Lizzo has launched a scholarship for students of her alma mater, University of Houston. As part of her Juneteenth Giveback Campaign, she announced she’s donating $50,000 toward the Sasha Be Flooting Scholarship.
“LIZZOS JUNETEENTH GIVEBACK IS PROUD TO PRESENT 50,000$ TO THE ‘SASHA BE FLOOTING SCHOLARSHIP’ AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON,” Lizzo wrote next to a video of her sharing the news. “Thank you to @universityofhouston for your partnership and support.” She noted in the video that the winner would be announced at a later time.
The Sasha Be Flooting Scholarship “is for any young Black student from Houston, Texas who has applied to go to University of Houston to study at the Moores School of Music,” Lizzo said of the award, which she said is “very close to my heart, near and dear to home and a milestone for me.”
“That was me just a couple years ago, a young Black flute player who just needed a scholarship and someone to believe in them,” she continued. “Now I get to pay it forward.”
Lizzo’s scholarship is her latest donation in the Juneteenth Giveback, in which she’s helping and supporting Black-led organizations. She previously donated $50,000 to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, Black Girls Smile and the Sphinx Organization.
(WASHINGTON) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, arguably the 2024 Republican presidential candidate most willing to attack Donald Trump, lambasted the former president over his conduct, drawing cheers and jeers from the crowd.
“He’s unwilling to take responsibility for any of the mistakes that were made. Any of the faults that he has. And any of the things that he’s done. And that is not leadership everybody that is a failure of leadership,” Christie said to boos from attendees at the Faith & Freedom Coalition Conference in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
“You can boo all you want,” Christie shot back. “But here’s the thing: Our faith teaches us that people have to take responsibility for what they do. People have to stand up and take accountability for what they do,” he said, garnering cheers from others in the audience.
The former two-term governor of New Jersey mentioned Trump by name only once in his nearly 30-minute-long remarks, but he focused heavily on faith and character as essential qualities of a successful leader.
“My Catholic faith teaches us that character doesn’t mean you’re perfect. It doesn’t mean that you’re free of sin or faults,” Christie said. “But what I believe my faith requires of me is when I do sin, when I do make mistakes, when people who work for me do the same, that I must admit it, that I must take responsibility.”
He continued: “Beware, everybody, of a leader who never makes mistakes. Beware of a leader who has no faults. Beware of a leader who says that when something goes wrong, it’s everybody else’s fault.”
Gaggling with the press afterward, Christie said that he believed that “a lot of people of faith in that room” wanted to hear the truth from him.
“Look, guys, we can’t pretend that Donald Trump is a man of character,” he said. “This is a guy who paid off a porn star. This is a guy who has regularly lied. This is a guy who has abused people who’ve worked for him.”
Christie, a former Trump ally, has hinged his campaign on going toe-to-toe with Trump, telling ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos after announcing his candidacy that the only path he sees to the nomination is through the former president.
“There’s only one lane to the Republican nomination for president, and Donald Trump is at the head of it, and you have to go right through him and make the case against him,” Christie said.
Following his speech on Friday, Christie brushed off being booed during an interview on CNN.
“I’m not going to change my message depending on who I go in front of. That would be a lack of integrity, and I won’t do that,” Christie said.
“You know, the fact is that there are a lot of people in that audience who were standing and cheering when I left, and there were some that were booing,” he said. “But no one left wondering what I think.”
Trump was hit with a sweeping 37-count indictment from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office earlier this month, alleging that he willfully retained documents containing the nation’s most sensitive secrets. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and criticized the Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney general’s office of conducting a political “witch hunt.”
The former president was previously indicted by a Manhattan grand jury and charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to one of those 2016 hush money payments. Trump, who has denied all wrongdoing, entered a plea of not guilty to all 34 counts.
Trump holds a healthy lead over all rivals, including Christie, in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department’s five-year probe into Hunter Biden lurched toward a conclusion this week with the announcement of a plea deal that will likely allow President Joe Biden’s 53-year-old son to avoid prison. But that hasn’t stopped congressional Republicans from levelling fresh accusations of corruption against the president and his family.
GOP lawmakers on Thursday released transcripts from two IRS whistleblowers who together complained in April that the Justice Department sabotaged investigators’ efforts to level harsher penalties against the younger Biden — an accusation at odds with statements made by the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case.
The latest whistleblower allegations follow a string of investigative efforts by the GOP-led House Oversight Committee and its chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., that have thus far yielded few meaningful results.
The White House has repeatedly downplayed Republican accusations as unfounded innuendo intended to harm President Biden’s political standing. And the Justice Department on Thursday dismissed the claims by the IRS whistleblowers.
Rather than assuaging Republicans’ longstanding focus on Hunter Biden, the plea deal his lawyers brokered with federal prosecutors this week appears to have only further animated lawmakers’ efforts to target the Biden family. Republican leaders called the agreement, which still requires approval from a federal judge, a “sweetheart” deal that would undermine faith in the criminal justice system.
Here are some of the most recent Republican claims, what’s known about them, and what’s not.
‘Sitting here with my father’
As part of their rollout on Thursday of allegations that senior Justice Department officials stymied the probe into Hunter Biden’s taxes, congressional Republicans have seized on a July 2017 WhatsApp message in which the younger Biden purportedly threatened a Chinese business associate by invoking his father’s political connections.
“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter Biden allegedly wrote. “Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight.”
“And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction,” the message continued. “I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.”
ABC News could not immediately verify the WhatsApp message. But Republicans say it undercuts President Biden’s claim that he never discussed overseas business endeavors with his son. Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, reiterated Friday that “the president was not in business with his son.”
In July 2017, Joe Biden’s term as vice president had already ended and he held no political office, despite what some Republicans incorrectly suggested on Thursday. At the time, Hunter Biden, by his own admission, was in the throes of his crack addiction.
Chris Clark, the lead attorney for Hunter Biden, condemned the GOP’s “biased and politically-motivated leaks” in a statement on Friday afternoon, and sought to distance Hunter Biden’s alleged words from President Biden.
“Any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family,” Clark said.
Clark also cast doubt on the authenticity of the message: “A close examination of the document released publicly yesterday by a very biased individual raises serious questions over whether it is what he claims it to be.”
If the message is in fact real and its contents taken at face value, it would certainly raise political and ethical questions for the White House. Hunter Biden and his uncles, James and Frank, have a lengthy record of invoking the family name to secure business deals without Joe Biden’s knowledge, which could have been the case in this circumstance. But if Joe Biden wasn’t in office at the time, it would not necessarily amount to evidence of a crime.
Other records released Thursday by the committee appear to conflict with their broader claim that President Biden was an active participant in Hunter Biden’s business endeavors.
In his interview with the committee, for example, one of the IRS whistleblowers recounted an interview with one of Hunter Biden’s business associates, Rob Walker, during which Walker said: “I certainly never was thinking at any time the VP was a part of anything we were doing.”
The unproven Biden bribery claim
After months of hearings, Republicans in the House and Senate more recently turned their focus on an alleged “criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions,” as a May 3 press release from Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley framed it.
The FBI received the tip in June 2020, the lawmakers said, during former President Donald Trump’s tenure. According to Republicans who reviewed the FBI document in question, known as an FD-1023, a foreign national who brokered the alleged $10 million bribe had made 17 audio recordings of his discussions with the Bidens.
On Tuesday, after weeks of contentious negotiations that culminated in the committee’s threat to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress, Comer was given access the redacted FD-1023. He told reporters afterward that the exercise was “a total waste of my time,” as more than half of the document, he said, was redacted.
“All I know is it mentioned Hunter Biden, Burisma, and there was some type of investigation with respect to fraud taking place,” Comer told reporters, referring to the Ukrainian oil firm on whose board Hunter Biden once served. “But there was so much redacted that you couldn’t really tell anything.”
As a presidential candidate in September 2019, the elder Biden told reporters, “I’ve never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.” The White House has since reaffirmed that statement.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the Oversight panel, also had an opportunity to review the FD-1023 earlier this month and accused Comer of “recycling stale and debunked Burisma conspiracy theories.” Raskin said the Trump-era Justice Department investigated the claims and, “in August 2020, Attorney General [William] Barr and his hand-picked U.S. Attorney signed off on closing the assessment.”
Sams, the Biden White House spokesperson, called Republicans’ bribery claims “yet another fact-free stunt staged by Chairman Comer not to conduct legitimate oversight, but to spread thin innuendo to try to damage the President politically and get himself media attention.”
Investigating the investigators
Several high-ranking Republicans responded angrily this week when details of Hunter Biden’s plea deal became public, directing their ire toward an unexpected target: the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who brokered the deal, David Weiss. Under the plea agreement, which still requires a federal judge’s approval, Hunter Biden will plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors and avoid prosecution on a felony gun charge so long as he adheres to the terms of a pretrial diversion program.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called the agreement a “sweetheart deal.” Former President Trump called it a “mere traffic ticket.” Several Republicans said it demonstrated a two-tiered criminal justice system that favors Democrats.
In response to the plea deal, Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, signaled their interest in calling Weiss to testify before Congress.
Weiss had previously rebuffed Republicans’ efforts to learn more about his investigation. In a June 7 letter to Jordan, Weiss said that he “must respectfully decline the Committee’s request for documents and information at this time to protect confidential law enforcement information from disclosure,” citing the fact that his investigative work was “ongoing.”
Weiss also stated unequivocally in the letter that he had been “granted ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges.”
Republicans have since seized on Weiss’ statement — made in his announcement of the plea deal — that his “investigation is ongoing,” which seems to contradict a statement from Hunter Biden’s attorney, who said Tuesday, “It is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved.”
Comer told Axios he will request clarity from Weiss about “what he means when he says this is an ongoing investigation,” as the ongoing nature of the probe could complicate lawmakers’ efforts to learn more about the investigative underpinnings of the plea deal.
On Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland told ABC News that he “would support Mr. Weiss explaining or testifying on these matters when he deems it appropriate.”
“I certainly understand that some have chosen to attack the integrity of the Justice Department and its components and its employees by claiming that we do not treat like cases alike,” Garland said. “This constitutes an attack on an institution that is essential to American democracy, and essential to the safety of the American people. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Shania Twain has released the new Royal Edition Extended Version of her latest album, Queen Of Me.
The expansive 19-song project includes two brand new songs: “Done & Dusted” and “On Three,” which features fellow ’90s country icon Billy Ray Cyrus literally counting her down “on three.”
“I was in the studio recording ‘On Three’ and I thought: this needs the voice of a sexy man with a southern accent counting the song in, and the first person that came to mind was Billy Ray Cyrus,” Shania previously shared of the genesis of her collaboration with Billy.
“Since our friendship goes way way back, I just called him up and had him record and count me in from my phone! He was really fun and it worked out exactly how I imagined it,” she adds.
Queen Of Me (Royal Edition Extended Version) is available wherever you listen to music.
Here’s the track listing for Queen Of Me (Royal Edition Extended Version):
“Giddy Up!”
“Brand New”
“Waking Up Dreaming”
“Best Friend”
“Pretty Liar”
“Inhale/Exhale AIR”
“Last Day of Summer”
“Queen of Me”
“Got It Good”
“Number One”
“Not Just a Girl”
“On Three”
“Done & Dusted”
“Bone Dry”
“Wanted Man”
“Inhale/Exhale AIR” (feat. BRELAND)
“Queen Of Me (Acoustic Version)”
“Giddy Up! (Malibu Babie Remix)”
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour comes to Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24, and the state has gone out of its way to celebrate her arrival. In fact, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz just proclaimed both dates “Taylor Swift Days.”
“Taylor Swift has enchanted and inspired Minnesotans and people all over the world,” Walz wrote in the document posted to social media. “Taylor Swift will forever & always be a positive influence, setting an example with her truthfulness, grace, and strength of character.”
And that’s not the only way Taylor’s been welcomed ahead of her shows. Billboard reports that at a press conference earlier in the week, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey temporarily renamed the city “Swiftie-apolis.”
“We are embarking on what will be one of the most exciting weekends in the city of Minneapolis,” he said. “With Pride plus Taylor Swift, we are expecting more than half a million people … it’s better than our wildest dreams.”
Parker McCollum has announced his partnership with burgeoning adult beverage brand Loud Lemon.
As part of this collaboration, Parker and Loud Lemon have released a fresh flavor of the company’s vodka-based Lemonade Cocktail called Cranberry Sunrise.
Reflecting on Loud Lemon’s road to launching, founder and CEO Jeff Outlaw shares, “COVID-19 was an obstacle in many ways, but it gave us and Parker the time to understand each other better and create work that makes sense. Collaborating with Parker to create the new Cranberry Sunrise flavor showcases the truest kind of partnership. We’re lucky and proud to have Parker on our team.”
“Their motto is to ‘Live Out Loud,’ and that means celebrating life, being authentic and working hard,” adds Parker. “When Jeff approached me and Hallie Ray to create the new flavor, we jumped at the chance. Cranberry Sunrise turned out delicious and I’m excited to be part of such a fun, innovative company with such a passionate founder.”
For more information on Loud Lemon and to check out the newly launched Cranberry Sunrise Lemonade Cocktail, visit loudlemon.com.
The new Britney Spears musical Once Upon A One More Time opened on Broadway June 22 and it got some support from the pop star herself.
The singer shared a post on Instagram ahead of the opening, writing, “Good luck to the hardworking cast and crew of ‘Once Upon a One More Time’ on opening night tonight!!! I’ve seen the show and it is so funny, smart and brilliant.”
Once Upon A One More Time is a jukebox musical currently playing at the Marquis Theatre. The story revolves around various fairy tale characters, like Cinderella and Snow White, and features such Britney hits as “Oops I Did It Again,” “Lucky,” “Circus” and “Toxic.”
Reviews of the musical have been mixed. For example, while The New York Times said it was “quite entertaining at times,” they add that it’s “hampered by a shambolic jumble of sisterhood 101 messaging and defanged fantasy revisionism.” However, Entertainment Weekly seemed to like it, grading it a B+ and saying it’s a “youthful, exuberant take on beloved tales that’s more dazzling and polished than Cinderella’s glass slipper.”
Grouplove has shared a new song called “Eyes,” a track off the band’s upcoming album, I Want It All Right Now.
“‘Eyes’ explores the fleeting nature and impermanence of life,” Grouplove says. “If I were to die tomorrow, the only thing that truly matters is that I surround myself with love and give love.”
You can listen to “Eyes” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.
I Want It All Right Now, the follow-up to 2021’s This Is This, arrives July 7. It also includes the previously released songs “Hello,” “All” and “Francine.”
Grouplove will celebrate the release of I Want It All Right Now with a headlining show in Atlanta on July 7, which will stream live online. They’ll then hit the road opening for Pink.
While in France for Paris Fashion Week, Quavo debuted his Rocket Power merch at a pop-up on Rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth. “REAL Rocket Power. Pop Up Was Crazy Fans Showed The True Power,” he captioned an Instagram post, which featured glimpses of the Takeoff-inspired merch, as well as the large crowd of fans who showed up.
Snoop Dogg is no stranger to the music game, but it’s only recently that he’s experienced the feeling of having a Diamond song. He and Katy Perry‘s “California Gurls” hit 10-times Platinum June 21, becoming his first Diamond track.
Whoopi Goldberg and Babyface will be honored at Hollywood Unlocked’s Impact Awards with the Social Impact and Icon awards, respectively. Taking place June 27 in LA, the event will also feature the distribution of awards to Chlöe, Kelis, Floyd Mayweather and Jenifer Lewis,as well asa segment dedicated to 2Pac.
Rihanna has stepped down as Savage x Fenty’s CEO and will take on the executive chair position, Vogue Business reports. Replacing her is former Anthropologie Group CEO Hillary Super.
Cardi B and Offset‘s daughter, Kulture, graduated from pre-kindergarten Thursday. “My baby moving on up. I’m a emotional proud mommy,” Cardi captioned a reflective post. “Give me good grades and I’ll give you the world baby.” In a clip on her Instagram Story, Kulture shared her desire to be a doctor when she grows up.
NLE Choppa was approached by videographer Will Freeark, who asked if he was interested in a filming a music video free of charge. The rapper accepted, and the two filmed a video for “Stomp Em Out” in New York City. The clip features Choppa at Central Park Zoo, holding someone’s baby and more.
The Definitive 24 Nights is made up of six hours of music from Clapton’s historic 24-night run at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1991, which broke his own record for the longest run of concerts at the venue. During the run, Clapton performed with three lineups — a rock band, a blues band and an orchestra; “Crossroads” was part of the rock set.
The Definitive 24 Nights is available now as a six-CD or eight-LP set. There are also standalone versions of each genre —24 Nights: Rock, 24 Nights: Blues and 24 Nights: Orchestra.
