Rob Base performs at Magic City Casino on November 9th, 2019 in Miami, FL. (Manny Hernandez/Getty Images)
Rob Base, the rapper known for his hit 1988 song “It Takes Two” with DJ E-Z Rock, has died after a private battle with cancer. He was 59.
According to a statement shared on his Instagram page announcing the news of his death, the hip-hop icon “passed away peacefully” on Friday “surrounded by family after a private battle with cancer.”
The statement continued: “Rob’s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world. Beyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend, and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten.”
The statement ended with, “Thank you for the music, the memories, and the moments that became the soundtrack to our lives.”
ABC News has reached out to a representative for Base.
Base, born Robert Ginyard, rose to fame in the late 1980s when he and DJ E-Z Rock released “It Takes Two.” The song, which sampled Lyn Collins’ “Think (About It),” had an infectious beat and became one of the most iconic hip-hop party anthems ever.
Following its success, other artists would go on to sample the song, including Snoop Dogg on his 2009 hit single “I Wanna Rock” and Gang Starr on “Suckas Need Bodyguards.”
Following “It Takes Two,” the duo parted ways before reuniting in 1994 for their second and last studio album, Break of Dawn.
DJ E-Z Rock died on April 27, 2014, from complications related to diabetes.
In 1989, Base released his only studio album, The Incredible Base.
Earlier this week, Base celebrated his 59th birthday. He took to Instagram and wrote, “Happy 59th Birthday to me … God thank you for allowing me to see another year.”
An emergency hazmat incident at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California, has prompted evacuations in the area, May 22, 2026. (KABC)
(CALIFORNIA) — An “emergency hazmat incident” in California has prompted evacuations, with officials warning that a chemical tank at an aerospace facility is in “crisis” and will either fail or explode.
Firefighters initially responded to a leak at an aerospace manufacturing company in Garden Grove on Thursday, for vapor releasing from a 34,000-gallon tank containing methyl methacrylate, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
Officials updated Friday that there is no active gas leak or plume, but that the tank is “actively in crisis” and unable to be secured. Damage to a valve on the tank has “created additional operational challenges,” city officials said.
“There are literally two options left remaining: one, the tank fails and spills a total of about 6- to 7,000 gallons of very bad chemicals into the parking lot in that area. Or two, the tank goes into a thermal runaway and blows up, affecting the tanks that are around them that have fuel or the chemicals in them as well,” Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey said in a video update Friday.
“Most importantly, right now, there is no active gas leak, no plume in the area. We are setting up these evacuations in preparation for these two options — it fails or it blows up,” he said.
Authorities have issued evacuation orders for the surrounding area. Over a dozen schools have temporarily closed, and those adjacent to the evacuation area are canceling outdoor activities “out of an abundance of caution,” the Garden Grove Unified School District said.
Methyl methacrylate is an industrial chemical used in plastics and manufacturing.
ABC News has reached out to the aerospace manufacturing company, GKN Aerospace, for comment.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the incident, his office said.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said it is “closely monitoring the incident in Garden Grove and has deployed personnel to work alongside local partners.”
“Please heed all orders from local authorities — evacuation orders have expanded,” it said Friday.
The Grammy Award winner and actress, beloved for her role in the popular Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana, was presented with the honor in a star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles.
Cyrus was all smiles as she accepted the honor, calling it a moment she would never forget.
In a speech, Cyrus spoke about her song “Walk of Fame,” off her 2025 Something Beautiful album, which was co-written by Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard. Howard also contributed vocals and played guitar on the track.
Cyrus noted Friday that the song ends with Howard singing the words, “You’ll live forever.”
“Although I love the lyric, the fact I won’t [live forever] is what creates the urgency that sets my heart on fire, my life and my art, and my desire to break down the walls of any boxes that we’ve been tricked to believe that exist,” she said.
She continued, “My dad used to say that a skyscraper starts with a jackhammer — so does a star on the Walk of Fame by the way — and it’s not about the force, but it’s about the repetition. What feels so special to me about this star is that it’s an accumulation of devotion.”
Cyrus then reflected on her future legacy, which she said she hopes extends far beyond the star itself.
“The star isn’t something that you win like a seasonal game. It’s not something that you can chase or collect. It’s not something you make the next record for, and then tote it around like a trophy,” she said.
“At 1 [p.m.], this moment will be over, and it’ll go back to being a busy street full of unique people and people that are here exploring for the first time, our city that we all share and that we love so much,” she continued. “After today, I commit to continuing the cycle full of creation, because that is what I truly live for.”
“My hope is what I leave behind continues to affect the hearts of generations to come, ones that I won’t be here to experience,” she added. “I hope it awakens something raw and imperfect and sexy and glamorous and joyful in times that need it.”
Cyrus closed her speech by thanking her fans, her family — her mom Tish Cyrus and sister Brandi Cyrus attended Friday’s event — and “her future family,” a nod to her fiancé, musician Maxx Morando, who was also in attendance.
The Hu and The Warning have premiered the videos for their respective new songs, “Lost Soul” and “Ego.”
“Lost Soul” finds The Hu performing in a dark chamber that has a giant brain on the wall, cut with footage of a mysterious figure walking through the snow. It also features Nothing More frontman Jonny Hawkins, who sings on the track.
The song “Lost Soul,” which dropped on Wednesday, will appear on the upcoming Hu album Hun, due out July 24.
Meanwhile, in “Ego,” we see The Warning rocking sunglasses as they strut past a sea of microphones and cameras.
“This music video is all about reclaiming your power, embracing confidence, and standing tall in your identity… even when the world is watching,” The Warning says in a statement.
“Ego,” which is sung in Spanish, first dropped Monday. It follows the single “Kerosene.”
The Hu is currently on tour with Apocalyptica, while The Warning is on the road with Yungblud.
The All-American Rejects on ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2026.’ (ABC/CHRIS WILLARD)
The All-American Rejects are featured in a new online series called SuperFan, described as a “microdrama.”
The show, which follows Tyson Ritter and company as they try to escape from being kidnapped, consists of 31 episodes, each around a minute long. It’s out now exclusively via the platform CandyJar.
“SuperFan started as a crazy idea and somehow got crazier from there,” Ritter says in a statement. “We are all about being disruptive and CandyJar understands exactly what we are trying to do. Being the first musicians in this space makes me feel like the monkey in orbit… next stop, the moon!”
You can watch SuperFan via the CandyJar app and CandyJar.com.
The All-American Rejects also just released a new album, Sandbox, marking their first record in 14 years.
Geddy Lee of Rush performs at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on August 10, 2022 in Morrison, Colorado. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Comedy Central)
Rush has a lot of emotional baggage associated with the Forum in Los Angeles. The band wrapped their R40 Live tour at the venue in 2015, which marked their final show with drummer Neil Peart before his death in 2020. Then in 2022, bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson reunited at the Forum to play a tribute concert to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Now, Rush is preparing to return to the Forum again to launch their highly anticipated Fifty Something tour, which will mark their first since Peart’s passing. Speaking with Classic Rock magazine, Lee calls beginning the tour at the Forum a “supremely stupid idea.”
“It’s a massively stupid idea, because we’re going to be so emotional already, that first show without Neil, and then to be in that building,” Lee says. “What the f*** was I thinking?”
As emotional as that first night back might be, Lee and Lifeson are looking forward to the tour, which will feature Anika Nilles on drums.
“Well there’s only one thing you look forward to, and that’s playing,” Lifeson says. “I’m looking forward to that feeling of being on stage and playing and getting lost in the song and hitting every note correctly.”
“I’ve got one goal, and that’s to be better than I was ten years ago,” Lee adds. “Which is tough. It’s a real challenge.”
“But that’s the goal,” Lifeson continues. “And honestly, that’s what is driving me in this whole thing. We’re at this stage now where I’ve committed to it. And all I want at the end of the day is for us to be Rush and to be amazing.”
The Rush Fifty Something tour kicks off June 7 with the first of four shows at the Forum and is currently scheduled into 2027.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) on the sidelines of a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden on May 15, 2026, in Beijing, China. Trump and other U.S. officials are finishing up a visit intended to address the Iran conflict, trade imbalances, and the Taiwan situation while establishing new bilateral boards for economic and AI oversight. (Photo by Evan Vucci-Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration’s $1.8 billion compensation fund to pay those who claim they were targeted by the Biden administration is now at the center of three federal lawsuits.
The nonprofit watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington on Friday asked a federal judge to halt the creation of the fund, calling it “a jaw-dropping act of presidential corruption.”
Earlier Friday, a coalition of nonprofits and individuals, including a former Jan. 6 prosecutor, filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging that the creation of the fund bypassed Congress’ authority over federal spending and violated the 14th Amendment’s prohibition on using federal funds “in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States.”
“Created following a collusive agreement between the President and his own administration, this Fund has no congressional authorization, no basis in law, and no accountability,” the lawsuit said.
The CREW lawsuit attempts to establish legal standing by focusing on the purported secrecy of the fund, which it says is in “defiance of federal records preservation and access laws.”
The new suit comes two days after former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges, who both defended the U.S. Capitol in 2021 during the Jan. 6 attack, filed a similar lawsuit in D.C. asking a judge to halt the creation and funding of the controversial fund.
The lawsuit filed early Friday was brought by a former federal prosecutor who brought Jan. 6 cases, a law professor who was acquitted after being charged for his actions during an immigration raid, the National Abortion Federation, the nonprofit Common Cause, and the City of New Haven, Connecticut.
“Since its inception, this fund has been on a collision course with the United States Constitution,” the lawsuit said.
The Department of Justice’s launch of the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” — in exchange for President dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and two other civil claims — has sparked accusations of “collusive litigation” and a bipartisan uproar over the possible use of taxpayer money to pay rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6.
While Trump previously said he was not involved in the creation of the fund, he took to social media on Friday to defend the use of taxpayer money in that manner.
“I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward. I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune. Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!” Trump wrote.
Friday’s lawsuit is also alleging that the use of the federal Judgment Fund — an unlimited appropriation used by the federal government to pay court judgments and settlements — to create the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is an unlawful end-run around Congress’ authority to appropriate money.
The lawsuits precede the establishment of the fund itself, which, according to the settlement agreement between Trump and the DOJ, is to be created by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche within 30 days. As part of the arrangement, Blanche is to appoint a five-commissioner committee to oversee claims.
Some legal experts have raised concerns about the viability of the lawsuits and if the plaintiffs bringing the cases — including officers who defended the Capitol and a broad coalition of affected parties — will be able to establish legal standing for the case to proceed.
ABC News Legal Contributor James Sample noted that the case filed earlier this week might struggle to establish that the two officers have been directly injured by the proposed creation of the fund.
“There’s no question that they’ve been subjected to threats and harassment, and who knows what else from a security perspective, for the manner in which they’ve spoken out about Jan. 6 since then,” Sample said — but added that “all of those are past injuries that are not fairly traceable to the judgment fund.”
A still from a video released by the Fort Wayne Police Department of an incident at a Tim Hortons in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on May 13, 2026. (Fort Wayne Police Department)
(FORT WAYNE, Ind.) — The family of a 75-year-old woman who died following a physical altercation with an employee at a Tim Hortons in Indiana will be able to see the full, unredacted surveillance footage of the incident, officials confirmed on Friday.
The full video will not be released to the public at this time, the Fort Wayne Mayor’s Office told ABC News.
“The Grayson family will be able to see the entire video,” a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said in a statement. “There are no plans to show additional video to the public/media beyond what was shared earlier this week.”
The incident occurred on May 13 in Fort Wayne, police said. The customer, Anita Grayson, entered the Tim Hortons that morning to “address an issue” with a drive-thru order, at which point she got into a physical altercation with the store’s 20-year-old shift lead, according to the Fort Wayne Police Department.
Police said the shift lead intervened when Grayson “began berating a 17-year-old female employee” by stepping between the two and repeatedly telling Grayson to leave. When Grayson appeared to move toward the teen, the shift lead “placed her hands” on Grayson, who police said then “forcefully shoved the shift lead backward” and struck her in the nose. The two continued to struggle, with police saying Grayson scratched the shift lead’s face, knocked off her glasses and pulled her to the ground by the hair, pulling out a chunk.
An officer responding to the location found Grayson unresponsive, and paramedics arrived and attempted life-saving measures, police said. She was transported from the scene and later pronounced dead by medical personnel, police said.
Fort Wayne police released surveillance footage of the incident on Tuesday due to what it called “significant public concern and misinformation” in the wake of Grayson’s death, citing a “poor-quality video circulating publicly.”
The three-minute video released by police showed the physical altercation and moments of Grayson then walking around and sitting, though not the entire aftermath or emergency response. The video has no sound.
Grayson’s family has called for the release of the full video.
“I need it to be released publicly because the world is waiting for what happened to her,” Grayson’s daughter, Tawnda Grayson, said during a press conference outside of the Tim Hortons location on Friday.
Carlton Lynch, a pastor in Michigan and former community activist in Fort Wayne who spoke alongside Grayson’s family members at the press conference, said they had been informed Friday that the “mayor and the city police have agreed to allow the family to see the entire video.”
“We don’t know the extent of what took place in that restaurant,” he said.
The family continued to urge police to release the full video to the public.
“I need it to be released publicly, because the world is waiting for what happened to her,” Tawnda Grayson said.
“My whole entire family loved our mom, that was the matriarch of our family,” she said. “So what’s been taken from us is irreplaceable.”
Tawnda Grayson told ABC Fort Wayne affiliate WPTA her mother had congestive heart failure and was wearing a heart monitor a week before the altercation.
The cause and manner of death remain pending, police said Tuesday.
The Allen County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing the case.
“At this time, no decision regarding this matter will be made until the Prosecutor’s Office has received and reviewed all evidence related to the investigation, including the complete report from the Allen County Coroner’s Office,” the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
The coroner’s findings may not be available for another four to eight weeks, the office noted.
Tim Hortons offered its condolences to Grayson’s family.
“The health and safety of our guests and team members is our highest priority and the local franchisee has been cooperating fully with the police,” the company said in a statement.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives for his first check-in at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Office the day after a federal judge ordered his release from a detention in Pennsylvania, on December 12, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Friday dismissed the criminal human smuggling case brought by the Department of Justice against Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw granted Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss, finding that the federal government failed to rebut Abrego Garcia’s “presumption of vindictiveness.”
Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March of last year to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which he denies.
He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, after which U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis released him from ICE detention while he was awaiting trial.
Judge Crenshaw, in his decision Friday, wrote that the timing of a DHS agent’s decision to reopen a closed investigation of a November 2022 traffic stop, and that “now unrebutted public statements tying the reopened investigation to Abrego’s successful lawsuit taints the investigation with a vindictive motive.”
“Because the presumption of vindictiveness remains unrebutted, the indictment must be dismissed,” Crenshaw said.
The criminal charges in Tennessee stem from a 2022 traffic stop that was disclosed in an April 2025 press release issued by the Department of Homeland Security, which said it had a “bombshell investigative report” regarding the stop, alleging that Abrego Garcia was a suspected human trafficker. The release included a screengrab of body camera video from the traffic stop.
Abrego Garcia was not charged or arrested during the traffic stop, which lasted for more than an hour. Body camera footage showed Tennessee troopers — after questioning Abrego Garcia — discussing among themselves their suspicions of human trafficking because nine people were traveling in the vehicle without luggage.
“Instead of investigating the November 2022 traffic stop to identify who was responsible for the human smuggling, Blanche started the investigation to implicate Abrego,” Crenshaw wrote, referring to now-Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “He did so to justify the Executive Branch’s decision to remove him to El Salvador.”
A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement following the order, “Another activist judge has placed politics above public safety. The judge’s order is wrong and dangerous, and we will appeal.”
“Justice is a big word and an even bigger promise to fulfill, and I am grateful that today, justice has taken a step forward,” Abrego Garcia said in a statement released by CASA, an immigrant advocacy group that represents him.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a victim of a politicized, vindictive White House and its lawyers at what used to be an independent Justice Department,” Abrego Garcia’s criminal attorneys told ABC News in a statement. “We are so pleased that he is a free man.”
In Friday’s dismissal order, Judge Crenshaw mentioned the involvement in the case of high-ranking DOJ officials including Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh, who called the case a “top priority” in emails to prosecutors. He also mentioned a Feb. 5, 2025, memo from then-Attorney General Pam Bondi warning DOJ staff of potential termination if they refused to advance the administration’s goals.
Judge Crenshaw concluded that while there was insufficient evidence to prove actual vindictiveness, the government could not justify its sudden shift from wanting to deport Abrego Garcia to prosecuting him.
“The evidence it labels as newly discovered was available to be obtained with due diligence long before April 2025,” the judge wrote. “Even more, it does not explain the Government’s change in position to remove Abrego and not prosecute him to then prosecute and not remove him.”
In his order, Crenshaw quoted former Attorney General Robert H. Jackson: “Therein is the most dangerous power of the prosecutor: that he will pick people that he thinks he should get, rather than pick cases that need to be prosecuted.”
Abrego Garcia had been scheduled to go to trial on the Tennessee charges, to which he pleaded not guilty, in January.
He is still fighting his deportation case in Maryland, where U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has blocked the government from re-detaining him.
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
2026 American Music Awards. (Courtesy of CBS and Dick Clark Productions)
If you hoped that Taylor Swift might announce something during the American Music Awards on Monday, you’re out of luck: Peoplereports that the singer will not be attending the show, despite being the lead nominee.
Taylor’s up for eight nominations, including artist of the year and album of the year for The Life of a Showgirl. She already has 40 AMAs on her trophy shelf, making her the most-awarded artist in the show’s history.
As People notes, if Taylor sweeps all the categories in which she’s nominated, she’ll tie Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston for the artist with the most wins in a single year.
As previously reported, Queen Latifah will host the show live from Las Vegas on Monday night; it will air on CBS and Paramount+ at 8 p.m. ET.
In the past, Taylor has announced new albums on award shows, though not the AMAs. She revealed at the 2024 Grammys that she was dropping The Tortured Poets Department and announced the upcoming release of Midnights at the 2022 MTV VMAs.
