Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and Slash are among a variety of famous musicians who recently performed live with one of a series of Ukraine-themed Gibson Les Paul electric guitars that will be auctioned this November to raise money for Ukrainian relief.
Gibson craftsmen created a limited-edition run of the Guitars for Peace Les Paul Custom guitars, which feature the azure blue and gold colors of the Ukrainian flag.
This summer, various artists played the guitars while on tour and signed special autograph books that will be auctioned to benefit the cause.
Other artists participating in the initiative include Mark Knopfler, Chic‘s Nile Rogers, Madness and Rush‘s Alex Lifeson.
The guitars and autograph books will be up for bid as part of the latest installment of the Julien’s Auctions “Icons & Idols: Rock ‘n’ Roll” sale, scheduled to take place November 11-13 at the Hard Rock in New York City and online at JuliensLive.com. Bidding for the items will start October 11.
All of the money raised by the auction of the Ukraine-themed guitars will be donated to humanitarian relief for the Ukrainian people in the wake of Russia’s invasion and to help the country rebuild after the conflict ends. The campaign was organized in conjunction with Gibson Gives, the company’s charitable arm.
“I’m happy to auction this beautiful guitar of mine to benefit the fine people of Ukraine,” says McCartney. “Hopefully it will help them through this aggressive Russian invasion.”
Adds Slash, “It is an honor to represent the brave sovereign state of Ukraine. I’m proud to support them during this conflict.”
To help raise additional funds, a Gibson Gives Guitars for Peace T-shirt is now available for purchase at Bonfire.com.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge granted lawyers for former President Donald Trump’s request to have a special master oversee the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago.
To break down the latest developments of the saga, a standoff between the Department of Justice and the former president, “ABC News Prime” spoke with Kan Nawaday, former federal prosecutor and ABC News contributor.
Nawaday discussed the implications of this decision, how it will affect the Department of Justice’s investigation and what he expects the next steps will be.
PRIME: ABC News contributor Kan Nawaday, [is] a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. Thanks so much once again for being here. Let’s start off just with your reaction to the judge’s ruling to actually grant Trump’s request for a special master. Did that surprise you?
NAWADAY: It didn’t surprise me to grant a special master to review the attorney-client privilege documents. It was mind blowing, mind boggling that she granted the request for a special master to determine whether items are subject to the executive privilege. There really is no basis in the law and precedent for doing something like that for a former president.
PRIME: Some people are saying, ‘well, of course, she was appointed by Trump. What do you expect? Of course she’s going to rule in his favor.’ Do you think there’s anything there?
NAWADAY: I don’t think so. And I think she’s just maybe she’s just trying to be really careful, maybe she’s trying to put some of the responsibility on an independent special master instead of following, you know, what I see as a pretty clear precedent that you don’t need a special master to decide executive privilege.
PRIME: How do you think this will impact the Justice Department investigation going forward, and do you expect them to appeal?
NAWADAY: It’s going to slow down their investigation to a crawl. What will happen is Trump, the former president, is going to fight about everything, about who the special master is going to be, about the process and about everything. And there are 11,000 documents involved. I can see DOJ filing an appeal just because of how bad of a precedent this opinion sets.
PRIME: We heard Pierre [Thomas] talk about that Friday deadline. What do you expect to happen at that point?
NAWADAY: Either DOJ is going to appeal before then or they’re both, DOJ and Trump, going to put in competing submissions. It’s supposed to be a joint submission, but I think that submission is going to say, ‘we’re DOJ, we want this,’ ‘we’re Trump, we want this,’ and there’s not going to be that much overlap.
PRIME: All right. So let’s talk about the implications of the upcoming election with regard to this investigation. Of course, there’s that unwritten rule that the DOJ has or they don’t react basically or don’t act for 60 days leading into an election so that doesn’t seem like there’s anything biased or improper going on. So how will that influence?
NAWADAY: First of all, you are absolutely right, it’s an unwritten rule. The DOJ tries to avoid overt actions that could influence an election. And I think that’s important to remember. I think if there’s a grand jury out there, it’s going to continue its investigation, DOJ will continue its investigation and do all the covert things like speaking with witnesses, things like that, bringing people in the grand jury. What they likely won’t do is do something overt like charge somebody.
PRIME: Some new developments out of New Mexico where you had a public official who was removed from office after participating in Jan. 6. Explain to us the circumstances surrounding that and what that means now going forward.
NAWADAY: Well, what basically happened was there was a county commissioner in New Mexico who had been convicted federally for his participation in the events of Jan. 6. And a private citizens group brought an action to disqualify him from holding office as a public commissioner, as a public official.
And the basis for that is under the 14th Amendment, there’s a disqualification clause which says that if you are a public official and then you commit insurrection, you can no longer hold public office. So this is pretty groundbreaking. This is the first time, I believe, since the 1800s, that this disqualification clause has been used. So it could potentially be groundbreaking.
PRIME: Before I let you go, I want to go back to Trump just really quickly. We’re, of course, getting everybody’s opinion here. Everybody has one with regard to, do you think that Trump will ultimately be indicted?
NAWADAY: I think there is so much evidence there that in any other case, somebody would have charged this.
(NEW YORK) — Hillary Clinton expressed her concern over the classified documents seized at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last month, sharing a warning that “every American” should be concerned.
On Wednesday, the former secretary of state joined “The View” alongside daughter Chelsea Clinton to share about their new docuseries, “Gutsy” on Apple TV+ premiering on Friday. Before delving into their new show, which highlights some of America’s biggest heroines, they weighed in on one of the nation’s hottest topics: the FBI’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and the documents found at the residence.
The FBI executed a search warrant for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on August 8. According to the inventory list unsealed Friday by a federal judge, agents gathered more than 11,000 documents or photographs without classification markings that were described as property of the U.S. government.
Hundreds of the documents retrieved during the search were considered confidential, secret and top-secret documents, as well as more than 40 empty folders with either “CLASSIFIED” banners on them or labeled “Return to Staff Secretary/Military Aide.”
ABC News previously reported that the FBI remains concerned about classified records that could still be missing even after their search of Mar-a-Lago.
On “The View,” Hillary Clinton said the seized documents from Mar-a-Lago “should be taken really seriously.”
“It should concern every American, because those documents and the empty folders as they were marked suggest that there was really important secret information that is essential to our country’s defense and security,” she said.
Clinton went on to explain how classified documents were securely shared with her during her time as secretary of state under former President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013.
“A military courier would come into my office. It would be an emergency. There wouldn’t be time to get to the White House and have an emergency meeting in a SCIF,” she explained. “Usually a man — it was always a man, I remember — walked in, he would have a briefcase locked to his wrist.” A SCIF is a U.S. government–approved secure facility where sensitive information can be looked over by government officials.
“He would come into my office and he would say, ‘You have to look at this immediately, secretary.’ He would unlock the briefcase; he would stand there; he would give me this document that had really delicate, secret information about something of importance,” she continued. “I would read it, then I would sign that I read it. It would go back into the locked box attached to his wrist and off he would go.”
With that knowledge, Clinton was left puzzled as to how sensitive documents could be moved at all. “I don’t understand how [Trump] was permitted to take them, even to the residence, let alone to a country club in Florida,” she said.
Clinton went on to say that the country doesn’t have a clear understanding of what was in the seized documents, but reminded viewers on the daytime talk show that “people literally die to get our government information. They go to prison. They get exiled.”
“The idea that this would have been done, I hope everybody takes really seriously,” she added.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted a request from Trump’s legal team to appoint a special master to review documents seized in the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search. The judge’s order halts all reviews of the documents by the Justice Department in its criminal investigation.
When co-host Joy Behar asked Clinton if Trump should be indicted over the documents found in his Mar-a-Lago estate, she said that she didn’t want to “prejudge.”
“I have been prejudged wrongly enough. I’m not going to judge somebody else, and so I think the key is what the facts and the evidence are, what the FBI and the intelligence community learn about these documents, how they ended up there, who else saw them,” Clinton responded.
She went on to explain how the public should have “two minds” about the investigation. “No one is above the law, and the rule of law in a democracy … has to be our standard.”
The public “should not rush to judgment,” Clinton continued, but “we should be concerned about it, and we should follow the facts and the evidence.”
Chelsea Clinton also weighed in on South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham claiming political violence would break out if Trump were to be indicted over mishandling of presidential records.
“I’m very worried about our country,” she said. “Sen. Graham and others … should know better and should be more responsible with their platforms.”
“After the white nationalist insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, we know that there are people who believe that violence is an acceptable tool, even in our democracy, even in the 21st century in the United States of America,” she continued.
“I’m very concerned and I’m very disappointed in the senator,” Chelsea Clinton said. “I hope that others do not follow his lead.”
Every episode of ABC’s award-winning talk show “The View” is now available as a podcast! Listen and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts
(SASKATCHEWAN, Canada) — Canadian authorities have located and taken into custody a suspect accused of several stabbings, the Saskatchewan RCMP said Wednesday.
Brothers Myles Sanderson, 30, and Damien Sanderson, 31, are suspected of carrying out the stabbing spree that killed 10 people and injured 19 in the Indigenous communities of James Smith Cree Nation and the town of Weldon, in Saskatchewan, on Sunday, authorities said.
Damien Sanderson was found dead on Monday in a field near the stabbing sites with “visible injuries.”
Myles Sanderson has been taken into custody, authorities said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Debbie Gibson has a holiday album on the way — Winterlicious. The festive record arrives October 21 and can be preordered now. She will also kick off a Winterlicious Tour on November 25; tickets are on sale on her official website. The North American tour wraps up December 17 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Taylor Swift showed up to support the launch of pal Gigi Hadid’s luxury cashmere brand, Guest in Residence.E! News reports Gigi invited her famous friends to New York City’s Le Chalet on Tuesday. Queer Eye star Tan France, who starred in Taylor’s “You Need to Calm Down” music video, was also in attendance.
Ed Sheeran is addicted to Pokémon and shared a hilarious video of him singing the Pokémon cartoon theme song — albeit poorly. He joked that his day is booked full of naps, eating and playing his favorite game. “Lately this is what my usual day looks like,” he captioned the cheeky video.
Gwen Stefani is launching a social selling platform as part of her Gxve Beauty line. WWD reports Gxve Community will allow her fans to suggest ideas and sell Gxve products on commission. Gwen says the platform will also give brand ambassadors exclusive peeks at upcoming offerings and “learn, share, teach and express themselves through makeup.”
Meghan Trainor has a new song out on Friday — “Don’t I Make It Look Easy.” The tongue-in-cheek doo-wop song is about how people lie on social media that their life is perfect. Meghan shared a teaser to Instagram on Wednesday.
Kelly Clarkson is set to make an appearance at the Emmy Awards, as her daytime talk show scored some nods. The 74th Emmy Awards air Monday, September 12, starting at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
BLACKPINKdropped the eight-song track list for their upcoming Born Pink album. The second song — called “Shut Down” — is their title track. Rosé and Jisoo wrote track four, “Yeah Yeah Yeah.” Born Pink arrives September 16.
Billie Eilish is a Gucci girl and is the latest star in their new eyewear campaign. A promotional video sees her being stalked by her doppelgänger before the two get into a car together and say “I love you” to one another.
Em Beihold dropped “12345” and its music video. The song sounds more upbeat in nature but it tackles themes like anxiety, imposter syndrome and depression.
Five Seconds of Summer are also out with a new song, titled “Older.” Their new album, 5SOS5, arrives September 23.
Selena Gomez teamed up with Rema for the new song “Calm Down.” They also starred in the new music video, which dropped Wednesday.
Selena is also heading to next week’s Emmy Awards, as Only Murders in the Building is up for a few awards. Kelly Clarkson is also set to make an appearance, as her daytime talk show scored some nods. The 74th Emmy Awards air Monday, September 12, starting at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Jamie Lynn Spears has been cast in the special forces reality show tentatively titled Special Forces: The Ultimate Test, Variety reports. This is the American take on the popular British show, which Fox is promoting as “the ultimate celebrity social experiment.”
Charlie Puth is in his birthday suit again, posting yet another thirst trap. He shared a photo of him on a swing — with his backside facing the camera — and captioned the black-and-white photo, “What rhymes with Four.”
Meghan Trainor has a new song out on Friday — “Don’t I Make It Look Easy.” Meghan shared a teaser to Instagram on Wednesday.
HBO Max has renewed its second series in the Pretty Little Liars franchise for a second season. Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin launched its 10-episode first season in July, and it didn’t take the streamer long to re-up.
“We are so proud of the incredible response both critically and from fans that Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin has received,” said Sarah Aubrey, HBO Max’s head of original content, in a statement.
“Viewers have embraced our new generation of Liars, and Roberto and Lindsay’s brilliantly dark, horror-fueled take on this iconic franchise,” she said of series creators Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Lindsay Calhoon, enthusing the streamer is “thrilled” to continue the Liars legacy.
Original Sin is set 20 years before the events of its predecessor, which starred Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson and Shay Mitchell.
In the first season of the follow-up series, characters played by Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Zaria Simone and Malia Pyles are “tormented by an unknown assailant and made to pay for the secret sin committed by their parents two decades ago … as well as their own.”
Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
The producers of The Jennifer Hudson Show have revealed the guests for the first week of the EGOT winner’s forthcoming talk show.
As reported, J Hud will reunite with her former American Idol host Simon Cowell for the first installment of the syndicated program, airing on her 41st birthday, Monday, September 12.
However, it has just been announced that NBA legend Magic Johnson will grace the second episode on September 13, as will country star Mickey Guyton, who will also perform.
September 14 will see comic and Insecure star Yvonne Orji join the newly minted talk show host; September 15 will feature Emmy-wining Ted Lasso lead and Hocus Pocus 2 star Hannah Waddingham;and the first week will wrap up with The Woman King lead Viola Davis.
Incidentally, Hudson only has one trophy on Davis in the EGOT category; the Fences actress has an Emmy, an Oscar and a Tony Award, but — as of yet — no Grammy on her mantel.
(ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif.) — A sheriff’s deputy has turned himself in after allegedly fatally shooting a married couple at a home in California, authorities said.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office deputy was off-duty when he is alleged to have committed the double homicide early Wednesday at a home in Dublin before fleeing the scene, authorities said. The sheriff’s office said the suspected murder weapon is the deputy’s firearm, which they were working to recover after he disposed of it in a rural area.
The sheriff’s office had warned that the suspect — identified as 24-year-old Devin Williams, Jr. — was at large following the shooting, prompting a statewide manhunt, and should be considered armed and dangerous.
During a midday press briefing, Chief Garrett Holmes, a commander with the sheriff’s office and the chief of police services for the city of Dublin, announced Williams reportedly called the office earlier that morning to turn himself in and was just taken into custody near Coalinga, several hours south.
“Chief Holmes personally talked the suspect into surrendering and spent about 45 minutes on the phone with him to get him to surrender peacefully,” Alameda County Lt. Ray Kelly told reporters during the briefing.
Kelly said that deputies were in the process of bringing Williams back to Dublin. It is unclear if the suspect has an attorney who can speak on his behalf at this time.
Police responded to the home around 12:45 a.m. after a 911 caller reported an intruder who was “brandishing a firearm,” Holmes said. Two people were ultimately shot and pronounced dead at the scene, he said.
“It’s a great loss for our community, and it’s even more disheartening to find out that it was one of our own that actually was the trigger person behind this tragic incident,” Holmes said.
Six people were in the home at the time of the shooting, including a child and the two victims, Kelly said. A relative of the family who was visiting at the time is a “key eyewitness,” he said.
The victims were a 42-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man, Kelly said. Authorities have not yet released their names. He said the two had a child together, though he did not provide any further details.
Kelly said they are investigating a motive in the shooting and the relationship between Williams and the victims.
“There is connectivity between Mr. Williams and the victims,” he said.
Williams has worked for the sheriff’s office for a year, according to Kelly. Prior to applying to be a sheriff’s deputy, he was going through a field training officer program in Stockton upon graduating from the police academy, Kelly said. Williams did not pass his probation to become a solo police officer and was let go, he said.
“A lot of those issues that we found were related to his skillset and his ability to effectively do the job,” Kelly said. “They were not based on any type of conduct. It was more of his ability and skillset wasn’t meeting the criteria that this job demands. And so at that point, they let him go. That’s not uncommon.”
Williams was considered a “very good candidate” for law enforcement, said Kelly, who noted that the agency is “in shock.”
“Somewhere in the last several months of his life, some significant events happened that led up to this moment. A lot of those events went undiscovered and disclosed. And we’re gonna be looking into that,” Kelly said. “I think there’s a lot of questions that need to be answered.”
(LANSING, Mich.) — A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled Wednesday that the state’s 1931 abortion ban violates the state constitution, according to a copy of the ruling obtained by ABC News. The ruling permanently bars the attorney general and county prosecutors from enforcing the ban in the state, effectively legalizing abortions in Michigan.
The ruling from Judge Elizabeth Gleicher came as part of a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood of Michigan and Dr. Sarah Wallett, the organization’s chief medical officer, against Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan state House of Representatives and Senate, challenging the ban.
“This historic ruling is a critical victory for abortion access in a post-Roe v. Wade world and means that abortion care remains protected in Michigan,” Planned Parenthood of Michigan said in a statement to ABC News.
The 1931 law makes it a felony to provide an abortion unless it is medically necessary to save the life of a pregnant person. The law does not make exceptions for rape or incest. The law also states that if the pregnant person dies, the provider would be charged with manslaughter.
The ruling found the state’s abortion ban unconstitutional as it violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the Michigan constitution and would deprive pregnant women of their right to bodily integrity, autonomy and the equal protection of the law, Gleicher wrote in the order.
Gleicher ruled that enforcement of the law will “endanger the health and lives of women seeking to exercise their constitutional right to abortion” and threatens pregnant women with irreparable injury because without access to abortion care they will be denied “appropriate, safe and constitutionally protected medical care,” court documents show.
The court also found that the law would cause Planned Parenthood and Wallett “irreparable injury” by exposing them to “felony prosecution and imprisonment for performing a medically necessary procedure that their patients are constitutionally entitled to have,” according to the ruling.
The court also found that issuing a permanent injunction will cause no harm to the attorney general nor does it adversely affect the pubic interest.
“The harm to women on, the other hand, is a wholesale denial of their fundamental right to an abortion, necessitating permanent injunctive relief,” according to the ruling.
The ruling is effective immediately, and the court also denied the Michigan legislature’s request to stay the decision, according to Planned Parenthood.
“We are proud to have won this victory on behalf of Michigan abortion providers and the patients who depend on us for care. Today’s Court of Claims ruling will ensure that Michiganders can continue to make deeply personal decisions about their health, lives, and futures without interference from state officials,” Wallett said in a statement to ABC News.
The judgment is the latest development in the state’s battle over abortion rights which began when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, eliminating federal protections for abortion rights.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has vowed to fight for abortion rights, bringing another lawsuit challenging the law’s constitutionality and asking the state’s supreme court to determine whether the abortion law already on the books is unconstitutional.
Last month, a state court granted a request by Whitmer’s lawyers for a temporary restraining order on the abortion ban, pending ongoing litigation. In a ruling, Judge Jacob Cunningham argued that not issuing the injunction would cause harm to the public.
The courts will also be left to decide whether Michigan voters will have an abortion question on the ballot this November. The Board of Canvassers was deadlocked, unable decide on a ballot initiative, which would leave it to voters to divide whether to add abortion protections to the state’s constitution.
