Boy Meets World alum Ben Savage is officially running for Congress. In a post to Instagram, Savage explained he’s running for Rep. Adam Schiff‘s House seat. Schiff recently announced he’s running in the Democratic primary for recently retired California Sen. Dianne Feinstein‘s seat.
“I am a proud Californian, union member and longtime resident of District 30 who comes from a family of unwavering service to our country and community,” says the actor best known for playing Cory Matthewson the 1990s ABC coming-of-age sitcom and its 2014 Disney Channel spinoff, Girl Meets World.
The Golden State’s 30th Congressional District encompasses West Hollywood, Burbank and parts of Pasadena.
“I firmly believe in standing up for what is right, ensuring equality and expanding opportunities for all. I’m running for Congress because it’s time to restore faith in government by offering reasonable, innovative and compassionate solutions to our country’s most pressing issues,” said the actor and brother of Wonder Years‘ Fred Savage.
Before plugging his website, SavageForCongress.com, Ben said, “It’s time for new and passionate leaders who can help move our country forward. Leaders who want to see the government operating at maximum capacity, unhindered by political divisions and special interests.”
As reported in January, Savage submitted paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run as a Democrat.
In 2022, Savage unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council.
A group of women who recreated Rihanna‘s Super Bowl halftime show have received a gift from the singer herself. Billboard reports Rih and Roc Nation sent the ladies at Arcadia Senior Living Bowling Green a bouquet of white roses alongside a note that reads, “You ladies’ dance was amazing.”
The viral dance captured the women putting their spin on Rih’s performance of “Rude Boy” from the Super Bowl halftime show. Similar to Rihanna’s dancers, the ladies dress in white and gradually move out the way to reveal the last woman, who, like Rih, dons all red as she dances and sings into her microphone.
As of this story, the post has over 30 million likes. It’s also been praised by Jay-Z, who sent the women a bouquet of red roses. “We love the TikTok here at Roc Nation,” he wrote in his note.
The Lumineers are headlining Woodstock. Well, sort of.
The “Ho Hey” outfit leads the lineup for the inaugural Catbird Music Festival, which will be held August 19-20 on the same site of the legendary 1969 Woodstock in Bethel, New York.
Other artists on the bill include Band of Horses, Trey Anastasio Band, Dispatch, The War on Drugs and James Bay.
John Mellencamp is bringing his legacy to Indiana University. In case you missed it, it was announced during the recent Mellencamp Symposium on the Bloomington campus that the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer would donate his archives to the school.
The collection will feature photographs, instruments, significant memorabilia and more, covering not only his music and artistry, but his social activism and philanthropy.
“John’s impact on music and American culture is immense,” IU President Pamela Whitten shares. “On behalf of Hoosiers everywhere, I am exceptionally proud of John’s lifelong association with IU and deeply grateful to him for selecting the university as the permanent home for his archives.” She adds, “His collection will be an incredible resource for arts scholars and a clear source of inspiration to our students. We are thrilled to honor him and celebrate his many contributions to music, art and IU.”
Mellencamp will be commemorated on the Bloomington campus with a sculpture that’s recently been commissioned to “symbolize the strong connection Mellencamp has to his southern Indiana roots.” There will be an exhibition of the rocker’s art at the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University, debuting in the 2023-24 academic year.
Vevo’s been celebrating hip-hop’s anniversary with Footnotes episodes featuring behind-the-scenes looks at some of the greatest videos from the genre. In the latest episode, De La Soul gives some insight into the making of their song “Me, Myself and I” and its accompanying video.
According to Posdnuos, the song was “written pretty quick” and allowed the group to address negative media, which had been calling them “hippies of hip-hop.” The video itself “underscored individuality and confidence in owning who you are and want to be,” and was influenced by the Twilight Zone.
“I’m a big Twilight Zone fan, so when it was time to figure out how to include [producer] Prince Paul in the video, we went with him being a hip-hop Rod Serling to set up the story,” he explained. “We did it in a comedic way playing off what was considered the conventional look for a hip-hop kid vs. a non conventional way of looking.”
A standout moment for Posdnuos was the scene where the teacher throws a record at a student’s head. “All the students were all fans of our music and were happy to have the opportunity to be in the video,” he said.
“Me, Myself and I” dropped in 1989, the year De La released 3 Feet High and Rising, which is now available on streaming services. If the video for the song was remade today, Posdnuos says it’d probably be about an individual who desires to “dress down and plain” in a world where “everyone is dressing so different and cool and loud.”
That someone would be “more focused on their inner growth than their outer independence,” he adds.
Harry Styles is a gracious host: Not only did he invite singer/songwriter Jenny Lewis to open for him on tour, he also made a cameo appearance in her new video.
The video is for Jenny’s song “Puppy and a Truck.” As she sings the song, we see her in bed, on her tour bus, on a beach, onstage and backstage. In many scenes her real-life puppy is with her, but there’s also a figure dressed in a dog costume hanging around. At one point, Jenny and the person in the dog costume skip down the beach together.
At the very end of the clip, the dog removes his head and — ta-dah! It’s Harry! He grins and makes peace signs to the camera as the video ends.
In a statement, Jenny says the experience of opening for Harry and meeting his “loving audience” “after such a long period of isolation … brought me back to life.”
Of course, Harry is no stranger to wearing a dog costume: In his 2020 Voguecover story, his sister, Gemma, revealed, “Harry … had a little dalmatian-dog outfit, a hand-me-down from our closest family friends. He would just spend an inordinate amount of time wearing that outfit.”
To celebrate Harry’s birthday in 2021, his mom, Anne Twist, posted an adorable picture of little Harry wearing a black-and-white spotted dog costume and confirmed to a fan that it was the dog outfit that Gemma had referred to.
Emma Heming Willis has a request for paparazzi regarding how they deal with her husband, beloved actor Bruce Willis, following his recent dementia diagnosis: “Keep your space.”
Heming Willis, 44, shared a video to Instagram over the weekend, reacting to a recent incident in which Willis, who turns 68 this month, was photographed and recorded while out for coffee with friends.
“If you are someone that is looking after someone with dementia, you know how difficult and stressful it can be to get someone out into the world and just to navigate them safely — even just to get a cup of coffee,” she said.
“It’s clear that there’s still a lot of education that needs to be put forth,” Heming Willis continued. “So this one is going out to the photographers and video people that are trying to get those exclusives of my husband out and about. Just keep your space.”
Heming Willis said she understands the paparazzi are just doing their jobs, but asked that they tone down how they interact with the actor in public.
“Please don’t be yelling at my husband, asking how he’s doing, whatever. The woo-hooing and the ‘yippee ki-yays’ — just don’t do it, OK? Give him his space,” she said, referencing Willis’ famous line from Die Hard. “Allow for our family or whoever’s with him that day to be able to get him from point A to point B safely. That’s my PSA.”
Heming Willis’ post comes a few weeks after Willis’ family announced he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, known as FTD.
Heming Willis and Willis have been married since 2009 and share two children, daughters Mabel and Evelyn. Willis also has three adult daughters, Rumer Willis, Scout Willis and Tallulah Willis, whom he shares with ex-wife Demi Moore.
Gary Rossington, guitarist and last surviving original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, passed away Sunday at the age of 71. The news prompted several artists to take to social media to pay tribute to the legendary guitarist.
“Gary Rossington’s loss is especially profound to us as we’ve spent countless hours in his company on tour and elsewise,” ZZ Top‘s Billy F. Gibbonsshares. “We facilitated getting Lynyrd Skynyrd on the bill with ZZ Top at a South Carolina date way back at the start of the band’s rise in ’73 and that was the start of an enduring friendship.”
He adds, “Gary’s extraordinary ability as a guitarist was nothing less than inspirational. It’s an old cliché about somebody who has paid their dues to call them a survivor and in this case it is literally true. He was the last of the breed and will be missed.”
Peter Framptonadds, “This cannot be! My heart breaks for Dale Rossington and the entire Skynryd family today. We have been friends since first touring together in the 70s. We will miss you my friend.”
Other tributes include:
Metallica’s James Hetfield – “RIP Brother Gary. Thank you for bringing me so much joy with your guitar playing and songwriting in one of my all time favorite bands, Lynyrd Skynyrd.”
Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine – “Saddened to hear about the passing of the great Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The last surviving original member of the legendary band. Rest in Peace, Gary.”
Paul Rodgers – “Yesterday we lost our musical brother Gary Rossington, a man we all loved. Our thoughts are with his love Dale, their family and his many friends and fans. I am numb…this cuts deep.”
Bret Michaels – “I send this with all of my heart, prayers & condolences to the family, friends & fans of Gary Rossington. On behalf of my family, he brought a lot of great music & many great memories to so many people. May he rest in peace.”
John 5 – “Ever since I was a kid I have loved #LynyrdSkynyrd & Gary’s guitar playing. I was fortunate to make a lotta great music with Gary & the boys. We stayed friends for many years. I will miss you. Rest in peace brother. #GaryRossington #RIP.”
(LOS ANGELES) — A United Airlines passenger was arrested after he allegedly tried to open a plane emergency exit door and then allegedly tried to stab a flight attendant, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.
The incident took place during a Sunday flight from Los Angeles to Boston.
Francisco Severo Torres, 33, allegedly tried to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon after he was confronted about tampering with the door, federal prosecutors said. Fellow passengers tackled him and the flight crew helped restrain him, prosecutors said.
The incident began about 45 minutes before the flight landed, when the crew received an alarm about a disarmed door between the first class and coach sections, prosecutors said.
A “flight attendant found that the door’s locking handle had been moved out of the fully locked position … and that the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the ‘disarmed’ position,” prosecutors said.
After the door was relocked, a flight attendant told his colleagues that he saw Torres by the door and thought he tampered with it, prosecutors said.
A flight attendant then confronted Torres who allegedly “responded by asking if there were cameras showing that he had done so,” prosecutors said.
Torres then allegedly attacked the flight attendant, according to prosecutors.
Torres was charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon, prosecutors said. Torres made an initial appearance in court Monday and was detained. He’s set to return to court on Thursday.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is seeking to prevent the special counsel investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election from using testimony provided by former top White House lawyers to a federal grand jury, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
In recent weeks Trump’s attorneys have asked a court to bar special counsel Jack Smith from using testimony from former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his former deputy Patrick Philbin as evidence in Smith’s ongoing investigation into the events surrounding Jan. 6, said the sources, who spoke about the confidential court battle on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss nonpublic litigation.
Trump’s lawyers have also filed to prevent Smith from using former Trump lawyer Eric Herschmann’s grand jury testimony, the sources said.
Prosecutors in Smith’s office have urged an appeals court to reject Trump’s efforts, arguing that the matter is moot given that the three men have already spoken to the grand jury, the sources said in regard to the sealed testimony.
Representatives for Cipollone, Philbin and Herschmann did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News. The special counsel’s office declined to comment.
“The DOJ is continuously stepping far outside the standard norms in attempting to destroy the long-accepted, long-held, Constitutionally based standards of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege,” a source close to Trump who is familiar with the issues told ABC News.
Investigators late last year overcame a previous legal challenge that was made on the grounds of executive privilege. Both Cipollone and Philbin appeared before the grand jury in September 2022, but declined to answer some questions until issues surrounding claims of executive privilege were resolved. Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., ruled that claims of privilege by Trump didn’t apply, and Trump’s legal team did not seek to stay the ruling.
Cipollone and Philbin then appeared before the grand jury for a second time in December 2022. Trump’s lawyers appealed Howell’s ruling about a month later, after the two had already provided additional testimony.
Cipollone was one of the few aides with Trump on the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, and is said to have significant insight into events before, leading up to, and after the attack. In the days following Jan. 6, Cipollone advised Trump that Trump could potentially face legal jeopardy in connection with his role encouraging supporters to march on the Capitol, sources said following the attack.
Both Cipollone and Philbin were part of a Jan. 3, 2021, Oval Office meeting where Trump mulled replacing then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Jeff Clark, a Trump loyalist who had vowed to use the DOJ to investigate alleged 2020 election irregularities.
Trump’s previously undisclosed attempt to suppress the lawyers’ testimony adds yet another dimension to the ongoing efforts by his legal team to slow the fast-paced developments in Smith’s investigations — including Smith’s separate probe into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office and Trump’s potential obstruction of the government’s efforts to retrieve them.
Last month DOJ investigators probing Trump’s handling of classified documents asked a judge to overrule attorney-client privilege and compel Trump attorney Evan Corcoran to answer questions about his interactions with Trump before a grand jury, sources previously told ABC News. The DOJ made the request on the basis of the crime-fraud exception, sources said, which allows for attorney-client privilege to be suspended in cases where it is suspected that legal services were rendered in the commission of a crime.
Oral arguments in the matter are scheduled for later this week, according to sources.
The special counsel has also asked a federal judge to compel former Vice President Mike Pence to testify after Pence was subpoenaed last month as part of the Jan. 6 probe, sources familiar with the matter previously told ABC News. Last week, Trump’s attorneys filed a motion to prevent Pence from testifying on the grounds of executive privilege.
Sources told ABC News that in February, prosecutors investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election also moved to compel testimony from a number of other top Trump aides, including former chief of staff Mark Meadows. In some cases the motion seeks to break through claims of executive privilege that either some of the witnesses or attorneys for Trump have attempted to assert.
