Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson may no longer be an item, but that’s not stopping Katy Perry from apologizing for referencing the comedian last month.
To recap: Katy played a TikTok version of the game MASH and the future-predicting filter said Davidson was her lover. The Grammy winner — who is engaged to actor Orlando Bloom — grimaced at the thought, which caused Kim fans to cry foul.
A month later, Katy has finally made it right by sending Kim a beachy gift package filled with goodies from her footwear brand, Katy Perry Collections. In the ocean-themed box is a wooden sand shovel, an oyster-shaped clutch and a pair of adorable kitten-heeled sandals with oyster-shaped heels.
The note in the box, which was signed by Katy, reads, “If the shoe fits, wear it!”
Kim tagged the hitmaker and wrote “thank you.”
In other Katy news, the singer has teamed up with Apple to teach you some serious music remixing skills. Fans will be able to attend special 30-minute sessions to learn how to remix her song “Harleys in Hawaii” on GarageBand.
“You’ll experiment with Live Loops, Remix FX, audio recording, and more to create a unique remix on the spot. Bring your iPhone or iPad or we’ll provide the latest,” the Apple website explains.
These courses are available in most Apple store locations. You can find the one closest to you by visiting the Music Skills: Remix Katy Perry website.
Billy Idolwill release a new four-song EP titled The Cage EP on September 23. He’s given fans a taste of the record by making its lead track, the rocking and melodic “Cage,” available as a digital single.
The Cage EP follows another four-track collection from Idol, 2021’s The Roadside EP. Like last year’s EP, Idol’s main collaborator on the new project is his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens.
The veteran pop-punk rocker also debuted a music video for “Cage” on his official YouTube channel. The black-and-white clip features footage of Billy singing while alternately trying to free himself from a straitjacket and trapped in a small cage. Stevens also makes an appearance in the video, rocking out on lead guitar.
The Cage EP can be preordered now and will be available on CD, digitally, and as a standard black-vinyl disc and a limited-edition red-vinyl disc. A limited number signed copies of the EP are available at Idol’s official store.
Meanwhile, Variety reports that a new documentary about Idol is in the works from Grammy-winning filmmaker and videographer Jonas Akerlund, whose many credits include Madonna‘s “Ray of Light” video and Paul McCartney‘s Live Kisses concert film.
According to Variety, Akerlund was inspired to make a film about Idol after listening to Billy’s audiobook for his 2015 memoir Dancing with Myself.
“I told Billy, ‘This is a film … We need to tell this story,'” notes Akerlund. “He was there when punk-rock happened in London, then moved to New York just as MTV was exploding, and now he’s in Los Angeles. I personally love his story, the incredible events in his life. And the music has touched so many people.”
Here The Cage EP‘s full track list:
“Cage”
“Running from the Ghost”
“Rebel Like You”
“Miss Nobody”
(NEW YORK) — Allen Weisselberg, who first met Donald Trump in the 1970s when he began working for Trump’s father, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges in New York that accused him of running a yearslong scheme to avoid taxes while he was the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer.
Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all 15 counts — including conspiracy, criminal tax fraud, grand larceny and falsifying business records — and conceded he skirted taxes on nearly $2 million in income, including fringe benefits like rent, luxury cars and private school tuition for his grandchildren.
The plea implicates former President Trump’s namesake family business, which was charged in the same indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
“In one of the most difficult decisions of his life, Mr. Weisselberg decided to enter a plea of guilty today to put an end to this case and the years-long legal and personal nightmares it has caused for him and his family,” said Weisselberg’s attorney, Nicholas Gravante Jr. “Rather than risk the possibility of 15 years in prison, he has agreed to serve 100 days. We are glad to have this behind him.”
Weisselberg repeatedly answered “Yes, your honor” as Judge Juan Merchan asked a series of questions about the scheme to evade taxes, admitting that he falsely underreported compensation, including a luxury apartment on Riverside Drive in Manhattan, multiple Mercedes Benz cars, cash, private school tuition for his grandchildren, and additional homes.
As part of his plea deal, Weisselberg agreed to serve five months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. He also agreed to testify against the Trump Organization when the company goes on trial in connection with the alleged compensation scheme beginning in October.
If he does not testify truthfully, the deal is off, exposing Weisselberg to additional prison time of between five and 15 years.
“The defendant must agree to testify truthfully at the trial of the Trump Organization,” assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass said.
The plea agreement contains no requirement for Weisselberg to cooperate in the criminal case against Trump himself, which centers on whether the former president knowingly misled tax authorities, lenders and insurance brokers by providing inaccurate financial statements about the value of his real estate portfolio.
Weisselberg must also pay back taxes and penalties totaling $1.94 million.
“Today Allen Weisselberg admitted in Court that he used his position at the Trump Organization to bilk taxpayers and enrich himself,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “This plea agreement directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal activity and requires Weisselberg to provide invaluable testimony in the upcoming trial against the corporation. We look forward to proving our case in court against the Trump Organization.”
A corporate tax fraud case was not what prosecutors were after. When they first filed charges against Weisselberg last summer, prosecutors hoped Weisselberg would turn on Trump, sources have told ABC News.
Trump asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a deposition last week as part of a parallel civil investigation by the New York Attorney General’s office.
“For years, Mr. Weisselberg broke the law to line his own pockets and fund a lavish lifestyle. Today, that misconduct ends. Let this guilty plea send a loud and clear message: we will crack down on anyone who steals from the public for personal gain because no one is above the law,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement following Weisselberg’s guilty plea.
The criminal investigation, which began under former Manhattan DA Cy Vance, appeared to stall earlier this year when the two senior prosecutors leading it resigned amid frustration that Bragg was not immediately seeking an indictment against Trump, sources told ABC News.
Bragg’s office has said the investigation remains ongoing.
Tom Hollander, Diane Lane and Calista Flockhart have been added to the season two cast of the FX series Feud, according to Variety. They join previously announced series stars Naomi Watts and Chloë Sevigny. The second season of Ryan Murphy‘s anthology series follows the true story of how Truman Capote‘s friendship with numerous members of New York high society was soured after he published excerpts of his unfinished novel Answered Prayers, with the excerpts serving as a tell-all about the city’s elite…
Quinta Brunson‘s Emmy-nominated ABC series Abbott Elementary will return for its second season on September 21, ABC announced in a promo video released on Wednesday. Per ABC, “Philly’s favorite educators are gearing up for another school year, which means more workplace laughs are on the way”…
Ramy Youssef announced on Wednesday that his Hulu original series Ramy will return for its third season on September 30. The comedy drama, based on Youssef’s real-life experiences, follows “a first-generation American Muslim who is on a spiritual journey in his politically divided New Jersey neighborhood.” In the third season, Ramy’s family is forced to confront having lived a life dedicated to worldly concerns — and in some cases, lies — while Ramy all but abandons his spiritual journey, instead dedicating himself to him and his uncle’s diamond business, per ABC. Laith Nakli, Hiam Abbass, Amr Waked, May Calamawy, Dave Merheje, Mohammed Amer and Steve Way also star…
Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Hannah Waddingham and Cecily Strong have added to the voice cast of a new animated Garfield film, joining Chris Pratt and Samuel L. Jackson, according to Deadline. The film is based on Jim Davis’ titular lazy comic strip cat and his interactions with his owner, Jon Arbuckle, along with his fellow pet, Odie the dog. Jackson will reportedly play a brand-new character, Garfield’s father, Vic. Details as to the roles of the other actors have not yet been revealed…
Netflix has ordered a new version of the cult favorite reality show The Mole, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series, which originally aired for five seasons on ABC between 2001 and 2008, will feature “12 contestants working together on a series of challenges that, if completed successfully, add money to a prize pot that only one of them will win. The mole, meanwhile, tries to sabotage the other players’ efforts while maintaining their cover as a regular player,” according to THR. The reboot is set to launch on Netflix in the fall…
With less than two weeks until the MTV Video Music Awards, details about the big show continue to be revealed. The latest update: Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J and Jack Harlow will serve as emcees on the big night.
The selection of three anchors puts “a more innovative and unique” spin on hosting as we know it, but their duties are no different from those of previous emcees. As usual, the stars will guide the crowd through the night, announcing performers, presenters and awards along the way.
The 2022 VMAs will air live from the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Sunday, August 28, at 8 p.m. ET. Jack, Lizzo and Nicki, who is also set to receive the Video Vanguard Award, are expected to hit the stage.
(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 18, 12:04 PM EDT
Russia rejects calls to create demilitarized zone around Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
The international calls and proposals for Russia to create a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine are “unacceptable,” according to Ivan Nechayev, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department.
“Their implementation will make the plant even more vulnerable,” Nechayev said at a press briefing on Thursday.
Moscow is expecting experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations, to visit the Zaporizhzhia plant “in the near future,” according to Nechayev.
The secretary-generals of the U.N. and the IAEA have called for the establishment of a demilitarized zone around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Shortly after invading neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian troops stormed the Zaporizhzhia 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. However, heavy fighting around the site has fueled fears of a catastrophe, like what happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine over 36 years ago.
Aug 18, 9:34 AM EDT
Firefighter describes destruction after deadly strikes in Kharkiv
A Ukrainian firefighter who responded to the Russian missile attacks in Kharkiv overnight told ABC News that the scale of the blasts was “one of the biggest” he’s ever seen.
One of the rockets struck a large apartment block on Wednesday night, killing at least nine people and injuring another 16, according to Ukrainian authorities.
“It went through all four floors and hit the ground and almost blew up everything,” the firefighter, Roman Kachanov, told ABC News during an interview on Thursday. “All the buildings around were without windows.”
“There was a dormitory, and the building was almost completely ruined,” he added. “There was a playground that was smashed like a big titan blew it up.”
Kachanov is among the rescue workers searching for survivors amid the smoldering rubble.
“I’ve seen three bodies on the floor covered by objects,” he said. “We tried to extract them and while we tried, the other wall started to fall and we had to run away as fast as we can.”
Kachanov said another missile hit the city before dawn Thursday, not far from where he and his team were working. He said the blast “was very loud” and “sounded close.”
“Everyone had to lay down,” he recalled. “The team had to split — fire truck had to leave to go to that other fire.”
Aug 17, 5:40 PM EDT
Large apartment block struck in Kharkiv, at least 7 dead
At least seven people are dead and another 13 injured by strikes on a large apartment block in Kharkiv, officials said.
Based on recovered shrapnel, authorities determined an Iskander-M missile system was used in the strike, said Ivan Sokol, Ukraine’s director of the regional Department of Civil Defense.
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing at the three-story residential building, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said.
-ABC News’ Tatiana Rymarenko
Aug 15, 1:49 PM EDT
Shelling resumes near power plant, both sides claim the other is firing
More shelling was underway Monday in city of Enerhodar, which is under Russian control and where the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is located.
Enerhodar Mayor Dmytro Orlov urged residents to stay inside. He said Russian forces seized another government facility in Enerhodar, a lab where 30 of the employees are refusing to cooperate with the Russian-appointed administration.
Meanwhile, Russia’s semi-official Interfax reported that Ukrainian forces opened fire in Enerhodar.
Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator Energoatom said the plant remained occupied and controlled by Russian forces on Monday. The Ukrainian staff continues to work and make every effort to ensure nuclear and radiation safety, but Energoatom warned that periodic shelling by Russian troops with multiple rocket launchers since last week caused a serious risk to the safe operation of the plant.
Aug 15, 5:53 AM EDT
Griner to appeal Russian conviction, lawyer says
Brittney Griner’s defense team filed an appeal for the verdict by Khimky City Court, according to Maria Blagovolina, a partner at Rybalkin Gortsunyan Dyakin and Partners law firm.
The WNBA star was found guilty on drug charges in a Moscow-area court this month.
-ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova
Aug 14, 4:44 PM EDT
1st UN-chartered ship loaded with Ukrainian wheat set to depart for Africa
The first UN-chartered ship loaded with Ukrainian wheat is set to head for Africa from the near the port city Odesa, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.
The MV Brave Commander is loaded with 23,000 tons of wheat that will be shipped to Ethiopia as part of a mission to relieve a global food crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has halted grain exports for months, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Alexander Kubrakov announced at a news conference.
Kubrakov said the UN-chartered ship is scheduled to leave the Pivdenny port near Odesa on Monday.
“When three months ago, during the meeting of the President of Ukraine (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Kyiv the first negotiations on unlocking Ukrainian maritime ports began, we have already seen how critical it is becoming a food situation in the world.” Kubrakov wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “This especially applies to the least socially protected countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, for whom Ukraine has always been a key importer of agro-production.”
He said Ethiopia is in desperate need of Ukrainian grain.
“This country has been suffering from record drought and armed confrontation for the second year in a row,” Kubrakov said. “Ukrainian grain for them without exaggeration — the matter of life and death.”
He said he hopes the MV Brave Commander will be the first many more grain shipments under the U.N. World Food Program.
Aug 12, 2:28 PM EDT
‘They treat us like captives’: Exiled Zaporizhzhia manager on conditions at plant
An exiled manager at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant told ABC News that the Ukrainian staff is treated “like captives.”
Oleg, who asked to be referred by a pseudonym, said he felt threatened by the Russian soldiers.
“They didn’t say, ‘I’m going to shoot you now,’ but they always carry guns and assault rifles with them,” said Oleg, who managed one of 80 units at the plant but was able to leave last month. “And when an assault rifle or a gun has a cocked trigger, I consider it as a threat.”
Amid reported shelling in the vicinity of the plant, Oleg said he was primarily concerned about its spent fuel containers, “which are in a precarious position, and they are not shielded well.”
Aug 11, 4:43 PM EDT
UN secretary-general calls for all military activities around nuclear power plant to ‘cease immediately’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “calling for all military activities” around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant in southern Ukraine “to cease immediately,” and for armies not “to target its facilities or surroundings.”
Ukraine’s nuclear regulator Energoatom said Russian forces shelled the plant for a third time on Thursday, hitting close to the first power unit. Earlier on Thursday, Energoatom said five rockets struck the area around the commandant’s office, close to where the radioactive material is stored.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed interim governor of Zaporizhzhya Oblast, issued a statement claiming Ukrainian forces struck the plant, hitting close to an area with radioactive material.
Guterres said he’s appealed to all parties to “exercise common sense” and take any actions that could endanger the physical integrity, safety or security of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
“Instead of de-escalation, over the past several days there have been reports of further deeply worrying incidents that could, if they continue, lead to disaster,” he said, adding that he’s “gravely concerned.”
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, pleaded with the U.N. Security Council Thursday to allow for an IAEA mission to visit the plant as soon as possible. He said the situation at the plant is deteriorating rapidly and is “becoming very alarming.”
This year’s MTV VMAs will have not one but three emcees: Jack Harlow, Nicki Minaj and LL Cool J.
Jack and Nicki will be pulling double duty on the show: both will also be performing. In addition, Jack has seven nominations, including Video of the Year and Artist of the Year, while Nicki is set to receive the 2022 Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. She’s also nominated in the category of Best Hip Hop Video for the Lil Baby-assisted “Do We Have a Problem?”
As for LL Cool J, he received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 1997, but he’s also had lots of experience hosting music award shows — most notably, the Grammys.
In addition to Nicki and Jack, Lizzo,Måneskin,BLACKPINK,Anitta, J Balvin, Marshmello, Khalid,Panic! At The Disco and country star Kane Brown will all be performing at the 2022 MTV VMAs, airing August 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
As previously reported, the leading nominees are Jack, Lil Nas X and Kendrick Lamar, all of whom have seven nods. Doja Cat and Harry Styles each have six. Billie Eilish, Drake, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd have five apiece.
If you’re feeling bad about that text message you sent that got left on read, it might be comforting to know that even Ozzy Osbourne doesn’t always get an answer back.
In an interview with Metal Hammer, the Prince of Darkness shares that he reached out to Jimmy Page to appear on his upcoming new solo album, Patient Number 9, only to get crickets from the Led Zeppelin legend.
“I don’t even know if he plays anymore, but I thought getting Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page meant having the greatest guitarists on the planet,” Ozzy shares. “But I never heard from him. Maybe he’d lost his phone or something!”
Osbourne’s comments follow an interview Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who plays on Patient Number 9, gave to the Talk Is Jericho podcast earlier this year, during which he said that there was an attempt to recruit Page for the album.
While the potential Page collaboration didn’t come to be, Patient Number 9 features a ton of other guests, including Clapton, Beck, Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, Black Label Society‘s Zakk Wylde, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
If you’re feeling bad about that text message you sent that got left on read, it might be comforting to know that even Ozzy Osbourne doesn’t always get an answer back.
In an interview with Metal Hammer, the Prince of Darkness shares that he reached out to Jimmy Page to appear on his upcoming new solo album, Patient Number 9, only to get crickets from the Led Zeppelin legend.
“I don’t even know if he plays anymore, but I thought getting Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page meant having the greatest guitarists on the planet,” Ozzy shares. “But I never heard from him. Maybe he’d lost his phone or something!”
Osbourne’s comments follow an interview Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who plays on Patient Number 9, gave to the Talk Is Jericho podcast earlier this year, during which he said that there was an attempt to recruit Page for the album.
While the potential Page collaboration didn’t come to be, Patient Number 9 features a ton of other guests, including Clapton, Beck, Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, Black Label Society‘s Zakk Wylde, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Since Kane Brown became a dad in 2019, he’s learned to roll with the punches.
During an appearance on Apple Music 1, the singer tells Zane Lowe that parenthood has had a dramatic — and positive — impact on how he views the world. “It’s been amazing,” he says.
“It’s definitely changed me on the outlook of life,” he continues. “I used to care what everybody thought of me, and now I just care what my daughters and wife think, so I think that’s been a huge weight off my shoulders.”
Kane and his wife, Katelyn, are parents to Kingsley Rose, who will turn 3 years old this October, and Kodi Jane, who was born at the end of 2021. As he juggles a busy music career — including a new album, Different Man, set to arrive September 9 — the singer’s first priority is always his family.
“Just being there for them right now is everything to me,” he adds.
He’s made that clear on his social media, too: Kane regularly shares adorable videos of his little girls, including one recent video of Kingsley’s adorable giggles as she and her country star dad goof off and make silly faces during her bedtime routine.
