NEW YORK (AP) — Singer Carly Simon has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and was recently treated for skin cancer, the singer shared in a statement provided to The Associated Press.
“So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing. The truth is, I’ve been learning how to live with Parkinson’s disease,” Simon's statement on Monday read.
The singer, 83, had been experiencing arthritis in one of her hips and both her knees, resulting in replacement surgeries for those three joints. But her mobility continued to decline. At times, she said, she could not walk without “considerable help.”
“My family and I knew that something more was going on. After an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” she said.
“It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly,” she explained. “Parkinson’s is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable. Some days I’m so tired I can’t get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself.”
Parkinson’s is a neurologic disease that robs people of control over their movements. It typically starts with tremors and is characterized by slow movement, a shuffling gait, stiff limbs, balance problems and slurred speech.
About 1 million Americans are living with Parkinson’s, and 10 million people worldwide, the Parkinson’s Foundation estimates. It usually appears after age 60, though it sometimes develops before age 50.
The exact cause isn’t known, but Parkinson’s develops when cells that produce one of the brain’s chemical messengers — dopamine — begin to deteriorate and die.
There is no cure, but there are treatments including medications that affect dopamine levels and a surgically implanted tremor-blocking device. Patients also can benefit from physical and occupational therapy.
“I began treatment, including taking medication to help with stiffness and other symptoms,” Simon said. “There is no tidy or predictable schedule to the illness. It does not consult my calendar before deciding what kind of day I am going to have.”
She also shared that she was treated for basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer, on her face at the same time. She had surgery, and the cancer was removed, “but the surgery affected my appearance and made me more self-conscious about being seen in public,” she said.
She said music has been a salve, and on Aug. 14, she will release “Comes in Waves,” her first album of original songs since 2008.
“Working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape. It gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room,” she continued. “It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life.”
FILE - Carly Simon performs during the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 19, 2017. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
SEATTLE (AP) — Police searched for a second suspect Monday after gunfire erupted at a crowded food festival beneath Seattle's Space Needle, leaving three people dead and four others wounded, including a toddler. Another suspect was earlier arrested.
Investigators believe the two suspects were shooting at each other Sunday and, although one remained on the loose, Seattle Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis told a news conference Sunday night that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
Police did not have a description of the outstanding suspect, he said.
“We’re still trying to figure this out,” Davis said. Police did not immediately respond to phone and email messages early Monday.
Two people died at the scene and a third died at a hospital. They were described as two men, ages 19 and 44, and a 56-year-old woman.
The four wounded, including a 2-year-old boy, were hospitalized and in stable condition early Monday, police said. The rest of the wounded were adults. Davis couldn't say if any of the victims were involved in the confrontation.
The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. Sunday in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual three-day festival that draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers.
Dozens of officers were providing security at the event and some saw one of the suspects firing, Davis said. One suspect surrendered at the scene, but the other fled.
A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around the sprawling Seattle Center campus.
Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when gunfire broke out.
“We were about to start eating, then heard someone yell something, then we saw people start to run,” Hunter said. “So we took off running, too.”
“We were right next to him when it started, so we took off running,” Hunter added.
Hunter said that in the scramble to find safety, she and others ran into the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.
In the chaos, many vendors bolted toward the exits, abandoning their food stands. Hours later, some milled outside the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to collect their tents, food and cooking gear.
Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and frantically running.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
After the initial panic, new guests continued to arrive unaware of what had happened and were told by police to leave, he said.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and turned to see a rush of people fleeing.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that was when he heard gunshots.
“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter,” he said.
After he escorted his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to take photos and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.
The festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees, according to its website.
Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Seattle, Annika Wolters in Bangkok and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
A Seattle Police officer sets up police line tape at the site of a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, center, speaks at a news conference after a shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Seattle Police officer walks through tents with colorful toys at the scene of a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A crime scene photographer arrives as law enforcement examines the scene following a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
