While he has what most would consider a glamorous job, Owen Wilson is just Dad to his three kids. That’s one of the reasons he was so interested in Secret Headquarters, which is now streaming on Paramount+.
Wilson plays Jack, a divorced father trying to hide his secret identity as a superhero from his tween son Charlie — who happens to idolize The Guardian, the very hero he discovers is his dad.
“That was one of the things that sort of stood out to me sort of with the script,” Wilson told ABC Audio.
“… I know growing up, kind of looking up to my dad and kind of idolizing him. And then …you get to the teen years and there’s a … kind of a challenge. And I think that’s sort of genuine in this …”
Marvel movie vet Michael Peña plays Ansel Argon, a wannabe supervillain trying to get his hands on the item that gives The Guardian his power; former Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams plays his tech whiz.
However, according to the pair, Wilson already has a superpower.
“When he first showed up, and he sounded exactly like Owen Wilson, then you think like, ‘Wow, this dude is special,'” Peña said.
“You know, he has the distinct way of saying the R’s and stuff. And I, I caught myself watching more than, like, being in the scene. And you’re like, ‘That’s Owen Wilson, dude!'”
Williams agrees. “Anything he says, it’s funny. He could read a menu!”
Peña then cracked himself up imitating his co-star. “‘I got a bird, you know, his name’s Tyrone!'”
“‘Wow,'” the actor said, laughing, imitating a phrase Wilson has uttered in seemingly every film.
Peña then gave another example, “Real. It’s real, you know,” anything with an R, you know?”
(WILKES-BARRE, Penn.) — President Joe Biden continued his sharpened attacks on the Republican Party as he visited Pennsylvania on Tuesday, criticizing “MAGA Republicans” for their response to the Mar-a-Lago search and Jan. 6 as he highlighted his administration’s policing and crime prevention efforts.
“A safer America requires all of us to uphold the rule of law, not the rule of any one party or any one person,” Biden said as he spoke at Wilkes University.
“Let me say this to my MAGA Republican friends in Congress: Don’t tell me you support law enforcement if you won’t condemn what happened on Jan. 6,” he continued. “For God’s sake, whose side are you on?”
Biden, once apprehensive about directly criticizing his Oval Office predecessor, has ramped up his rhetoric ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, recently accusing some in the Republican Party of “semi-fascism.”
The president also addressed Republican criticism of the FBI in the wake of the search warrant executed at Donald Trump’s Florida estate, including their calls to defund the bureau. Biden’s comments on the search have been limited, besides stating he had no prior notice about the search and leaving questions of national security risk to the Justice Department.
“Now it’s sickening to see the new attacks on the FBI, threatening the lives of law enforcement agents and their families for simply carrying out the law and doing their job,” Biden said. “There’s no place in this country for endangering the lives of law enforcement.”
Biden on Tuesday also touted his “Safer America Plan,” unveiled in July, which calls on Congress to add $37 billion for the training of 100,000 additional police officers, to clear court backlogs and to establish new grants for communities to prevent violent crime and ease the burden on police officers in responding to non-violent situations
“I’ve not met a cop who likes a bad cop,” Biden said. “There’s bad in everything. There’s lousy senators and lousy presidents and lousy doctors and lousy lawyers. No, I’m serious. But I don’t know any police officer that feels good about the fact that there may be a lousy cop. I’m tired of not giving them the kind of help they need.”
In addition to making the case for the additional funding, Biden discussed the need to build on the bipartisan gun safety legislation passed earlier this summer by enacting a ban on assault weapons. The gun safety law, while the first major piece of reform in decades, didn’t go as far as Democrats and gun control advocates had hoped.
“The NRA was against it which means a vast majority, the vast majority of Republicans in Congress couldn’t even stand up and vote for it, because they’re afraid of the NRA,” he said.
Biden’s speech in Wilkes-Barre was his first of three stops in the battleground state in a week.
Meanwhile, Trump will also be in Pennsylvania this week for his first rally since the Aug. 8 search.
The former president will be campaigning for Republicans in two key Pennsylvania races: the gubernatorial election and the U.S. Senate contest.
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, who is running for governor, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is running for Senate, will be in attendance at Trump’s rally in Wilkes-Barre. Trump has endorsed them both.
Biden on Tuesday gave a shout out to the two Democrats going up against Mastriano and Oz: Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman, respectively.
“Josh Shapiro is a champion for the rule of law as your attorney general, and he’s gonna make one hell of a governor,” Biden said. “I really mean it.”
Fetterman, he said, will make “a great United States senator.”
ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
Vyacheslav Madiyevskyi/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Aug 30, 4:31 PM EDT
Blinken heralds arrival of first shipload of Ukrainian grain to drought-stricken Horn of Africa
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday celebrated the first shipment of Ukrainian grain to arrive in the Horn of Africa — a region facing dire hunger — since Russia’s invasion began.
“The United States welcomes the arrival in Djibouti of 23,300 metric tons of Ukrainian grain aboard the ship Brave Commander. This grain will be distributed within Ethiopia and Somalia, countries that are dangerously food insecure after four years of drought,” Blinken said in a statement.
This is the first shipload to reach the region since a United Nations-brokered deal that allowed ships to leave Ukraine’s ports again.
According to Ukrainian officials, dozens of ships have been able to safely navigate the Black Sea in recent weeks. But State Department officials have claimed Russian allies, like Syria, have unfairly benefitted from recent exports, proving detrimental to countries the World Food Programme has determined are facing a greater level of need.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Aug 30, 4:25 PM EDT
EU preemptively donates 5.5 million potassium iodide tablets to protect Ukrainians from potential radiation exposure
The European Commission said it received a request from the Ukrainian government on Friday for potassium iodide tablets as a preventative safety measure to increase the level of protection around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The European Response Coordination Centre quickly mobilized 5.5 million potassium iodide tablets through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for Ukraine, including 5 million from the rescEU emergency reserves and 500,000 from Austria.
“No nuclear power plant should ever be used as a war theatre,” EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said. “It is unacceptable that civilian lives are put in danger. All military action around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant must stop immediately.”
-ABC News’ Max Uzol
Aug 30, 2:15 PM EDT
Sens. Klobuchar, Portman meet with Zelenskyy in Ukraine
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on a visit to the war-torn country.
“The support that the U.S. has given has been strongly bipartisan and we want that to continue,” Klobuchar told ABC News.
Portman noted the psychological advantage of Ukraine now making advances in Kherson, which was the first oblast taken by the Russians six months ago.
It shows that “even when the Russians are dug in, as they are in that region, that Ukrainians can make progress in an offensive,” he said. “And my hope is that we will continue to see that to the point that the Russians will finally come to the bargaining table and stop this illegal, totally unprovoked war on Ukraine.”
-ABC News’ Ibtissem Guenfoud
Aug 30, 11:07 AM EDT
Russian forces shelling corridors leading to nuclear plant, Ukraine says
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russian forces are shelling corridors the International Atomic Energy Agency mission would take to reach the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
Podolyak said Russian forces are probably shelling the path to ensure the IAEA mission pass through Russian-controlled territory to reach the plant.
Aug 29, 4:38 PM EDT
Zelenskyy vows to reclaim all territory lost to Russian forces
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday vowed to reclaim all territory lost to Russian forces.
“Ukraine is returning its own. And it will return the Kharkiv region, Luhansk region, Donetsk region, Zaporizhzhia region, Kherson region, Crimea. Definitely our entire water area of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, from Zmiinyi Island to the Kerch Strait,” he said in his daily address. “This will happen. This is ours. And just as our society understands it, I want the occupiers to understand it, too. There will be no place for them on Ukrainian land.”
Zelenskyy said his message to Russian fighters is that if they want to survive, it’s time for them to flee or surrender.
“The occupiers should know, we will oust them to the border — to our border, the line of which has not changed. The invaders know it well,” he said. “If they want to survive, it is time for the Russian military to flee. Go home. If you are afraid to return to your home in Russia, well, let such occupiers surrender, and we will guarantee them compliance with all norms of the Geneva Conventions.”
Aug 29, 3:00 PM EDT
White House calls for controlled shutdown of Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactors, DMZ around plant
White House spokesman John Kirby said Monday that Russia should agree to a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and that a controlled shutdown of the reactors “would be the safest and least risky option in the near-term.”
Kirby also expressed support for the IAEA mission to the power plant.
“We fully support the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Grossi’s expert mission to the power plant, and we are glad that the team is on its way to ascertain the safety, security and safeguards of the systems there, as well as to evaluate the staff’s working conditions,” he said. “Russia should ensure safe, unfettered access for these independent inspectors.”
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Aug 29, 1:33 PM EDT
Ukrainian forces launch major counteroffensive
Ukrainian forces have launched a major counteroffensive in multiple directions in the southern part of Ukraine, Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Operational Command, said Monday.
Humeniuk said the situation in the south remains “tense,” but controlled.
Ukrainians have been targeting strategic Russian command posts and slowly advancing toward Kherson for weeks. Kherson was first major city in the south to be captured by Russian forces following the invasion.
Russian military issued a statement confirming the offensive and claiming Ukraine sustained heavy losses.
Meanwhile, at least 12 missiles have struck Mykolaiv, which remains under Ukraine’s control in the south. Two people were killed and 24 were wounded, according to the governor of Mykolaiv Oblast.
-ABC News’ Max Uzol and Natalia Shumskaia
Aug 29, 12:47 PM EDT
Ukrainian official accused of treason is shot and killed
Oleksiy Kovalyov, a Ukrainian official who was accused of treason for openly collaborating with Russia, was shot and killed in his home on Sunday in Hola Prystan, Kherson Oblast, according to preliminary information from the Investigative Committee of Russia (SKR). An unidentified woman was also killed, SKR said.
Kovalyov was a Ukrainian lawmaker from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party who was accused of treason; criminal proceedings were initiated by Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigations in June. He is one of the highest-ranking Ukrainian defectors who fled to Kherson after the invasion and openly collaborated with Russia. He was appointed by the Russians as the deputy head of the Kherson Military-Civil Administration.
Aug 29, 12:19 PM EDT
IAEA says mission to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant ‘on its way’
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog announced Monday that the agency’s long-awaited expert mission to the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeastern Ukraine “is now on its way.”
“The day has come,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a post on Twitter.
Grossi, who is leading the IAEA’s “Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia,” has long sought access to the nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe. Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations of shelling at or near the site in recent weeks, fueling fears that the fighting could cause a nuclear disaster.
“We must protect the safety and security of #Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility,” Grossi tweeted, alongside a photo of himself with 13 other experts. “Proud to lead this mission which will be in #ZNPP later this week.”
Shortly after invading neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian troops stormed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant near the town of Enerhodar, on the banks of the Dnipro River in the country’s southeast. The Ukrainian workers have been left in place to keep the plant operating, as it supplies electricity across the war-torn nation.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the IAEA team will travel to the plant via Ukrainian-controlled territory, state-run TASS reported.
The area around the nuclear plant is controlled by Russian forces. Peskov said once the IAEA team enters Russian-controlled territory, all necessary security will be provided.
Aug 29, 2:21 AM EDT
IAEA says mission to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant ‘on its way’
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog announced Monday that the agency’s long-awaited expert mission to the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeastern Ukraine “is now on its way.”
“The day has come,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a post on Twitter.
Grossi, who is leading the IAEA’s “Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia,” has long sought access to the nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe. Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations of shelling at or near the site in recent weeks, fueling fears that the fighting could cause a nuclear disaster.
“We must protect the safety and security of #Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility,” Grossi tweeted, alongside a photo of himself with 13 other experts. “Proud to lead this mission which will be in #ZNPP later this week.”
Shortly after invading neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian troops stormed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant near the town of Enerhodar, on the banks of the Dnipro River in the country’s southeast. The Ukrainian workers have been left in place to keep the plant operating, as it supplies electricity across the war-torn nation.
If Arnold Schwarzenegger had different taste in music, Nine Inch Nails might’ve been featured on the Terminator 2 soundtrack.
In an interview with The Guardian, actor Robert Patrick, who played the villainous T-1000 in the 1991 sequel, shares that he asked director James Cameron to include NIN’s “Head Like a Hole” in the film.
“When I was making Terminator 2, I used to work out to ‘Head Like a Hole’ by Nine Inch Nails, because my younger brother, Richard Patrick, was a touring guitarist for them,” Robert recalls. Richard, of course, would then go on to form the band Filter.
When Robert pitched “Head Like a Hole” to Cameron to be included in the soundtrack, the filmmaker replied, “No. Arnold prefers Guns N’ Roses.”
GN’R, of course, would contribute their song “You Could Be Mine” to T2.
While being included on the soundtrack for the highest-grossing movie of 1991 would’ve probably been a welcomed boost for a then-up-and-coming Nine Inch Nails, it’s probably safe to say that Trent Reznor and company’s career still turned out just fine with their millions of albums sold and induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And, as Robert notes, Reznor has had lots of success in the film world, too.
“It’s ironic because Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails has won a couple of Oscars for his soundtracks now,” Robert says.
By the way, Nine Inch Nails would eventually make their way into the Terminator franchise when a remixed version of their song “The Day the World Went Away” was used in the trailer for 2009’s Terminator Salvation.
After Hardy dropped his much-buzzed-about duet with Lainey Wilson, “Wait in the Truck,” on Friday, the song saw an immediate impact at country radio — and the singer hopped on social media to express his excitement.
“I’m very, very excited about the song. I’m just excited to see the run it’s gonna have, to see the impact it’s gonna have on people’s lives,” the singer continued.
“Wait in the Truck” grapples with themes of murder and domestic violence, with Hardy playing the role of a guy who runs into a girl — Lainey — on the side of a road after she’s been beat up. He finds the man who hurt her, kills him and eventually goes to jail — but still, he doesn’t regret changing the girl’s life for the better.
“[I’m] excited for the song to give people a platform to maybe speak out about stuff that might be going on in their own homes,” Hardy said when he first released the song.
Fans will get their chance to see Hardy sing “Wait in the Truck” live when he hits the road this December for his four-date Wall to Wall Tour.
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.
Despite the increase of artists of color in the country music genre, racism is still very much alive and well both in country music and outside of it — and up-and-coming star Breland has seen its effects firsthand.
The singer says he’s “definitely” dealt with racism during his time in the genre, including receiving “nasty” messages — even some telling him to hurt himself. Ultimately, though, the singer says he’s able to shrug off the hate and focus on his growing, devoted fanbase.
“Ultimately, I know the place those messages come from, and that’s not the place that I create from,” Breland explains during a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1.
“I operate from a place of love and acceptance and inclusion,” he continues. “I try to respond to everything with love and positive energy for the things that merit a response.”
Furthermore, he says, keeping that mindset helps him surround himself with supportive people in the industry.
“And I will also say that I tend to get the energy that I put out back,” he continues, adding that he hopes creating positive momentum can help create change in the country genre as a whole.
“I would love to see a country music genre that is as representative of different cultures and perspectives and beliefs and skin colors as the world,” Breland concludes.
The singer’s new album, Cross Country, arrives September 9.
Lou Rocco/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Sherri Shepherd is ready to premiere her talk show next month after receiving advice from one of her idols, Oprah Winfrey.
The comedian says Oprah called her after she sent her texts requesting tutoring from the 19-time Emmy award winner.
“I took 15 pages of notes until my fingers cramped up,” the former co-host of The View told Entertainment Weekly. “I took a potassium pill because my fingers were cramped and I couldn’t write anymore. I said, ‘Hold on, I have to commit this to memory,’ because nobody will believe that I’m talking to and laughing with Oprah.”
“One thing I took from Oprah is, she said, ‘Sherri, the show is not about the ratings, it’s about the energy,’” Shepherd continued. “You put out the energy, and it will come back in direct proportion to you from the audience. It’s your responsibility. You’re in charge of the energy that is on your show.”
Sherri says she embraced those words of wisdom.
“I felt that, because I was like, damn, I just wanted to show some viral videos and make people laugh,” she added. “But it’s true, it’s the energy you give off, which is why we love Oprah.”
Oprah hosted her iconic talk show from 1986 to 2011. Now as Shepherd looks forward to her debut in less than two weeks, she says Winfrey’s advice is precious.
“I’m literally going to frame the 15 pages of notes,” Shepherd shares. “I’m not even throwing them away. Those will be in my memoirs, my biopic, the notes will be on the wall. If I could’ve recorded Oprah, I would’ve, because I said that nobody is going to believe this.”
After filling in as a guest host on The Wendy Williams Show, Shepherd’s own show, simply titled Sherri, premieres September 12.
The Head and the Heart has premiered the video for “Don’t Show Your Weakness,” a track off the band’s latest album, Every Shade of Blue.
The clip, which is streaming now on YouTube, is a psychedelic interpretation of a vocal cord medical procedure.
“‘Don’t Show Your Weakness explores fragility and strength and revels in the often blurry territory in which these two seemingly opposing traits intersect,” The Head and the Heart says. “This colorful and mysterious video is a celebration of the liberation that comes when we allow the most vulnerable parts of ourselves to be laid bare for all to see.””
Every Shade of Blue, the fifth Head and the Heart album, was released in April. It also includes the single “Virginia (Wind in the Night).”
The Head and the Heart will resume touring in support of Every Shade of Blue September 10 at New Mexico’s Ladder to the Moon festival.
The Monkees may not seem like a very subversive band, but in 2011 it was revealed the FBI had a file on the 1960s pop legends that included an informant’s observations about a concert, suggesting the group was delivering left-wing political subliminal messages to the audience.
Rolling Stone reports the band’s last surviving member, Micky Dolenz, has filed a lawsuit against the FBI seeking to gain access to the group’s full file via a request with regard to the Freedom of Information Act.
Rolling Stone has secured a copy of the lawsuit, which states that it’s “designed to obtain any records the FBI created and/or possesses on the Monkees as well as its individual members.”
The suit adds, “Mr. Dolenz has exhausted all necessary required administrative remedies with respect to his [Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act] request.”
The legal action was filed on Micky’s behalf by lawyer Mark S. Zaid, an expert in Freedom of Information Act litigation and a Monkees fan.
When he met Dolenz recently, Zaid suggested to the singer it might be interesting to see if The Monkees had an FBI file, not knowing about the seven-page partially redacted document that was released in 2011.
“That just kind of reinforced for me that there was actually something here,” he tells Rolling Stone. “It’s not just a fishing expedition. I mean, we’re still fishing, but we know there’s fish in the water.”
The original document included an informant’s comments about a 1967 concert. The informant claimed “subliminal messages were depicted on the screen which, in the opinion of [name redacted], constituted ‘left wing intervention of a political nature.'”
Zaid says a judge should be assigned to the case in a few days and the process will then move forward.
