Dave Matthews at 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Disney/Jennifer Pottheiser)
Dave Matthews and Nathaniel Rateliff are among the headliners for the 2026 edition of the annual Farm Aid benefit concert.
The show takes place Sept. 26 at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Matthews will be performing alongside his frequent collaborator Tim Reynolds.
The bill also includes Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson and Margo Price, who, like Matthews and Rateliff, are Farm Aid board members.
“Family farmers grow our food and strengthen our communities. And when farmers struggle like they are now, communities feel it too,” says Farm Aid founder Willie Nelson. “The challenges farmers face threaten their livelihoods and put all of us at risk.”
He adds, “We’re bringing Farm Aid to Virginia to stand with the farmers and fishers who feed Hampton Roads and beyond — and to grow a food system that works for everyone.”
A presale begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET, with tickets going on sale to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m. ET. More info can be found at FarmAid.org.
You oughta know that Alanis Morissette is taking her show on the road — to LA.
Alanis Morissette will stage a continuation of her 2025 Las Vegas residency show in Los Angeles in November. The show, Butterfly with a Machete, will run at the YouTube Theater Nov. 5, 6, 10 and 11. It’s described as a “confessional and multimedia, multi-disciplinary musical stage play set to her music.”
The show also incorporates “storytelling, therapeutic insights, and a radical look at fame and trauma” as it traces Alanis’ journey from Canada to the top of the charts.
Alanis wrote on Instagram, “Excited to invite you on this wild ride that blends music, stories, insights, dance, video, sketch comedy, and always….rock n roll.”
Various presales start on June 15 and run through the week; tickets go on sale to the general public June 17 at 10 a.m. local time.
On Thursday, Alanis will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at a gala in New York City.
The full-length trailer for the Legally Blonde prequel series, Elle, has been released, and in it, future Harvard grad Elle Woods is navigating a move to a new city in her teenage years.
We see Elle, played by Lexi Minetree, enjoying life in sunny Bel-Air before her parents break the news that they are moving to Seattle, Washington. She immediately struggles to fit in her new high school — a drop of bubble gum pink in a sea of ‘90s grunge plaid.
“We meet her in 1995 as a fish in the tumultuous waters of high school where she encounters tricky friendships, forbidden romance, and questionable fashion choices,” according to the show’s official description. “Through it all, Elle uses her family as a touchstone, and forms an even tighter bond to her mother, proving that they can get through anything life throws their way as long as they have each other.”
The series also stars June Diane Raphael as Elle’s mother, Eva, and Tom Everett Scott as her father, Wyatt. Gabrielle Policano, Jacob Moskovitz, Chandler Kinney and Zac Looker make up the rest of the main cast.
Reese Witherspoon, who originated the role of Elle in the 2001 film, is one of the executive producers on the project.
Elle will debut on Prime Video on July 1. It has already been renewed for season 2.
Nick Reiner appears with Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene during his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court on February 23, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Torres-Pool/Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — Nick Reiner says he needs unpaid money from his family trust to help pay for his defense team, specifically to rehire famed defense attorney Alan Jackson, according to a new court filing.
Reiner was charged with the murders of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner, in December.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(L-R) Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp backstage at Farm Aid at the KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, United States on September 16, 2017. (Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns)
The 2026 edition of Farm Aid is set to take place Sept. 26 at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia, marking the annual benefit’s first time in the area.
Farm Aid board members Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff are all set to perform. Young, who canceled a 2026 tour of Europe and the U.K. to take a break, will be performing with his band The Chrome Hearts, while Matthews will perform with frequent collaborator Tim Reynolds.
Other artists on the bill include Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, Turnpike Troubadours, Lukas Nelson, Jesse Welles, Sierra Ferrell, I’m With Her, Mon Rovîa, Amythyst Kiah, Lily Meola and Chris Pierce.
“Family farmers grow our food and strengthen our communities. And when farmers struggle like they are now, communities feel it too,” says Farm Aid founder Willie Nelson. “The challenges farmers face threaten their livelihoods and put all of us at risk.”
He adds, “We’re bringing Farm Aid to Virginia to stand with the farmers and fishers who feed Hampton Roads and beyond — and to grow a food system that works for everyone.”
A presale begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET, with tickets going on sale to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m. More info can be found at FarmAid.org.
In this Nov. 16, 2023, file photo, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman looks on during the APEC CEO Summit at Moscone West in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, FILE)
(NEW YORK) — OpenAI, the artificial-intelligence company behind ChatGPT, announced Monday night it had filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO), setting up the firm to raise fresh funds as it competes with deep-pocketed tech giants in the fast-growing AI industry.
In a post on X, OpenAI said it had not determined when the company would begin listing on public markets.
“We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best,” the company said.
The move would subject the privately held company to new scrutiny from public investors and regulators, as well as ongoing financial reporting requirements. OpenAI valued itself at $852 billion after a round of funding in March.
President Donald Trump and his grandchildren Kai Madison Trump attend the NBA finals game between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs at the Madison Square Garden in New York on June 8, 2026. (Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump faced apparent boos from the crowd of passionate Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
He was seen standing in a box during the National Anthem next to New York Knicks owner James Dolan at Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Trump, who has sat courtside at many Knicks games before being elected president, said he was personally invited by Dolan, who is a longtime friend of the president.
Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani were both attending the game and cheering on the Knicks as they sought another win in the best-of-seven series.
“They’re really great, a great team. I’m happy for Jim because Jim has really been fighting hard to produce such a team,” Trump told reporters last week.
Trump was seen inside his box alongside his granddaughter, Kai Trump, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Jared Kushner, among others.
When asked about attending the highly anticipated game, Mamdani said, “I’m paying for my own ticket,” in an interview with radio station 1010 Wins on Friday.
Trump and Mamdani have had personal meetings at the White House ever since the Democratic Socialist won the 2025 mayoral election.
However, Mamdani indicated on Thursday that he will be “in a very different section of the stadium” than the president during the game. He dodged several questions about whether he would meet with Trump during his trip to New York.
“If I do see him, I will let him know what I’ve said time and again, which is we’re excited to welcome anyone and everyone who’s rooting for the Knicks,” Mamdani told 1010 Wins Friday.
The mayor previously watched the Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on May 21 and was seated high up in the cheaper seats along with city public advocate Jumaane Williams.
Their attendance was unannounced before the game.
Mamdani indicated that once again he would not be in the best seats in the Garden for Monday’s matchup.
“I can tell you that I won’t be courtside or in a suite, but I can’t wait to see the game,” he told the radio station.
Mamdani has been vocally critical of the Trump administration’s policy on immigration, government cuts and threats to cut funding to Democratic run states and cities.
During the election, Trump vocally decried Mamdani, calling him a “communist” and warning that New York would be in a worse place under his leadership.
The president’s tone changed on Nov. 21, when Mamdani met with Trump in the Oval Office and they emerged with a much more amicable relationship.
“I think this mayor could do some things that are going to be really great,” Trump said in a news conference after the meeting, where he smiled, shook Mamdani’s hand and even patted him on the back.
The mayor and president met another time in the winter and Mamdani has said he has spoken to Trump on the phone numerous times about matters to the city.
Mamdani has maintained his opposition to many of the president’s policies but has maintained he is open to working with him to help New Yorkers, especially when it comes to driving down housing costs.
There was a chaotic scene in the streets of New York after the game, with people climbing on top of cars and up scaffolding after the Knicks lost. Police were seen deploying pepper spray.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the press at an informal meeting of European Union leaders on April 23, 2026 in Ayia Napa, Cyprus. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Three people were killed overnight as Russia continued its aerial barrage of Ukraine, firing at least 166 drones, Ukrainian officials said, as Russian officials also claimed a Ukrainian attack targeting Moscow and other regions.
“At least three people were killed, including a pregnant 22-year-old woman, in Chuhuiv, as a result of Russia’s overnight terrorist attacks on Kharkiv and its region,” Andrii Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said on social media.
The Ukrainian air force said at least 146 Russian drones had been destroyed.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a series of posts on Telegram on Tuesday morning that at least 11 drones had been destroyed by Russian air defenses near the capital. Emergency services were working at the sites where each crashed, he said.
Russia’s defenses intercepted and destroyed overnight at least 140 Ukrainian drones in several regions, Russia’s Defense Ministry said, according to the state-affiliated Tass news service.
The overnight attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again said Kyiv was seeking to open a diplomatic path to end Russia’s war.
Zelenskyy told The Guardian in an interview published on Tuesday that Roman Abramovich, a prominent Russian businessman with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, had visited Kyiv in May.
“I told this businessman, who came to deliver the message about a potential framework of diplomatic negotiations, that we were ready to speak from the very beginning,” Zelenskyy said on social media on Tuesday, recounting what he had told The Guardian. “We didn’t want this war, and we want to stop it.”
Zelenskyy’s office last week published an open letter to Putin in which he asked for a meeting, saying, “The front line today is the line from which diplomacy must begin.”
The Ukrainian president said many Russians were “becoming less comfortable” with the effects of the war on daily life, the economy and international relations.
“You will not have enough money or political capital to keep buying the loyalty of Russians the way you have for the past 26 years,” Zelenskyy told Putin in the letter. “And we will do everything we can to ensure that the world helps bring that moment closer.”
Putin last week again said he believed there was “a desire to end this military conflict peacefully” but stopped short of saying he would meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, according to a transcript released by the Russian president’s office.
The overnight strike targeting Ukraine’s Kharkiv region injured at least 15 people and damaged residential buildings, along with a church and other civilian infrastructure, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Russia also targeted emergency responders in the Dnipro region, the ministry said.
“After firefighters had extinguished a blaze caused by an earlier strike, their vehicle came under another Russian attack while returning to base,” the ministry said. “Fortunately, no one was injured.”
Jeffrey Epstein is seen in a photo released by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice. (New York State Sex Offender Registry)
(NEW YORK) — The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday will conduct a closed-door interview with a woman so ubiquitous in Jeffrey Epstein’s life that a search for her name in the Justice Department’s Epstein files returns more than 160,000 results.
Lesley Groff worked as an executive secretary to Epstein in New York for more than 18 years, and was once described by her boss as an “extension of my brain.”
Among her job requirements were scheduling Epstein’s frequent meetings with celebrities, scientists and politicians, booking Epstein’s daily massage appointments when he was in New York, and arranging travel for women linked to Epstein. She was one of four women listed as potential co-conspirators in Epstein’s controversial non-prosecution agreement in 2007.
According to federal prosecutors, “numerous victims [of Epstein] had indicated that she was responsible for scheduling massages during which they were sexually abused.”
Groff will appear as part of the committee’s ongoing inquiry into the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein and his alleged co-conspirators, which to date has included interviews with former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Epstein’s longtime personal assistant Sarah Kellen, and a prison guard who was on duty the night Epstein died in his jail cell.
Last September at a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol, Epstein survivor Marina Lacerda specifically called out Groff, alleging that Groff had called her so many times to go to Epstein’s place for a massage that she dropped out of high school before the ninth grade.
Lacerda — who was one of the key witnesses that led to Epstein’s 2019 indictment for child sex trafficking — told ABC News in an interview this week that Groff was the conduit to Epstein.
“Anything that had to do with Jeffrey Epstein, ” Lacerda told ABC News in an interview, “had to go through Lesley Groff.”
Through her attorneys, Groff has denied any knowledge of, or participation in, Epstein’s crimes.
Michael Bachner, a lawyer for Groff, declined comment in advance of her appearance on Capitol Hill. He previously told ABC News that Groff “never knowingly booked travel for anyone under the age of 18, and had no knowledge of the alleged illegal activity whatsoever.”
“Ms. Groff, a parent herself, is incredibly shocked and deeply upset about the alleged wrongdoings of Mr. Epstein,” Bachner said.
After Epstein’s arrest in July 2019, federal prosecutors included Groff in a list of potential co-conspirators and sent her a subpoena. Bachner informed the government, just four days after Epstein’s arrest, that his client “would invoke her Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination” if called to appear before a grand jury.
Groff, now 59, eventually interviewed with the investigators two years later, telling prosecutors that “making massage appointments was just another appointment she had to make” for Epstein, and said that scheduling massages was “around 1%” of her job.
Groff, who was hired by Epstein in 2001, told the FBI she was immediately struck by Epstein’s lifestyle and the company he kept, describing it as “pretty incredible to see all the people Epstein dealt with in politics, television, et cetera.”
“Groff felt, ‘Wow,'” according to an FBI account of her interview.
Groff was initially paid a salary of $60,000 a year, but saw it doubled to $120,000 by Epstein four years later, DOJ records show.
The New York Times reported in 2005 that Epstein bought Groff a new Mercedes and paid for a nanny to ensure she would keep working for him.
“There is no way that I could lose Lesley to motherhood,” Epstein said of Groff, according to the newspaper’s account.
Banking records included in the DOJ’s Epstein files indicate that Groff also received three payments of $100,000 and one for $110,000 from Epstein companies between 2016 and 2018, though the records do not indicate the reasons for the payments.
Bachner told the government that Groff stayed with Epstein after his first arrest in Florida in 2006 because she believed him when he said that “someone was trying to blackmail him.”
When he was again arrested in 2019, she resigned, her lawyer told prosecutors.
“She felt betrayed and disgusted once the indictment came out,” Bachner wrote.
According to documents released by the Justice Department in response to the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, one victim — who was a minor at the time of her alleged abuse — told the FBI that she felt Groff “knew that the massage appointments were sexual” and “felt it was pretty obvious Lesley knew what was going on,” according to the DOJ records.
Federal prosecutors in 2021 informed Groff that she would not be charged, according to a statement from her attorneys.
“After a more than two-year investigation by the Department of Justice into Jeffrey Epstein’s conduct, which included lengthy interviews of witnesses and a thorough review of relevant communications, we have been informed that no criminal charges will be brought against Lesley Groff,” the statement said.
Lacerda said she hopes the congressional investigators press Groff for answers.
“I just think that she should be honest about it so that we can have some accountability here,” she said.
Oversight Committee member Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) said he’s heading into the interview with Groff already skeptical of her denials.
“She will argue that she didn’t know anything, but I find that to be hard to believe,” he said. “I think at best she was blissfully trying to be ignorant, but probably wasn’t.”
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to voters at a town hall at the Elks Lodge 188 on June 7, 2026 in Portland, Maine. (Photo by Laura Brett/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Maine voters will decide on Tuesday whether oyster farmer Graham Platner will be the Democratic Party’s nominee to take on longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills is also on the Democratic Senate primary ballot on Tuesday, as is former Maryland state official David Costello. However, Mills suspended her campaign in late April citing financial resources, and a University of New Hampshire poll published recently found that Costello “is largely unknown.”
Platner has been fighting controversies throughout his campaign, ranging from him once getting a tattoo accused of resembling a Nazi symbol to allegations published by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal claiming he sent sexually explicit texts to women.
And last Thursday, the Times reported that some of the Army veteran’s former girlfriends said that his actions could be “intimidating and disturbing.”
Platner did not deny the allegations that he sent sexually explicit texts, saying that his wife “went through something hard — because of me.”
In a statement after the Times’ story was published last Thursday, Platner said, “Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self medicated with alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend,” “I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated.”
Platner previously covered up the controversial tattoo, saying at the time that it came up “because the establishment is trying to throw everything it can at me. It is terrified of what we are trying to build here.”
During a rally in Bar Harbor, Maine, on Friday — one day after the Times’ most recent story, Platner said that “every single piece” of his past and journey is being “dug up, litigated and weaponized.”
Also after the Times’ latest report, Platner told ABC affiliate WMTW that “I’m very happy to talk about incredibly uncomfortable things in my life, but when things come along that are just made up or lies, I’m very much going to push back against those.”
Throughout the campaign cycle, polling has found that most likely primary voters view Platner positively. The University of New Hampshire poll, which published shortly before the most recent reports on Platner, found that 76% of likely voters planned on ranking Platner, a progressive who has focused on wealth inequality, first on their ballots, which have ranked choice voting.
Given Maine’s system of ranked choice voting and having local municipalities — not the state government — be responsible for counting the ballots on election night, it remains unclear how long it will take for each race to be called.
What voters are saying
Portland, Maine, voter Tyler Stoddard told ABC News that he supports Platner, explaining that he feels that people are focusing too much on personal matters.
“I think that he’s going to break the Republican majority in the Senate, and I think that will help stop Donald Trump,” Stoddard said.
Yarmouth, Maine, resident Janet Marstine told ABC News that she voted early for Mills.
“I don’t trust the frontrunner in the Democratic Party. He has too many secrets, and we don’t even know the depth of them,” Marstine said, adding that Mills “knows Maine more than any other leader, really, in this state.”
Affordability in ‘Vacationland’ top of mind
The Senate race is far from the only one on the largely ranked choice ballot in Maine on Tuesday.
In a state that describes itself as “Vacationland” on its license plates, affordability is top of mind, with many candidates including the issue in their campaign materials.
The gubernatorial primaries along with the Democratic primary in the 2nd Congressional District are expected to be particularly competitive.
Sitting Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is not running for reelection in the geographically sizable 2nd Congressional District.
With control of the House up for grabs this November, Democrats like Joe Baldacci, Matt Dunlap and Jordan Wood want to keep the seat blue while former Republican Gov. Paul LePage is seeking to make it red.
Baldacci has the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, while Dunlap has aligned himself with Platner. Prior to Katie Porter’s unsuccessful run for California governor, Wood served as her congressional chief of staff.
In the governor’s race, the Democrats running include former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree. Jackson, Bellows and Pingree previously announced they will rank each other on their ballots.
Candidates seeking the Republican nomination include former Naval Intelligence Officer Bobby Charles, businessman Ben Midgley, former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason and former Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush, who is former President George W. Bush’s cousin.
In Maine, voters who do not belong to either major party are allowed to choose to vote in one party’s primary when they show up to vote.
Early voting in Maine concluded last Thursday. Voters who did not cast their ballots early have until 8 p.m. to vote on Tuesday.
