Demi Lovato had quite the surprise for a young fan they met 13 years ago through the Make-A-Wish foundation. After meeting Austen when she was 10 years old, Demi decided to check in with the now 23-year-old.
Make-A-Wish shared the video where Austen, who was battling end-stage kidney disease when she wished to meet Demi in 2009, recalled the event.
“Demi was incredible,” Austen said of meeting the star backstage at one of their concerts. “We were talking and they’re like, ‘Oh, I hear that you sing, can you sing for me?'” Austen admitted she was “a ham” when performing for Demi, choosing to jump into a performance of “This Is Me” from Camp Rock.
“Demi’s like, ‘Oh, you’re really good!’ And I’m, like, freaking out like, ‘One of my idols said I’m a really good singer. That’s so cool!'” Demi later invited Austen to sing with them on stage, the latter of whom said the meeting “made me… into the person I am today.”.
Of course, that walk through memory lane ended at a happy destination — an overdue reunion. Demi rushed Austen and the two shared a heartfelt embrace, with the singer marveling, “You’re so grown now!”
After shedding some happy tears, Demi added, “I remember your little pigtails” before posing for some updated selfies.
Make-A-Wish shared a brief clip of an elated and squealing Austen after the meeting, showing that she is still very much a fan of the “Anyone” singer.
“Today, Austen is a student studying to be a speech pathologist – with hopes to give back to others. The wish experience forever changed Austen – giving her the hope needed to persevere,” Make-A-Wish added in a separate tweet. “That’s the power of a wish.”
Ava Max dropped her brand-new song, “Maybe You’re the Problem,” on Thursday, which doubles as a breakup song and a dance track.
Title track of Ava’s forthcoming album of the same name offers a nostalgic ’80s-style beat and savage lyrics about what really doomed her relationship.
“All the things I heard from your ex/ Now they make a whole lotta sense/ Already feel bad for your next that has to put up with you,” the “Motto” singer declares. Ava also reveals her friends hated her ex, who had a massive ego and would drink and make everything about him.
Ava also teased a forthcoming music video by sharing a clip to Instagram, which features her seductively eating a snow cone with another man, which she captioned, “tomorrow.”
While she didn’t name any names about who inspired the breakup anthem, Ava previously told Billboard her new album was born out of “the hardest year of my life,” declaring, “I’ve never written anything so personal and it’s probably some of the best music I’ve ever written.”
A release date for Ava’s second studio album has yet to be announced. Her last record, Heaven & Hell, was released in September 2020.
People unveiled their 2022 “The Beautiful Issue” on Wednesday, naming Zendaya, Halle Berry and Viola Davis to the magazine’s annual list of “funny, brilliant” women.
“Everything I’ve experienced is what connects me to the world,” said Davis in the issue, who recently released her personal memoir, Finding Me.
Also featured among the list of more than 120 women is Batman star Zoë Kravitz, who let the magazine in on a piece of advice she’d tell her younger self: “Don’t worry, it gets weirder.”
Tracee Ellis Ross also made the list, revealing her secret to what makes her feel beautiful. “I feel most beautiful at around 5pm when I’m fresh-faced, post-moisture mask, while giggling and reaching for a lovely glass of wine,” the black-ish star said.
NAACP Image Award-winner Regina Hall is featured as part of the issue’s breakout group of women, dubbed “Not Just a Pretty Face.” She spoke about her belief that beauty starts from within.
“Beauty’s subjective,” Hall said. “It also fades fast. A beautiful heart — that’s probably the best way to be beautiful. That beauty lasts long.”
The “Cuties to Beauties” segment shines a light on the “group of dazzling ladies started out as supersweet kids,” like Yara Shahidi and Mickey Guyton.
Best friends Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King open up about their 46-year friendship, including the start of it all as news co-workers who were left stranded at their news station due to a thunderstorm.
“We ended up talking all night long,” Winfrey said. “We’ve literally been friends ever since.”
(NEW YORK) — A new red flag warning has been issued from Nevada to Oklahoma where 60 mph winds and very dry conditions could create a dangerous fire situation.
The Southwest will continue to be hammered by gusty winds until the end of the week.
The critical fire weather in the Southwest continues with red flag warnings in effect across seven states from Nevada to Texas. Dry airmass remains in place across the region with relative humidity in the single digits and surface winds 20 mph or higher; isolated gusts could reach to 60 mph.
A cold blast brought wind chills in the teens and 20s from the Midwest to the Northeast Thursday morning.
Another cold morning is expected on Friday in the Northeast, with winter-like conditions expected.
The weather will be warmer in the Northeast over the weekend.
Gusty winds and a cold air mass across the Northeast region will make it feel like temps are in the 20s and 30s.
These dry gusty winds are elevating fire danger across parts of the Northeast Friday, with red flag warnings in effect from Delaware to Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia and much of New Jersey.
A new storm system is headed into the Heartland on Friday with severe weather possible, including tornadoes, from Northern Texas to Nebraska, with an enhanced risk in place just north of Oklahoma City, across eastern Kansas and into southeastern Nebraska.
Oklahoma City, Wichita and Tulsa are some of the cities in the bull’s-eye for possible tornadoes and huge hail.
This severe weather threat moves east into the Midwest by Saturday.
Paducah, St. Louis and just south of Chicago are the areas in the bull’s-eye for damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornados on Saturday.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump said his head of security “did nothing wrong” during a 2015 protest at Trump Tower at which five Hispanic men allege they were assaulted.
Trump called the protesters “troublemakers” during a deposition last October, according to a transcript made public Wednesday in Bronx Supreme Court, where Trump, his campaign, and his head of security, Keith Schiller, are being sued by Efrain Galicia and other demonstrators who say they were “violently attacked” during a protest over Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“I think they were troublemakers, yes I do. I think they were,” Trump said of the plaintiffs during the deposition.
“He did nothing wrong,” Trump said of Schiller. “He went out — I didn’t know about it — but he went out, he heard there was a disturbance and he went out.”
Video of the altercation showed Schiller smacking a protester in the face after he appeared to reach for a sign that said “Trump: Make America Racist Again.”
“And he went out, he took the sign down. He then walked away. And he was attacked from behind, and they tried to get his gun. I don’t even know if he was carrying a gun. But if he was, they were obviously trying to get it,” Trump said.
Trump denied having any knowledge of the protests in real time, despite attorneys for the demonstrators saying they have evidence to the contrary.
Toward the end of the deposition the questioning turned to a 2016 Trump campaign event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during which Trump told the crowd, “If you see someone getting ready to throw a tomato, just knock the crap out of them, would you?”
The plaintiffs’ attorney asked whether Trump meant to incentivize the crowd to engage in violence.
“No,” Trump replied. “I wanted to have people be ready because we were put on alert that they were going to do fruit. And some fruit is a lot worse than — tomatoes are bad, by the way.”
Trump said it would be OK with him for his security to use force to stop someone from throwing fruit.
“To stop somebody from throwing pineapples, tomatoes, bananas, stuff like that — yeah, it’s dangerous stuff,” Trump said, according to the transcript.
Carly Rae Jepen is back and getting ready to release her new music, promising fans will not have to wait too much longer to hear it.
The “Call Me Maybe” singer announced her song, “Western Wind,” drops March 6 and shared the link where you can pre-save it before it goes live. She also showed off several promotional photos, one of which is a black and white image of her dressed in a lace dress and staring contemplatively at the camera. The other is of her in a flowing, golden gown standing on top of a large tree branch.
Carly Rae teased some of the song lyrics on Instagram, writing, “But could you give me peace of mind if I return to you in time my golden arrow.” This isn’t the first time she leaked a few verses. She also tantalized fans on Tuesday with some more lyrics and an additional promotional shot of her in a saffron-colored dress and overlooking what appears to be an orchard.
Carly previewed “Western Wind” when she performed at Coachella, but she remains coy on whether or not this is the first single of a new album or just a standalone.
The “Good Time” singer’s last album was Dedicated Side B, which she released in May 2020. “Western Wind” arrives next Friday, May 6, at midnight ET.
David Bowie‘s landmark 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was released 50 years ago this June, and to commemorate the milestone, two special vinyl collections will be issued that month.
The first is a limited-edition half-speed-mastered Ziggy Stardust LP, while the second is a picture disc featuring the same master and packaged with a replica promotional poster. Both discs are due out on June 17, one day after the 50th anniversary of the Ziggy Stardust album’s original U.K. release.
The new master for LPs was created using restored masters of the original master tapes from Bowie’s sessions at London’s Trident Studios.
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was Bowie’s fifth album and his first to break into the top 40 of the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at #21. While the record yielded no hit singles in the U.S., it features many of classic Bowie songs, including “Moonage Daydream,” “Starman,” “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City.” The record is a loose concept album focusing on the Bowie-created Ziggy Stardust character, a bisexual alien rock star, and his mythical backing group, The Spiders from Mars.
During that time, Bowie and his real band took on the personas of Ziggy and The Spiders from Mars in concert, until David dramatically declared onstage at the end of a July 1973 show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon that the group had played its last gig.
Today’s announcement of the upcoming vinyl discs coincides with the 50th anniversary of release of the album’s first single, “Starman,” which reached at #10 in the U.K.
Here’s the full Ziggy Stardust track list:
Side One
“Five Years”
“Soul Love”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Starman”
“It Ain’t Easy”
Side Two
“Lady Stardust”
“Star”
“Hang On to Yourself”
“Ziggy Stardust”
“Suffragette City”
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”
(GILBERT, Ariz.) — The winning ticket for the $473.1 million Powerball jackpot was sold in Arizona, officials said.
Just a single ticket claimed the grand prize — which has a cash value of $271.9 million — after matching all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing. The winning white ball numbers were 11, 36, 61, 62 and 68, and the Powerball number was 4.
Lottery officials said that due to strong ticket sales, the jackpot climbed past the estimate of $454 million that was announced after Monday night’s drawing had no winner.
“This is the biggest ever jackpot won on a single ticket in our state and it is a life-changing moment for this winner,” Arizona Lottery Executive Director Gregg Edgar said in a statement. “It also means millions of dollars to our state’s economy, to this winner’s community, and to the vital programs and services funded by Arizona Lottery ticket sales.”
The winning ticket was sold at a QuikTrip in Gilbert, according to the Arizona Lottery. No one has come forward yet to claim the prize, according to Arizona Lottery spokesperson John Turner Gilliland, who noted that people usually take a few days “to get their affairs in order first.” The winner, who can elect to remain anonymous, has 180 days to come forward.
The winner can either accept an estimated annuity of $473.1 million — which is paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years — or a lump sum payment of $283.3 million. Both values are before federal and state taxes.
Beyond the jackpot, more than 1.4 million tickets won cash prizes in Wednesday night’s drawing, including a $1 million winner in Indiana who matched all five white balls, Powerball officials said.
This marks the third time this year the Powerball jackpot has been won. In January, two tickets sold in California and Wisconsin split a grand prize of $632.6 million — the seventh-largest jackpot ever. In February, a ticket sold in Connecticut won a $185.3 million jackpot.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball officials. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game are 1 in 24.9.
(WASHINGTON) — The Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday a proposed ban on menthol cigarettes and all flavors in cigars, a move that could further drive down smoking rates in the U.S.
The FDA will solicit comments from the public before finalizing the rule, a process that could take years. But advocates say it’s a step in the right direction, pointing to one research model that estimated banning these flavors could lead to a 15% decline in tobacco use by 2026.
Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the U.S., menthol cigarettes represent over a third of cigarette sales, with almost 19 million users. Black Americans have disproportionately high rates of menthol smoking, a consequence of years of racially targeted advertising.
In fact, 85% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes compared to 30% of white smokers, according to the FDA. Moreover, other groups have been successfully targeted with various marketing strategies including young people, women, low-income and LGBTQ communities, according to Dr. Andrea Villanti, associate professor in the Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy at Rutgers School of Public Health and deputy director of the Center for Tobacco studies.
Menthol added to cigarettes and cigars results in a cooling effect when inhaling smoke, said Villanti.
“It actually dampens any sort of respiratory response to smoke being an irritant. So it kind of makes the smoke go down easier,” she explained. “Especially for a young person or someone who hasn’t used the product before.”
She added, “[Menthol] helps people start, it makes it harder to quit.”
Menthol cigarette smokers, especially Black American smokers, are less likely to successfully quit smoking compared to non-menthol cigarette smokers, according to an FDA report. Robin Koval, CEO and president of Truth Initiative, a nonprofit public health organization committed to tobacco cessation, said nearly half of Black smokers would try to quit if there was a rule banning menthol.
Multiple countries and governing bodies, including the European Union, Canada, Brazil, Ethiopia, and Turkey, as well as some U.S. states and municipalities, including Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., already have menthol bans in effect.
Canada, which banned menthol cigarettes in 2017, is already seeing effects. Research led by a team at the University of Toronto found high levels of quitting behavior in menthol smokers, with 24% of daily menthol smokers quitting by one year and 12% by two years.
“The Canadian experience shows that removing menthol and other additives from cigarettes is certainly feasible,” said Dr. Michael Chaiton, associate professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
According to Chaiton, a U.S. ban is “likely to save hundreds of thousands of lives.”
But in the U.S., the menthol and other flavor ban won’t take effect overnight. The rule-making process and implementation of the ban could take up to several years, according to Kevin Schroth, an associate professor at the Rutgers University Center for Tobacco Studies.
During this time, education and good communication to the public will be important to “reduce misperceptions about the goal of the ban,” according to Vallanti, as well as provide the resources for patients to quit.
“Tobacco companies are the target … not communities,” said Vallanti.
Koval said a comprehensive ban that includes not only menthol cigarettes but flavored cigars as well would reduce “loophole” options in getting around the ban.
Because youth and Black Americans are the primary smokers of menthol and other flavors, a ban “has the potential to improve health equity,” said Vallanti.
“Taking flavors off the market, overall, will prevent the initiation of another generation into becoming addicted to nicotine and lifelong customers of the tobacco industry,” Koval said. “Eliminating menthol cigarettes will have significant effects on health, especially for populations … who are most vulnerable: young people, people of color.”
Hulu’s Emmy-winning prescription drug drama Dopesick, and Issa Rae‘s acclaimed HBO series Insecure are among this year’s winners of the Television Academy Honors.
For the past 15 years, The Television Academy has spotlighted programming “across numerous platforms and genres that raise awareness about complex issues facing society.”
Other winners this year included FX’s Reservation Dogs; HBO’s documentary Black and Missing; HBO Max’s early AIDS crisis-set series It’s a Sin; Padma Lakshmi‘s travel foodie series Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition on Hulu; and BBC Studios and Apple’s COVID-19 exploration The Year Earth Changed.
“Now more than ever, television informs and galvanizes audiences around the world,” said Television Academy Chairman and CEO Frank Scherma in the announcement. “These seven remarkable programs have enlightened viewers and advocated for some of the most significant issues facing our global community.”
The Honors recipients will be honored at a celebration this summer, the Academy notes.
