Weezer premieres new version of “Records” featuring Noga Erez

Weezer premieres new version of “Records” featuring Noga Erez
Weezer premieres new version of “Records” featuring Noga Erez
ABC/Eric McCandless

Weezer has released a new version of the band’s song “Records.”

The updated recording features an extra verse from Israeli musician Noga Erez. You can listen to it now via digital outlets.

The original “Records” appears on SZNZ: Summer, the second installment in the group’s ongoing series of seasonally themed EPs. The project began in March with SZNZ: Spring, which includes the single “A Little Bit of Love.”

The remaining two SZNZ EPs, Autumn and Winter, will be released later this year on the first day of their respective seasons. Like with the first two EPs, Weezer plans to celebrate the release of Autumn and Winter with performances on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Weezer had also planned a SZNZ-themed Broadway residency, but the shows were canceled due to what frontman Rivers Cuomo called “low ticket sales and unbelievably high expenses.”

(Video contains uncensored profanity) 

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Raging Route Fire injures seven firefighters, prompts evacuation orders in southern California

Raging Route Fire injures seven firefighters, prompts evacuation orders in southern California
Raging Route Fire injures seven firefighters, prompts evacuation orders in southern California
Mario Tama/Getty Images

(LOS ANGELES) — At least seven firefighters were injured in a raging wildfire in southern California, officials said Wednesday night.

The Route Fire in Castaic has burned over 5,208 acres with 12% containment as of Thursday morning, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Authorities previously reported the fire at 4,600 acres and 0% contained as of late Wednesday night.

Of the seven firefighters that have suffered heat-related injuries, five were taken to the hospital for care, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

“The folks out there are just taking a beating. We did have eight heat-related events today. Six people were transported. I believe their condition is all good,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Deputy Chief Tom Ewald said at a press conference Wednesday.

Units were dispatched to the fire around noon Wednesday, when the fire was only about 60 acres, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

As units arrived to the scene, officials closed the northbound Interstate 5 just before 1 p.m., with the southbound lanes closing shortly thereafter.

The major roadway was reopened, but two lanes remain closed at Templin Highway to Lake Hughes Road as of Thursday morning, according to authorities.

Fifteen aircraft, including three with night vision capabilities, were also used to fight the fire, which has destroyed two outbuildings and a truck, Ewald said.

Evacuations were ordered for Paradise Mobile Estates and all structures south of Templin Highway along Upper Ridge Route Road, authorities said. Residents in that area were ordered to evacuate to the north, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The Los Angeles County Police Department, which is working alongside the Santa Clarita Valley police, said its priority is to help assist with evacuations, be it people, livestock or vehicles.

There are currently two shelters available to residents, one in West Ranch High School and one in Frazier Mountain High School, officials said. Small animals can be taken to Castaic Animal Shelter.

The fire rages as southern California braces for a major heat wave this week, with much of the region under excessive heat warnings on Thursday. Los Angeles is projected to reach into the triple digits throughout the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward releases new solo single, “Living for Love”

The Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward releases new solo single, “Living for Love”
The Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward releases new solo single, “Living for Love”
BMG

Longtime Moody Blues singer/guitarist Justin Hayward has released his first new solo single in more than two years, a melodic, acoustic guitar-driven track called “Living for Love.”

The track is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, while a lyric video for the tune has debuted on Hayward’s official YouTube channel.

The romantic song features Justin reflecting on the excitement of a burgeoning romance when he was young.

“I’m one of a generation that as teenagers, if we were lucky, were living just for love; with the most wonderful music, freedom and optimism,” the 75-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer says. “We didn’t really understand at the time but I have to celebrate those days now, while we are still here, and we remember.”

Hayward recorded “Living for Love” in Italy earlier this year, and he and his studio collaborator Alberto Parodi are the only musicians featured on the track, with Hayward playing guitars and keyboards and Parodi also playing keyboards.

Meanwhile, Hayward has made some “Living for Love”-themed merchandise available for purchase at his online store.

Hayward wrapped up a U.S. solo tour in June and is now preparing to launch a 10-date United Kingdom trek that begins September 11. Visit JustinHayward.com to check out all the dates.

Hayward, of course, has written and sung many of The Moody Blues best-known songs, including “Nights in White Satin,” “Question,” “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere,” “Tuesday Afternoon” and “Your Wildest Dreams.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tyrese ordered to pay over $10,000 in monthly child support to estranged wife

Tyrese ordered to pay over ,000 in monthly child support to estranged wife
Tyrese ordered to pay over ,000 in monthly child support to estranged wife
Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic

Tyrese was ordered in a divorce hearing to pay over $10,000 a month in child support to his estranged wife, Samantha Lee Gibson.

Fulton County, Georgia, Judge Kevin F. Farmer ruled that Samantha will receive $10,690 per month, according to TMZ. She will split child care and education costs for their 3-year-old daughter, Soraya, with the singer/actor.

Tyrese will also pay the same amount in child support to his ex-wife, Norma Mitchell. They share 15-year-old daughter Shayla, who lives in California.

Farmer declared Tyrese and Samantha legally single and denied spousal support for each party.

“This is not a punishment for you,” the judge told the 43-year-old entertainer. “Put that money where it belongs, in the child. … I want you both to love your kid, and I want you both to tell your kid to love the other parent, because that’s how we get successful human beings.”

“Nobody won here and nobody lost,” Farmer continued. “The kid lost, because she doesn’t have her parents together. Minimize the effects of that loss. Minimize it in every way, shape and form you can.”

Tyrese and Samantha married on Valentine’s Day in 2017. She filed for divorce in September 2020, and claimed that he cut her off financially and locked her out of their house. Samantha had requested $20,000 in monthly child support.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Setting YouTube on fire: fun. & Janelle Monáe’s “We Are Young” video hits 1 billion views

Setting YouTube on fire: fun. & Janelle Monáe’s “We Are Young” video hits 1 billion views
Setting YouTube on fire: fun. & Janelle Monáe’s “We Are Young” video hits 1 billion views
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

We can’t speak for fun.‘s friends, but the band’s YouTube views are certainly higher than the Empire State.

The trio’s video for their 2011 single “We Are Young,” which features Janelle Monáe, has officially hit 1 billion views.

The clip, which shows fun. and Monáe providing the soundtrack to a slow-motion bar fight, is the first of both acts’ careers to reach the billion-views milestone.

“We Are Young” has been certified Diamond by the RIAA and won Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammys. It was one of several hits spawned by fun.’s 2012 album Some Nights, along with “Carry On” and the title track.

Some Nights remains fun.’s most recent album — the band has been on hiatus since 2015. Vocalist Nate Ruess is now a solo artist, while guitarist Jack Antonoff fronts the band Bleachers and has become one of music’s most in-demand producers, working with artists including Taylor Swift, Lorde, St. Vincent and Lana Del Rey.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Shania Twain joins the judges’ panel for UK singing competition show ‘Starstruck’

Shania Twain joins the judges’ panel for UK singing competition show ‘Starstruck’
Shania Twain joins the judges’ panel for UK singing competition show ‘Starstruck’
Erika Goldring/Getty Images

Shania Twain is joining the celebrity judging panel for series 2 of Starstruck, the U.K. singing competition that streams on ITV.

The country superstar will join fellow stars Adam Lambert, Beverley Knight and Jason Manford on the panel. Starstruck follows talented singers as they impersonate their musical idols, going head to head as they vie for the top prize.

The latest iteration of Starstruck — a revival of Stars in Their Eyes, which first aired in 1990 — premiered this February and has since been picked up for more episodes. The show announced its series 2 judges’ lineup this week on social media.

“It’s a real honor. I am such a fan of the other artists on the panel,” Shania said in the video announcement. “… I can’t wait to see all the amazing talent there, and all I can say is, let’s go ITV!”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

An Expected Party: Chef Marcus Samuelsson dishes on his Middle-earth inspired menu for ‘The Rings of Power’

An Expected Party: Chef Marcus Samuelsson dishes on his Middle-earth inspired menu for ‘The Rings of Power’
An Expected Party: Chef Marcus Samuelsson dishes on his Middle-earth inspired menu for ‘The Rings of Power’
Photo: Matt Dutille

In New York City Wednesday night, Amazon Studios prepared a special feast inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Middle-earth and the streaming service’s about-to-debut The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

At the helm of the event was Ethiopian-born Swedish-American celebrity chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson, who was tasked with transporting guests gastronomically to the Second Age, and into the dining halls of the respective kingdoms of Dwarves and Elves and men.

On the menu was a fried chicken dish inspired by the realm of the Ñoldorin Elves called Eregion; a spiced lamb shoulder that could have been found within the stone walls of the Dwarf kingdom of Moria; and an almond cake to celebrate the establishment of Númenor, the human Kingdom of Man.

ABC Audio caught up with Samuelsson after the feast, and he said it was a thrill “just to be asked, being such a fan of the show and the books, to the films.”

He added, “You know, coming from a Nordic background like it was, like foraging: some of the foods — I really felt like, ‘OK, I’m inspired by this, I can do this, let’s have some fun with this!'”

“It was super fun,” he continued. “You’ve got to kind of, like, put your ‘serious chef hat’ away and just be like, ‘I’m going to go for it.'”

Those who use Amazon Echo devices can now ask Alexa for all of Samuelsson’s Middle-earth recipes.

“Alexa also gives you just sort of [a] tool to really engage,” the chef said.

“And now food is really part of pop culture, right? Because this is entertainment, technology and bringing people together, what can be better than that?”

The Rings of Power debuts today on Amazon Prime.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Get on your feet … and order Gloria Estefan’s new Barbie Doll

Get on your feet … and order Gloria Estefan’s new Barbie Doll
Get on your feet … and order Gloria Estefan’s new Barbie Doll
Courtsey Mattel

Gloria Estefan is 65 today, and she’s getting a doll for her birthday.

To mark her milestone birthday, Mattel has introduced the Gloria Estefan Barbie® Doll, dressed in an outfit based on the one Gloria wore in her 1989 video for “Get On Your Feet.” The Gloria Barbie wears a black jacket with gold detailing and lace sleeves, a leopard belt with a gold waist chain and thigh-high boots.

Gloria tells E! Online that her look in the video, especially her “torero,” or bullfighter-style jacket, was inspired by her grandfather, who was from Spain. She also wanted to have Moroccan touches to honor that side of husband Emilio Estefan’s family. She tells E!, “It’s just one of my favorite looks that I’ve ever had.”

In a statement, Gloria says of the doll’s outfit, “When designing my Barbie with the team, I wanted to ensure I was staying true to my multicultural roots – and I believe we did just that.”

Gloria tells E! that of all the honors she’s ever received, having a Barbie is “a big one for me,” adding, “I played with Barbies since I was a little girl.”

You can buy the doll at Target, Amazon, Walmart and at MattelCreations.com.

As part of the partnership, the Barbie® brand is also supporting two arts programs in the Philadelphia area: Artistas y Musicos Latino Americanos and the Esperanza Arts Center. The programs help fund private music lessons for young people, and train them in arts production and administration.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukrainian children go back to school amid war

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukrainian children go back to school amid war
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukrainian children go back to school amid war
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:

Sep 01, 1:16 PM EDT
Part of IAEA mission leaves Zaporizhzhia power plant: Report

Several experts with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog have left the Zaporizhzhia power plant, according to Russian news agency Interfax.

Four out of the nine vehicles that arrived earlier Thursday as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency convoy left at 2:15 p.m. local time after about four hours at the plant, according to an Interfax reporter on the ground at the Ukrainian facility.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, who is leading the mission, was among those to leave, while some experts remained behind and will stay at the plant, according to Interfax.

Ukraine’s nuclear regulator, Energoatom, also confirmed Thursday that the majority of the IAEA mission has left the power plant, including Grossi, and that five experts stayed behind to unload equipment brought to the plant.

The IAEA team is expected to remain at the plant through Sept. 3, Energoatom said in an update posted to Telegram.

In a video statement posted to Twitter, Grossi said he completed a first tour of “key areas” at the plant on Thursday.

“Of course there’s a lot more to do,” he said. “My team is staying on, and more importantly and most importantly, we are establishing a continued presence … from the IAEA here.”

-ABC News’ Natalia Shumskaia and Fidel Pavlenko

Sep 01, 12:44 PM EDT
NYC apartment of Russian oligarch searched by federal agents: Sources

Federal agents searched the New York City apartment of Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg on Thursday, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The oligarch’s Park Avenue apartment was searched by federal agents with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, the main investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the sources said.

An address in East Hampton associated with Vekselberg is also being searched as part of court-authorized activity involving the Justice Department’s KleptoCapture task force, according to sources.

The task force has been seizing assets of Russian businessmen associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin over suspected violations of U.S. sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.

The task force is trying to find yachts, airplanes and other moveable property before the oligarchs can transport them to jurisdictions where it might be more difficult for U.S. authorities to investigate.

In April, Spanish authorities seized Vekselberg’s $90 million yacht in the port of Palma de Mallorca at the request of the Justice Department.

Vekselberg was among the oligarchs previously sanctioned by the U.S. after Russia invaded Crimea in 2018.

-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky

Sep 01, 9:46 AM EDT
New school year begins in Ukraine

Thursday marked the start of a new school year in Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing war.

For many of Ukraine’s four million schoolchildren, their last day of school was the day before Russian forces invaded their country on Feb. 24. Since then, thousands of schools across Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed, with less than 60% of schools deemed safe and eligible to reopen by the Ukrainian government, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

At least 379 children have been killed in Ukraine since the war with Russia began, while the whereabouts of 223 others are unknown and another 7,013 were among Ukrainians forcibly transferred to Russia from Russian-occupied areas, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office. And as of July 31, an estimated 650,000 Ukrainian children living as refugees in 12 host countries were still not enrolled in national education systems, according to UNICEF.

UNICEF is working with the Ukrainian government to help get the country’s schoolchildren back to learning, in classrooms when it is deemed safe, and through online or community-based alternatives if in-person is not possible. Some 760,000 children have received formal or non-formal education since the start of the war. More than 1.7 million children and caregivers have benefited from UNICEF-supported mental health and psychosocial support interventions, the agency said in a press release Thursday.

On the first day of Ukraine’s academic year, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visited a rehabilitated primary school damaged during the early weeks of war. Only 300 students can attend at any one time due to the capacity of the school’s bomb shelter, a mere 14% of the school’s pre-war capacity, according to UNICEF.

“The new school year should be a time of excitement and promise, as children re-enter the classroom and share stories of their summer with friends and teachers,” Russell said in a statement Thursday. “Yet, for four million children in Ukraine, the mood is one of trepidation. Children are returning to schools — many of which have been damaged during the war — with stories of destruction, uncertain if their teachers and friends will be there to welcome them. Many parents are hesitating to send their children to school, not knowing if they will be safe.”

Sep 01, 8:40 AM EDT
IAEA mission arrives at Zaporzhzhia nuclear power plant

A high-stakes mission from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog reached a Russian-controlled power plant in Ukraine on Thursday afternoon amid reports of heavy fighting there.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has long sought access to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, since invading Russian troops overran the site and the surrounding town of Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine in early March. The Ukrainian workers have been left in place to keep the plant operating, as it supplies electricity across the war-torn country, but the site is now on the frontline between Russian-occupied and Ukrainian-controlled territory. Moscow and Kyiv have traded accusations of shelling at or near the plant in recent days and weeks, fueling fears that the conflict could spark a radiation disaster.

IAEA’s Rafael Grossi, who is leading a team of over a dozen experts sent to inspect the besieged plant, said earlier Thursday that they were “aware” of the high risk posed by the “increased military activity in the area” between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

“There has been increased military activity, including this morning, until very recently, a few minutes ago. I have been briefed by the Ukrainian regional military commander here about that and the inherent risks,” Grossi told reporters as he and his team left their hotel in the city of Zaporizhzhia, north of Enerhodar, across the Dnipro River.

“But, weighing the pros and cons, and having come so far, we are not stopping,” he added. “We are moving now.”

A few hours later, the IAEA announced via Twitter that its “Support and Assistance Mission … has just arrived at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant to conduct indispensable nuclear safety and security and safeguards activities.”

Aug 31, 10:45 AM EDT
IAEA mission arrives in Zaporizhzhia

A long-awaited expert mission from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog arrived in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s team will travel to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant near the town of Enerhodar on Thursday for the first time.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, who is leading the mission, told reporters during a press briefing in Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday that the aim is for his team to establish a permanent presence at the Russian-occupied plant and that the initial phase would take “days.”

When asked if it was possible to demilitarize the site, Grossi said it was “a matter of political will” and that his mission is to preserve Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant. He admitted it was “not a risk-free mission” and underlined that his team would be operating in Ukrainian sovereign territory but in cooperation with Russian forces.

Asked if he thought Russian troops would really give his team full access, Grossi told reporters the IAEA was on a “technical mission” and that he was confident his team could work “on both sides.”

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.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Cipollone, Philbin expected to appear Friday before federal grand jury probing Jan. 6: Sources

Cipollone, Philbin expected to appear Friday before federal grand jury probing Jan. 6: Sources
Cipollone, Philbin expected to appear Friday before federal grand jury probing Jan. 6: Sources
Pat Cipollone in Washington, D.C. on July 8, 2022. – Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE

(WASHINGTON) — Two former top Trump White House lawyers are expected to appear Friday before a federal grand jury investigating the events surrounding Jan. 6, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.

Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and former deputy White House counsel Pat Philbin were subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, ABC News reported last month.

The move to subpoena the two men has signaled an even more dramatic escalation in the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack than previously known. Members of former Vice President Mike Pence’s staff have also appeared before a grand jury.

Officials with the Department of Justice declined to comment when reached by ABC News. A representative for Cipollone and Philbin also declined to comment.

Sources previously told ABC News that attorneys for Cipollone and Philbin were expected to engage in negotiations around any grand jury appearance, while weighing concerns regarding potential claims of executive privilege.

In July, Cipollone spoke to the House Jan. 6 select committee for a lengthy closed-door interview, portions of which have been shown during two of the committee’s most recent public hearings.

Cipollone spoke to the committee on a number of topics, including how he wanted then-President Donald Trump to do more to quell the riot on the day of the attack, and how Cabinet secretaries contemplated convening a meeting to discuss Trump’s decision-making in the wake of the attack.

Both Cipollone and Philbin have also sat for interviews with the FBI regarding Trump’s handling of documents.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.