When it comes to the most romantic Valentine’s Day gesture ever, Chris Young says that’s not a competition he ever plans to enter.
That’s because he got to witness someone hitting it out of the park when he was just a kid.
“There’s no way I can ever top this. I cannot top this,” Chris declares. “Whenever I talk about my dad, I’m actually referring to my stepdad because my mom was a single parent for a while.”
“He asked her to marry him on Valentine’s Day, and then had me and my sister come down to ask for our permission,” he recalls. “So he wins. There’s nothing I can do about that, like, come on!”
Of course, Chris has had plenty of hit love songs, with his latest one, “Looking for You,” climbing the chart now.
If you’re looking for a place to bang your head, it’ll be hard to beat Anthrax‘s tour with Black Label Society and Exodus, which wraps up this Sunday in Anaheim, California.
“I think this tour is a great f***ing tour,” Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante tells ABC Audio. “I think the package is awesome and, more importantly, people are coming out. I’m so, like, what is going on?”
What appears to be going on is that fans are simply craving the heavy metal spirit.
“There is a lot of shredding and a lot of riffage going on, that’s for sure,” says Exodus guitarist Gary Holt. “It’s awesome! Some of my favorite guitar players are all on this tour, so it’s amazing.”
All three bands have been going at this for quite awhile — both Anthrax and Exodus have celebrated 40th anniversaries in recent years — but Holt says that the desire to deliver said riffage has not waned.
“I mean, we’re old on a timeline, but we still rock,” Holt says “We’re not mailing it in, we’re still out there with something to prove. And kids love it. You see these people bringing their children to these shows, father-and-son moments, it’s awesome.”
The tour marks Anthrax’s reunion with Black Label Society after their joint 2022 tour. Benante and BLS frontman Zakk Wylde will continue to share the road with the reformed Pantera over the next year as they fill in for the late Abbott brothers, “Dimebag” Darrell and Vinnie Paul, respectively.
As for what he likes about touring with Wylde, Benante lists his sense of humor and his upbeat personality, though he jokes he might feel differently after all of their traveling together is said and done.
This week on The Bachelor, Zach‘s romantic journey took him and the ladies to the Bahamas, where he discovered at least one contestant may not have been there for the right reason.
A group date saw 12 of the women joining Zach for a fun day at the beach, but fun in the sun turned to anger and frustration when Anastasia, seemed to be hogging all the attention, even pulling him away at one point to spend some time alone with him.
Kylee‘s attempt to steal Zach back was met with resistance from Anastasia, leading to a confrontation between the two when Anastasia tried to spin Kylee’s plea not make her have to “fight” Anastasia as a threat of a physical altercation with her.
During a conversation with Zach at the after party, Kylee suggested that, based on a conversations she’d had with one of the other ladies, Anastasia was in the competition to attract Instagram followers, instead of a relationship. Ariel ended up with the date rose and, despite her efforts to convince Zach that her intentions were good, Anastasia was sent packing.
Following the rose ceremony, Davia and Genevie were also sent home.
Elsewhere during a one-on-one date, Brooklyn opened up to Zach about a six-year relationship in which she was the victim of domestic abuse. In a confessional, the 25-year-old Oklahoma native revealed that at one point, she was awakened by police after being knocked out. She eventually gathered the courage to end the relationship and has never looked back. Zach was “blown away” by her courage and offered her the date rose, which she accepted.
Another one-on-one rose went to Katherine — or “Kat” as she prefers to be called.
Here are the 11 women remaining after Monday night’s episode:
Aly, 26, a healthcare strategist from Atlanta, Ga.
Ariel, 28, a marketing executive from New York City, N.Y.
Brooklyn, 25, a rodeo racer from Stillwater, Okla.
Charity, 26, a child and family therapist from Columbus, Ga.
Gabriella “Gabi,” 25, an account executive from Pittsford, Vt.
Greer, 24, a medical sales rep from Houston, Texas. — First Impression Rose
Jessica “Jess,” 23, an e-commerce coordinator from Winter Springs, Fla.
Kaitlyn “Kaity,” 27, an ER nurse from Austin, Texas.
Katherine, 26, a registered nurse from Tampa, Fla.
Kylee, 25, a postpartum nurse from Charlotte, N.C.
Mercedes, 24, a nonprofit owner from Bloomfield, Iowa
The Bachelor returns Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.
U2 is set to headline a new Las Vegas residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at the Sphere, this fall. But many fans are unhappy the band will be performing without drummer Larry Mullen Jr.
Larry will be sitting out the shows in order to recuperate from surgery, with drummer Bramvan den Berg filling in for him. And while the band said in a press release that “Larry has joined us in welcoming Bram van den Berg, who is a force in his own right,” fans don’t appear to be as welcoming.
“The magic that is left in the band has been the longevity of the four original members always doing it together,” one fan commented on the band’s Instagram announcement about the residency. “I can’t say how disappointing it is to see the band abandon that for the glam of Las Vegas’ new toy.”
Another added, “No Larry? U2 is not a 3 legged table with a spare leg. I’ll skip this one.” Another wrote, “No Larry, no go.” And one commented, “They should of waited until Larry was 100%. It will not be the same without him no matter how flashy this tour will be.”
So far no dates for the residency have been announced, but fans who want to go — despite the drummer controversy — can sign up at u2xsphere.com to be the first to get details.
(EAST LANSING, Mich.) — Three people are dead and five others are injured after a shooting at multiple locations on Michigan State University’s East Lansing campus Monday night, police said, and a suspect has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The injured victims have been transported to a hospital, MSU Police and Public Safety said during a press briefing. All five remain in critical condition, Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief, said during a press briefing.
Sparrow Hospital Communications Director John Foren confirmed to ABC News that the hospital received five patients from the shooting. Foren did not have an update on their conditions but said they’re not expecting any more patients.
There is no longer a threat on campus and the shelter-in-place order has been lifted, Rozman said. He identified the suspect as a 43-year-old man who was not affiliated with the university.
“He is not a student, faculty, staff,” Rozman said. “And we have no idea why he came to campus to do this tonight.”
Police initially received 911 calls of shots fired at 8:18 p.m. in Berkey Hall and located “several” victims there when responding, Rozman said. Police then received a report of another shooting and responded to the MSU Union building, where they found other victims, according to Rozman.
Two of the fatalities were at Berkey Hall and one was at the MSU Union building, Rozman said.
Police are still working to determine the suspect’s identity and possible motive, the interim deputy chief said.
“This is still a fluid situation,” Rozman said. “There are several different crime scenes that we’re processing with our state and federal partners, and still a lot of work that needs to be done.”
Police initially said there were “multiple reported injuries” at IM East, a fitness center on campus.
Police had said that “Brody Hall, Snyder/Phillips Hall, Mason Hall, Abbot Hall, Landon Hall, the MSU Union and Berkey Hall” have been cleared.
Rozman said police had received “multiple” calls from other buildings around the campus as the shooting unfolded. Officers responded, but didn’t find signs of incidents at those locations.
He said his department had begun collecting and analyzing security video from buildings around campus.
“There are surveillance cameras that are going to be useful and helpful in this investigation, that will aid our investigators in putting the pieces together and trying to understand a little more about what happened,” he said.
Authorities told students not to come to campus Tuesday, and that campus activities, including classes and athletics, are canceled for 48 hours.
The City of East Lansing had also tweeted that community members should shelter in place.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she has been briefed on the shooting, tweeting: “The Michigan State Police along with @msupolice, local law enforcement and first responders are on the ground. Let’s wrap our arms around the Spartan community tonight. We will keep everyone updated as we learn more.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Detroit division and FBI are on the scene.
This is the 67th mass shooting of 2023, the Gun Violence Archive said.
“Tonight has been horrific,” Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said early Tuesday.
He said he had heard from concerned community members throughout the region.
“We know that now we have to come together to heal,” Schor said.
(BURLINGTON, Vt.) — Authorities in Vermont are warning ice fishers to stay off the ice of a lake after three people died in the last week.
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department told people on Tuesday not to go on the ice at Lake Champlain while the area experiences warm weather.
According to Vermont State Police, 62-year-old Wayne Alexander died after falling through the ice on the lake on Thursday.
Officials found Alexander in the lake around 9:30 p.m. that night, where he was wearing a flotation device.
He was pronounced dead at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, police said.
According to law enforcement officials, two brothers, John Fleury, 71, and Wayne Fleury, 88, were killed after their utility task vehicle broke through the ice on Saturday.
Organizers of the 43rd annual Islands Ice Fishing Derby canceled the event in a post on Facebook on Saturday at the urging of the local sheriff’s department because of the conditions of the ice.
The area near Lake Champlain, which is located between New York and Vermont, has experienced warmer temperatures in recent weeks, according to the U.S. National Weather Service Burlington.
Montpelier and St. Johnsbury recently recorded their warmest January on record, according to NWS Burlington.
(KYIV, Ukraine) — The video is only about a second long but it captures the killing of American medic volunteer Pete Reed and a Ukrainian woman he was treating in Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine which has been the target of a bloody Russian assault for months.
When watched frame-by-frame, the footage is revealing.
A low-flying missile can be seen hurtling toward Reed’s white van ambulance which was parked at the scene.
The images show that Reed was not killed by Russian shelling, as eyewitnesses had previously thought.
Military experts say the missile visible in the footage bears all the hallmarks of an anti-tank laser-guided missile. Reed’s colleagues say the video, together with firsthand witness accounts, show that the group of international medics was deliberately targeted.
“They were hunting us down,” said Erko Laidinen, a 35-year-old Estonian medic whose camera recorded the missile and the explosion.
When Laidinen’s team of medics arrived at the scene on Feb. 2 to treat a Ukrainian woman who had been injured by shelling, another team led by Reed was already there.
Less than 10 seconds later, the missile struck Reed’s white van.
At that moment Laidinen was still inside his team’s van ambulance, which he said was clearly marked with large medical-style crosses and was parked a short distance away.
The Estonian medic had turned his camera on a second before the explosion. Reed is clearly visible.
He is standing by his ambulance, alongside his fellow medics. Next to him was the woman he was about to treat.
Then a low-flying missile shoots in from right to left. ABC News has watched and verified the video.
“It was the worst two seconds of my life,” Laidinen said as he described the moment after the explosion.
He then heard one of his team members scream.
“I got relief,” he recalled. “It was not nice, but you could verify (his colleague) was alive.”
Laidinen said he and his colleagues, who were badly injured, quickly took cover inside a building. He believes the team of international medics were then repeatedly targeted by Russian forces, even after the initial missile attack.
His camera had crashed to the ground in the initial explosion, as Laidinen had exited his vehicle to take cover.
The camera’s image for the next 20 minutes is just black; however, it still recorded multiple nearby explosions which Laidinen believes were incoming Russian mortars.
Laidinen said he has additional dash cam footage that captures both the missile hitting Reed’s ambulance as well as a second missile being fired at a vehicle, which was being used to evacuate casualties from the scene.
That second missile, he said, missed its target and hit a nearby residential building.
The dash cam video has not yet been published but Laidinen said it has been handed over to Ukrainian police and war crimes prosecutors, as well as the Estonian and U.S. authorities.
“The low, flat trajectory” of the missile “and the fact that it was slow enough to be captured on video” suggest it was an anti-tank guided missile, according to Steve Ganyard, an ABC News contributor and a retired colonel. Ganyard has viewed the images.
Laidinen said it was obvious the team of international volunteers were medics working on the scene.
The cross on the back of Reed’s ambulance was covered with dirt but crosses were visible on the side and front of that van, as well as on all sides of Laidinen’s vehicle, he said.
As the video shows, Reed’s team was dressed in civilian clothing. Laidinen said one team member did have on a camouflage-type jacket.
It took Laidinen two days to retrieve his phone and watch the video back.
It then hit home “how dangerous it is” for a volunteer working near the front lines in Ukraine, he said.
“You can easily identify the missile in the picture,” he said.
There is no question for him that they were deliberately “targeted,” Laidinen insisted.
“It is laser guided. There is nothing to debate,” he said.
Laidinen said the Russian military would have known that a team of medics would have been responding to a civilian casualty on the scene.
“They waited for us. They knew we were coming, that we were responding,” he said. “It was a trap.”
The Black Keys are headlining the inaugural Evolution Festival, taking place August 26-27 in St. Louis.
The bill also includes The Black Crowes, Brittany Howard, Brandi Carlile, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Ice Cube, Morgan Wade and Modern English.
The Black Keys, meanwhile, just performed during TikTok’s pre-Super Bowl concert on Sunday. The duo’s 2023 live plans also include a trip to Europe in continued support of their latest album, 2022’s Dropout Boogie.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Monday fired the U.S. Capitol’s top manager after lawmakers in both parties called for the scandal-plagued architect’s ouster.
Brett Blanton, the architect of the Capitol, was terminated at Biden’s direction, a White House official confirmed.
The official said the administration did its due diligence in the case after a watchdog report revealed what it called multiple allegations of misuse of resources and misconduct in his role. The architect’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Blanton was appointed to the role by former President Donald Trump and took office in 2020. He is now leaving seven years before the end of his term.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle grew infuriated in recent days over the report alleging widespread wrongdoing in his role, including misusing official vehicles for personal purposes and improperly identifying himself as a law enforcement officer when he chased down the perpetrator of a hit-and-run near his home.
Blanton also admitted in a congressional hearing last week that he avoided coming to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the day a pro-Trump mob ransacked the Capitol, saying he thought it wouldn’t be “prudent” to be on the premises that day.
The Office of Inspector General found Blanton’s wife gave an unauthorized tour of the Capitol to what she called “patriots” in the days leading up to the 2020 election while the building was closed to the public.
“The Architect of the Capitol, Brett Blanton, no longer has my confidence to continue in his job. He should resign or President Biden should remove him immediately,” Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tweeted Monday before Blanton’s firing was reported.
It is not immediately clear who will replace Blanton on a temporary basis given that the role for his deputy is currently vacant. Mark Reed, the current chief of operations who is currently serving in an acting capacity, is next in line.
To replace Blanton permanently, a bicameral and bipartisan congressional commission of 14 lawmakers is convened to offer a list of suggestions. Biden will ultimately choose from that list.
(NEW YORK) — Two storm systems moving across the U.S. have placed 26 states, from California to Kentucky, under snow and wind alerts.
Winter storm watches and advisories are in effect for parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Additionally, winter storm watches are also in effect for the central Rockies and into the Plains with heavy snow this week.
According to meteorologists, this week’s snow will reach more than a foot in parts of the Southwest and Northwest, including parts of Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
The first storm is expected to bring heavy rain from Dallas to Wichita on Tuesday morning, while there is also snow expected across the Pacific Northwest and Northern and Central Rockies.
By Tuesday evening, the storm will likely move into the upper Midwest to areas including St. Louis, Chicago and Minneapolis–Saint Paul, bringing with it rain and snow.
The second storm will likely move east on Wednesday and Thursday, delivering a threat for a severe weather outbreak across parts of the South to the Ohio Valley.
Millions of people from the Florida Panhandle to the Ohio Valley could see scattered severe weather on Thursday.
Americans living in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., will get a preview of spring as temperatures are expected to reach the mid-60s.
