(NEW YORK) — A third of the U.S. population will experience heat advisories on Tuesday and Wednesday as a week of record-breaking temperatures continues, according to the National Weather Service.
A “heat dome” is expected to bring triple-digit temperatures to portions of the Midwest, adding to the early onset temperatures already baking the Southwest.
From California to Virginia, approximately 100 million Americans are under heat advisories, heat warnings or heat watches.
St. Louis reported a record-high temperature of 100 degrees on Monday, and the heat index in parts of the Midwest neared 115 degrees.
From Raleigh, North Carolina, to Chicago, actual temperatures are expected to reach near 100 degrees on Tuesday.
As extreme heat has persisted in the Southwest and Midwest, the heat is moving East, with Detroit predicted to reach 97 degrees on Wednesday.
Wildfires are continuing in the Southwest amid the heat, igniting due to gusty winds and very dry conditions.
There are red flag warnings across Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma for increased fire danger.
A new heat wave is poised to hit the Southwest on Wednesday, with temperatures again surpassing 110 degrees from Southern California to Arizona.
Gusty winds are expected to continue, prolonging wildfire risks in the Southwest.
More than 27 major cities tied or broke day-of heat records on Saturday, with California’s Death Valley being the hottest place in America at 123 degrees.
Palm Springs, California, and Phoenix followed, tying at 114 degrees, marking the hottest day for Phoenix in a century.
Las Vegas reported temperatures of 109 degrees on Saturday for the first time since 1956.
Extreme heat causes more deaths in American than any other weather-related disaster, with the Environmental Protection Agency estimating that more than 1,300 deaths per year in the U.S. are due to extreme heat.
Warning signs of a heat episode include nausea, excessive sweating and rapid pulse.
Those who are at the greatest risk for a heat-related incident include young children, older adults, pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals.
If possible, the NWS encourages residents to take cool showers or baths, find pools to escape the heat, avoid physical activity during the daytime and high-heat hours and find a safe place with air conditioning.
Jay-Z had a little fun teasing Blue Ivy on their father-daughter outing to the NBA Finals game Monday night, where the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 104-94.
There were plenty of famous faces among the crowd. When the rap mogul appeared on camera, he wrapped his arms around Blue and pulled her into the picture as the announcer declared, “Back with us in the Bay at Chase Center tonight, 24-time Grammy award winner, the one and only Jay-Z!”
The 10-year-old played it cool and pretended to be unfazed by her father’s affection. Meanwhile, Hova continued to smile to himself. The entire exchange was shared on the NBA’s Instagram page.
Another video shows the “Run This Town” rapper wrapping an arm around Blue as they meet up with E-40 on the court. The NBA also snapped a photo of the two enjoying their father-daughter date.
Fans are marveling over how much Blue has grown, noting she’s looking more and more like her mom, Beyoncé.
The power couple welcomed Blue in January 2012. Bey and Jay also share twins, Rumi and Sir, who are now five years old.
(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:
Jun 14, 1:20 pm
Russian, Belarusian tennis players can compete at US Open under neutral flag
Russian and Belarusian tennis players, who are banned from Wimbledon, will be allowed to compete in this year’s U.S. Open, but only under a neutral flag, the U.S. Tennis Association said.
The USTA said it “previously condemned, and continues to condemn, the unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine by Russia.”
Russian player Daniil Medvedev, the current No. 1 player in the world, won last year’s U.S. Open.
Jun 14, 6:37 am
Ukraine pleads for heavy weapons ahead of NATO meeting
The only way to end the war in Ukraine, either on the battlefield or behind the negotiation table, is a parity of weapons, Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said on Monday.
“Being straightforward — to end the war we need heavy weapons parity,” Podoliak said on Twitter.
According to the presidential adviser, Ukraine’s military wish list includes 1,000 howitzers, 300 multiple launch rocket systems, 500 tanks, 2,000 armored vehicles and 1,000 drones.
“Negotiations are possible from a strong position, which requires parity of weapons,” Podoliak said. “There is simply no other way.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed Podoliak’s plea for weapons on Monday in a tweet that recounted Ukraine’s recent military triumphs achieved with limited resources.
“Ukraine has proven it can punch well above its weight and win important battles against all odds,” Kuleba said, pointing at victories in the battles of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv. “Imagine what Ukraine can do with sufficient tools,” the Foreign Minister added. Kuleba urged Ukraine’s partners “to set a clear goal of Ukrainian victory and speed up deliveries of heavy weapons.”
Podoliak said a meeting of NATO defense ministers will be held in Brussels on June 15.
“We are waiting for a decision” on the weapons, Podoliak said.
The group, known as the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, will convene a meeting for the third time in a bid “to ensure that we’re providing Ukraine what Ukraine needs right now,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said at a press briefing in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.
Austin, who will be in attendance in Brussels, said that Ukraine needs support “in order to defend against Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked assault.” The secretary of Defense noted that looking ahead, Ukraine will require help “to build and sustain robust defenses so that it will be able to defend itself in the coming months and years.”
In his Monday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to tell people in the occupied territories “that the Ukrainian army will definitely come.”
“Tell them about Ukraine. Tell them the truth. Say that there will be liberation,” the president said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials played down threats of possible food shortages in the country due to the ongoing conflict. While Ukraine lost 25% of its sown area as a result of Russia’ full-scale invasion, the country’s food security was “in no way” threatened, Taras Vysotsky, the first deputy minister of Agrarian Policy, said at a press briefing for Ukrainian media on Monday.
“Despite the loss of 25% of sown areas, the structure of crops this year as a whole is more than sufficient to ensure consumption, which in turn also decreased due to mass displacement and external migration,” Vysotsky said.
The deputy minister added that Ukraine has “already imported about 70% of essential fertilizers, 60% of plant protection products and about a third of the required amount of fuel” before the war erupted in late February. According to Vysotsky, current sowing volumes are enough to ensure domestic consumption and even exports.
Jun 13, 9:26 am
Bodies of tortured men exhumed in Bucha
Another mass grave has been dug up in Bucha, uncovering the bodies of seven men who authorities believe were tortured and killed during the bloody occupation of the city in March.
Police told ABC News their hands were tied with ropes behind their backs and they were shot in the knees and head.
“They were killed in a cruel way,” police spokesperson Iryna Pryanyshnykova said. “These were civilian victims. The people here were killed by Russian soldiers and later they were just put into a grave to try to hide this war crime.”
It’s not clear why the men were killed, Pryanyshnykova said.
She said experts will analyze DNA to identify the victims.
-ABC News’ Britt Clennett
Jun 13, 6:24 am
Zelenskyy: Ukraine fighting for ‘every meter’ of Severodonetsk
Russian forces have pushed the Armed Forces of Ukraine out of the center of Severodonetsk, Ukrainian officials said.
“They are pressing in Severodonetsk, where very fierce fighting is going on — literally for every meter,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address on Sunday evening.
Russian forces now control about 70% of the city, as intense shelling makes mass evacuation and the transportation of goods impossible, Sergiy Haidai, another Ukrainian official, said.
Around 500 people, including 40 children, are sheltering in the city’s Azot chemical plant, Haidai said.
While the Ukrainians try to organize their evacuation, authorities of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic have given an ultimatum to Ukrainian troops in the city.
“They have two options: either follow the example of their colleagues and give up, or die. They have no other option,” said Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the People’s Militia Department of the DPR.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd and Tanya Stukalova
Jun 12, 5:33 pm
Zelenskyy sends virtual message to Sean Penn’s CORE benefit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the annual Hollywood fundraiser for actor Sean Penn’s nonprofit Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) Saturday night with a powerful video message urging people to continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“All of you have heard about the horrors that Ukraine is going through. Tens of thousands of explosions and shots, hundreds of thousands wounded and killed, millions who have lost their homes,” Zelenskyy said in his virtual speech. “All of this is not a logline for a horror film. All of this is our reality.”
Zelenskyy’s video message included footage showing missiles striking homes and apartment complexes in Ukraine, civilians dead in the streets of Ukrainian cities and children playing in parks amid the backdrop of bombed buildings.
Among those attending the CORE fundraiser, held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angles, were Penn and CORE co-founder Ann Lee, former President Bill Clinton, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, singer John Legend, and actors Patrick Stewart and Sharon Stone.
The group said the event raised more than $2.5 million for CORE’s disaster relief and preparedness work, including its urgent humanitarian response in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy noted that Penn traveled to Ukraine at the start of the Russian invasion and witnessed the atrocities firsthand. He thanked Penn and his group for the continued support for Ukraine.
“We have been resisting it for 107 days in a row,” Zelenskyy said of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. “We can stop it together. Support Ukraine, because Ukraine is fighting for the whole world, for democracy, for freedom, for life.”
Jun 12, 4:17 pm
Russia’s firepower superiority 10 times that of Ukraine’s in Luhansk: Military chief
Ukraine’s Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny said Sunday that he told his American counterpart, Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Russian firepower superiority in the Luhansk region is far greater than that of Ukrainian forces.
Zaluzhny said that during a briefing he told Milley that Russian forces are concentrating their efforts in the north of the Luhansk region, where they are using artillery “en masse” and their firepower superiority is 10 times that of Ukraine’s.
“Despite everything, we keep holding our positions,” Zaluzhny said.
Zaluzhny also said Russia has deployed up to seven battalion tactical groups in Severdonetsk, a city in the Luhansk region. He said Russian shelling of residential areas in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine has resumed.
Russian forces destroyed a second bridge leading into Severodonetsk and are now targeting a third bridge in an effort to completely cut off the city, Luhansk region Gov. Sergiy Haidai said Sunday. Ukraine’s army still controls around one third of the city, he said.
Haidai said that Ukrainian forces are still holding onto the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, where around 500 civilians are taking shelter.
If Severodonetsk falls, Lysychansk will be the only city in the Luhansk region that remains under Ukraine’s control.
Zaluzhny said that as of Sunday, the front line of the war stretched 1,522 miles and that active combat was taking place on at least 686 miles of the front line.
Zaluzhny said that during his briefing with Milley, he reiterated Ukraine’s urgent request for more 155 mm caliber artillery systems.
Jun 12, 12:48 pm
Russian cruise missile attack confirmed in western Ukraine
Russia claims a cruise missile strike destroyed a large warehouse in western Ukraine storing weapons supplied to the Ukrainians by the United States and European allies.
While police in the Ternopil region of Ukraine, where at least one cruise missile hit, told ABC News that no weapons were destroyed, the region’s governor said part of a military facility was damaged.
Ternopil’s governor Volodymyr Trush posted a video showing widespread damage from what he said were four Russian missiles launched Saturday from the Black Sea. Trush said 22 people were wounded, including a 12-year-old child, in the missile strikes.
In addition to the military facility, Trush said four five-story residential apartment buildings were damaged. One of the missiles hit a gas pipeline, he said.
Russia’s defense ministry said Kalibr high presicion sea-based, long-range missiles struck near Chortkiv in the Ternopil province and destroyed a large warehouse full of anti-tank missile systems, portable anti-aircraft missile systems and artillery shells supplied by the United States and European countries.
GIVĒON is heading out on tour this summer, and he says it’ll be his biggest one yet, as it’s in support of his debut studio album, Give Or Take.
Kicking off on August 16 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the “Heartbreak Anniversary” singer will embark on a 40-date trek across the U.S. and Canada. He’ll make pit stops in major cities such as Miami, Seattle, Chicago, Austin, Boston, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Toronto and many others.
“I am so excited to announce my Give or Take North American tour,” GIVĒON announced on Instagram. He further teased in an official release that this journey will be his “boldest, brightest, and best yet.”
Tickets go on sale starting this Friday, Jun 17 at 10 a.m. local time, and you can buy them on his official website, which also lists the full itinerary of tour dates.
Meanwhile, you can pre-save his forthcoming debut album, Give Or Take, so you can be the first to hear it when it drops on June 24.
Cole Swindell is heading “Back Down to the Bar” with a headlining tour this fall.
After concluding his Down to the Bar Tour in April, the country hitmaker couldn’t wait to get back out on the road, so he’s booked a string of dates on the Back Down to the Bar Tour, kicking off on September 23 in Texas.
The 19-date trek takes him and opening acts, Ashley Cooke and Dylan Marlowe, all across the country, including stops in Boston, Nashville, Tulsa, Orlando and other major cities before wrapping up on November 19.
“Well… we had so much fun on the Down to the Bar tour that we decided to do it all over again in the fall with my friends @theashleycooke and @dylanmarlowemusic,” Cole expressed on Instagram. “Can’t wait to see y’all out there and play this new music for you. It’s gonna be a hell of a time!”
Cole released his new album, Stereotype, in April. It features two consecutive #1 hits, “Single Saturday Night” and “Never Say Never” with Lainey Wilson.
Post Malone reached out to Kurt Cobain‘s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain,for her approval of his Nirvana tribute performance.
During an interview on The Howard Stern Show, the “Circles” artist shared that it was “important” for him to get Frances’ blessing.
“I loved Kurt so much,” Post said. “He’s been such an inspiration to me, musically.”
“I…never want to offend anybody by trying to show support, so I just wanted to make sure everything was OK,” he continued. “And it was OK.”
Post streamed the Nirvana tribute performance, which featured Blink-182‘s Travis Barker on drums, in April 2020. It was one of the first major streaming concerts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it helped raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts.
“We raised money for a good cause, and we got to play some of the most f***ing epic songs ever,” Post said.
In addition to Frances’ approval, Post also got a thumbs-up from Kurt’s widow, Courtney Love, who shared that the performance gave her “goosebumps.” Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic also said that he was “so proud” watching the stream.
You can still watch an archive of the stream now on YouTube. It currently has over 17 million views.
After coming back from their “extended period of rest” in early March, BTS is going on a hiatus so the group can focus on their solo careers.
The septet broke the news when celebrating their ninth anniversary at their annual FESTA dinner on Tuesday. The annual event sees the group chowing down on a mighty feast while recapping everything that happened over the past year and their fondest memories as a group, which is why they felt that was the best moment to break the news.
The Grammy nominees understood fans would be disappointed by the announcement. “We can’t help but think of our fans no matter what, we want to be the kind of artists that are remembered by our fans,” Jimin noted. “I think now we’re starting to think about what kind of artists we each want to be remembered by our fans.”
He added BTS is “going through a rough patch right now” and explained, “We’re trying to find our identity and that’s an exhausting and long process.”
RM spoke of why the hiatus is a good thing, telling fans, “I always thought that BTS was different from other groups, but the problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature. You have to keep producing music and keep doing something.”
“I don’t know what kind of direction our group has to take,” he added, but J-Hope expressed optimism the hiatus will let “BTS… become stronger.”
V chimed in that with this decision, “I think 90 percent of our fans would root for us no matter what kind of music or what kind of direction we choose.”
The group didn’t go into detail over a timeline of solo releases or when their hiatus will end.
In the book, Loggins details his many musical endeavors, including his work as a member of the popular duo Loggins & Messina, his collaborations with Stevie Nicks and Michael McDonald, and his 1980s solo heyday as the “King of the Movie Soundtracks” thanks to hits featured in films like Top Gun, Footloose and Caddyshack.
Also in the memoir, Kenny shares his recollections of participating in the all-star 1985 charity single “We Are the World.”
In addition, Loggins discusses his two divorces, his struggles with addiction and his difficult relationship with his older brother, singer/songwriter Dan Loggins, who inspired the hit “Danny’s Song.”
Loggins tells ABC Audio that one of his favorite stories in the book involved the making of his 1991 album Leap of Faith.
Kenny explains that he was while working on the record, a truck that was transporting the master tapes and some musical gear to another studio was stolen. This happened at a time when the project was already overbudget, and when his label’s new president, Don Ienner, demanded to hear the album before deciding whether or not to drop Kenny.
Loggins says he took a chance and kept working on overdubs with hopes that the tapes would be recovered, and they were a few weeks later. After finishing the album, Kenny says he played it for Ienner, who loved it, and it wound up yielding five singles.
“[I]t turned out to be probably the most commercial record I ever had,” Loggins notes.
Meanwhile, Loggins will take part in a livestreamed event this Wednesday, June 15, at 3 p.m. ET at PremiereCollectibles.com during which he’ll sign copies of Still Alright that will be available at the website.
(MOSCOW) — A court in Russia has extended the pre-trial detention for WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Griner, who was detained in February, will remain in custody at least through July 2, according to Russian state media outlet TASS.
The 31-year-old was taken into custody at Sheremetyevo International Airport, near Moscow, on Feb. 17 after officials allegedly found vape cartridges with hashish oil in her bag. Hasish oil is illegal to possess in Russia.
Her detention was extended for another 18 days at “the request of the investigation,” according to a representative from the Khimki Court of the Moscow Region, per TASS.
Griner has been detained in a Russian prison for 117 days, more than three months. She was visiting Russia in February to play basketball for the Russian Premier League team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the offseason when she was arrested at Sheremetyevo International Airport near Moscow for allegedly having vape cartridges in her luggage that contained hashish oil — an illegal substance in Russia.
She was charged with “large-scale transportation of drugs” and could face up to 10 years in prison, according to The New York Times.
The U.S. government classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained” in Russia, which means that the U.S. would work to negotiate her release.
Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, told GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts last month that the support her wife has received from the league has brought the WNBA star “comfort” amid her detention.
The WNBA, which kicked off its 2022 season on May 6, is honoring Griner with a floor decal bearing her initials and jersey number (No. 42) on the sideline of all 12 WNBA courts.
“Things like that matter, like, it has her hopeful,” Cherelle Griner told Roberts. “It lets her know she’s not forgotten.”
“Those small moments, I know, give her some type of hope,” she added.
WNBA star Brittney Griner’s pre-trial detention in Russia extended as US works to negotiate her release
The 6-foot-9 center won an NCAA title at Baylor in 2012; a WNBA title with Phoenix, her current team, in 2014; and gold medals with the U.S. women’s team at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained on Feb. 17. Some officials are concerned that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing conflict.
Cherelle Griner said that she would like to speak with President Joe Biden.
“I just keep hearing that, you know, he has the power. She’s a political pawn,” she said. “So if they’re holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it.”
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said last month that a U.S. consular officer was able to meet with Griner on May 19.
Price said the officer “found her continuing to do as well as could be expected under these exceedingly challenging circumstances.”
“But again, our message is a clear and simple one — we continue to insist that Russia allow consistent and timely consular access to all U.S. citizen detainees,” he added. “One-off visits are not sufficient, and we will continue to call on Moscow to uphold its commitments under the Vienna Convention for consistent and timely access, as well.”
WNBA Players Association president says Brittney Griner is detained in Russia ‘because of a gender issue’
The Phoenix Mercury said Monday the team and coaching staff had met with State Department officials and Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., while they were in Washington, D.C.
“We’re here to do whatever we can to amplify and keep BG at the forefront, which is more important than any basketball game and anything else that’s going on in our lives,” Mercury star and longtime teammate Diana Taurasi said in a statement following the meetings. “We want BG to come home as soon as possible, it’s number one on our list.”
Cherelle Griner said she hadn’t spoken to Brittney since just after her arrest since her cellphone was confiscated, but she has corresponded in a few letters.
“Every single day matters for me to be sound, for me to be alert, for me to be attentive, to make sure that she comes back,” she told Good Morning America in late May.
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford, Natalia Shumskaia and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Jan. 6 committee announced Tuesday morning that its hearing set for Wednesday has been postponed — but conflicting explanations were offered as to why.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., told reporters on Capitol Hill following the committee’s announcement that there was no issue with witnesses in moving the hearing but “technical issues.”
“It’s just technical issues. I mean, we were, you know, the staff putting together all the videos, you know, doing 1-2-3, It was overwhelming, so we’re trying to give them a little room,” she said. “It’s not a big deal.”
Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe earlier, she said “putting together the video exhibits is an exhausting exercise for our very small video staff … it’s just too much to put it all together.”
But when asked later if Lofgren’s explanation of the hearing postponement is accurate, a committee aide said “no.”
The aide said the hearing has been “postponed to accommodate scheduling demands.”
Not long after the committee issued a statement saying, “The postponement is due to a number of scheduling factors, including production timeline and availability of members and witnesses.”
The hearing’s focus was to be then-President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on the Justice Department to back his false claims of election fraud.
Former acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen had accepted an invitation from the Jan. 6 committee to appear at Wednesday’s hearing, alongside his then-deputy Richard Donoghue and one of DOJ’s former top attorneys Steve Engel, according to a letter obtained by ABC News sent from Rosen’s attorney to the committee.
