2022 (he was initially diagnosed in 2018), says he expects to live another five years thanks to a “nuclear medicine” called Lutetium-177.

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Taylor tells BBC Breakfast that scientists contacted him about the drug, which is designed to designed to specifically target cancer cells.

“It can’t see healthy cells,” says Taylor, who had his first treatment about six weeks ago. “It kills stage four cancer in your bones. And so what it’s effectively done is extend my life for five years.”

Lutetium-177 was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2022. The drug has “proven to significantly improve prostate cancer survival rates and quality of life, as well as extend the time it takes for the disease to progress,” according to the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Taylor revealed his cancer diagnosis through a letter read by his bandmates during their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall last November. The guitarist was expected to join members Simon LeBon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor at the group’s induction in Los Angeles, but had to miss it due to his illness.

Taylor told BBC that he was “massively disappointed” to miss the Rock Hall ceremony, which he referred to as “the biggest night of my life.”

The guitarist says the Lutetium-177 treatment is allowing him to finish his upcoming solo album, Man’s a Wolf to Man, which is scheduled for release in September.

Earlier this year, Duran Duran confirmed that Taylor will be contributing to the group’s forthcoming album. The band is also honoring the guitarist with a one-off benefit concert for cancer awareness at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, Calif., on Aug. 19.

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Bob Dylan Speaks Out on Death of ‘Lifelong Friend’ Robbie Robertson

Two days after Robbie Robertson’s death at age 80 following a long illness, his friend and collaborator Bob Dylan is speaking out.

“This is shocking news,” Dylan said in a statement provided to Billboard. “Robbie was a lifelong friend. His passing leaves a vacancy in the world.”

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The two legends share a long history. Robertson, whom Dylan famously called a “mathematical guitar genius,” played guitar with Dylan starting in the mid-1960s, after Dylan became aware of Levon and the Hawks, an early iteration of what became The Band. As Dylan notoriously switched from acoustic to electric, their reception was hardly positive. As Robertson recalled to Mojo in 2017, “When The Hawks hooked up with Dylan, he found this explosive, dynamic thing. Because of his intensity, it raised everything up and we didn’t come down enough and people were saying this music is so loud we can’t hear the words. Part of that was he wanted that raging spirit on these songs. We got booed all over North America, Australia, Europe, and people were saying this isn’t working and we kept on and Bob didn’t budge.”

The Hawks backed Dylan for several months, with their efforts captured on 1998’s The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966: The ‘Royal Albert Hall’ Concert.

Their relationship was exploratory and revelatory, especially in the early days. “The obvious thing we learned – that everybody learned – was there was a new way of songwriting. There was a much more colorful, descriptive, humorous, outrageous thrill ride of wordplay,” Robertson told Mojo. “We hadn’t seen this before – this was breaking some big rules. I remember saying to Bob one time, ‘Maybe there’s too many verses in this’ [Laughs], and he said, ‘There probably are, but that’s what I was thinking about when I wrote it.’ His spirit was on fire, and he was knocking down the boundaries that had been built up around music. It excited me to be part of this revolution.”

Robertson also played on Dylan’s legendary 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. Dylan and The Band famously recorded in 1967 at Big Pink, the house several members of The Band rented in West Saugerties, New York. The complete recordings from those sessions were released in the voluminous 2014 set The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete.

Robertson and Dylan continued to collaborate for decades, including The Band covering Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece” on 1971’s Cahoots album and touring together in 1974, as well as recording Dylan’s No. 1 studio album Planet Waves together.

For the very successful 1974 tour, the audience finally realized Dylan and The Band were right all those years ago, Robertson told Mojo: “We do a tour, the [1974] Dylan/Band tour, we play the same way [as we did in 1966], same intensity and everybody says, ‘Wow, that was amazing.’ The world came around – we didn’t change a note.”

Dylan also was one of a number of legendary musicians joining The Band for The Last Waltz concert, taped on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. The show concludes with Dylan’s “We Shall Be Released.”

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‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Viral Hitmaker Oliver Anthony: 5 Things You Need to Know

Virginia country singer Oliver Anthony, a former factory worker, is going viral thanks to his song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” a scathing tale of greed and injustice that is rapidly being embraced and promoted by right-wing pundits.

“I’ve been selling my soul, working all day/ Overtime hours for bullsh– pay,” he sings in the song’s opening lines. A video, posted by radiowv, shows Anthony offering an acoustic performance, funneling the pain, frustration and angst of the working class into lines that rage against greedy rich men. The song takes on high taxes, abuse of welfare, and selfish politicians, with lyrics that have resonated mightily with music listeners. Elsewhere, he sings, “Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothing to eat and the obese milking welfare/ Well God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds/ Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds.”

In a YouTube video posted Aug. 7, Anthony shared that the performance video of “Rich Men North of Richmond” was his “first song to get out there that has been recorded on a real microphone and a real camera, and not just on my cell phone.” He also noted that he began writing his own music in earnest in 2021.

“Things were not good for a lot of people and in some respects I was one of those people,” Anthony said. “I had wasted a lot of nights getting high and getting drunk and I had sort of gotten to a point in my life where even things that I did care about didn’t mean anything to me anymore. This is certainly no Dr. Phil episode, but I found an outlet in this music. I started uploading a couple of songs.”

He uploaded “Ain’t Gotta Dollar” last year and notes he’s since put out approximately a dozen songs he recorded on his cell phone, including “90 Some Chevy” and “Living in the New World.”

Of “Rich Men North of Richmond,” he said it centers on the problems of the working class, noting, “The universal thing I see is no matter how much effort they put into whatever it is they’re doing, they can’t quite get ahead because the dollar’s not worth enough, they are being over-taxed. … I want to be a voice for those people. And not just them, but humans in general.” He went on to add, “As long as you’re above the dirt, you’ve got a fightin’ chance.”

Anthony’s grizzly, acoustic sound and straightforward songwriting style is already drawing stylistic comparisons to artists including Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers.

Here, five things to know about Anthony and “Rich Men North of Richmond”:

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‘Red, White & Royal Blue’: How to Stream the Prime Video Rom-Com Online for Free

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Red, White & Royal Blue, a Prime Video original movie about the feuding sons of a U.S. president and British prince who fall for each other after staging a truce, premiered Friday (Aug. 11).

Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Uma Thurman, Clifton Collins Jr., Sarah Shahi and Rachel Hilson star in the movie, which was adapted from the 2019 New York Times bestselling novel of the same name.

Red, White & Royal Blue centers on Alex Claremont-Diaz (Perez), the son of the first U.S. female president (played by Thurman), and Britain’s Prince Henry (Galitzine). The rivaling royal and first son are forced into a fake peace treaty that sparks a romance between them.

Red, White & Royal Blue is directed by Matthew López and written by López and Ted Malawer. Casey McQuiston, Michael Riley Mcgrath, López, and Michael S. Constable are executive producers.

Stephen Fry, Ellie Bamber, Thomas Flynn, Malcolm Atobrah, Akshay Khanna, Sharon D. Clarke, Aneesh Sheth and Juan Castano round out the cast.

Read on for details on how to stream the movie for free.

How to Watch Red, White & Royal Blue

You’ll need a Prime Video subscription to stream Red, White & Royal Blue. The romantic comedy is a Prime exclusive available at no extra cost to subscribers.

‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Watch Free on Prime Video
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If you’re not a Prime member, click the link above to launch your free 30-day trial. The subscription includes fast and free shipping on millions of items and Prime Video, which you can access via the app or online at Amazon.com.

What’s streaming on Prime Video? Watch exclusive TV series and movies such as The Summer I Turned Pretty, Good Omens 2, Daisy Jones & The Six, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Knock at the Cabin, Citadel, Invincible: Atom & Eve, The Boys, Reacher, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and The Wheel of Time.

Prime members can also add channels like Paramount+, Max and Starz and pre-order, rent and buy digital copies of new movies such as Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse, Barbie and The Little Mermaid.

Watch the trailer for Red, White & Royal Blue below.

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Kelsea Ballerini Feels ‘Supported & Seen’ by Chase Stokes: ‘He’s Such a Wonderful Human Being’

Kelsea Ballerini is letting love in. During her Friday (Aug. 11) appearance on the Today show, the country singer was asked about a recent viral video of her and Chase Stokes kissing before she hit the stage — which prompted her to share a few kind words about the Outer Banks star and her rumored boyfriend.

“I’m so happy. He’s here too. It’s nice to feel so supported and seen,” Ballerini said, sweetly adding that the actor is “such a wonderful human being.”

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Rumors of Ballerini and Stokes dating began swirling in January when the pair was spotted spending time together at the College Football Playoff National Championship in Los Angeles. One month later, Ballerini dropped a 20-minute short film with her Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP in which she detailed the devastation of her divorce from fellow country star Morgan Evans. Ballerini made an expanded version of the EP titled Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good), which was released Friday.

“This record is about a chapter of my life that is no longer mine, and so I think being able to honor it through music is really beautiful and bookmark it and preserve it, because I’ve learned a lot and I think its valuable, but I don’t want to keep harping on the past. It’s the past. I’m moving forward,” Ballerini told Today of the release.

As for what’s on the horizon for the country star, she’ll be celebrating her 30th birthday on Sept. 12 and will be using the milestone to relax: “I’m about to turn 30 and I’m excited to take a little bit of time off and go celebrate with my friends and my family and hang with my dog, and really dig my heels into my real life a little bit and live a life to write about.”

For Ballerini’s Today performance, she hit the stage to play “Blindsided,” which also appears on the project.

See Ballerini talk about her relationship with Stokes and Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) in the video above.

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Warner Music a Rare Bright Spot for Music Stocks This Week Thanks to Earnings Rebound

Warner Music Group’s share price didn’t improve much this week, but its 5.6% gain nevertheless led the 21 music stocks in the Billboard Global Music Index.

On Tuesday (Aug. 8), Warner Music Group (WMG) reported that its quarterly revenue increased 9% year over year in the fiscal quarter ended June 30. That was music to investors’ ears after WMG’s revenue grew just 1.7% in the previous quarter, but it wasn’t exactly a surprise: WMG executives had previously told investors that the company’s new release schedule was weighted in the back half of its fiscal year and that its financials would pick up accordingly. And a Billboard analysis of Luminate data found that the company’s U.S. market share had started to improve by early May.

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Only four of the Billboard Global Music Index’s 21 stocks finished the week in positive territory. Sphere Entertainment Co., the company behind the state-of-the-art Las Vegas venue set to open in September, improved 5.5% to $39.77 and German promoter CTS Eventim gained 4.8% to 61.80 euros ($67.76). Elsewhere, Hipgnosis Songs Fund rose 3.9% to 79.8 pence ($1.01).

This was the third consecutive week the index declined in value after reaching an all-time high in the week ended July 21.

LiveOne shares dropped 4% this week despite the company raising guidance on its fiscal 2024 revenue and adjusted EBITDA. In the fiscal quarter ended June 30, the company — which is behind music streaming platform Slacker and podcast brand PodcastOne — posted revenue of $25.7 million, up 24% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA of $4.9 million, up 46% year over year.

iHeartMedia shares fell 24.9% to $3.38 this week after the company warned of continued softness in advertising. The U.S. radio giant posted second quarter revenue of $920 million, down 3.6% year over year. Other radio companies also declined. Cumulus Media fell 5.9% to $4.96, while Townsquare Media — not a member of the Billboard Global Music Index — fell 19.7% on Wednesday following the company’s second-quarter earnings results but recaptured some of the losses on Thursday and Friday to finish the week down 7.2% at $10.50.

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French streaming company Deezer fell 9.4% to 2.12 euros ($2.32) this week and has lost 16% since reporting mid-year earnings on Aug. 3. The company lowered its forecast for full-year revenue growth slightly to a range of 7% to 10%, down from a more than 10% increase. Although the company’s decision to raise its price in 2022 helped its average revenue per user to increase 8.3%, its subscribers declined by 100,000 to 9.3 million from the prior-year period. 

In related news, Disney shares rose 4.9% after the company’s second quarter beat earnings expectations, even as it revealed that its Disney+ subscriber count fell 7.4% to 146.1 million in the second quarter. Starting in October, Disney will raise the prices for both ad-free and ad-supported tiers of Disney+ and Hulu by at least 20%. Following the price increases, ad-free Disney+ will cost $13.99 per month and ad-free Hulu will cost $17.99 per month.

Music services have been far more hesitant than streaming video-on-demand services to raise prices. Spotify just increased its individual plan price in the United States — by $1 to $10.99 — for the first time since launching in 2011. By contrast, Hulu last raised its prices in October 2022 and has increased its the price of its ad-free tier by 39% in less than a year.

Music stocks’ decline mirrored stocks’ broad declines this week. In the United States, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3% and 1.9%, respectively. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 was down 0.5%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index declined 0.4%. News that the U.S. producer price index, a gauge of wholesale prices, rose 3% in July — the biggest one-month gain since January — was a factor in U.S. stock prices falling Friday.

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