There are many special moments in Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani‘s seven-year relationship, but there’s one in particular that stands out in Gwen’s mind.
While appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Gwen and host Kelly Clarkson were reminiscing on some of Gwen’s famous fashion moments, including the red gown she wore to the Vanity Fair Oscar’s afterparty in 2016.
But the dress wasn’t the only memorable aspect of the event, as it also marked Gwen’s first red carpet appearance with her now-husband.
“That was my first public date with Blake Shelton,” Gwen confirms while looking at the throwback photo. “He never does red carpets.”
The pop superstar took the country singer as her date to the party, where she was performing; the couple hit the town after the event.
After dating for six years, the pair tied the knot in Oklahoma on July 3, 2021. But Gwen still has fond memories of their first official public outing.
“That melts me when I see it because it’s such a moment for me. A good one,” she describes.
Blake and Gwen have also reunited on the set where they met, retuning as coaches for season 22 of The Voice.
When she’s not working on her music, Grammy-winning singer and songwriter H.E.R has been gearing up to take on the role of Princess Belle in the 30th anniversary live action special of Beauty and the Beast.
The R&B star says she’s “so excited” about the project and looking forward to adding some of her own flare to the beloved character.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so excited! I’ve been in the studio, playing with the arrangements, of course staying true to the original but giving it a new fresh twist,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “It’s gonna be like H.E.R. but also Belle, you know? And I’m really excited.”
The casting of the 25-year-old musician is a historic one; it’ll be the first time Belle will be played by a Black and Filipino woman.
“I can’t believe I get to be a part of the Beauty and the Beast legacy,” H.E.R. said in a statement. “The world will see a Black and Filipino Belle! I have always wanted to be a Disney princess, and I get to work with two wonderful directors — HamishHamilton and my favorite, JonM.Chu. It is very surreal.”
H.E.R., who will also serve as a producer for the special, added that she “couldn’t be more grateful” for the opportunity.
Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration will tape live in front of a studio audience and air Thursday, December 15, on ABC.
(NEW YORK) — Getting a foot in the door at a company is a huge step for any job seeker. And one woman’s clever concept involving a cross-country pastry ploy quickly went viral on LinkedIn, but it was an unexpected friendship with the Instacart delivery woman who was integral to the plan that was the real icing on the cake.
Like so many Americans searching for their next move in a sea of creative, well-qualified applicants, 27-year-old Karly Pavlinac Blackburn was hoping to land a conversation at her dream company but got stuck trying to figure out how to break through.
“I was actually talking to my former colleague about getting in front of employers — and he was like, ‘Well, Karly you need to do better … show up in a creative way … what about a resume on a cake?’ ” she recalled, speaking with ABC News’ Good Morning America.
Although Pavlinac knew there were no open positions with Valiant Labs, Nike’s new business incubator, she took up her colleague’s suggestion in the hopes that it might help her find some favor within their team.
“I was like, I’m actually going to do that,” she said, noting that she hoped the cake would ensure she was “on their mind if roles did come up in the future.”
As for the execution, Pavlinac, who previously founded and sold a celebrity fitness monetization app, admitted “it was kind of difficult” because she lives in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Nike World Headquarters are based in Beaverton, Oregon — meaning she couldn’t just swing by a bakery, pick up a specialty order and deliver it to them herself.
“I’m on the other side of the country trying to get a cake delivered to Nike, [which is] in Oregon,” she said.
Instead, Pavlinac searched online and found an Albertson’s store 4.4 miles from Nike World Headquarters that offered screenprint-frosted photos on sheet cakes with delivery options through Instacart.
“The only difficult thing is when an Instacart delivery is made, you don’t know who’s gonna deliver it,” she said. “The cake has to be made ahead of time, so I had to call Albertsons and I was like, ‘Hey, there’s gonna be a delivery on this day, I know, you don’t know about it yet, but I’m gonna have to have this cake ready. You’re gonna need the image, and it’s gonna have to be ready before they get there [to pick it up].'”
On Sept. 8, an hour ahead of the delivery window at 8 a.m. local time, Pavlinac called the Albertsons store to confirm the order — a half-sheet vanilla cake with her resume printed on top — would be completed.
Everything was on schedule — now all Pavlinac needed was to ensure the cake would make it to its location.
“Lucky for me Denise was the person from Instacart that day to pick up the cake, because she’s just so amazing,” Pavlinac said, referring to highly ranked platinum Instacart courier Denise Baldwin.
Baldwin had her own to-do list once she arrived at the store to pick up the cake delivery.
“[Pavlinac] wanted me to take a look at it and make sure it looked OK,” Baldwin told GMA of the initial instructions that came with the Instacart order. “Me and the baker were both talking about it, because we couldn’t believe that somebody had gone out of the box and did a resume on a cake … I messaged Karly and said, ‘It looks great. I’m on my way to the campus, and I’ll let you know how things go.'”
The two stayed in constant communication after Baldwin left the store and navigated the massive Nike campus in search of Mac Myers from Business Operations at Nike Valiant Labs.
“She gets there and someone from security was like, ‘OK leave the cake here.’ And [Denise] said, ‘No, I have to give it to Mac, I have to see it go in his hands,'” Pavlinac recalled. “At the time I didn’t know this, but she had her 8-month-old son on one hip the whole time — she didn’t even tell me, she was just like, ‘I’m gonna get it done.'”
The working mom of three — with another on the way — told Pavlinac, “‘Don’t worry, I’m here on the campus. I’ll do whatever it takes.'”
Myers eventually came down after a call from security letting him know about the delivery. According to Baldwin, Myers was “kind of blown away” and even asked to take a picture of himself with the cake for confirmation.
The pair later shared their story in a now-viral LinkedIn post, which has been liked more than 100,000 times and garnered thousands of comments.
Pavlinac has been busy ever since with back-to-back calls from recruiters and potential employers. She’s also been checking in regularly with her new mentee, Baldwin, who is looking for her dream job as well.
“My day is jam-packed from 8 [a.m.] to 5 [p.m.] with conversations, interviews — I have so many amazing messages from people on LinkedIn that I’m still trying to go through,” Pavlinac said, adding that she has her sights set on a future in product marketing.
“The cool thing afterwards was, [Denise] texted me, ‘You’ve inspired me to go chase after something better,'” Pavlinac said. “I told her whatever I can do to help find a job … be it sharing documents on ‘how to do a job should search’ or talk[ing] about what jobs might fit.”
Baldwin, a self-described “go-getter,” said she’s looking for a position in an assistant or human resources role that capitalizes on her communications and multitasking skills.
“I’m just trying to get my foot in the door where I can have good benefits for my kids and have some security and stability,” she said.
Perhaps more important is the newfound friendship the two women have developed as a result of their cake delivery scheme — and what that friendship has taught them both.
“Denise inspires me to be a better person,” Pavlinac said.
(NEW YORK, TOKYO and SEOUL) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan early on Tuesday morning, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said.
South Korea and the U.S. conducted a joint strike package flight and precision bombing drill in response to the ballistic missile test, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told ABC news.
The Japanese government issued a “J-alert” through its emergency warning system, advising residents to take cover in sturdy buildings or underground.
A government spokesperson said Japan didn’t attempt to shoot the missile down because they didn’t think it posed a threat.
A U.S. defense official confirmed the launch to ABC News.
Residents in Aomori and Hokkaido prefectures, toward the northern end of Japan, were advised to be on alert and to notify police or fire officials if debris is seen.
Tuesday’s launch marked the seventh time a North Korean missile flew over Japan. The last time was in August 2017. North Korea has shot 21 ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles since January, a record-breaking number of launches in a single year. Tuesday’s launch was the country’s fifth missile test in just over a week.
“We ask that people return to life as usual, calmly,” the Japanese government’s chief spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters at a press conference.
People were also warned by officials not to touch or pick up any debris.
The office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began to gather members to analyze the situation.
A government spokesperson said no damage has been reported so far and a search is underway for debris. Officials are gathering information and will work with South Korea and the U.S.
“North Korea’s actions threaten Japan and the international community,” the spokesperson said. “Missile launches like this go against the U.N. resolutions. Japan will launch a strong protest against North Korea in light of this. All new information will be shared promptly.”
The White House said in a statement late Monday local time in Washington, D.C., that “the United States strongly condemns the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) dangerous and reckless decision to launch a long-range ballistic missile over Japan.”
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts on Monday night local time, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.
“In both calls, the National Security Advisors consulted on appropriate and robust joint and international responses,” Watson said, “and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reinforced the United States’ ironclad commitments to the defense of Japan and the ROK [South Korea].”
Regional players may have few cards left in their hands to play towards curbing North Korea, observers said. Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan, told ABC News that the missile launch was a very provocative act as it comes amidst numerous missile tests this year.
“There are no good options for [South Korean President] Yoon, Kishida, Biden to rein in Kim Jong Un,” Kingston said. “Sanctions and condemnation have failed to deter him and there is no good military option.”
North Korea recently passed a law declaring its readiness to launch preemptive nuclear strikes. Analysts warned that the country may seek to reaffirm its nuclear weapons state status and is prepping for a seventh nuclear test.
Jaechun Kim, professor of international relations at South Korea’s Sogang University, said the U.S., Korea and Japan should mobilize cooperation from like-minded countries in non-U.N. sanctions to thwart North Korea’s provocations.
“A unified front must be established that imposes sanctions on North Korea, as they did on Russia,” Kim said. “This is the only way to penalize North Korea for its bad behavior.”
Kim also told ABC News that China, North Korea’s strongest ally, may have no little or no say in North Korea’s actions.
“North Korea just does what it needs to do these days. So, with or without China’s support, it is quite likely for the North to conduct 7th nuke test,” Kim said. “It will be interesting to see whether Xi Jinping will throw his weight behind Kim Jong Un.”
Imagine growing up in a small village in Armenia, moving to Wisconsin for a year and then moving back to Armenia. That’d be kind of disorienting, right? That’s what inspired Rosa Linn‘s breakout hit “Snap” — but she says people all over the world are telling her they can relate to it as well.
“I was 19 and I came back from the U.S. I was an exchange student for one year, and June 22nd was the day of my flight back to Armenia and it was mentally very hard to readjust,” Rosa tells ABC Audio, explaining why she wrote the lyric “Since June 22/My heart’s been on fire.”
“I was heartbroken. I was confused,” she says of leaving behind all the friends she’d made in the U.S. But also, she notes, “From 2019 [on], we started facing a lot of craziness in the world, too. So it kind of all led me to being at this snapping point, y’know?”
After Rosa sang “Snap” while representing Armenia in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the song went viral on TikTok and is now a big hit. She’s the third Eurovision artist in as many years to score a U.S. hit, following Duncan Laurence‘s “Arcade” and Maneskin‘s “Beggin’.” She credits it to TikTok, plus Eurovision upping its game by finally starting to showcase “good pop songs” — the kind that everyone can connect to.
“I got a lot of messages from people all over the world saying, ‘Thank you, the song came right in time for me because I’m going through…the same thing that you were going through,'” Rosa tells ABC Audio.
“Some people are telling me sad stories. Some people are telling me happy stories,” she notes, adding, “It’s amazing to see people connected to it from different angles.”
Russell Dickerson says his upcoming album is a “soundtrack” to his life that he hopes fans apply to their own stories.
Following the release of 2020’s Southern Symphony, Russell is gearing up to share his third studio album. It includes his current single featuring Jake Scott, “She Likes It,” which is in the top 20 on country radio.
Russell admits he could’t help but have a robust track list of 15 songs, despite trying to whittle it down to 10 or 11.
“It’s 15 of the songs that I could not stop listening to over the last two years since I put my last record out,” he says. “I had to put 15 because I couldn’t choose and I was like, ‘We’re going to put a big ol’ fat album out there.’ I could not be more stoked.”
Russell says the self-titled project runs the gamut when it comes to subject matter, ranging from party songs to songs about fatherhood, as he and wife Kailey Dickerson became parents to their first child, son Remington, in September 2020.
“It’s heartbreak songs, it’s love songs, it’s family songs. I’m a dad now. It’s emotional songs, it’s party songs,” he explains. “It’s literally a soundtrack for whatever you’re feeling, dial up that song. If you’re ready to party, there’s a handful of songs for that. If you’re feeling down, there’s some songs for that. If you’re feeling emotional, if you need uplifting, there’s a song for that.”
Russell Dickerson will be released on November 4. He’s also shared one of the new songs on the album, “I Wonder.”
Historic collectibles associated with The Beatles, David Bowie, Elvis Presley and many other stars will be part of an entertainment memorabilia auction hosted by Propstore taking place November 3-6 in London.
The music-related portion of the sale is scheduled for November 4, and bidding will be accepted in person at the BAFTA 195 Piccadilly venue, as well as online and via the phone.
Among the sale’s many highlights are a pair of Altec 605A studio monitors from London’s famous Abbey Road Studios that were used by The Beatles and many other artists. They’re estimated to bring in up to 100,000 pounds, or about $116,000.
Also up for bid is a spacesuit costume that Bowie wore in his 1980 “Ashes to Ashes” video, which is expected to fetch as much as 80,000 pounds, or about $93,000.
The auction also a gun license application signed by Elvis, which is estimated to sell for up to 60,000 pounds, or about $69,000.
The potentially priciest music-related item being auctioned by Propstore is a Custom Silver Sparkle Gibson Les Paul Florentine guitar that belonged to Oasis‘ Noel Gallagher, which is estimated to fetch from 300,000 to 500,000 pounds, or about $347,000 to $578,000.
Other collectibles going on the block include a “Queen of the Night” outfit worn by Whitney Houston in the 1996 film The Bodyguard, a studded leather bracer that belonged to Michael Jackson, a striped blazer worn by Paul McCartney, a leather jacket that Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash wore in the “Paradise City” video and a booklet autographed by all four Beatles members.
You can check out the full list of items being auctioned atPropstoreAuction.com.
Billy Eichner is sharing his thoughts after his movie Bros‘ disappointing performance at the box office.
“Box office, as we all know, has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of a movie,” he tweeted Monday. “And tweeting about a movie you haven’t actually seen is meaningless. That’s just twitter bull****. The majority of people who see Bros really love it! Go check it out and see for yourself!”
The 44-year-old added that he will continue to post about the LGBTQ+ romantic comedy just to spite the haters.
“And yes I’m going to continue tweeting about Bros every day for the next year just to spite you! GO BROS!!! I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!#BrosMovie,” he shared.
Bros — co-written by and starring comedian Eichner alongside Luke Macfarlane — debuted over the weekend with an underwhelming $4.8 million.
(LONDON) — The third week of nationwide protests in Iran turned particularly violent Sunday when security forces besieged Sharif University, a prominent university in the country, and closed the main gates of the facility where hundreds of students were protesting.
The violent confrontation led to arrests and injuries, according to eyewitnesses who shared their accounts on social media sites such as Vahid Online.
The unrest swept the country after the suspicious death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of the morality police, which arrests women for not wearing a hijab properly. Protests, however, soon went beyond the condemnation of the morality police and turned into a movement against the Islamic Republic, with slogans demanding the toppling of the regime.
Reports from inside Sharif University Sunday night described the atmosphere as “dreadful.” Many shared accounts of students being trapped inside the university and told to leave the premises through a parking garage. Once they got there, however, the students found themselves encircled by the guards who were waiting to arrest them, the Sharif University Islamic Association reported. Students were tear-gassed and shot by pellet guns, paintballs and rubber bullets, according to the association.
In his first comments about the protests since they broke out on Sept. 17, Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed the U.S. and Israel for the unrest.
“The incident that happened in which a young girl died was a bitter one. Our hearts were also broken,” he said Saturday in a graduation address for the country’s armed forces.
Accusing protesters of making the streets “unsafe” by setting cars and banks on fire, he said people should have waited for the results of the “investigation.”
“I say clearly that the riot is designed by America, the Zionist regime and those on their payroll,” Khamenei said, alleging that some of the protesters have links to the country’s former monarch or some of its opposition groups.
According to the Iranian penal system, such accusations can put people behind bars for years or even put them at risk of execution.
According to Iran Human Right, the death toll from the protests was 133 on Sunday, 40 of whom were killed in an attack in the southeastern city of Zahedan on Sept. 30.
State-linked media, however, confirmed only 19 of the casualties in Zahedan and accused “separatists” of the attacks in the southeast.
The Islamic Association of Sharif University Students said it invited “students and professors of universities across the country to close their classes as a sign of solidarity with the professors and students of Sharif University.”
The call for the strike was received by many university students who kept protesting despite the crackdown on the Sharif University protests.
While other strikes were announced by small business owners, teachers and some labor associations, the excessive violence against university students has raised concerns.
The first open call for a strike was issued by the Coordinating Council of Teachers’ Cultural Associations on Sept. 26. The Council “strongly condemned” the violent action taken by the state against protesters, especially students, and asked all working and retired educators to stand with the protesters.
“Nationwide strikes cause psychological pressure on the repressive forces to realize that many people agree with the protesters,” a Health Ministry employee told ABC News. He asked that his name not be used for fear of retribution.
“I hope people understand they would be better off striking in the long run because nothing matters as much as togetherness and unity,” he said.
(WASHINGTON) — After her investiture at the U.S. Supreme Court last week, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson heralded her “seat at the table” and a desire to “get to work.”
During oral arguments Monday, the public got a glimpse of what that looks like: the nation’s first Black woman justice emerged as a remarkably active questioner in her debut on the bench, making clear she will not hesitate to make her mark on debate.
“Let me try to bring some enlightenment to it,” Jackson said dryly to an attorney challenging key parts of the Clean Water Act.
The law gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate “waters of the United States,” but there is widespread disagreement about the extent to which wetlands count.
The case, the first of the court’s new term, will decide the scope of EPA power over tens of millions of acres of marshland and swamp land. Environmental advocates say public health and safety hangs in the balance.
“Isn’t the issue what Congress intended?” Jackson pressed. “Why is it that your conception of this does not relate in any way to Congress’ primary objective?”
“The objective of the statute is to ensure the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters,” she added.
Attorney Damien Schiff, representing an Idaho couple that wants to build their dream home on a lot near Priest Lake, argued that the federal government should not have unbound power to regulate wetlands on Americans’ property without direct, physical connection to a major body of water.
“The Sacketts’ property contains no waters, much less waters of the U.S.,” Schiff said. The EPA contends marsh on the Sacketts’ property has a “significant nexus” to the nearby lake.
The court will decide early next year how to draw the line.
The dispute played out for nearly two hours inside a courtroom packed with attorneys, clerks, special guests, and members of the public for the first time in two and a half years since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the arguments to go virtual. Masks were not required, though Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan wore them on the bench.
The nine justices assumed new seating assignments, by seniority, for the first time since the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer. Flanking Chief Justice John Roberts at the center are Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Jackson, as the newest members of the court, hold the seats at each end of the bench.
Heightened security measures were visible throughout the courthouse, including a new requirement that water cannot be brought inside the building, but a steel security fence that had encircled the Court starting in June has been removed.
While the proceedings were again opened to the public in-person, the Court has decided to continue livestream audio online. “I think that’s a great compromise on transparency and a huge step for the chief justice,” said Sarah Isgur, a former Justice Department attorney and now an ABC News legal analyst.
The court gaveled in a new term and welcomed Justice Jackson as public confidence in the institution has slumped to a new low.
Jackson’s appointment does not alter the ideological makeup of the court — six conservatives, three liberals — but her presence could change dynamics in untold ways.
“Each new justice really changes the institution,” said Kate Shaw of Cardoza School of Law and an ABC News contributor. “By all accounts, she is a bridge builder and a warm and collegial person. I don’t expect any radical change, but it’ll matter for the public to see her on the bench, and I think it will matter as the court starts issuing opinions.”
Jackson spoke at least 21 times during Monday’s argument in the Sackett case, according to an ABC News review of the transcript.
“Although Justice Jackson might be more liberal in some respects than Justice Breyer, she won’t change the really polarized cases. But every new justice is a new court, and there could be some unexpected alliances,” Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, said.
