Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of Netflix’s global smash Squid Game, is reportedly taking a look at his “overnight” success with a satire show called The Best Show on the Planet.
The creator was penniless when he wrote the show about cash-strapped people chosen to play a series of life-or-death games, only to see the show become a smash years after he created it. His show earned praise from fans and from the likes of Oscar winner Steven Spielberg, who reportedly once said to Hwang, “I want to steal your brain.”
Deadline reportsThe Best Show on the Planet will be a “satirical comedy … based on his personal experience of being thrust into the limelight.”
Last year, Hwang told the trade, “I feel like I’ve been swept by the Niagara Falls over the course of the last six months and fallen off a cliff. To have such compliments from Steven Spielberg was completely beyond my imagination. I still can’t work out whether this is real or I’m daydreaming.”
(NEW YORK) — The Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill that would ban abortion at conception, making it the most restrictive abortion ban in the country if it goes into effect.
There are exceptions in cases of saving the life of the mother, rape or incest.
The bill, HB 4327, which would go into effect immediately if signed by the governor, is modeled after a controversial Texas law that opens up providers and anyone who “aids and abets” an abortion to civil lawsuits.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a similar six-week ban into law earlier this month.
Planned Parenthood has already said it plans to challenge the state’s latest, more-restrictive abortion ban.
“This ban must be stopped — along with the other abortion bans the state passed just last month,” Planned Parenthood Action said.
Stitt seems likely to sign the bill into law. When the governor signed the so-called “heartbeat act” into law this month, he said he wanted Oklahoma “to be the most pro-life state in the country.”
Last month, Stitt signed another abortion bill that would make it a felony to perform abortions except when the mother’s life is in danger.
The GOP-led Oklahoma House of Representatives called HB 4327 the “most strongly pro-life bill of its kind by allowing civil liability from conception.”
“It is my sincere hope that, in addition to the criminal bill passed this session, this civil liability bill will provide strong, additional protection of the life of unborn children in Oklahoma,” state Rep. Wendi Stearman, a co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement.
The Center for Reproductive Rights said Thursday it plans to fight the ban if it goes into effect.
“Multiple generations of Oklahomans have relied on abortion access to shape their lives and futures. They have never known a world without that right,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. “But under this bill, people will be forced to travel hundreds of miles for an abortion, and those who cannot afford to travel will be forced to give birth against their will or attempt to end their pregnancies on their own. This is the cruel reality that politicians are creating for their own residents.”
The string of abortion legislation in Oklahoma comes as the U.S. Supreme Court debates a case that could impact Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. The conservative majority of the court appeared poised to overturn the nearly 50-year precedent, according to a leaked draft opinion initially reported by Politico earlier this month.
Several other Republican-led states — including Arizona, Kentucky and Wyoming — have similarly passed abortion legislation ahead of the decision, which is expected next month.
Jason Derulo has a new song — and of course, he has a new TikTok dance to go with it.
Jason’s teamed up with “Super Gremlin” rapper Kodak Black — who is also a Floridian with Haitian roots — for a summery floor-filler called “Slidin.'” And yes, the song does feature Jason doing his signature “Jason Derulo” thing in the beginning.
Jason’s also released a TikTok compilation of fans showing off their dance moves to the song. There’s an official dance as well — dubbed “the new electric slide” — which Jason shows off on Instagram. He posted an invitation Wednesday for fans to submit their dance videos in hopes of being cast in the song’s official music video.
“‘Slidin’ is right on time, feeling exactly like a much-needed summer vacation,” says Jason in a statement.
No word on whether “Slidin'” is a standalone single or is a preview of a new album.
(WASHINGTON) — When President Joe Biden arrives in Seoul on Friday, on his first trip to the region as president, he’ll be landing in a volatile region at a volatile time.
Biden will seek to shore up ties with regional allies and advance his vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, but he’ll do so as the threat of another nuclear test from North Korea looms.
At the same time, U.S. allies South Korea and Japan continue to squabble over historical grievances, blocking a breakthrough in bilateral relations.
Northern neighbor
Increasingly bellicose North Korea continues to paint itself as heavily-armed nation that its foes, including superpowers, should think twice about tangling with.
Images last month released by the official Korean Central News Agency showed the country’s leader Kim Jong Un overseeing a spectacular night parade in Pyongyang with soldiers marching in perfect formation and ICBMs.
“If any forces attempt military confrontation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, they will be perished,” Kim reportedly vowed in a fiery speech.
Since 2021, North Korea has been steadily improving its missile technology, drastically increasing testing, including purported hypersonic missiles in January and a submarine-launched ballistic missile, or SLBM in May, and what is believed to have been a successful intercontinental ballistic missile test launch.
It was the first of its kind in years and Kim might very well have more ICBMs fired off during Biden’s visit.
In what has become the new normal, each test launch typically garners perfunctory rebukes from the U.S. and its allies, with Japan predictably condemning the act, lodging complaints with the U.N., and then vowing to share information.
Unsettling signs
Signs indicate the North is restoring tunnels at its Punggye-ri testing site, where all six North Korean underground nuclear tests to date have been conducted. In 2018, Punggye-ri was famously dismantled “in a transparent manner” in front of the world’s media. Now in 2022, a U.S. official tells ABC News that “the facility at Punggye-ri is capable of testing a nuclear device in short order.”
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Wednesday that U.S. “intelligence does reflect the genuine possibility that there will be either a further missile test, including long-range missile test, or a nuclear test, or frankly, both, in the days leading into, on, or after the president’s trip to the region.”
Sullivan said the U.S. was “preparing for all contingencies, including the possibility that such a provocation would occur while we are in Korea or in Japan.”
The Biden administration says the North “could be ready to conduct a test there as early as this month.”
Circling the wagons
Biden will visit both Japan and South Korea, two key regional allies with a history of icy relations. South Korea’s newly minted conservative president Yoon Seok-youl has called for a thaw.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said, “There has never been a time when strategic cooperation between the two nations, and between them and the United States, has been more necessary,” and says there is no time to waste in improving bilateral ties.
Despite the friendly overtures from the leaders of the two nations, experts say neither side is willing to make the first move to resolve the rows.
Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan, told ABC News the calls for unity are music to Washington’s ears.
“The U.S. wants its allies to cooperate in coping with contemporary threats but they have remained divided over their shared past. Improving relations will be a difficult process because history is very politicized in both nations,” he said.
Kingston said the recent failures of the two countries to see eye-to-eye is a wake-up call for those who have hopes that they could overcome the colonial past. “They also battle over territory — the Dokdo/Takeshima islets — and whatever else is handy.”
Jaechun Kim, professor of international relations at South Korea’s Sogang University, also has doubts fences can easily be mended.
Despite President Yoon’s signaling the desire for closer relations with Japan, he walks a tightrope, Kim said.
“There is limit to which he can be proactive here because if you’re seen as compromising on ‘history’ issues toward Japan, that is politically suicidal in the Republic of Korea,” he told ABC News.
Kim said Japan and Korea will have to have to find common ground somewhere.
“We should not expect or push for a breakthrough on history issues. That’s not realistic,” he said. “Rather, the two countries will have to deepen cooperation on issues where their interests converge, issues such as economic engagement and maritime cooperation in Indo-Pacific, and trilateral security cooperation between ROK, Japan, and the U.S. in Northeast Asia to augment deterrence and defense against North Korea’s nukes and missiles.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — An Erie County, New York, 911 dispatcher could be fired after an employee at the Tops supermarket said the dispatcher hung up on her during Saturday’s attack that killed 10 people.
Latisha Rogers, an assistant store manager, told The Buffalo News that the dispatcher “was yelling at me” during those terrifying moments when the shooter was firing in the store.
“You don’t have to whisper,” Rogers said the dispatcher told her as she tried to stay quiet so the gunman wouldn’t find her. “And I was telling her, ‘Ma’am he’s still in the store. He’s shooting,'” according to the paper’s account.
The county will seek the dispatcher’s termination following a review of the 911 call, a spokesman for the Erie County Executive’s Office told ABC News.
The spokesman, Peter Anderson, said dispatching officers to the scene was unaffected by the actions. Police have said officers arrived a minute after the shooting began.
Rogers told The New York Times she was behind the customer service counter when the shooting began. She ducked behind the counter to call 911 and told the paper she whispered, “There’s someone shooting in the store.”
Rogers said the dispatcher asked why she was whispering and told her she couldn’t hear her, according to the Times. The line then cut out.
Payton Gendron, 18, has been charged in the mass shooting, which authorities have said was racially motivated. All 10 people killed in the attack were Black.
Rogers, who is also Black, was uninjured in the shooting.
So far, Josh Groban has performed his Great Big Radio City Show concert just a handful of times since he launched it in 2020, but if you weren’t able to get to New York City to check it out, one of his shows is going to be livestreamed next month.
Josh most recently did the show last month over three nights, and those performances featured special guests like Cyndi Lauper, actress/singer Rita Wilson and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan. It’ll livestream June 9 at 8 p.m. ET at Livestream.JoshGroban.com and will be then be available On Demand through Sunday, June 12. Tickets start at $35 and are on sale now.
During the livestream, fans will be able to flip through different camera angles so they can watch the show in their preferred way. A VIP experience is also available, which features a live Zoom Q&A and special performance with Josh that’ll start at 7 p.m. ET, plus exclusive merch.
Brad Paisley may be a big country star these days, but like a lot of his peers in the music business, he got his start as a young kid playing in bars before he was even old enough to drink.
Brad was 13, but his bandmates were on the opposite end of the age spectrum, he said during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this week. “I was this little guy that had a band of senior citizens,” he said.
“We were named the C-Notes, because that was our fee, $100,” Brad explains. “And my friends called them The Seniles. They were all Korean War veterans that were playing with me. It was an amazing experience.”
While the music was incredible, Brad admits that the onstage fashion left a lot to be desired. “They dressed me, too, which was kind of the problem. I sort of dressed like them,” he said.
Brad is one of several country stars making one final visit to the Ellen stage before the show ends at the conclusion of this season. For Brad, it’s a sentimental visit: He’s been going on the talk show ever since its first season.
(NEW YORK) — Brandon Woodruff had appeared to live the normal life of a 19-year-old, small-town Texas kid – but that changed in 2005, when both of his parents were brutally murdered. After an investigation, Woodruff was charged with capital murder, found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
Now, Woodruff has served 13 years of his life sentence and said he’s finally ready to share his story in the first interview after his conviction.
“I’m innocent. I did not kill my parents at all,” Woodruff told “20/20” in an interview. “I think that you should look at the totality of the evidence.”
Woodruff grew up in a community outside of Dallas with his mother Norma Woodruff, father Dennis Woodruff and older sister Charla Woodruff.
Watch the full story on “20/20” FRIDAY at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
Growing up, former high school classmates said they remember Woodruff as a popular, outgoing, animal lover who was the president of the Future Farmers of America. The teen was voted most school spirit and had a steady girlfriend.
But during the investigation of his parents’ murders, authorities discovered that while Woodruff attended Abilene Christian University, he would go dancing at gay clubs, was dating men and had even traveled out of state to participate in adult movies.
On Sunday October 16, 2005, Woodruff visited his parents at their new home in Royse City, Texas. The couple was downsizing to help pay college tuition for their two children. He told police he left after the family enjoyed a pizza dinner together. Woodruff was the last known person to see both of them alive.
Two days later, Dennis and Norma Woodruff were found murdered in their new home. According to authorities, Dennis Woodruff was found shot once and stabbed nine times. Norma Woodruff sustained multiple gunshot wounds and had her neck slashed, investigators said.
Police concluded that Norma and Dennis Woodruff must have likely been killed sometime between 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday night. However, the medical examiner was not able to confirm the time of death. Norma Woodruff’s last phone conversation was with her mother around 9 p.m. and the next person to try and contact the couple was Charla Woodruff, who was at college in Arkansas, just after 11 p.m. Charla Woodruff was unable to reach them. When Woodruff was questioned by police about his whereabouts that night, there were inconsistencies in his timeline.
Michelle Lee, the mother of Woodruff’s girlfriend, also contacted law enforcement to report that a gun and bullets were missing from her home. Woodruff had been in her home the weekend before his parents were found dead. Investigators compared a bullet found at the crime scene with a bullet from the Lee home and said they believed they were consistent. The Lee’s gun was never found, but investigators believe it was the same caliber as the weapon used in the crime. A murder weapon was never recovered and Woodruff denies stealing the gun.
Woodruff was arrested and charged with capital murder.
In June 2008, a family member found a dagger in the barn of the Woodruff’s old house in Heath, Texas. Dennis Woodruff’s blood was on this weapon. Brandon Woodruff’s former college roommate testified that dagger was the same one Woodruff had in his dorm room. Authorities could not conclude if the dagger found was the murder weapon and Woodruff denies that the weapon is his.
Woodruff’s grandmother Bonnie Woodruff has supported Woodruff from the beginning and still maintains her grandson is innocent.
“I know Brandon was wrongfully judged. And murder? Now I know Brandon didn’t do that. Someone else is letting him take the blame for it,” said Bonnie Woodruff.
Over the past decade, advocates for Woodruff say there are red flags surrounding the investigation and his subsequent trial. Woodruff claims his sexuality played a role in his arrest and conviction.
“I do believe that that’s a major factor. I felt like the investigators were able to use that. They would say, well, ‘Did you know that he was dancing in gay bars? Did you know he had a boyfriend, did you know?’” said Woodruff.
During the investigation, police told friends and family of Woodruff that they “don’t care” if he is gay.
During jury selection, eight out of twelve jurors told the court that they believed homosexuality was morally wrong, but they were still allowed to serve on the jury after promising the court they could be fair toward Woodruff.
“Guess what? In 2005 people still felt that homosexuality was immoral because eight of the 12 jurors on Brandon’s case specifically said it was immoral,” said Philip Crawford, the author of a book called “Railroaded” about Woodruff’s case.
ABC News spoke with several jurors who said Woodruff’s sexuality wasn’t a factor in the jury’s decision.
While in prison, supporters have started a movement to free Brandon and now the Innocence Project of Texas has taken his case.
Allison Clayton, the deputy director with the Innocence Project of Texas claims that the prosecution’s case against Woodruff relied heavily on a timeline because they say Woodruff’s whereabouts were not accounted for at the time that authorities estimate the couple was killed. Clayton points to cell phone records that would further compress the window of opportunity to commit the murders.
“Brandon kills his parents in, what? the most, 19 minutes? He has to act fast or he is taking calls during the course of committing these murders,” said Clayton. “That’s the only way the timeline makes sense, that he does something to one of his parents, and then takes a call and chats with [a friend] like nothing’s wrong.”
In addition to the timeline, Clayton said one of the other biggest potential breakthroughs for this case would be taking DNA evidence from hair found in Norma Woodruff’s hand.
“In Norma’s hand, police found a clump of longer blonde hairs. Now, that would normally be an indicator that she had somehow grabbed her attacker and that she pulled his or her hair,” said Clayton. “Law enforcement never tested that hair. And one of the things that we’ve been fighting for in the case is trying to figure out who has that hair because we want it tested.”
In 2000, Woodruff’s direct appeal to the state was denied. In order for Woodruff to be released, he needs to prove to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that he is innocent.
“As it stands right now, if we don’t have a break in the case, then there’s nothing we can do for Brandon,” said Clayton. “He is going to be in prison for the rest of his life, but maybe there will be evidence that can help him, maybe someone is out there, who knows something, who’s willing to step forward.”
Bonnie Woodruff said that she still hopes that one day she can hug her grandson again and tell him “he’s home now.”
”We are all still a family unit and we all love one another. People can live with what they think, I can live with what I think because I know the truth and the truth’s gonna come out,” said Bonnie Woodruff.
Woodruff said he won’t stop fighting to prove his innocence.
“I’m not gonna stop. I’m gonna keep fighting and I’m gonna keep fighting to prove my innocence,” he said. “I do believe in my heart that it will happen.”
The NBA should probably keep its eye out for someone who could be the next big basketball star. And sure, Lebron James‘ son Bronny may just be one of them, but a younger, much shorter contender is also to be considered. And that is Drake‘s 4-year-old son, Adonis, who seems to also be following in Lebron’s footsteps.
Taking to Instagram Wednesday to share a video of the young star practicing his hoop skills, Drake is heard shouting from the sidelines supporting his son and motivating him to keep going.
“Reset, reset, reset. Good stuff,” says Drake after Adonis dropped the ball but restarted his moves down the court. The 35-year-old dad offered encouraging words to his boy, who eventually attempted a second shot that made it into the hoop.
“Let’s go, 1, 2 and we out to the crib,” Drake said calmly before again shouting, “To the crib!” Adonis had hit nothing but net.
The best part of it all — the toddler’s mannerisms throughout his workout. He’d give himself double-pats on the chest, just as the professional ballers do. He’d adjust his yellow and grey jersey, while also adjusting his posture on the court. He even yelled “Ball!” before approaching to catch the rock.
His dad found it funny but also questioned the source of the young boy’s gestures. “where is he getting the mannerisms from @kingjames,” he asked of the basketball legend.
Reposting the cute video on IG Stories, Lebron returned the love to Drake and his son, saying, “my nephew really love the game!!”
Last year, Olivia Rodrigo and Alanis Morissette interviewed each other for Rolling Stone, and when Olivia mentioned she was going to launch her first headline tour, Alanis said, “I’ll send you a kit. A survive-on-the-road kit for the sensitive soul.” Well, Olivia’s nearly done with the North American leg of her tour, and Alanis admits she hasn’t sent Olivia a darn thing.
While appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Thursday, Alanis was asked about her “survival kit.” The “Ironic” singer explained, “You’re either kind of a road dog or you’re not, and those of us who are road dogs, we have little tricks up our sleeve of what to bring to survive, for self-care. So for me, it’s about bringing the equivalent of my ‘blankie’ everywhere I go.”
“I think I mentioned in our conversation that I would send her a care package,” Alanis continued. “And I really should get on that! Thanks for reminding me, Kelly!”
It’s a good bet Alanis will include a copy of her upcoming meditation album, the storm before the calm, in the package — what better way for Olivia to unwind after a stressful day of traveling and rehearsing?
