Selena Gomez turned the big 3-0 last Friday, and after taking a few days to process the major event, she says she’s excited for what’s to come.
Sharing two black-and-white portraits taken at her party — one of her laughing and the other a glamour shot — the Grammy nominee opened up about how she feels about starting this new chapter in her life.
“Have had a moment to catch up. Though there are so many words to say I’ll simply leave it at this. My twenties were a journey through good, hard and beautiful moments that I will never forget,” she penned in a lengthy Instagram post. “Each of them has shaped me into the person that I am today.”
The Only Murders in the Building star continued, “I am someone who is still learning, but is more certain about what matters and what she wants. Someone who is grateful for every single gift and every single lesson along the way. I am walking forward encouraged by so many strong, empowering people around me.”
“I want to try my best to take the beautiful and the painful one day at a time and let it all make me into the very best me that I can be for myself/others/you,” Selena expressed. “After a few days of celebrating, my heart feels full, grateful and I can say that I’m starting to really like 30.”
She closed the meaningful post by telling her fans, “Thank you SO much for being a part of my life, here’s to another decade! Love you all inside and out so much it hurts!”
In a separate post, Selena showed fans the gorgeous dress she wore to her birthday party, a sheer, blush rose Versace gown with a beaded, high low skirt line.
Foo Fighters, Måneskin and Twenty One Pilots are among the nominees for the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.
Dave Grohl and company will compete in the Best Rock category with their Jason Sudeikis-starring clip for “Love Dies Young,” while the Italian rockers and the “Stressed Out” duo are up for Best Alternative with “I Wanna Be Your Slave” and “Saturday,” respectively.
The other Best Rock nominees are Jack White‘s “Taking Me Back,” Muse‘s “Won’t Stand Down,” Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ “Black Summer,” Shinedown‘s “Planet Zero” and Three Days Grace‘s “So Called Life.”
In the Best Alternative category, you’ll also find Avril Lavigne‘s “Love It When You Hate Me” feat. blackbear, Imagine Dragons and JID‘s “Enemy,” Machine Gun Kelly and WILLOW‘s “Emo Girl,” Panic! at the Disco‘s “Viva Las Vengeance” and WILLOW and Avril Lavigne’s “Grow” feat. Travis Barker.
Foo Fighters are also nominated for Best Longform Video for their horror-comedy movie Studio 666, while Twenty One Pilots’ Roblox concert is up for Best Metaverse Performance. Måneskin also picked up a nod in the Best New Artist category along with “abcdefu” artist GAYLE.
Billie Eilish, meanwhile, is nominated for a total of five awards, including Song of the Year and Best Direction for “Happier Than Ever” as well as Best Longform Video for her Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles performance film.
The 2022 MTV VMAs take place August 28. Voting is now open at Vote.MTV.com.
Ashton Kutcher is opening up about returning for the That ’70s Show reboot.
Kutcher, who played Michael Kelso in the original series, headed back to the basement for the reboot That ’90s Show, and he told Entertainment Tonight that the whole experience was “insane.”
“We shot it,” the actor, 44, revealed. “It’s funny and it’s weird. It was super nostalgic and really odd. Going back into the basement — just going back into the set was weird. And then being around everyone, it’s just bizarre.”
“It’s just — it’s insane,” he added. “The fact that that happened is insane.”
That ’70s Show ran for eight seasons from 1998 until 2006. Alongside Kutcher, the series also starred his now wife Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama, Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, and Tommy Chong, all of whom are set to return for the new show.
A release date for That ’90s Show, which will air on Netflix, has not yet been announced.
Fans have been burning to see Rege-Jean Page‘s the Duke of Hastings, back on their screens since season one of Bridgerton ended. However, it doesn’t seem he’ll be making a return anytime soon.
While appearing on Monday’s Good Morning America, host Michael Strahan asked Page, “What do you say to all those fans, they’re still waiting and clamoring for you to come back?”
“I mean, I’ll take the compliment that’s built in there,” the 34-year-old actor replied. “I’m so glad that they had a good time and they want more. Shonda [Rhimes] and I are still super proud of how we stuck that landing.”
He added, “Much like we were talking about playing villains, Simon started from a very dark place. He was emotionally broken and the fact that we had this beautiful redemption arc is what feels so good about him. He is now married, he has kids, he’s emotionally available, he’s communicating. They lived happily ever after, we’re not gonna touch that.”
Bridgerton became a phenom when it hit Netflix in December 2020. The first season focused on the love story between Page’s character and Phoebe Dynevor‘s Daphne Bridgerton. Each season of the series, which is based on Julia Quinn‘s collection of novels of the same name, will, like the books, focus on a different member of the Bridgerton clan’s love story.
Season two, which centered around Jonathan Bailey‘s Anthony Bridgerton, the eldest son of the family, premiered in March 2022. Season three is in the works and will focus on the family’s third son, Colin, played by Luke Newton.
The 2022 MTV Video Music Awards nominations are in, and Lil Nax X, Jack Harlow and Kendrick Lamar lead this year’s nominations with seven nods each. Doja Cat and Harry Styles follow closely behind, with six nominations apiece.
Other nominees include Billie Eilish, Drake, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd, each of whom have five nominations.
The 2022 MTV VMAs will take place Sunday, Aug. 28 at 8 p.m. ET and air live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Here are the nominees in some of the major categories. Check out the full list on MTV.com/VMA.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Doja Cat – “Woman”
Drake ft. Future & Young Thug – “Way 2 Sexy”
Ed Sheeran – “Shivers”
Harry Styles – “As It Was“
Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “INDUSTRY BABY”
Olivia Rodrigo – “brutal”
Taylor Swift – “All Too Well” (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Bad Bunny
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Harry Styles
Jack Harlow
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
SONG OF THE YEAR
Adele – “Easy On Me”
Billie Eilish – “Happier Than Ever”
Doja Cat – “Woman”
Elton John & Dua Lipa – “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)”
Lizzo – “About Damn Time”
The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber – “STAY”
BEST NEW ARTIST
Baby Keem
Dove Cameron
GAYLE
Latto
Måneskin
SEVENTEEN
BEST COLLABORATION
Drake ft. Future & Young Thug – “Way 2 Sexy”
Elton John & Dua Lipa – “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)”
Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “INDUSTRY BABY”
Megan Thee Stallion & Dua Lipa – “Sweetest Pie”
Post Malone & The Weeknd – “One Right Now”
ROSALÍA ft. The Weeknd – “LA FAMA”
The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber – “STAY”
BEST POP
Billie Eilish – “Happier Than Ever”
Doja Cat – “Woman”
Ed Sheeran – “Shivers”
Harry Styles – “As It Was”
Lizzo – “About Damn Time”
Olivia Rodrigo – “traitor”
Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings are finalizing deals to continue to share Jeopardy! hosting duties for the long-running ABC game show’s upcoming 39th season, according to Deadline. Bialik and Jennings had been filling in as guest hosts following the abrupt exit of Mike Richards as host in August after one day of recordings. Bialik and Jennings were subsequently named full-time hosts for the remainder of season 38…
The Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverteaser-trailer received 172 million hits in its first 24 hours, making it one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s top trailer debuts for a superhero movie, a source close to Marvel tells Variety. That’s nearly doubles the 88 million views nabbed by the original Black Panther teaser in 2017. Wakanda Forever lands behind the teasers for Spider-Man: No Way Home and Thor: Love and Thunder, which received 355.5 million and 209 million views, respectively, in the same time frame. Four Avengers trailers also pulled in bigger numbers: the Avengers: Endgame‘s teaser and final trailers with 268 million and 289 million, respectively, and Avengers: Infinity War‘s teaser and final trailer with 230 million and 179 million, respectively. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will hit theaters on Nov. 11…
David Warner, the British actor best known for playing villains in films like Time After Time, Time Bandits, TRON and Titanic, died Sunday at Denville Hall, a nursing home in London for those in the entertainment industry, his family told the BBC. He was 80. Star Trek fans know also Warner for portraying three different species in the franchise: the human Federation representative St. John Talbot in 1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, the peaceful Klingon Chancellor Gorkon in 1981’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and the Cardassian officer Gul Madred in 1992’s Star Trek: The Next Generation…
Photography by Keith Getter (all rights reserved)/Getty Images
(ST. LOUIS) — A record amount of rain has poured down on the St. Louis area overnight as the area has recorded 7.02 inches of rainfall since midnight, which surpassed the old record of 6.85 inches set almost 107 years ago on Aug. 20, 1915.
The historic rainfall event is causing widespread flash flooding across the region Tuesday morning with some areas getting more than half a foot of rain in just a few hours.
Heavy rain will continue for St. Louis and its surrounding areas through Tuesday morning as thunderstorms sit over Missouri. However, a short break in the weather is expected Tuesday afternoon and into the evening but more heavy rain with flooding is expected to continue Wednesday morning.
The St. Louis Fire department says there’s been a report of a partial roof collapse and possible natural gas leak at the scene of a storage facility at St. Louis Zoo. Further details were not immediately available.
The fire department also says there are several vehicles trapped in high water with Rescue Squads responding in small boats.
(NEW YORK) — As Brittney Griner returned to court in Russia on Tuesday for her drawn-out trial on drug charges, the American basketball star told ABC News she has a message for her wife, Cherelle, who recently graduated from law school.
“Good luck on the bar exam,” Griner said.
Griner briefly spoke to ABC News during a break in Tuesday’s proceedings at a courthouse in the Moscow suburb of Khimki. When asked whether she has any complaints, she said: “No, no complaints. Just waiting patiently.”
She arrived in court that morning holding up two photographs in a clear, plastic sleeve. When asked during the break who was in the photos, she told ABC News: “My wife. My two best friends, my teammates.”
Griner’s legal team continued to present evidence and called another witness to testify on Tuesday as pressure mounts on the United States to secure her release.
Griner, a 31-year-old Houston native who plays professional basketball for the Phoenix Mercury, was returning to Russia to play in the WNBA’s offseason when she was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Khimki on Feb. 17, after being accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
Cherelle Griner has told ABC News that she has communicated with Brittney Griner “sporadically” through letters but hasn’t spoken to her via telephone since she was arrested. The U.S. government had arranged for the couple to connect on the phone last month, during their fourth anniversary, but that had to be rescheduled due to a “logistical error,” according to U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist was expected to testify last week, but her testimony was delayed until Wednesday at the request of her legal team so she could have more time to prepare. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison and also has a right to an appeal.
Griner pleaded guilty on drug charges in court last week, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage mistakenly. She said she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law and did not mean to leave the cartridges in her bag.
Her legal team told ABC News in a statement last week that her “guilty” plea was recommended by her Russian attorneys.
“Brittney sets an example of being brave. She decided to take full responsibility for her actions as she knows that she is a role model for many people,” the lawyers said in the statement. “Considering the nature of her case, the insignificant amount of the substance and BG’s personality and history of positive contributions to global and Russian sport, the defense hopes that the plea will be considered by the court as a mitigating factor and there will be no severe sentence.”
Since Griner’s trial began on July 1, several Russian individuals have testified in court as character witnesses about their experience with the Phoenix Mercury center, who also played in the WNBA offseason for UMMC, a Russian basketball club in the city of Yekaterinburg.
The first witness was Maxim Ryabkov, the director of UMMC. The second witness was team doctor Anatoly Galabin, who said that Griner never tested positive for doping while playing for the team. A third witness, Evgenia Belyakova, one of Griner’s Russian teammates, said that Griner was the leader of the team.
One of Griner’s attorney also presented a letter from an American doctor in court earlier this month, giving Griner permission to use cannabis to reduce chronic pain.
On Tuesday, a Russian narcologist, Dr. Mikhail Vityushkin, testified that cannabis is often used by professional athletes to treat sports injuries because of its therapeutic properties, including analgesic and anti-inflammatory. However, with constant use, it may impair motor coordination and reaction time, which is why athletes should not take it permanently, according to Vityushkin. He also noted that there are no international standards to differentiate medical cannabis from a drug.
The U.S. Department of State classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier this month that Griner’s guilty plea will have “no impact” on any of the negotiations to bring her home.
Calls to free Griner escalated following the May release of U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed, who was freed from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner exchange. Former Marine Paul Whelan has also been detained in Russia since 2019.
“This is something that is, as you’ve heard from us consistently, is an absolute priority for Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken,” Price, the State Department spokesperson, told reporters during Monday’s press briefing in Washington, D.C. “We are working around the clock, behind the scenes, quietly, to do everything we possibly can to see to it that Brittany Griner’s ordeal, just as Paul Whelan’s ordeal, is put to an end just as soon as can be possibly managed.”
Price added that Chargé d’Affaires Elizabeth Rood, from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, was expected to be at Griner’s hearings this week.
(NEW YORK) — It has been over a month since COVID-19 vaccines became available to children as young as six months, but with millions of kids still without a shot, officials continue to face an uphill battle in their push to get the youngest Americans vaccinated.
Since the shots were authorized on June 18, approximately 544,000 children, under the age of 5, have received their first shot, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, representing 2.8% of the 19.5 million U.S. children in that age group.
Preliminary data reported by states shows that several states in the Northeast have the highest share of children under 5 vaccinated with at least one dose, with Washington, D.C. leading the nation with 14.4% of its jurisdiction’s children under 5 vaccinated with their first shot, followed by Vermont, with 10.3%, and Massachusetts, with 7.2%.
Mississippi has the lowest percentage of children under 5 vaccinated, with less than 0.4% of children with their first shot, followed by Alabama and Arkansas, both with 0.6%.
The sluggish start to the vaccine rollout comes as a new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey reveals that many parents remain reluctant to vaccinate their young children. As of July, 43% of parents with children ages 6 months to 4 years old said they will “definitely not” get their child vaccinated against COVID-19. In comparison, when polled in April, 27% of parents had stated they would “definitely not” get their child vaccinated against the virus.
Thirteen percent of parents said they would only inoculate their child, if required, and 27% reported they were waiting to see whether to vaccinate their child.
Only 7% of parents reported they got their child vaccinated right away, while another 10% of parents said that they were still planning to get their child vaccinated “right away.”
When asked about their reluctance to vaccinate their children, parents cited concerns over the “newness” of the vaccine, potential side effects, as well as “not enough testing or research,” and overall worries over safety of the vaccines. A majority of parents also said the information provided by the federal health agencies on vaccines, for children in that age group, was “confusing.”
More than half of parents reported that they feel the vaccine is a bigger risk to their child’s health than contracting COVID-19 itself, while about 1 in 10 parents said they did not think their child needed the vaccine, or stated they were not worried about COVID-19.
Forty-four percent of Black parents of unvaccinated children, ages 6 months through 4 years old, reported that they were concerned they would be required to take time off work to get their child vaccinated, or to care for them should they experience side effects, while 45% Hispanic parents said they were worried about being unable to get their child vaccinated at a trusted location.
However, there are indicators that vaccination rates may pick up, as more parents speak with their child’s pediatrician about the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Seventy percent of parents with children under 5 who are eligible for the vaccine, and are considering inoculating their child, reported they had not yet spoken to their child’s pediatrician or other health care provider about the vaccine, with 70% also saying they would wait until their child’s regular check-up to discuss getting their child vaccinated.
Among older children, nearly 3 in 10 parents of 12- to 17-year-olds, and about 4 in 10 parents of 5- to 11-year-olds said that they would definitely not get their child vaccinated for COVID-19.
Nationally, about 44 million eligible children remain completely unvaccinated, according to federal data.
The continued call to vaccinate all Americans comes amidst renewed concern over the spread of COVID-19 across the country.
Eighty-seven percent of the U.S. population lives in a county with a high or medium community risk level for COVID-19, as defined by the CDC, indicating that 6 in 10 Americans are currently living in a county where masking is recommended for all people while in indoor public settings.
COVID-19 cases among children remain at a high level, with more than 92,000 additional child COVID-19 cases reported in the last week, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA).
On average, about 300 virus-positive children are admitted to the hospital daily, marking one of the highest daily totals since February.
(NEW YORK) — Brittney Griner’s legal team is set to present evidence at the WNBA star’s trial in Russia on Tuesday as pressure mounts on the Biden administration to secure her release.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was visiting Russia to play basketball in the offseason when she was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport after being accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
The Phoenix Mercury star was expected to testify last week, but her testimony was delayed until Wednesday at the request of her legal team so she could have more time to prepare. If convicted, Griner, 31, faces up to 10 years in prison and also has a right to an appeal.
Griner pleaded guilty on drug charges in court last week, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage mistakenly.
Griner’s attorney presented a letter from an American doctor in court earlier this month, giving Griner permission to use cannabis to reduce chronic pain.
Griner, who has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17, said she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law and did not mean to leave the cartridges in her bag.
Her legal team told ABC News in a statement last week that her “guilty” plea was recommended by her Russian attorneys.
“Brittney sets an example of being brave. She decided to take full responsibility for her actions as she knows that she is a role model for many people,” the attorneys said in the statement. “Considering the nature of her case, the insignificant amount of the substance and BG’s personality and history of positive contributions to global and Russian sport, the defense hopes that the plea will be considered by the court as a mitigating factor and there will be no severe sentence.”
Her trial, which is taking place in Khimki, a suburb of Moscow, began on July 1 as the U.S. government works to secure her release.
Earlier this month, several Russian individuals testified in court as character witnesses about their experience with the Phoenix Mercury player, who also played in the WNBA offseason for UMMC, a Russian basketball club in the city of Yekaterinburg.
The first witness was Maxim Ryabkov, the director of UMMC. The second witness was team doctor Anatoly Galabin, who said that Griner never tested positive for doping while playing for the team. A third witness, Evgenia Belyakova, one of Griner’s Russian teammates, said that Griner was the leader of the team.
The U.S. government classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier this month that Griner’s guilty plea will have “no impact” on any of the negotiations to bring her home.
Calls to free Griner escalated following the May release of U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed, who was freed from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner exchange. Former Marine Paul Whelan has also been detained in Russia since 2019.
“This is something that is, as you’ve heard from us consistently, is an absolute priority for Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Monday. “We are working around the clock, behind the scenes, quietly, to do everything we possibly can to see to it that Brittany Griner’s ordeal, just as Paul Whelan’s ordeal, is put to an end just as soon as can be possibly managed.”
Price added that Chargé d’Affaires Elizabeth Rood, from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, was expected to be at Griner’s hearings this week.
