Ace Frehley performs in concert at Haute Spot Event Venue on July 13, 2023 in Cedar Park, Texas. (Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images)
KISS fans have a chance to get their hands on a guitar previously owned by the late Ace Frehley.
The site Gotta Have Rock and Roll is auctioning off Ace’s Sunburst Gibson Les Paul “Smoker” guitar, which he used during KISS’ 1999 Psycho Circus tour and their 2000 Farewell tour.
The stage-used guitar, which is signed by Ace, is modified to produce the rocker’s signature “Smoking” effects and includes a letter of authenticity from Frehley. The description notes the instrument was part of the rocker’s personal collection and “represents a unique piece of rock history from an influential period of his career.”
Bidding on the guitar is open until Dec. 5, with a minimum bid of $100,000 required. The guitar is expected to sell for between $150,000 and $200,000.
Frehley, founding guitarist of KISS and a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, died Oct. 16 at the age of 74.
Julianne Hough poses with Zac Efron and his younger sister, Olivia Efron, during the semi-finals of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ on Nov. 18, 2025. (Disney/Eric McCandless via Getty Images)
Zac Efron made a surprise appearance on Dancing with the Stars to support his younger brother Dylan Efron on Tuesday night.
The High School Musical star was in the audience alongside his family to cheer on his 33-year-old brother, who is competing on the show with pro partner Daniella Karagach.
Dylan and Daniella performed a tango to Prince & The Revolution‘s “I Would Die 4 U” and a cha-cha to “Kiss,” also by Prince & The Revolution. They earned scores of 27 and 28, respectively, securing a spot in the finale.
In a post on his Instagram Story ahead of their performances, Zac encouraged fans and followers to vote for Dylan.
The season finale of DWTS, where the dancing couples will face off for a chance to win the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, airs Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+. It will stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
Disney is the parent company of ABC, ABC News, Disney+ and Hulu.
Former Olympic snowboarder and Canadian national Ryan Wedding is seen in photos released by the FBI. FBI
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department unsealed new charges against a former Canadian Olympian snowboarder who is allegedly the “largest distributor of cocaine” in Canada, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The charges allege Ryan Wedding ordered the killing of a witness who was set to testify against him in a U.S. federal trial in a drug trafficking case, prosecutors said.
“Wedding collaborates closely with the Sinaloa Cartel, a foreign terrorist organization, to flood not only American but also Canadian communities with cocaine coming from Colombia,” Bondi said at a press briefing Wednesday. “His organization is responsible for importing approximately six metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles via semi trucks from Mexico.”
Wedding was previously indicted in Los Angeles federal court on multiple federal charges, including running a continuing criminal enterprise, committing murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and assorted drug crimes.
He and his alleged second-in-command, Canadian Andrew Clark, conspired to move hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico to the Los Angeles area, where it was stored in stash houses before being transported to Canada and U.S. cities in long-haul semi-trucks, authorities said.
The two are also accused of ordering the murders of multiple people in Canada to achieve the organization’s aims, the FBI said.
Wedding is now newly charged in connection with the murder of a witness that occurred in January at a restaurant in Colombia, according to U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Los Angeles Bill Essayli.
The witness was shot five times in the head and died instantly, according to Essayli.
“Wedding placed a bounty on the victim’s head in the erroneous belief that the victim’s death would result in the dismissal of criminal charges against him and his international drug trafficking ring and would further ensure that he was not extradited to the United States,” Essayli said during the press briefing.
Wedding and 14 others, including his lawyer, are charged in the new indictment with orchestrating the murder, according to Essayli.
The lawyer is accused of advising Wedding that if he killed the witness, then criminal charges would be dropped, Essayli said. The lawyer was arrested Tuesday in Canada and will be extradited to the U.S., he said.
Authorities said they do not have the suspect who pulled the trigger in the murder and are currently searching for a suspect.
Wedding has been on the run for years and his whereabouts are unknown, authorities said.
The State Department is now offering a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest, officials said Wednesday — up from the previously announced $10 million reward.
The Treasury Department has put sanctions on Wedding and his alleged enterprise, and said he uses a “complex” web of financials to launder money.
Wedding competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he placed 24th in the parallel giant slalom, before allegedly running the billion-dollar cocaine operation from Mexico for more than a dozen years, officials said.
FBI Director Kash Patel called Wedding a “modern-day” Pablo Escobar. He asked anyone with information on Wedding to speak up.
“Make no mistake, Ryan Wedding is extremely dangerous,” Assistant Director in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office Akil Davis said during the briefing. “He’s extremely violent, and he’s extremely wealthy. He’s being protected by the Sinaloa cartel, along with others in the country of Mexico. We will find him, and we will bring him to justice.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The House could act as soon as Wednesday to move forward with an effort to strip controversial language in the government funding bill that allows senators to sue the government if their phones are investigated without their knowledge.
Meanwhile, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune continued to be noncommittal about what the Senate will do after the House acts.
The provision was inserted at Thune’s request, ABC News learned, into the massive government funding bill that passed Congress and was signed into law last week at Thune’s request.
The House is expected to pass a measure to repeal the provision with bipartisan support Wednesday night.
The majority leader, who has control over what legislation is voted on in the Senate, did not commit to taking any sort of action in the Senate if the House’s effort to remove the language is successful and offered a defense of the provision.
“You have an independent, coequal branch of the government whose members were, through illegal means, having their phone records acquired, spied on if you will, through a weaponized Biden Justice Department. That to me demands some accountability,” Thune said. “And so, I think everybody is focusing on the private right of action, and whatever the number, you know the number that they agreed on. I think the important thing in all of this is, where’s the accountability, and what is the consequence of bad behavior.”
The legislation that was approved as part of the funding bill gives senators the ability to sue the government retroactively for $500,000 per device accessed as part of an investigation. Eight Republican senators had their phone records subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith as part of his investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and would be eligible to sue under the law.
Many of those eight senators have told ABC News they have no intention of suing under the new rule. Some of those affected, like Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., say they would support the House effort to appeal.
“I think it’s a bad idea. I mean listen, I’m all for accountability. I mean, I had my phone tapped so I’m all for accountability, don’t get me wrong. But I think taking taxpayer money is not the right way to do it. The right way to do it is tough oversight,” Hawley, R-Mo., said Wednesday morning.
But Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., another senator whose records were accessed by Smith, is digging in.
Graham told host Fox News’ Sean Hannity Tuesday night that he intends to sue for “tens of millions of dollars” under the new rule.
“I think this was worse than Watergate, an effort to destroy President Trump, charge him with crimes that are just ridiculous, and come after people like me. I’m not going to put up with this crap any more. I’m going to sue,” Graham said.
“I am going to sue. If you don’t sue, they’ll keep doing it. Don’t run away from this Republicans, fight back,” Graham told Hannity.
Attorneys representing Smith sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley in October seeking to correct what they call “inaccurate” claims that Smith wiretapped or spied on Republican lawmakers as part of his investigation.
ABC News asked Thune Wednesday if he believed it was appropriate for his members to be suing the government for “millions” in taxpayer dollars.
“I don’t think there is anybody that was targeted for whom the money matters. I think it’s more the principle and making sure there’s a remedy in the future,” Thune said.
If the House passes its repeal of the language, Thune ultimately controls whether this bill gets put on the Senate floor.
If he allows it to, it would need 60 votes to pass. It’s unclear at this time whether there would be those votes, but there are several Senate Republicans who have signaled that they would support repealing the language.
Luke Combs looks on during a press conference for the Concert for Carolina at Bank of America Stadium on October 26, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jeff Hahne/Getty Images)
Starting Thursday, you’ll be able to support the Carolina Panthers and Luke Combs at the same time.
Die-hard Panthers fan Luke has partnered with the team for an exclusive merchandise collaboration, which will drop Thursday at 11 a.m. ET at the team store at Bank of American Stadium and online at shop.panthers.com.
Luke says in a statement, “It’s safe to say I bleed Carolina Panthers blue. They’ve been my team through thick and thin. I was born into this fandom. I met Sam Mills when I was 5 years old at a local restaurant during the team’s first season. I had a Panthers birthday when I turned 8.”
Luke adds, “I was able to hand pick each and every item in the collection. Talk about a full circle moment. This is it. Keep pounding.”
The collection features “vintage-inspired designs and a distinct ’90s aesthetic,” according to a press release. All net proceeds from the collection will go to Western North Carolina charities, including Second Harvest Food Bank NWNC.
Entertainer of the year nominee Luke will open the 59th annual CMA Awards Wednesday night on ABC.
Attorney General Pam Bondi. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Shortly after the Senate approved and sent a bill to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files to President Donald Trump’s desk on Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi faced questions on how the administration will respond.
“We have released over 33,000 Epstein documents to the Hill, and we will continue to follow the law and to have maximum transparency. Also, we will always encourage all victims to come forward,” Bondi said at a news conference alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and other officials on an unrelated law enforcement action.
Bondi told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas that there is “new information” that has come to the Justice Department regarding the Epstein files, but did not elaborate on what the new information is.
Last week, Bondi announced the Justice Department was initiating a renewed investigation into the files and potential ties between high-profile Democrats and Epstein just hours after Trump ordered her to on his Truth Social account.
ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas pressed Bondi on Wednesday what changed from the department’s memo in July in which they said they planned to make no future public disclosures related to their review of Epstein’s case and no further charges were expected.
“There’s information, new information, additional information,” she said in response to the question from Thomas. “And again, we will continue to follow the law to investigate any leads. If there are any victims, we encourage all victims to come forward. And we will continue to provide maximum transparency under the law.”
It’s unclear whether the DOJ will seek to cite the new investigation as exempting much of the files from public disclosure due to their relevance to the new investigation, despite DOJ and FBI stating unequivocally in a July statement that it uncovered no evidence in a review of the files that would support a predicated investigation against any uncharged individuals.
It’s unlikely the Justice Department would release the entire Epstein file, according to sources. Any materials related to ongoing investigations or White House claims of executive privilege will likely remain out of public view.
Earlier Wednesday, the Senate agreed to unanimously approve the bill the House passed on Tuesday, which meant there were no amendments or changes to the bill as House Speaker Mike Johnson and other members of his Republican leadership team had urged.
Johnson on Wednesday said he was “surprised” that no amendments were made.
“I made clear for months that I thought there were serious flaws in the underlying bill, and I had hoped that the Senate would work to fix and correct those. They decided to go a different direction. That’s their prerogative. I was surprised and disappointed by that,” Johnson conceded.
Still, the speaker said he does not expect Trump to veto the measure.
“The Congress has spoken,” Johnson emphasized “You know that the president will process that, and there’s no delays in this at all. I mean, it’s moving forward, so I’m going to check the progress right now.”
If the legislation is signed into law, it could compel the release of federal records on Epstein and his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as other individuals, including government officials, named or referenced in connection with Epstein’s “criminal activities, civil settlements, immunity, plea agreements or investigatory proceedings,” according to the legislation text. Victims’ names and other identifying information would be excluded from disclosure, as would any items that may depict or contain child sex abuse material, according to the text of the bill.
Trump said on Monday that he will sign the bill should it reach his desk.
“I’m all for it,” Trump said.
But in a post on his social media platform Tuesday afternoon, the president said he doesn’t “care when the Senate passes the House Bill, whether tonight, or at some other time in the near future,” and that he wants Republicans to stay focused on his agenda.
“I just don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories that we’ve had, including THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, Closed Borders, No Men in Women’s Sports or Transgender for Everyone, ending DEI, stopping Biden’s Record Setting Inflation, Biggest Tax and Regulation Cuts in History, stopping EIGHT Wars, rebuilding our Military, being RESPECTED by every Country in the World, having Trillions of Dollars INVESTED in the U.S.A., having created the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World, and even delivering a HUGE DEFEAT to the Democrats on the Shutdown,” Trump said in his post.
A senior White House official later told ABC News that the bill will “be signed whenever it gets to the White House.”
Trump did not need to wait for Congress to act — he could order the release immediately.
At a vigil on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon, a group of House Democrats and Epstein survivors broke out in loud cheers upon learning that the Senate unanimously approved the bill.
After New Mexico Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez made the announcement from the podium, the group broke out in loud cheers, claps and smiles — some of them tearing up.
Democrats were seen hugging the survivors.
ABC News’ John Parkinson, Lauren Peller, Rebecca Gelpi, Michelle Stoddart and Alex Mallin contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Just a week before Thanksgiving, record-breaking heat is hitting parts of the South, with some cities setting daily records as temperatures rise 10 to 20 degrees above average.
Cities across Texas experienced record-high temperatures on Tuesday, with Waco reaching 87 degrees and Austin hitting 86 degrees. Dallas, which hit a high of 87 degrees on Tuesday, has not seen temperatures this warm this late into the year in 20 years.
Houston also shattered records on Tuesday, as it saw a temperature over 80 degrees for a record 245th day this year. The previous record of 243 days was set in 2012. This record could continue to grow, as Houston — which has only had 77 days of weather cooler than 80 degrees — will see temperatures in the low- to mid-80s for the rest of the week.
From Wednesday through Friday, record-high temperatures are possible from Houston to Charlotte, North Carolina, and areas farther south.
Other cities experiencing unseasonably warm weather include Jackson, Mississippi, which could see the temperature reach 81 degrees on Thursday, along with Atlanta, with highs consistently in the high 70s for the rest of the week.
This heat, which will move out of the South this weekend, will allow for a flood threat to develop from Texas to Missouri on Thursday.
While the heat lingers in the South, parts of the Southeast and Northeast will see temperatures “cooler than normal at times,” according to the National Weather Service.
This year, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation — a natural variation of warmer, neutral and cooler waters along the equatorial waters of the eastern Pacific — has been in the cooler pattern, or La Niña, since September and is expected to continue for much of winter.
This likely puts the U.S. in a dominant weather pattern for most of the winter, keeping the southern half of the country warmer and drier and the Pacific Northwest out to the Great Lakes cooler and wetter than average.
Megan Thee Stallion attends the 2024 Planned Parenthood Of Greater New York Gala, April 16, 2024, in New York. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Megan Thee Stallion is expected to take the witness stand at a federal courthouse in Miami in connection with a defamation lawsuit that she filed in October 2024 against Milagro Cooper, a social media commentator and blogger known as Milagro Gramz.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, alleges in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida, that Cooper participated in a targeted and coordinated social media campaign to harass, intimidate and defame Pete, in concert with rapper Tory Lanez, who was convicted of shooting and injuring Pete in a July 2020 incident.
Lanez, birth name Daystar Peterson, is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit but was asked to give a deposition ahead of the trial. ABC News has reached out to his attorneys, but requests for comment were not returned.
The complaint, which was reviewed by ABC News, accuses Cooper of defamation, promoting an altered sexual depiction of Pete, cyberstalking and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Cooper denied wrongdoing in legal documents responding to the lawsuit. ABC News reached out to Cooper’s attorneys, but requests for comment were not returned.
In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Cooper’s attorneys argued that “multiple allegations of ‘defamation’ are an overreach” and alleged that some statements made by Cooper are “substantially true,” while others are “clearly opinion and/or rhetorical hyperbole and therefore not actionable as a matter of law.”
The complaint argues that Cooper conspired with Peterson to “punish” Pete for testifying in Peterson’s trial where she named him as her shooter.
Peterson, who chose not to take the witness stand during the 2022 trial, pleaded not guilty, and his defense attorneys argued during the trial that he was not the shooter.
Court records show that Peterson and his attorney were held in contempt of court by a magistrate judge earlier this week for failing to answer questions during a deposition related to Pete’s lawsuit against Cooper. Peterson was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
ABC News reached out to Peterson’s attorney Crystal Morgan for comment.
In her lawsuit against Cooper, Pete is seeking an unspecified amount in “compensatory damages, punitive damages, statutory damages, attorney’s fees, costs, interest, and all other damages as are just and proper as well as declaratory judgment to remedy Defendant’s unlawful behavior.”
A photo taken on September 14, 2024, shows seafood at Jimiya fishing port in Qingdao, China, on September 14, 2024. Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
(HONG KONG) — China will suspend imports of Japanese seafood, according to ABC News partner NHK, escalating a diplomatic dispute triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent comments suggesting Tokyo could take military action if China attacks Taiwan.
Chinese authorities said the import halt is necessary to monitor treated wastewater being released from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.
China had only recently resumed buying Japanese marine products after imposing a ban when Japan began releasing the wastewater in 2023 after the Fukushima plant was damaged in the 2011 earthquake.
The move comes as tensions spike between the two countries following Takaichi’s remarks to parliament that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan — a formal classification that could justify a military response. Beijing saw this statement as a challenge to its claim of sovereignty over independent Taiwan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday that Takaichi’s statements “fundamentally damaged the political foundation of China-Japan relations,” adding that there was “no longer a market for Japanese seafood” as a result.
Japan has since warned its citizens in China to take safety precautions and avoid crowded places. China has also advised its citizens against traveling to Japan and postponed the release of two Japanese films.
A senior Japanese official met his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Tuesday, but the talks made no progress. Chinese diplomat Liu Jinsong later made rare comments to state media, saying he was “dissatisfied” with the meeting.
Mao warned Wednesday that “if Japan refuses to retract its remarks, or even continues to make wrong moves, China will have no choice but to take severe and resolute countermeasures, and Japan will bear all the consequences that arise.”
China has also summoned Japan’s ambassador and publicly warned that Japan would face a “crushing military defeat” if it intervened militarily in Taiwan.
The dispute marks one of the sharpest downturns in relations between China and Japan in recent years, reopening long-standing tensions over security, history and regional influence in the Indo-Pacific.
On Sunday, Chinese coast guard vessels sailed through waters surrounding a group of disputed East China Sea islands. Japan’s coast guard said it drove the ships away. The islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, have long been a flashpoint, particularly since Japan nationalized them in 2012.
Japan also scrambled fighter jets Saturday after China flew a drone between Taiwan and Japan’s Yonaguni Island in a move Tokyo called provocative, though not unprecedented.
Chinese state media and diplomats have escalated rhetoric online, including one consul general who posted, and then deleted, a comment saying “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off.”
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass weighed in on social media, criticizing Chinese officials and writing that “Halloween has been and gone” after a Chinese diplomat called Takaichi an “evil witch.”
Meanwhile, China’s travel warning for Japan has added economic pressure as Japanese tourism and retail stocks fell 5% to more than 10% just this week amid fears that a downturn in Chinese visitors, who make up roughly a quarter of all inbound tourism to Japan, could significantly affect the sector.
Japan has attempted to cool tensions by sending senior envoys to Beijing and reiterating that its stance on Taiwan and the “One China” policy has not changed but China’s foreign ministry said Premier Li Qiang does not plan to meet Takaichi during this week’s G20 summit in South Africa.
Japan ruled Taiwan for 50 years beginning in the late 19th century, leaving complex historical, cultural and economic ties.
After World War II, the island was placed under the control of China’s Nationalist government, which later fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Chinese Communist Party. The Communist government in Beijing, however, claims sovereignty over the island despite having never directly governed it.
Japan today maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan but has grown more outspoken about regional security concerns. Several of Japan’s westernmost islands lie approximately 70 miles away from Taiwan.
The dispute is unfolding as competition between the United States and China has been intensifying across the Indo-Pacific as Japan hosts the largest concentration of U.S. military personnel outside the United States.
Washington’s response so far has been measured but firm after Glass’ comments condemning hostile rhetoric from Chinese diplomats as unprofessional and urging de-escalation without directly challenging China’s core claims on Taiwan.
The YouTube channel’s viral series asks drummers to come up with their own parts to a song that they’ve never heard before. After playing drum-less versions of tracks by Shinedown, Godsmack, A Perfect Circle, Killswitch Engage and Faith No More, Drumeo finally landed on a tune that Leto didn’t know: “Metalingus” by Alter Bridge.
“I’ve never done anything like this in my life,” Leto says during his first take on the challenge. “It’s crazy.”
Eventually, though, Leto persevered and delivered a full drum cover of “Metalingus,” which earned approval from Alter Bridge drummer Scott Phillips.
“That was really well done, super cool,” says Phillips, who also plays drums in Creed. “Great job, man.”
You may recall that Thirty Seconds to Mars’ music was featured in a previous Drumeo video, in which Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith played along to their song “The Kill.” That video has over 28 million views on YouTube.
Thirty Seconds to Mars released their latest album, It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day, in 2023.
