Lana Del Rey is apparently making her new album rollout personal.
A billboard advertising the “Video Games” artist’s upcoming album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, was reportedly put up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the hometown of Del Rey’s ex Sean Larkin of the reality police show Live PD.
According to screenshots posted by Pop Crave, Del Rey shared photos of the billboard on her personal, private Instagram alongside the captions “There’s only one and it’s in Tulsa” and “It’s. Personal.”
Del Rey and Larkin began dating in 2019 and attended the 2020 Grammys together before breaking up that year. Following the split, Del Rey was reportedly engaged to musician Clayton Johnson.
Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd will be released March 10. It follows Del Rey’s two 2021 albums, Chemtrails Over the Country Club and Blue Banisters.
(WASHINGTON) — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is making a dramatic visit to Washington Wednesday — his first trip outside Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February.
He’s set to visit President Joe Biden at the White House and address Congress as lawmakers vote on $45 billion more in emergency aid, and Biden is expected to announce the U.S. will send Ukraine a Patriot anti-missile battery to defend against devastating Russian attacks.
In a virtual address to U.S. lawmakers back in March, Zelenskyy emotionally pleaded for more aggressive measures to help fight the war. Invoking key American tragedies, including Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 attacks, Zelenskyy told members at the time, “Just remember it … Our country experiences the same every day right now.”
Please check back for updates. All times Eastern:
Dec 21, 1:34 PM EST
Zelenskyy arrives at Blair House
President Zelenskyy has arrived at Blair House, which now has a Ukrainian flag flying overhead. Blair House, located across the street from the White House, is the residence where foreign dignitaries often stay when visiting Washington.
Dec 21, 1:21 PM EST
McConnell says more Ukraine aid boosts ‘American interests’
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made the case for more military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday as some in his party oppose sending more money to the nation.
“The reason that a big bipartisan majority of the American people and a big bipartisan majority in Congress support continuing to assist Ukraine is not primarily about inspiring speeches or desire to engage in philanthropy,” McConnell said on the Senate floor.
“The most basic reasons for continuing to help Ukraine degrade and defeat the Russian invaders are cold, hard, practical, American interests,” he continued. “Helping equip our friends in eastern Europe defeat this world is also a direct investment in reducing Putin’s future capabilities to menace America, threaten our allies and contest our core interests.”
But some in the GOP are questioning the amount of aid being sent to Ukraine, arguing the government should be investing that money domestically. “American taxpayers are literally paying to prop up many countries all over the world in foreign aid, but America is virtually crumbling before our eyes,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene argued in a series of tweets on Wednesday.
Other Republicans argue the need for more oversight of the funds being approved for Ukraine, stating they don’t want to write a “blank check” to Ukraine.
Dec 21, 1:02 PM EST
Zelenskyy continues to take risks for country
From the frontlines of the war in Ukraine to the political frontlines of Washington on Capitol Hill and the White House, Zelenskyy continues to take risks to defend Ukraine and show masterful skill at using language and symbolism to marshal international support.
“Remember Pearl Harbor. The morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you. Remember. Remember September 11. A terrible day in 2001 when people tried to turn your cities into battlefields. When innocent people were attacked from the air. No one expected it. You couldn’t stop it,” he said in his virtual speech to Congress in March.
“Our country experiences the same every day,” he said.
Zelenskyy made an unannounced visit to the front-line city of Bakhmut on Monday, where Ukrainian and Russian forces have fought a months-long battle. The comedian-turned-politician who was elected to lead Ukraine in 2019, was named Time’s person of the year earlier this month “for proving that courage can be as contagious as fear.”
Dec 21, 12:45 PM EST
Zelenskyy has landed in the US
A U.S. official confirms to ABC News that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has landed in the U.S.
–ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Dec 21, 12:27 PM EST
‘Significant’ security measures in place at Capitol
Zelenskyy’s trip to Capitol Hill will be similar to State of the Union preparations because of the high-level nature of the address. Security officials at the most senior levels of government are “very” concerned about the prospect of something happening tonight, domestically or abroad, one source told ABC News.
According to an email sent to staff at the Capitol and obtained by ABC News, security measures will be “significant.” The email says only staff and members will be allowed in the House wing past a certain time.
Another official said, “We are very cognizant that Russia has assets in this country and might try to do something. We know what is at stake.”
The source said the U.S. is aware that early on in the conflict the Russians apparently plotted to kill Zelenskyy. The official expressed concern that news of Zelensky’s visit broke so early about him coming to the United States. It would have been much better, he said, if our adversaries had less time, not more time, to think about doing something and to move assets and operatives around.
-ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas and Luke Barr
Dec 21, 12:19 PM EST
Secret Service leading security for Zelenskyy’s trip
Zelenskyy’s trip to Washington is being treated as a mini-state visit — a visit with extraordinary security implications, according to multiple sources. Hundreds of law enforcement and intelligence officials have been activated for this visit with the U.S. Secret Service tasked as the lead agency.
“From the moment he lands and walks down those stairs of his plane, he will have a Secret Service security detail,” one official tells ABC News. “He will have that detail until he gets on the plane to leave.”
Secret Service is also consulting with the Capitol Police, CIA, FBI and other intelligence agencies about the security environment. One source told ABC News every Capitol Police officer is on standby.
-ABC News’ Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas and Luke Barr
Dec 21, 11:50 AM EST
Schumer compares Zelenskyy to Winston Churchill
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., compared Zelenskyy to Winston Churchill during floor remarks on Wednesday.
“Where Winston Churchill stood generations ago, so, too, President Zelenskyy stands not just as a president but also as an ambassador to freedom itself,” Schumer said.
Churchill, prime minister of the United Kingdom during World War II, addressed U.S. lawmakers in a speech the day after Christmas in 1941 — just weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack.
“Sure I am, that this day, now, we are the masters of our fate,” Churchill told Congress. “That the task which has been set us is not above our strength. That its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our cause, and an unconquerable willpower, salvation will not be denied us.”
Schumer said he will “happily join” Congress in welcoming Zelenskyy, and urged Republicans to attend the joint meeting.
“It is a high honor to welcome a foreign head of state to Congress, but it is nearly unheard of to hear from a leader who is fighting for his life fighting for his country’s survival and fighting to preserve the very idea of democracy,” Schumer said.
(NEW YORK) — It’s time to bundle up: this could be the coldest Christmas in decades for parts of the country.
Here’s the latest forecast:
The bitter cold is first hitting Denver, where temperatures will fall from 47 degrees on Wednesday to minus 16 degrees by Thursday morning.
The cold blast will reach the Rio Grande River on Thursday and Friday, bringing the coldest temperatures to the region since the late 1980s. On Friday morning the wind chill — what temperature it feels like — will drop to minus 7 degrees in Dallas and 1 degree in Houston.
Up north, the wind chill Friday morning will be a brutal minus 39 degrees in Minneapolis and minus 37 degrees in Chicago.
The cold air moves east into Christmas weekend.
On Christmas Eve, the wind chill will plunge to a bone-chilling minus 10 degrees in New York, minus 33 degrees in Minneapolis, minus 24 degrees in Chicago and minus 5 degrees in Kansas City.
Even the South will see a below-freezing Christmas. The wind chill is forecast to reach minus 1 degree in Nashville, 4 degrees in Atlanta, 20 degrees in New Orleans and 21 degrees in Dallas.
Bruno Mars is ringing in 2023 with his favorite rum in hand — his SelvaRey brand — at an intimate Las Vegas gathering.
Travel + Leisure reports Bruno and his rum brand will take over the Mayfair Supper Club at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino on New Year’s Eve. DJ Pee .Wee, otherwise known as his Silk Sonic collaborator Anderson .Paak — will also be at the exclusive event.
Only 150 guests will be allowed into the party, which will reportedly serve some out-of-this-world, luxury food offerings like Wagyu steak and caviar. There will also be a four-course meal, live music during an all-night dance party, special SelvaRey cocktails and a champagne toast with Jay-Z and Beyoncé‘s luxury brand Ace of Spades.
A Supper Club spokesperson told the outlet of the party, “The ability to enjoy a luxurious dinner in front of the Bellagio Fountains while Bruno Mars entertains guests steps away is quite the surreal experience.”
Doors open at 9 p.m. local venue time on December 31. You can only grab tickets by calling the venue at 702-693-7355 or by emailing them directly via luxuryexperience@bellagioresort.com.
Elton John‘s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour is paved with gold: It’s topped Billboard‘s list of the highest-grossing tours for the month of November. It’s the sixth time Elton has been number one on that chart, and it extends his record as the artist with the most months at number one overall.
Elton’s eight concerts in November took in a whopping $60.2 million, including $23.5 million alone for his three concerts at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium on November 17, 19 and 20. Those shows represented the final North American concerts of his farewell tour; the show on November 20, featuring Dua Lipa, Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile, was livestreamed on Disney+.
Since mid-July, Elton’s been playing North American stadiums, and those 33 shows together have brought in a hefty $222 million. Overall, the tour currently ranks as the second-highest-grossing one of all time, behind only Elton’s pal Ed Sheeran‘s Divide tour, which ran from 2017 to 2019.
It’s the time of year for Christmas movies, and to make bingeing easy, the ratings aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has listed 100 of the best holiday films, based partly on their critics and audience scores.
Chances are you’ve seen many, but there are others you may not have considered — or considered Christmas movies at all — as they span across all genres, from family to horror.
1944’s Meet Me In St. Louis topped the list; the musical film has a 100% score overall. The Judy Garland film takes place over several seasons, with Christmas playing a major role.
Other entries with a 100% score included 1967’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas (#39) and 1983’s Mickey’s Christmas Carol (#44).
Other selections include the old standby Miracle on 34th Street (#3), and the animated movies Klaus (#5) and Tim Burton‘s The Nightmare Before Christmas (#6).
And yes, Die Hard made the Christmas list, at #8.
With a 90% score, 1983’s classic A Christmas Story ranked 15th; the new Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special cracked the top 20 at #17, and 1983’s Trading Places, starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd (#21), just beat out 1984’s Gremlins.
As for the movies some might not immediately think of in the silly season but many others swear by: 2016’s slasher pic You Better Watch Out ranked 20th; 2005’s twisty Kiss Kiss Bang Bang starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer (#24) managed to beat out 2003’s Elf (#25).
A chef who used to work for Lil Wayne claims she was wrongfully terminated in a lawsuit she’s filed against the rapper.
TMZ reports Morghan Medlock alleged Wayne fired her earlier this year because she had to leave his Memorial Day trip to Vegas after receiving a call about her injured son. In court docs obtained by the outlet, she claimed Wayne and his team were smoking on the private jet, which was delaying their departure. As she was in a rush to get to her son, she booked a separate flight and notified Wayne’s assistant. She said she made it clear she wasn’t quitting when she left to take care of her son.
According to Medlock, she reached out to Wayne’s team about getting back to work, but was ignored. She later received a text informing her of her termination, along with a message from Wayne saying, “tell Chef Morghan this isn’t going to work,” she wrote in the suit.
Medlock is suing Wayne for wrongful termination, retaliation and unlawful practices, claiming California law protects against the firing of an employee who missed work to care for their sick or injured child. She’s seeking at least $500,000 in the case.
Damon Albarn has shared a cover of The Specials as a tribute to late vocalist Terry Hall.
In a video posted to his Twitter, the Blur and Gorillaz frontman performs an instrumental piano version of “Friday Night, Saturday Morning.”
“Terry, you meant the world to me,” Albarn writes in the caption. “I love you.”
The Specials announced on Monday that Hall, 63, had died “following a brief illness.” In a Facebook post, bassist Horace Panter shared that Hall had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Zac Brown Band is known for their immersive, high-energy live shows — and that’s not changing anytime soon, even though member John Driskell Hopkins is currently battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
In conversation with the Tennessean, ZBB’s Coy Bowles explains that the band is focusing on every second they get to play onstage with John.
“We can’t allow ourselves to think about [Hopkins’ ALS diagnosis] as a super-defining negative because we love him so much,” Coy explains. “So our mind frame around it has been focused on making the most of the fact that he’s still out there with us.”
The band has also been finding ways to use their connection to the degenerative disease for a good cause. In 2022, they played a sold-out benefit show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to raise awareness of ALS and money for research toward a cure.
Now, ZBB is still rocking: They’re on the bill for New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, which will air from Music City to ring in 2023.
“Humans gathering together to celebrate the power of music is exciting,” Coy adds. “We’re firing on all cylinders and probably having the best time [onstage] we’ve ever had.”
DaBaby has scored a legal victory in a $6 million lawsuit that accused him of battery in 2020.
As TMZ reported, concert promoter Kenneth Carey had hired DaBaby that year as a host for a Miami event. When the two were unable to agree on the fee, Carey claimed a fight broke out. He said the rapper assaulted him, and robbed him and his friend.
DaBaby was initially charged with criminal battery, which prosecutors later dropped. After a five-day trial, he came out victorious.
“Along with our client, Jonathan Kirk (DaBaby), we are thrilled that this federal jury, after a five-day trial, came to the same conclusion that we have maintained for almost 3 years – that these plaintiffs were attempting to use the legal system to shake down Mr. Kirk,” the rapper’s attorney Drew Findling told TMZ Hip Hop. “Mr. Kirk deserves all the credit in the world for not caving in to these plaintiffs’ cash demands and having the confidence in the facts and his legal team to take this to a jury trial for a complete and total victory!”
