Pamela Anderson is finally telling her side of her life story in the documentary Pamela, a Love Story, according to the trailer that was just released by Netflix.
The 55-year-old former Baywatch bombshell is heard first talking about her sex tape controversy, likely in the wake of news Hulu was launching its hit series about how it came to be, Pam & Tommy.
“I blocked that stolen tape out of my life in order to survive,” she says in voiceover, adding, “And now that it’s all coming up again, I feel sick.”
Billing itself as “the definitive documentary about [the] pop culture icon,” the 55-minute film spans Pam’s career, from Playboy to Broadway, where she made her musical debut in Chicago, and beyond, as well as home movies featuring her now-grown sons with rock star Tommy Lee: Brandon and Dylan. Brandon, 26, is one of the film’s producers.
“I didn’t feel like I had a lot of respect,” Anderson says. “I had to make a career out of the pieces I had left. But I’m not the damsel in distress: I put myself in crazy situations,” she says before adding with a laugh, “and survived them!”
She later asks rhetorically, “Why can’t we be the heroes of our own life story?”
Directed by Ask Dr. Ruth filmmaker Ryan White, the streamer promises the film “will feature exclusive access to Pamela Anderson as well as never before seen archive footage and personal journals.”
Pamela, a Love Story debuts on Netflix on the same day her memoir, Love, Pamela, hits stores.
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(WASHINGTON) — Democratic Rep. Katie Porter announced on Tuesday morning her candidacy for California’s Senate seat — currently held by fellow Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving female senator in history.
In her announcement video posted to Twitter, Porter said it’s time for new leadership in the U.S. Senate.
“I don’t do Congress the way others often do. I use whatever power I have, speak hard truths to the powers that be,” Porter said. “To not just challenge the status quo, but call it out.”
Porter’s video shows images of the Capitol attack, noting the threat of a “constant assault on our democracy,” before she calls out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell by name and “so-called leaders” for, she says, having made the Senate a place where “rights get revoked, special interests get rewarded, and our democracy gets rigged.”
“Especially in times like these, California needs a warrior in Washington, and that’s exactly why I’m announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate in 2024,” Porter said.
Although Feinstein, who’s 89, has not announced whether she’ll seek reelection, other California Democrats may be eyeing the seat, including Reps. Barbara Lee and Adam Schiff.
California has a jungle primary, which means two Democrats could be pitted against each other during the general election.
Porter, 49, a progressive star in the Democratic party, won reelection this past November in a tight race for California’s 47th Congressional District.
The former middle school math teacher and law professor has served in the House of Representatives since 2019. She holds a closely divided district and has lagged behind California Democrats cycle after cycle.
A mother of three, Porter has gained social media notoriety for her interrogations using whiteboards on the Oversight and Natural Resources Committees, even bringing the props to late-night television appearances. Just last week, she appeared to subtly troll Republicans during marathon speakership votes as she read a carefully-titled book on House the floor.
While it’s speculated that Feinstein will not run again in 2024, the senator has not commented on her political future despite questions regarding her health and age.
Feinstein has been a crusader for female representation in Congress. This past November, she became the longest-serving woman senator, surpassing Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.
“It has been a great pleasure to watch more and more women walk the halls of the Senate. We went from two women senators when I ran for office in 1992 to 24 today — and I know that number will keep climbing,” Feinstein said.
The term for California’s other senator, Alex Padilla, expires in 2029.
Nothing More has announced a U.S. tour supporting the band’s new album, Spirits.
The headlining trek will begin March 31 in Richmond, Virginia, and will run into late May. Tickets go on sale this Friday, January 13, at 10 a.m. local time.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit NothingMore.net.
Spirits, the follow-up to 2017’s The Stories We Tell Ourselves, was released in October. It includes the singles “Tired of Winning” and “You Don’t Know What Love Means.”
Along with the headlining shows, Nothing More will be playing this year’s Sonic Temple festival, taking place May 25-28 in Columbus, Ohio.
A who’s-who of stars from the world of music and comedy will pay tribute to Leslie Jordan next month during a special benefit at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne, Ashley McBryde, Jelly Roll, rocker Eddie Vedder and more are set to perform. Leslie’s Call Me Kat co-stars Mayim Bialik and Cheyenne Jackson will make special appearances, as well as actors Jim Parsons and Max Greenfield, plus comedian Margaret Cho.
Presales for the February 19 show start this Friday, with proceeds going to EB Research Partnership, one of the actor’s favorite causes.
Leslie died unexpectedly last October while still promoting his 2021 collaborative country/gospel album, Company’s Comin’. Just last week, Dolly Parton was part of FOX’s tribute episode to the Tennessee native on his sitcom Call Me Kat.
(NEW YORK) — If there is any indication that temperatures around the world are rising, look to the last several years and the intense warmth experienced in almost every region, experts said.
Last year was the fifth-warmest year on record, according to a report released by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service on Tuesday.
On July 19, in the midst of a deadly heat wave in Europe, the temperature in Coningsby, U.K., soared to 104.5 degrees Fahrenheit, marking the hottest temperature ever recorded in the country. It bested its previous record by 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit — a glaring indicator of climate change amid a summer that went down as Europe’s warmest ever recorded, the report said.
In the new report issued by Copernicus, the data from 2022 indicates that Earth’s warming continued at a similar rate to recent years. In addition to last year’s temperatures marking the fifth-warmest on record, the last eight years are now also the eighth-warmest on record, according to Copernicus.
The same day the Copernicus global report was released, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued its annual summary of 2022 climate statistics and natural disasters for the United States. The results tell a similar story: the warming and extreme consequences due to human-induced climate change are continuing at a concerning rate.
A year of global highs and lows
Vostok Station in Antarctica recorded a temperature of .14 degrees Fahrenheit in March 2022, marking the first time in 65 years of records that the thermometer did not have a negative reading. Antarctic sea ice reported six months of the year with a record or near-record low sea ice extent.
In addition to Europe’s record-setting summer scorcher, there were also major heat waves in Pakistan, India and China. While rain brought relief from the heat in Pakistan, extreme rainfall led to devastating flooding throughout the country that continues to be cleaned up months later.
“2022 was yet another year of climate extremes across Europe and globally,” Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a statement. “These events highlight that we are already experiencing the devastating consequences of our warming world. The latest 2022 Climate Highlights from C3S provides clear evidence that avoiding the worst consequences will require society to both urgently reduce carbon emissions and swiftly adapt to the changing climate.”
Last year was also a tough 12 months for glaciers. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2022 “took an exceptionally heavy toll on glaciers in the European Alps, with initial indications of record-shattering melt.”
Greenland’s ice sheet also saw significant melting, with September setting records for high temperatures, melt extent and ice loss.
“The total amount of meltwater produced during the month was 57 billion tons, a record for September, compared to the 1981 to 2010 average September total of 9 billion tons,” according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
A weather station at Greenland’s summit — more than 10,000 feet in elevation — reported rain for the first time in its 72-year history. The temperature stayed above freezing for nine hours as observers noted heavy rain falling on the normally frozen landscape.
Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise
Carbon dioxide levels continued their yearly rise by 2.1 parts per million in 2022, according to the Copernicus report. That brings the annual average CO2 level to 417ppm, the highest in over 2 million years.
Methane, another key gas that contributes to global warming, rose by 12 parts per billion to a total of 1,894 ppb.
Both carbon dioxide and methane levels in 2022 set new records for emissions, which makes it challenging for countries to meet goals established by the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, are the main drivers of climate change and we can see from our monitoring activities that atmospheric concentrations are continuing to rise with no signs of slowing,” Vincent-Henri Peuch, director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, said in a statement.
Billion-dollar disasters
NOAA’s report highlights 18 disasters in 2022 that cost more than $1 billion, the third most since 1980. Only 2021 and 2020 had more billion-dollar disasters in a single year.
“I think it’s important for everybody to realize we’re already paying the price for climate change,” Dr. Rick Spinrad, NOAA administrator and under secretary of commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, told ABC News. “It’s manifesting $165 billion worth of damage, which roughly translates to about a thousand dollars per American household.”
When adjusted for inflation, 2022 was also the third costliest year on record for natural disasters. The only other years that cost the country more were 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area, and 2017, which saw Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston metro area.
Looking ahead to 2023, NOAA expects to see similar trends for natural disasters, especially when it comes to severity, magnitude and frequency of events, but people and communities can be better prepared to mitigate the threats.
“Know your risks,” Spinrad said, “Know what you might be facing…and know where to get information.” Having reliable forecasts, warnings, and safety information is key to preparing for an effective plan in the event of extreme weather.
Spinrad continued, “That plan may be under the seat. Or the plan could be to shelter in place, in which case you want to make sure you’ve got emergency supplies to take care of yourself.”
ABC News’ Julia Jacobo contributed to this report.
U2 is set to release a new album of old material. The Irish rockers just announced they’re dropping Songs Of Surrender, featuring “40 Songs. Reimagined and rerecorded,” on March 17, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
The album appears to be inspired by Bono’s recently released biography, Surrender: 40 Songs; One Story. Based on the clip of “Beautiful Day” they shared with the announcement, it will feature reworked versions of U2 classics.
U2 fans began getting hints of the new project earlier this week, with folks on Twitter sharing pictures of a handwritten note from Edge they received in the mail.
“So what happens when a voice develops and experience and maturity give it additional resonance?” he writes. “U2 have been around long enough to know what that is like. It’s true for us all, but it’s particularly true for Bono,” adding that since the band wrote many of the songs as “very young men,” they “mean something quite different to us now.”
He shares, “Music allows you to time travel and so we started to imagine what it would be like to bring these songs back with us to the present day and give them the benefit or otherwise, of a 21st century re-imagining. What started as an experiment quickly became a personal obsession as so many early U2 songs yielded to a new interpretation.”
Finally, he writes, “Once we surrendered our reverence for the original version each song started to open up to a new authentic voice of this time, of the people we are, and particularly the singer Bono has become.”
All of Neutral Milk Hotel‘s music will soon be available as a vinyl box set.
The Collected Works of Neutral Milk Hotel is due out February 24. It includes the indie outfit’s two full-length albums — 1996’s On Avery Island and 1998’s seminal In the Aeroplane Over the Sea — as well as the Everything Is and Ferris Wheel on Fire EPs, plus various singles and live recordings.
Also featured is the first-ever official release of the live rarity “Little Birds,” which you can listen to now via digital outlets.
Neutral Milk Hotel first went on hiatus shortly after the release of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea before eventually reuniting in 2013. They continued to play shows throughout 2014 and 2015 before going on hiatus once more.
Britney Spears is setting the record straight about a report claiming she attended talent agent Cade Hudson‘s birthday. She claims she was never there.
It should be noted Hudson is Britney’s agent and is credited with helping her end her conservatorship.
Reports surfaced of Britney’s rumored attendance after Paris Hilton, a longtime friend of hers, shared a series of Instagram photos celebrating Hudson. One snap featured Britney posing with Paris and Hudson, but fans felt something was off about the photo and began spreading a photoshop conspiracy theory. In turn, Paris shut down the claims and called them “absolutely ridiculous.”
TMZ also reported Britney was at the star-studded birthday bash and was seen palling around with Paris all night.
But that appeared to be news to Britney, who posted on Instagram that she didn’t go to the party. Sharing a video of her dancing in a red, Coca Cola-themed outfit, the singer wrote in part, “Also have no idea about these pics of me from a birthday party … I haven’t been to a bday party in forever !!!”
She also may have referenced Paris’ photo kerfuffle, writing, “And as for the pics, those have to be from years ago !!!”
The caption originally said she found it “kind of creepy and weird that no one is talking about that … makes no sense whatsoever,” but she has since edited that out.
Paris has disabled comments on the controversial Instagram post.
(NEW YORK) — The nurses strike in New York City has extended into its second day with more than 7,000 walking out of two major hospitals.
Nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Mount Sinai Hospital in Harlem say that low pay, lack of staffing and unsafe working conditions are burning out hospital employees and putting patients at risk.
“Can’t stop, won’t stop until we get a fair contract!” the New York State Nurses Association tweeted Monday night, announcing that the picket line would continue into Tuesday.
The hospitals have been forced to divert ambulances to other medical centers, postpone non-elective surgeries and call in temporary staffers, but the nurses say they’ve been pushed to the brink.
“There’s multiple reasons for why we all need to be paying attention,” Gretchen Purser, an associate professor of sociology and a labor expert at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, told ABC News. “Nurses are really bargaining for the collective good. They are putting, first and foremost, patients’ safety above all else and that was the breaking point — they’ve been working under less-than-ideal conditions that jeopardized the safety of patients.”
One of the nurses’ biggest grievances is the nurse-to-patient ratio, which measures how many patients a nurse is responsible for, at a hospital.
Research has shown that when staffing levels are high and nurses are only taking care of a few patients, there is a lower risk of patients dying as well as a lower risk of infections, medication errors, ulcers and hospital-acquired pneumonia.
What’s more, patients are more likely to have shorter stays when there are more nurses, officials said.
One New York State analysis, conducted in 2021, estimated adequate nursing staff levels could save 4,370 lives and $720 million over a two-year period due to shorter hospital stays and fewer readmissions.
The nurses say the hospitals are supposed to have low nurse-to-patient ratios, but they often end up being much higher.
Marcelo Cantu, a nurse at Montefiore for 19 years, who works in the cardiothoracic unit, told ABC News every nurse is supposed to have three patients, but can often end up with four or five due to staffing shortages. He said even one extra patient can affect the level of care.
“Our patients require a lot of time — we’re not only monitoring their recovery but teaching them how to physically recover from what they’ve been through, teaching them about their new medications, teaching them about lifestyle changes,” he said. “We’ve had to learn how to prioritize and because we’re working short, sometimes the quality suffers and that’s very difficult to deal with.”
Montefiore said it is offering a 19.1% compounded wage increase over the next three years with pay increases for each level of experience.
What’s more, the hospital has also offered to add 115 registered nursing positions to the emergency department, 11 registered nursing to the labor and delivery department and 23 nurse practitioner positions.
Mount Sinai told ABC News in a statement it also offered a 19.1% increased wage proposal, but those nurses rejected the offer.
The nurses argue that the pay increase is not the main reason for the strike but rather the current contract does not address nurse-to-patient ratios.
“I’ll be the first to say a nurse deserves a fair compensation,” Cantu said. “But it’s not about money, it’s about the allocation of that money in order to provide better care.”
He continued, “It’s frustrating and heartbreaking when we fall short in areas not critical to their life but critical to the patients’ experience. These are human beings, not just a list of symptoms in front of us.”
Labor and economic experts say that when nurses go on strike, the stakes are not just high for them but also for the community at large as well.
“All of us are either going to need care in a hospital or have loved ones who need care in a hospital and its nurses who are the frontlines of that,” Purser said.
“We need nurses to be able to do their jobs properly because if we get sick or we’re older, and we’re at our most vulnerable or disabled, that’s when we need a nurse,” Joelle Leclaire, an associate professor of economics and finance at SUNY Buffalo State, told ABC News. “If we can’t have proper nursing ratios, fewer of us are actually going to be able to overcome conditions that affect our well-being in our health.”
She added that’s an economic impact as well because nurses are not getting paid their full wages when they’re on strike.
“If they’re not being paid now that they’re striking, and the longer that they strike, that money doesn’t go back into the economy,” Leclaire said. “So that’s another piece of it, too, which granted is smaller, but it’s still a piece.”
Montefiore said it has since introduced several new offers, including establishing average patient ratio, to end the strike.
“Montefiore remains at the bargaining table, committed to an equitable agreement that reflects the priorities of our dedicated nurses. Contingency plans remain in place to ensure our hospitals remain open, because Montefiore is, and always will be, here for The Bronx,” a statement released Tuesday read.
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik, Nicole Wetsman and Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.
Pippo Zeffirelli, son of the late legendary Italian filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli, has fired back against Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, the stars of his heralded 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
As reported, the pair, now in their 70s, were 15 and 16 when they appeared in the movie. They recently sued Paramount Pictures, claiming they were tricked into appearing nude during a love scene in the film while underage.
According to The Guardian, Pippo Zeffirelli said the scene was “far from pornographic” and his father “was accused of being reactionary precisely because, over and over again, he spoke out against pornography.” “The nude images in the film express the beauty, the transfer, I would even say the candour of mutual giving.”
In their lawsuit, the pair claimed they suffered “mental anguish and emotional distress” since appearing in the film, for which they won Golden Globes. A representative noted the suit is asking for damages “in excess of $500 million.”
The younger Zeffirelli continued, “It is embarrassing to hear that today, 55 years after filming, two elderly actors who owe their notoriety essentially to this film wake up to declare that they have suffered an abuse that has caused them years of anxiety and emotional discomfort.”
He also contended that the pair “always maintained a relationship of deep gratitude and friendship towards Zeffirelli,” with Hussey working on Franco’s Jesus of Nazareth miniseries. Whiting attended the director’s funeral in 2019.
