Candace Cameron Bure has responded to backlash she received over her recent comments about “traditional marriage.”
As reported, in a recent interview with WSJ Magazine, Bure was asked if her cable network Great American Family would feature same-sex couples at the center of its holiday movies, as its rival Hallmark Channel has done in recent years.
The Full House alum, who also serves as the network’s chief content officer, replied, “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.”
The term “traditional marriage” is often used to define the institution of marriage as being between a man and a woman, a concept which excludes same-sex unions and marginalizes LGBTQ+ individuals.
Bure’s initial comments sparked waves of criticism from public figures like Jojo Siwa and Hilarie Burton Morgan, and advocacy groups, including the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
In reply, the star Instagrammed a thread of messages that read in part, “All of you who know me, know beyond question that I have great love and respect for all people. It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone.”
She continued, “It saddens me that the media is often seeking to divide us, even around a subject as comforting and merry as Christmas movies. But, given the toxic climate in our culture right now, I shouldn’t be surprised. We need Christmas more than ever.”
Bure also added that as “devoted Christian…I am called to love all people, and I do.”
The actress noted, “To those who hate what I value and who are attacking me online: I love you. To those who have tried to assassinate my character: I love you…”
Bure also insisted, “people of all ethnicities and identites have and will continue to contribute to the network in great ways…”
(NEW YORK) — Hundreds of Starbucks employees went on strike Thursday, amid the coffee chain’s busy holiday season, to protest working conditions and push company leaders to recognize workers’ unionizing efforts at stores nationwide and meet them at the bargaining table.
The protest took place on Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, as the company rolled out its annual holiday themed red cups and gave out limited-edition reusable versions of the cups to customers ordering holiday or fall beverages.
More than 1,000 members of the Starbucks Workers Union picketed outside of over 100 stores across the country for what they called the “Red Cup Rebellion.”
Union leaders sent a mass email to media and union members with details of the strike, which it described as the “biggest coordinated national action taken by union Starbucks stores in the campaign’s history.”
The email stated that the strike was a “response to Starbucks’ union-busting tactics and refusal to bargain,” and noted that striking workers would be “handing out red Starbucks Workers United union cups to customers instead.”
As customers headed in to order coffee and get their hands on the collectible holiday reusable cups, many baristas said they would walk out in protest.
“Despite being the face of the company, Starbucks partners are underpaid, forced to run perpetually understaffed stores, and don’t have consistent schedules they can rely on,” the union email stated. “Conditions like these are what lead Starbucks partners nationwide to begin their unionization efforts seeing the private jets and million-dollar bonuses the company can afford to provide their executives with. Now, Starbucks partners are demanding the right to organize a union free of intimidation and fear.”
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders voiced his support for the group’s efforts on Twitter Thursday morning.
“I’m proud to stand with Starbucks workers on strike today across the country. CEO Howard Schultz is illegally union busting and firing workers for organizing. Mr. Schultz, it is time to recognize the stores that unionized and negotiate with workers in good faith,” he wrote.
Michelle Eisen, a worker from the first unionized Starbucks store in the U.S. at Elmwood Ave. in Buffalo, New York, wrote in the email that workers are “organizing for a voice on the job and a true seat at the table.”
“Starbucks has left behind the very values that drew many of us to the company in the first place. You cannot be pro-LGTBQ, pro-BLM, pro-sustainability, and anti-union,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Seattle-based coffee chain told ABC News the company was aware of the scheduled union demonstrations at a small number of their U.S. stores.
“In those locations where partners choose to participate, we respect their right to engage in lawful protest activity – though our focus has been, and continues to be, on uplifting the Starbucks experience for our partners and customers,” they said. “We remain committed to all partners and will continue to work together, side-by-side, to make Starbucks a company that works for everyone.”
Additionally, the spokesperson clarified that “counter to what the union has shared, Starbucks has continued to engage Workers United representatives in a good faith effort to move the bargaining process forward.”
“As a result of our efforts, we’ve shown up to more than 50 bargaining sessions across the country and have another 60 scheduled in the coming weeks,” they said.
Starbucks Workers United, which represents over 260 locations and nearly 7,000 workers, has formed more new unions in a 12-month period than any U.S. company in the last 20 years.
In September, Starbucks said it had sent out letters to 234 stores to schedule bargaining sessions the following month. “We look forward to these negotiations and hopefully setting dates and securing locations for contract bargaining.”
However talks broke down after union members asked to allow some workers to join bargaining sessions over Zoom, with company officials walking out of those sessions only minutes after they had begun, citing federal regulations.
“The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) prohibits any party from making recordings or transcripts of contract negotiations because such actions ‘inhibit the free and open discussion necessary for conducting successful bargaining,’ ” the company wrote in a statement on Oct. 28.
Union members also issued a statement at that time. “Workers across the country were planning on presenting a set of core non-economic proposals that workers debuted on social media over the past few weeks,” they wrote. “The Union will be filing a new NLRB charge over the Company’s latest refusal to bargain in good faith.”
The National Labor Relations Board has issued 39 official complaints against Starbucks, encompassing over 900 alleged violations of federal labor law, according to the union.
A Marvin Gaye live performance is getting an audio release for the very first time. The 2007 DVD, Marvin Gaye: Greatest Hits Live, is set to drop as a standalone audio recording on January 27. This will mark the first time these songs will be released on both vinyl and CD.
The album consists of more than 20 songs, spanning Gaye’s career up until that point. The performances were recorded live at Edenhalle Concert Hall in Amsterdam during Gaye’s 1976 European tour.
The tracklist features such Gaye classics as “Let’s Get It On,” “What’s Going On” and “Save the Children,” along with “Ain’t That Peculiar,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” “You’re All I Need To Get By” and more.
Thanksgiving is just next week, but ABC is already looking forward to New Year’s Eve. The network has announced that 18-time host and executive producer Ryan Seacrest will be back in Times Square to ring in the new year, joined by two returning NYRE vets: actress/producer Liza Koshy and country star Jessie James Decker.
This year, the show will expand to include a pre-taped segment at Disneyland Resort in Los Angeles, hosted by another returning personality, Ciara.
For the fourth year, Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner Billy Porter will be covering the Central Time Zone countdown in New Orleans, and after serving as the LA Party DJ last year, rapper, producer and philanthropist D-Nice will return as the host of the Los Angeles festivities.
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2022 was the 50th-anniversary of ABC’s annual special, attracting a four-year high of 19.6 million total viewers — an audience that grew to 24.2 million in the minutes leading up to that famous ball drop in the Big Apple.
Musical acts and other guests for this year’s parties will be forthcoming.
The 60th anniversary of Booker T. & The MG’s debut album, Green Onions,is being celebrated with a new release.
Green Onions: 60 Anniversary Deluxe Edition, dropping February 24, will be a completely remastered version of the record, on 180-gram translucent green “onion” vinyl. It will also be released digitally and on CD with all packaging containing all-new liner notes by author David Ritz, based on his interview with founding members Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper. A newly remastered version of “Mo’ Onions” is out now.
Released in the summer of 1962, the title track of Green Onions, the result of an impromptu studio jam, went on to sell a million copies, topping the R&B chart and peaking at number three on the pop chart.
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Raphael Warnock’s campaign is expanding its field organizing program, offering a look into the areas his team is focusing on ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff against Republican Herschel Walker.
As Georgia’s Senate candidates look to drive turnout ahead of the state’s shortened runoff cycle, Warnock has added roughly 300 paid staffers and new offices across the state to his voter contact program, his campaign said — increasing the direct voter contact programs to 18 counties and 19 offices across the state, and more than 900 paid staffers, according to details shared first with ABC News.
Campaign officials claimed the added investments and staff capacity would allow the campaign to knock on more doors during the four-week runoff than in the 16 weeks leading up to the general election, in which Warnock narrowly beat out Walker but failed to crack the 50% threshold required to win.
The voter contact program will be placed in priority counties for the Warnock campaign: Bibb, Chatham, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Columbia, DeKalb, Dougherty, Douglas, Floyd, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Lowndes, Muscogee, Newton, Richmond and Rockdale.
These are either in core urban and suburban areas around Atlanta, include some of the state’s other big cities (like Augusta and Savannah) or are in the “Black belt” in Southern Georgia.
Three of the counties on the list voted for Walker in November’s election: Columbia, Floyd and Lowndes. But the Warnock campaign pinpointed these areas as ones where they believe he has an opportunity to eat into the margin.
In the November race, Walker received roughly 200,000 fewer votes than his Republican ticket-mate Gov. Brian Kemp. In those specific three counties the Warnock campaign is focused on, Walker underperformed Kemp by 5% in Columbia, in Floyd by 6% and by 3% in Lowndes.
Warnock finished less than 1% ahead of Walker in the general election, falling just shy of the cutoff needed to avoid a runoff. About 2% of voters went for Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, who will not be on the December ballot.
In a battleground state like Georgia, where razor-thin margins have recently determined the outcome of federal elections, the campaigns see an incentive in face-to-face contact. Especially in a political climate up against potentially apathetic voters being asked to show up to the polls once again.
“Reverend Warnock knows what it takes to win a runoff in Georgia,” Warnock campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika. “The Warnock campaign has built a robust field operation to turn out voters across the state and re-elect Reverend Warnock.”
The expanded field program also comes as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced it was spending $7 million on field organizing.
Democrats and Republicans alike are concentrating their efforts on getting supporters to the polls. The Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) announced last week it’s funding a ground game for the first time, investing $2 million to take over Kemp’s data and analytics operation.
“We’re in overtime,” Walker, a former football player, said at a recent stop.
Bob Dylan is ready to wrap up his Bootleg Series. The singer is set to drop Bob Dylan Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol. 17 on January 27, and it will be the last chapter of his Bootleg Series.
The set will be released in a variety of formats, including a deluxe five-disc or 10-LP, 12-inch vinyl edition. There will also be a two-disc/four-LP highlights edition. The first track from the release, a version of “Love Sick” recorded January 14, 1997 at Criteria Studios, is out on digital services now.
This latest edition in the bootleg series will include a Time Out of Mind2022 remix disc and a disc of rare outtakes and alternatives versions of songs, as well as Dylan’s take on the traditional Scottish folksong “The Water is Wide.” There will also be a disc of live performances from 1998 to 2001, most of which have never been available before, and a bonus disc that includes four songs omitted from the original album’s track list, as well as live performances of “Cold Irons Bound”and “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven.”
Dylan released Time Out of Mind, his 30th album, in September 1997. The album went on to win the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1998, along with Grammys for Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for “Cold Irons Bounds.” The album features the track “Make You Feel My Love,” which has been covered by a variety of artists including Adele and Garth Brooks.
(WASHINGTON) — Tyson Fresh Meats has recalled about 93,697 pounds of raw ground beef products, saying it may be contaminated with “extraneous materials, specifically reflective mirror-like material,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Wednesday.
The affected ground beef was produced on Nov. 2 and shipped to retail locations in Texas, including H-E-B grocery stores, according to the agency.
The three recalled items include 5- and 10-pound packages of Hill Country Fare ground beef 73% lean/27% fat with a best before or freeze by date of Nov. 25, 2022, and 5-pound containers of H-E-B Ground Chuck Ground Beef 80% lean/20% fat.
The recalled products have establishment number “EST. 245E” on the seam of the container, the FSIS said.
“The problem was discovered when the firm notified FSIS that they received consumer complaints reporting findings of ‘mirror-like’ material in ground beef products purchased from grocery stores,” the FSIS said.
The agency and company told consumers not to eat the contaminated ground beef.
“These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” FSIS state in the recall.
There have been no confirmed reports of injury or illness from the recalled beef.
(NEW YORK) — The world’s population reached eight billion people on Tuesday, according to a report by the United Nations’ population division.
“This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant. This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a news release. “At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another.”
According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, India will surpass China as the world’s most populous country next year.
The global population has been growing at its slowest rate since the 1950s, falling under 1% in 2020.
The latest projections by the U.N. show the global population may reach 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050. It is projected to peak at around 10.4 billion during the 2080s and remain at that level until 2100.
According to the U.N., it took 12 years for the global population to go from seven billion to eight billion.
In recent decades, fertility has dipped in many countries. Around two-thirds of the world’s population lives in a country or area where lifetime fertility is under 2.1 births per woman, which is the level needed for no growth in the long term for a population with low mortality, according to the U.N.
Over half of the projected global population growth up to 2050 will happen in eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday will address her “future plans” in Democratic leadership, according to her spokesperson, a decision that will have a major impact on Democrats in their new position as House minority.
“Speaker Pelosi has been overwhelmed by calls from colleagues, friends and supporters. This evening, the Speaker monitored results in the three remaining critical states. The Speaker plans to address her future plans tomorrow to her colleagues. Stay tuned,” spokesperson Drew Hammill said in a statement to ABC News.
It’s not clear whether the 82-year-old speaker will make a floor speech or when, but a source told ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott Pelosi took home two different versions of floor speeches Wednesday night.
Pelosi — the first woman to hold House speakership — is the Democratic party’s longest-serving House leader.
On Sunday — when a House majority had not yet been called — Pelosi would not say on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos if she would run for the role again, should Democrats remain in control.
“I’m not — right now, I’ve said I’m not making any comments until this election is finished, and we have a little more time to go,” she said, noting that she had no plans to leave Congress.
Pelosi has said the attack on her husband Paul would impact her decision to stay in House leadership post-midterms. Prior to the attack, several members have a called for a younger generation of Democratic leadership. The top three Democrats in the House are all in their eighties.
The news comes just hours following ABC News projections that Republicans had officially won majority control in the U.S. House, ending a four-year Democratic majority despite a strong midterm showing for the party.
“This year, House Democrats defied expectations with an excellent performance: running their races with courage, optimism and determination. In the next Congress, House Democrats will continue to play a leading role in supporting President Biden’s agenda — with strong leverage over a scant Republican majority,” Pelosi said on Wednesday in a memo.
