Nabbing tickets to see Bruce Springsteenand The E Street Band certainly wasn’t easy. For those who missed out, The Boss is now giving his fans a chance to win a trip to see him in his home state of New Jersey.
Springsteen has teamed up with Propeller for a new sweepstakes that helps raise money and awareness for The Ally Coalition, which works to better the lives of LGBTQ+ youth.
And the lucky winner and a guest will nab quite a grand prize: two tickets to The Boss’ April 14 show at the Prudential Center in Newark, along with airfare, hotel accommodations and ride-share credit. The winner will also take home a signed Fender American Original ’50s Telecaster guitar.
Wherever you hung out back in high school, it might not be as cool as the place where Jennifer Aniston used to kick up her feet.
On Wednesday’s episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan, the actress revealed she would often hang out at Cher‘s house. Why? She was high school classmates with the singer’s son, Chaz Bono, back in the ’70s.
“Well I went to high school with Chaz and amongst our group of our gaggle, we would always go to [Cher’s] house because it was nice,” Aniston explained. “It was Cher!”
For those dying to know what it’s like inside the legendary singer’s home, Aniston recalled the beautiful chiffon curtains, saying the house “was just wild and wonderful.”
The Morning Show star also said Keith Richards was Cher’s neighbor at the time. She noted Cher has since changed residences.
While Aniston implied her group of friends didn’t really comprehend the magnitude of Cher’s fame, she said, “It was just fun to be able to hang out with [her].”
She also spoke about raiding the hitmaker’s snacks back in the day. “She had food from Belducci’s — as she likes to say — and she seems to think I ate it all,” Aniston remarked. She recalled Cher used to tell her, while mimicking the singer, “You ate me out of house and home.”
“I was not the only one partaking in the cold cuts,” she continued.
Aniston also revealed she and her friends “might have taken a peek” into Cher’s closet.
(NEW YORK) — A “bomb cyclone” is wreaking havoc across an already soaked California, killing at least five people in the San Francisco Bay Area, including four hit by falling trees or limbs, officials said.
A dramatic drop in atmospheric pressure triggered the so-called bomb cyclone that swept in from the Pacific Ocean and clobbered the San Francisco area. The storm packed heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 90 mph that knocked down trees, blocking major roadways and highways, officials said.
Tens of thousands of utility customers lost power, according to officials.
One person was killed and another was injured in the gated community of Rossmoor, about 25 miles east of San Francisco, when a tree fell on a moving car, according to the California Highway Patrol. Another motorist was killed around 1:30 p.m. local time Tuesday when a toppled tree crushed a work van in San Mateo County, about 30 miles south of San Francisco, according to CHP.
A man was killed at Oakland’s Lake Merritt when a tree fell on him, officials said. Two people in San Francisco were killed in storm-related incidents, including a person who was struck by a tree limb, according to San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office.
The gale-force winds knocked down at least 700 trees and limbs across San Francisco on Tuesday alone, city officials said.
On Wednesday morning, the town of Woodside, about 32 miles south of San Francisco, was under a “highly recommended evacuation” after a mudslide shut down a road, impacting about 30 homes, officials said.
“If you live in this area, please pack your ‘Go Bag,’ with all necessary essentials: insurance policy, pets, medications, a change of clothes, and LEAVE NOW,” San Mateo County officials said in a Twitter post Wednesday. “Once the road gives out completely, residents in that area will not have access to emergency services for the foreseeable future.”
The mudslide unfolded as the National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for Woodside and nearby San Mateo County communities Wednesday morning after about 3 inches of rain fell in the area over a 24-hour period.
The powerful springtime storm is also being blamed for the derailment of an Amtrak train near Martinez, about 35 miles east of San Francisco. The train was carrying 55 passengers when it struck a downed tree on the tracks, according to Amtrak officials. No injuries were reported.
High wind gusts also caused a tractor-trailer rig to overturn on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, blocking the eastbound lanes and snarling traffic during the evening commute, according to CHP.
The winds were so strong in downtown San Francisco Tuesday that it knocked out windows in high-rise buildings, sending shattered glass to the ground, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.
San Francisco International Airport recorded wind gusts of 64 mph, while gusty winds reached 74 mph in Oakland. Gusts hit nearly 90 mph between San Francisco and Sacramento.
The “bomb cyclone” developed off the coast of San Francisco Tuesday when the atmospheric pressure dropped 24 millibars in 17 hours, producing the strongest March storm ever recorded in the Bay Area.
The same storm system walloped Southern California Tuesday with wind gusts of up to 100 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles. The town of Lytle Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains recorded more than 6 inches of rain, while nearly an inch-and-a-half of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles.
The weather system is expected to weaken Wednesday, but most of California will remain under a flood watch and high-wind alerts are expected to persist into the afternoon.
The storm, the latest in a series of atmospheric river systems that has nearly eliminated the state’s multi-year drought, is expected to move southeast, bringing severe weather to parts of Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma. Severe weather on Thursday and Friday could produce large hail and damaging winds from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to San Angelo, more than 250 miles southwest of Dallas.
As the storm moves east on Friday, a possible tornado outbreak could form in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service.
(EL PASO, Texas) — The Department of Homeland Security says its new fentanyl targeting operation has already seized 900 pounds of the drug in its first week.
“Operation Blue Lotus,” a targeted operation that involves more stops and the use of advanced technology along the border, started on March 13. The operation has led to 18 seizures, 16 federal arrests and two state arrests, according to DHS. Those seizures prevented over 900 pounds of fentanyl, 700 pounds of methamphetamines and 100 pounds of cocaine from entering the United States through last Sunday.
“Operation Blue Lotus is a DHS-led, coordinated surge effort to curtail the flow of illicit fentanyl smuggled into the United States from Mexico and bring to justice the dangerous criminal organizations profiting from the illegal production, distribution, and sale of this dangerous substance,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said after meeting with CBP agents along the border on Tuesday.
As part of the operation, additional Homeland Security Investigations agents were deployed and CBP’s Forward Operating Labs at Points of Entry conduct “real-time analysis of unknown substances.”
Fentanyl has killed on average 100,000 Americans each year, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Mayorkas has been in the hot seat from congressional Republicans about how the administration has handled the border, with several lawmakers repeatedly saying they want to impeach him over the issue.
He is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.
(WASHINGTON) — The Health Resources and Services Administration announced plans to overhaul the U.S. organ transplant system, after congressional scrutiny of the current operation — which critics said has poor oversight that has led to wasted organs, serious errors, and patient deaths.
The department says it aims to modernize the IT systems, improve transparency, and solicit contracts from various groups to manage various parts of the organ transplant system. Biden’s proposed 2024 budget also includes a $36 million increase in investment in the organ transplant system.
HRSA, an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, also launched an online dashboard sharing information about organ donors and transplant waitlists.
“Every day, patients and families across the United States rely on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to save the lives of their loved ones who experience organ failure,” said Carole Johnson, HRSA Administrator, in a statement. “At HRSA, our stewardship and oversight of this vital work is a top priority. That is why we are taking action to both bring greater transparency to the system and to reform and modernize the OPTN. The individuals and families that depend on this life-saving work deserve no less.”
The U.S. organ transplant network currently operates as a partnership between HHS and the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS, which has held the contract to manage the system since 1986. UNOS both runs the logistical system that distributes organs and decides how to prioritize distribution. It oversees 56 Organ Procurement Organizations, which are responsible for recovering organs for transplant.
But a government review, reported by the Washington Post last summer, found that UNOS relied on out-of-date technology and didn’t allow appropriate scrutiny of its systems by government officials. The Senate Finance Committee found in an investigation that there were over 1,000 complaints filed against the system between 2010 and 2020. Most of the 56 Organ Procurement Organizations are underperforming, according to data from CMS.
“For too long it’s been clear that UNOS has fallen short of the requirements for this contract and the expectations of Americans waiting for a transplant,” Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore, said in a statement.
HRSA says opening up the transplant network to more contracts will increase competition and promote innovation.
In a statement, UNOS said that it supports the changes outlined by HRSA. “We welcome a competitive and open bidding process,” the organization said in a statement to ABC News.
“We believe we have the experience and expertise required to best serve the nation’s patients and to help implement HRSA’s proposed initiatives.”
Over 100,000 people in the U.S. are awaiting organ transplants.
One of the locations made famous in the movie Grease is coming to real life, thanks to Paramount+. To promote its prequel series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, the streaming service is opening the doors of the Frosty Palace, the favorite hangout of Rydell High’s students.
First seen in the 1978 smash Grease with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, and of course a main location in Pink Ladies, the diner will be recreated for a two-day interactive event in Los Angeles, where fans “can expect to be completely immersed in nostalgia as they are transported back in time and surrounded by retro 1950s tunes and custom décor, all while enjoying twists on familiar diner fare and partaking in iconic social media-worthy photo moments.”
There will also be merchandise and other giveaways during the event, which will run Thursday, April 6, and Friday, April 7.
Tickets and details for the event can be found here.
Incidentally, the pop-up is being held at another iconic retro movie location, Mel’s Drive-In Diner on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood: A Mel’s eatery was a main location for George Lucas‘ classic American Graffiti, which was set in 1962.
Jennifer Lopez has a new shoe line with Revolve, and the singer reveals she was very hands-on when it came to creating the new products.
Talking to InStyle about the JLo Jennifer Lopez line, which includes items like chunky platform pumps and bedazzled boots, she says this new offering “is a perfect reflection of me.”
Why is that? Said Jennifer, “I work closely on all creative aspects of everything I do from ideation at inception all the way through to the execution and creative collaboration on design and the aesthetics of the campaigns — and everything in between.”
The collection’s prices range from $145 to $275.
Although Jennifer loves her glam and dazzles, she also likes taking risks with her fashion. “I would wear the crystal platforms with jeans as easily as with my Grammy Awards dress,” she said of her current line.
“I have always believed, especially in today’s fashion scene, that there are no rules,” she continued. “Style them as you like! What feels right to you is what you will look and feel best in!”
Fans can get their hands on the new JLo collection on Revolve.com.
If you’re a Neil Diamond fan who can’t make it to New York to see his Broadway musical, A Beautiful Noise, you’re now in luck: it may be coming to a city near you.
Broadwayworld.com reports the musical is set to kick off a North American tour in the fall of 2024, hitting more than 25 cities.
“Some of my most thrilling nights have been while I was on tour, bringing my music to audiences across the world,” Diamond shares. “Having A Beautiful Noise go on tour is an honor and I can’t wait for audiences across North America to experience this show. I hope they enjoy it as much as I have.”
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical is currently playing at the Broadhurst Theatre. The tour is set to begin at Rhode Island’s Providence Performing Arts Center, with more cities to be announced soon.
(PARLIN, N.J.) — The family of 30-year-old New Jersey councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, who was shot and killed outside her home in February, spoke out publicly for the first time since her death, calling for justice for her death and that those responsible be apprehended.
Eunice Dwumfour — a Church leader and mother of a 12-year-old girl — was shot and killed in her SUV outside her home on Feb. 1. She sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials.
While it has been over a month since her death, family members told reporters that police have not shared details of the investigation with them. Few details have been released regarding Dwumfour’s murder and no known arrests have been made in connection.
“We are not happy about that, we need justice,” Eunice Dwumfour’s father, Prince Dwumfour, said during a press conference Wednesday.
The family said they waited so long before speaking out publicly because they were mourning the death of their daughter.
“Our daughter’s death has cost a lot in our life,” Prince Dwumfour said.
The family does not know who would want her dead or what motive they could have for killing her, John Wisniewski, the family’s lawyer, told reporters.
Wisniewski joined Dwumfour’s parents Prince and Mary Dwumfour, husband Peter Akwue and the family’s pastor Karl Badu.
“I believe the authorities should do something quickly,” Akwue said. “It’s painful.”
Akwue and Dwumfour met in Nigeria in 2019 and married last November.
Dwumfour had just dropped someone off at her townhome and was heading somewhere else when the assailant approached on foot, sources told ABC News last month.
No words appear to have been exchanged between the two, according to sources.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing more than 10 shots fired, according to sources.
(SANDPOINT, Idaho) — An Idaho hospital said it will no longer be providing obstetrical care due in part to the state’s “legal and political climate.”
In a news release, Bonner General Health in Sandpoint — 400 miles north of Boise and serving about 9,000 people — said it would end its labor & delivery services by mid-May.
“We have made every effort to avoid eliminating these services,” Ford Elsaesser, BGH’s board president, said in a statement. “We hoped to be the exception, but our challenges are impossible to overcome now.”
The release cited several reasons for the maternity ward closure including a loss of pediatricians to provide neonatal and perinatal care, fewer babies being born at the hospital and the changing political landscape.
Without specifically referencing the state’s abortion laws, the hospital said the legal and political climate was causing physicians to leave the hospital and it was becoming difficult to recruit replacements.
“In addition, the Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care,” the news release stated. “Physicians providing the standard of care may include civil litigation and criminal prosecution, leading to jail time or fine.
In March 2022, before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Idaho became the first state to enact a law modeled after the legislation passed in Texas that bans abortions after six weeks, before many women know they’re pregnant.
There are exceptions for medical emergencies as well as incest or rape, but women are required to file a police report and show it to the medical provider before the abortion for the latter two.
Additionally, a provider has to prove in court that an abortion fell under the exception criteria, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
The law also allows the father, grandparents, siblings, uncles or aunts of the fetus to sue a medical provider who performs the procedure.
The abortion ban was temporarily blocked but went into effect in August. At the time, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the temporary injunction would “prevent serious harm to women in Idaho.”
BGH said it will continue delivering babies through May 19, but the day may be pushed up if staffing changes.
The hospital is not accepting any new obstetrics patients, effective immediately, and will be coordinating care for women scheduled to deliver in May or later.
BGH posted a list referring patients to new OB/GYN providers, with the closest being Newport Hospital in Newport, Washington, about 30 miles away.
The hospital did not immediately return ABC News’ request for comment.
