Cardi B and Offset celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary Monday night, and the “I Like It Like That” rapper serenaded her husband with a Beyoncé song.
While riding to a restaurant for a romantic candlelit dinner, Cardi sang “Plastic on the Sofa” from Queen Bey’s new album, Renaissance.
“We don’t need the world’s acceptance, they too hard on me / They’re too hard on you, boy / I’ll always be your secret weapon in your arsenal,” she sang softly while gently caressing her husband’s face in a video posted to her Instagram Stories.
When she asked if he thinks she can sing, Offset replied, “Yeah, you got some vocals.”
Earlier that day, Cardi also sang a line from “Plastic on the Sofa” when she received a surprise personalized early birthday gift from Beyoncé. Mrs. Carter sent her a handwritten note across the top of a vinyl copy of the Renaissance album.
“To: Cardi B,” the 28-time Grammy winner wrote. “Hard working, beautiful and talented queen, thank you for always supporting me. Sending so much love to you and yours, Respect, Beyoncé.” The “Bodak Yellow” rapper was thrilled as she displayed her present on Twitter.
“Look what Beyoncé sent me,” Cardi said, holding the vinyl up to the camera for all her followers to see. “It’s so beautiful, so lovely. I’m gonna put it in a glass frame with laser beams on it. Anybody who gets motherf***ing next to it is gonna get electrocuted on motherf****ing sight.”She ended her video saying, “I just wanna say thank you so much. I feel so special.”
Cardi turns 30 years old on October 11. She married Offset on September 20, 2017 in Atlanta. They have two children together: son Wave, who turned one on September 4, and daughter Kulture, 4.
(NEW YORK) — Regions along the Atlantic basin likely won’t see relief once Hurricane Fiona passes, as four more systems follow in the Category 4 hurricane’s wake.
Tropical Storm Gaston is the newest named system to form in the Atlantic. The storm currently carries winds of 65 mph and is located off the Azores, the archipelago in the mid-Atlantic.
The storm will strengthen as it drifts to the east but is forecast to perform a loop-de-loop and head west-northwest, eventually transitioning into a post-storm system.
Meteorologists expect Gaston to remain a “fish storm” because it will only affect marine life, other than some ships that will redirect their routes to avoid the storm.
It is unclear whether the same will apply to three more systems that have formed off the west coast of Africa.
At least one of the systems is likely to strengthen into a named storm as it heads toward the Caribbean in the coming days.
The next named storm will be Hermine, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The succession of storms threatening the Caribbean comes after Hurricane Fiona wreaked havoc on islands such as Guadalupe, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico — where the majority of utility customers lost power as a result of the storm. At least two fatalities have been reported.
Fiona is now heading north toward Bermuda as a strong Category 4 storm with winds at 130 mph — prompting a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch there and an increase in rip current threats along beaches on the East Coast of the U.S. Fiona is not forecast to hit Bermuda directly but is expected to pass just west of the island.
The recent uptick in activity comes after a record quiet stretch in July and August.
Billie Eilish released the live videos for her songs “TV” and “The 30th,” which were both filmed in Singapore.
The Grammy winner traveled to the Cloud Forest in the country’s Gardens by the Bay — most likely because they stand for several causes near and dear to Billie’s heart: innovation, sustainability and conservation.
“Singapore was one of the first places I ever went on tour. I was only there for a day and absolutely fell in love with it,” she said in a statement. “The Cloud Forest is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Billie is surrounded by a lush, green garden bursting with bright orange, pink, red and yellow flowers as she performs her two songs. She said it felt right to film the music videos for “TV” and “The 30th” in the Cloud Forest.
“These two songs really are just very important to me in a lot of ways,” the Oscar winner expressed. “I feel really connected to them and very personally protective over them, and I wanted to have some sort of peace with the songs that felt really intimate and personal. It just felt really comfortable to do it in a place as beautiful at the Cloud Forest.”
Billie released the songs early into the summer after launching a surprise performance of “TV” when on her Happier Than Ever world tour. Before debuting the song alongside her brother, FINNEAS, she told the excited crowd, “We haven’t played a new song live before it’s out since 2017 or 2018.”
The new music videos were made in partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board as part of their international recovery campaign, SingapoReimagine.
(NEW YORK) — Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, President Joe Biden on Wednesday cast the defining conflict facing global leaders as a duel between democracy and autocracy, directly responding to new threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin to escalate the war in Ukraine.
The speech is Biden’s first at the forum since Russia’s invasion, offering him the opportunity to condemn the Kremlin in front of an audience of fellow heads of state.
Biden opened his remarks with a strong rebuke of Putin after he earlier Wednesday ordered a partial mobilization of reservists in Russia and raised the specter of using nuclear weapons after a retreat in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
“Let us speak plainly, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded its neighbor, attempted to erase the sovereign state from the map,” Biden said. “Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenants of the United Nations Charter.”
“Just today, President Putin has made overt nuclear threats against Europe and reckless disregard of the responsibilities of a nonproliferation regime,” Biden continued. “Now, Russia is calling, calling up more soldiers to join the fight and the Kremlin is organizing a sham referendum to try to annex parts of Ukraine, an extremely significant violation of the U.N. Charter.”
Biden called the conflict “a war chosen by one man” and slammed Putin for his attacks on Ukraine’s schools, railway stations, hospitals.
“Even more horrifying evidence of Russia’s atrocity and war crimes: Mass graves uncovered in Izium, bodies, according to those that excavated those bodies, showing signs of torture. This war is about extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state, plain and simple. And Ukraine’s right to exist as a people. Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever you believe, that should not–that should make your blood run cold,” he said.
Biden reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to help Ukraine and called on other U.N. members to do the same.
“Each of us in this body who determined to uphold the principles and beliefs we pledged to defend as members of the United Nations, must be clear, firm and unwavering in our resolve,” he said.
Biden also announced a commitment of $2.9 billion in global food aid, an effort to address growing famine in the Horn of Africa, and rising food prices worldwide due to the war in Ukraine, and inflation.
As Biden grapples with a series of complicated global issues, the high-stakes summit presents a range of challenges for the administration.
The no-shows
Although U.N. General Assembly meetings offer an abundance of opportunity for face-to-face diplomacy — something the president prides himself on — two key players weren’t in attendance: the leaders of Russia and China.
“Our competitors are facing increasingly strong headwinds, and neither President Xi nor President Putin are even showing up for this global gathering,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday.
In Putin’s case, the most pressing of those headwinds are losses on the battlefield in Ukraine, according to administration officials.
Ahead of an engagement with his counterpart from the U.K., Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced reports that Moscow plans to hold sham referenda in occupied territories in Ukraine to pave the way to annex territory.
“I think this is also not a surprise this is happening now. We have seen in the last weeks significant gains by Ukraine,” Blinken said. “It’s a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of Russian failure.”
But as a number of other heads of state push for negotiations for peace, the gathering won’t offer a robust opportunity for Biden to pursue that path with the leaders of the countries involved in the conflict. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in New York, but there are no plans for a meeting with U.S. officials on the books.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also give a speech on Wednesday, but he will do so remotely as the only leader allowed to appear virtually this year.
China’s Xi Jinping’s absence means there’s no chance an in-person meeting with the president, something that hasn’t happened since Biden took office. And the two have an ever-growing list of differences to discuss.
The past months have seen multiple escalations, with China responding to any step perceived as the U.S. moving towards recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign state with shows of force, a strategy a senior State Department official described as an attempt to normalize military pressure.
While the administration says Washington’s long-standing “One China” policy remains in effect, Biden also said U.S. troops would defend Taiwan if it were attacked.
The impermanent 5?
Russia’s exalted position as one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council has thrown a significant wrench in the body’s efforts to check its aggression, prompting calls that it should be removed altogether.
U.S. officials appeared to be aligning behind a plan that, instead of subtracting Russia as a permanent member, would seek to make additions to the Security Council.
A senior State Department official said that Biden would attempt to “reenergize” the push for reform by arguing the arm needs to be “more representative of the world’s population, and filled with countries that are ready to work together.”
The odds of expanding the council appear slim. Reforming its makeup would require amending the U.N. charter, a step that Russia or any other permanent member could veto.
The rest of the agenda
While the war in Ukraine is shaping up to dominate the General Assembly, administration officials have stressed they want to take on other global issues as well.
Biden in his speech discussed the need to tackle food insecurity, the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis and climate change.
“Let this be the moment, we find within ourselves, the will to turn back the tide of climate devastation and unlock a resilient, sustainable clean energy economy to preserve our plant,” Biden said.
One pressing matter facing the White House is its push to return to an Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran. Indirect negotiations appear to have stalled again, and officials from both countries appear increasing pessimistic that the pact can be renewed.
Sullivan said Biden plans to reiterate that the U.S. is open to returning to an agreement, but that he isn’t anticipating any major breakthroughs.
Even a meeting with one of America’s closest allies has its thorns. Biden will hold his first meeting with the U.K.’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, as the differences between the two’s economic policies become ever apparent.
Recently, Truss said completing a long-awaited trade deal with the U.S. was not a key priority and unlikely to happen anytime soon. But Sullivan said it would be on the president’s list.
“I do think that they will talk about the economic relationship between the U.S. and the U.K.,” Sullivan said, adding they would also hit other areas where Truss and Biden have more in common, such as support for Ukraine and addressing Europe’s energy crisis.
That’s R.E.M.‘s “Losing My Religion” video in the spotlight, being viewed one billion times.
The iconic clip has officially hit the milestone count on YouTube, 11 years after it was first uploaded to the site. It joins fellow ’90s videos Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Guns N’ Roses‘ “November Rain,” AC/DC‘s “Thunderstruck,” Metallica‘s “Nothing Else Matters,” The Cranberries‘ “Zombie,” 4 Non Blondes‘ “What’s Up,” and Whitney Houston‘s “I Will Always Love You” in the billion views club.
“Losing My Religion” was initially released in 1991 as the lead single off R.E.M.’s album Out of Time. Its video won Video of the Year at the 1991 MTV VMAs.
News of “Losing My Religion’s” billion views achievement coincides with the anniversary of R.E.M.’s breakup. The band announced that they were splitting up on September 21, 2011.
Sleeping with Sirens has announced a run of intimate U.S. shows celebrating the upcoming release of the band’s new album, Complete Collapse.
The outing begins October 11 in Nashville and concludes October 28 in Fresno, California. Tickets go on sale this Friday, September 23 at 10 a.m. local time.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit SirensMusic.co.
Complete Collapse is due out October 14. It includes collaborations with Underoath‘s Spencer Chamberlain, Dorothy, Royal & the Serpent and Charlotte Sands.
You can also catch Sleeping with Sirens play the much-anticipated When We Were Young festival next month in Las Vegas.
Maren Morris’ Humble Quest is up for Album of the Year at the 2022 CMA Awards, but she says that she might not attend the ceremony this year — even though she’s grateful for the nomination.
“Honestly, I haven’t decided if I’m gonna go,” Maren tells the Los Angeles Times in a new interview. “I’m very honored that my record is nominated. But I don’t know if I feel [at] home there right now.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Maren spoke about her recent feud with Jason Aldean’s wife, Brittany, regarding some transphobic comments that Brittany made in an Instagram reel. It’s not the first time that Maren has spoken out against racism, sexism or other hate-filled speech and actions in the country music industry.
“So many people I love will be in that room, and maybe I’ll make a game-time decision and go,” the singer says of the CMAs. “But as of right now, I don’t feel comfortable going.”
She went on to say that she’s at peace with that decision, especially because she’s previously felt uncomfortable at awards shows.
“I think I was more sad going last year,” Maren admits. “Some nights are fun. Others I’m just crawling out of my skin. I’m not good at those events because I’m awkward. But this time I kind of feel peaceful at the notion of not going.”
The 2022 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville November 9 on ABC. Luke Bryan is set to co-host the show alongside Peyton Manning.
Whitney Houston’s movie debut, The Bodyguard, is heading back to theaters for its 30th anniversary.
The special screenings — scheduled for Sunday, November 6 and Wednesday, November 9 — will also include Whitney’s videos for two songs from the soundtrack — “Queen of the Night” and “I Will Always Love You” — immediately following the film.
Tickets for the screenings go on sale September 28 at 10 a.m. ET via TheBodyguard30.com.
The Bodyguard stars Whitney as Rachel Marron, a superstar actress and singer who hires a bodyguard, played by Kevin Costner, after being threatened by a stalker. The two eventually fall in love, but their romance is ill-fated. The film grossed over $400 million worldwide.
To go along with the 30th anniversary of the film, a vinyl version of The Bodyguard soundtrack will arrive November 18, with a “smoky lavender” colored vinyl available exclusively at Target. You can pre-order it now.
The Bodyguard soundtrack, featuring Whitney’s megahit version of Dolly Parton’s song “I Will Always Love You,” has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide, making it the top-selling soundtrack album of all time. It also won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
As previously reported, the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody hits theaters December 21.
Doja Cat is not picking up the glow sticks and poi balls in her new album. The Grammy winner shut down talk that her next studio effort is inspired by “German rave culture.”
Doja told CR Fashion Book last week that she was working on her next album and they quoted her saying, “I’m very into this ’90s German rave kind of vibe right now and it’s really fun. I know that’s kind of the trend at the moment but I loved that stuff as a kid and now that I can express it… That’s kind of a hint to the album. Rave culture, not house.”
Those comments made waves on social media — so much so that the “Kiss Me More” singer clarified the comments in a series of tweets on Tuesday.
“im not doing a german rave culture album you guys,” she wrote. “i was pranking the outlet that interviewed me about it.”
Doja then followed up in a series of twotweets, saying “I’m doing an R&B album” and “Straight R&B no rap at all.”
Then, she got silly and further muddied the waters about her forthcoming work. “Yall I was lying. I’m doing an experimental jazz album. I thought it would be funny to steer you into believing i was doing r&b cuz i knew it would work but I’m doing experimental jazz now, honest truth,” she cracked.
Doja then tweeted in a voice note that she is actually “putting out a rock album,” named Rock Out Vol. 1: The Abyss 5000, that will have “emo jams.”
“I’m entering a rock phase,” she said. “… I’m gonna spit flames from my mouth on stage.”
It’s assumed this, too, is a joke. It is currently unknown when Doja will be issuing her fourth studio album.
(NEW YORK) — For 20 years, Donald Trump and his family enriched themselves through “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentations,” New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges in a new lawsuit that accuses the Trumps of “grossly” inflating the former president’s net worth by billions of dollars and cheating lenders and others with false and misleading financial statements.
The civil lawsuit, filed Wednesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, seeks a $250 million judgment and a prohibition on any of the Trumps leading a company in the state of New York.
Among other allegations, the suit claims that the former president’s Florida estate and golf resort, Mar-a-Lago, was valued as high as $739 million, but should have been valued at around one-tenth that amount, at $75 million. The suit says that higher valuation was “based on the false premise that it was unrestricted property and could be developed for residential use even though Mr. Trump himself signed deeds donating his residential development rights and sharply restricting changes to the property.”
“We found that Mr, Trump, his children, and the corporation used more than 200 false asset valuations over a ten year period,” James said at a press conference announcing the charges.
James is referring her findings to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who could possibly open a criminal investigation into bank fraud, according to a footnote in the lawsuit.
Through “persistent and repeated business fraud,” the Trumps convinced banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than deserved, according to the lawsuit, which named the former president, three of his adult children, the company, and two of its executives, Allan Weisselberg and Jeff McConney.
“Mr. Trump made known through Mr. Weisselberg that he wanted his net worth on the Statements to increase — a desire Mr. Weisselberg and others carried out year after year in their fraudulent preparation of the Statements,” the lawsuit said. “The scheme to inflate Mr. Trump’s net worth also remained consistent year after year.”
Weisselberg last month pleaded guilty to unrelated criminal charges of tax evasion brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which has been conducting a parallel investigation.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and has called the investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt” by an attorney general he has called “racist.” James, who is black, rejected a settlement offer from the Trump Organization last month to resolve the matter, sources told ABC News.
“Today’s filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law — rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General’s political agenda,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement Wednesday. “It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place. We are confident that our judicial system will not stand for this unchecked abuse of authority, and we look forward to defending our client against each and every one of the Attorney General’s meritless claims.”
During a deposition last month, Trump repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The lawsuit includes numerous instances in which Trump invoked the Fifth when asked to explain how the company calculated the value of certain properties. In a civil trial, jurors would be able to draw a negative inference about Trump declining to answer.
The attorney general’s investigation began in March 2019, after Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified before Congress that Trump’s annual financial statements inflated the values of Trump’s assets to obtain favorable terms for loans and insurance coverage, while also deflating the value of other assets to reduce real estate taxes.
Trump valued his Trump Tower apartment at $327 million, James said Wednesday. “No apartment in New York City has ever sold for that amount, she said, adding the inflated valuation was based on exaggerated square footage despite Trump knowing it wasn’t that big.
The suit also said a 2012 statement valued rent-stabilized apartments in the Trump Park Avenue property as if they could be rented at market value. As a result, units collectively worth $750,000 were valued at nearly $50 million, according to the lawsuit.
Trump Turnberry, a golf club in Scotland, was valued at nearly $127 million, but the suit said that since it opened in 2017 the golf course has operated at a loss each year.
“As a result, using values for the golf course ranging between $123 million and $126.8 million based on employing the Fixed Asset Scheme is materially false and misleading; the golf course should have been valued at a much lower figure,” the attorney general’s suit said.
“The examples I laid out barely scratch the surface,” James said Wednesday.
“The magnitude of financial benefit derived by Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization by means of these fraudulent and misleading submissions was considerable,” the suit said.
