Grey’s Anatomy fans will see less Meredith Grey next season.
ABC News can confirm that series star Ellen Pompeo, the show’s namesake character who has appeared in 400 episodes to date, will continue her iconic role in a limited capacity in season 19.
Pompeo will appear in eight episodes this upcoming season, premiering Oct. 6 on ABC, and stay on as executive producer.
A new crop of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital interns have recently been announced for season 19, including Alexis Floyd as Simone Griffin, Niko Terho as Lucas Adams, Midori Francis as Mika Yasuda, Adelaide Kane as Jules Millin and Harry Shum Jr. as Daniel “Blue” Kwan.
The fresh faces seem to indicate that Grey Sloan’s residency program — which was shut down in the season 18 finale — will be back up and running sooner rather than later. That shocking twist, however, led to Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) resigning and Meredith agreeing to step in as interim chief of surgery.
Pompeo had already downsized her role on the show somewhat over the past two seasons, with Meredith having been in a COVID-19 coma for most of the pandemic-centric season 17. Her character also spent a large part of last season in Minnesota, where she entered into a relationship with Scott Speedman‘s Nick Marsh.
Production on the long-running ABC medical primetime drama begins this week.
(NEW YORK) — Children as young as 9 years old have engaged in disordered eating behaviors, according to a new analysis published in JAMA this week.
The analysis, which was published Monday and based on data from nearly 12,000 children, showed that 5% of children — both boys and girls — engaged in binge eating, one of many types of disordered eating behaviors.
“It starts younger than a lot of us may think,” ABC News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said on “Good Morning America” Wednesday.
Disordered eating behaviors can lead to eating disorders, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, where someone may avoid or severely restrict the amount of food they eat; bulimia nervosa, where someone may overeat and then vomit or overexercise afterward; and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), an extreme version of picky eating, where someone is selective about the foods they eat.
Researchers say such issues are common: More than 28 million in the U.S. are living with an eating disorder, which often starts during the teenage years.
“When they found 9- [and] 10-year-olds starting to engage in binge eating, that really shifts our timeline to try to be more aware earlier and try to intervene,” Ashton said.
How to spot warning signs of an eating disorder
Parents may often be the first to notice disordered eating behaviors at home. Here are some red flags to watch out for:
A sudden change in appetite
Sudden avoidance of meal times
Frequent calorie counting
Overexercising
Poor body image or constant focus on weight or talk of weight gain or weight loss
What parents can do
If parents notice their child may be developing or already have an unhealthy relationship with food, Ashton recommends seeking professional help. As a starting point, parents can begin by initiating a conversation with their child’s pediatrician.
Ashton added that parents should keep their child’s privacy in mind and anticipate kids may act out, especially when they’re nearing their pre-teen years.
If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237 or NationalEatingDisorders.org.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday that paves the way for Medicaid to pay for abortion services for people having to travel out of state.
Speaking from the White House virtually, Biden continued to criticize the Supreme Court’s June 25 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Today, I’m signing the second executive order that responds to the healthcare crisis that has unfolded since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, and that women are facing all across America,” he said.
The executive order comes just one day after abortion rights activists secured a major win in Kansas, where voters on Tuesday rejected removing the right to abortion from the state constitution.
Biden said the Supreme Court “practically dared women in this country go to the ballot box and restore the right to choose that the Court just ripped away after 50 years.”
“The voters of Kansas sent a powerful signal that this fall the American people will vote to preserve and protect the right and refuse to let it be ripped away from politicians,” Biden said.
The executive order comes just one day after abortion rights activists secured a major win in Kansas, where voters on Tuesday rejected removing the right to abortion from the state constitution.
Biden said the Supreme Court “practically dared women in this country go to the ballot box and restore the right to choose that the Court just ripped away after 50 years.”
“The voters of Kansas sent a powerful signal that this fall the American people will vote to preserve and protect the right and refuse to let it be ripped away from politicians,” Biden said.
The new directive allows the secretary of health and human services to “invite states to apply for Medicaid waivers, so that states where abortion is legal could provide services to people traveling from a state where abortion may be illegal to seek services in their state,” the official said. Technically, these states would apply through what’s known as a “Medicaid 1115 waiver,” according to a senior administration official.
The official noted that when the White House looked into declaring a public health emergency for abortion and what that would allow the federal government to do, this change to Medicaid — an assistance program for low-income patients’ medical expenses — was one of the options. But the White House realized the president could also do it through an executive order instead, which he plans to do Wednesday, the official said.
But the timeline for these changes remains unclear.
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega pressed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday for more details on the implementation of the executive order for women who want to seek abortion care soon.
“Are we talking about days, are we talking about weeks, are we talking about six months?” Vega asked.
Jean-Pierre said the administration didn’t “have the details to share today but [Health and Human Services] will soon have more on what a waiver could look like and the timeline.”
Biden’s order also directs the health and human services secretary to make sure “health care providers comply with federal non-discrimination laws so that women receive medically necessary care without delay,” according to the White House. That could include “providing technical assistance for health care providers who may be confused or unsure of their obligations in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs,” or providing other info and guidance to providers about their obligations and consequences of not complying with non-discrimination laws.
The order also directs the health and human services secretary to improve research and data collection on maternal health outcomes, according to the White House.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. is currently in a race to have the necessary tools and medicines to stop the growing spread of monkeypox, and it may be an uphill battle, according to one vaccine expert.
Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, spoke with ABC News Live Tuesday about the latest developments in the spread of the virus. Hotez said he’s concerned about the trajectory of new cases that are being reported throughout the country and the world.
As of Wednesday, 6,326 monkeypox cases have been confirmed in all states except Montana and Wyoming, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No American has died from the virus, according to health officials. There have been 25,391 cases worldwide as of Wednesday, according to the CDC.
Hotez said the current monkeypox vaccine, JYNNEOS, is effective, but said the current supply may not be enough.
“It’s not dire yet, but the feeling is unless we work pretty quickly we could get there,” he told ABC News.
Monkeypox is spread through skin-to-skin contact, and although most known cases in the current outbreak are among people who identify as gay or bisexual, anyone can get it, Hotez said. As of Wednesday, five children have contracted the virus, the CDC said.
Hotez said the small supply of the vaccine, which was commissioned a decade ago, is the result of U.S. health officials letting a stockpile expire “inexplicably” and doing nothing to replenish it.
“When the outbreak began we only had a few thousands doses and we’re playing catchup ever since,” Hotez said.
The Food and Drug Administration announced last week that it had inspected and approved the manufacturing of 786,000 more doses of JYNNEOS for distribution in the U.S. and that more than a million doses will be available in the coming weeks.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced FEMA administrator Robert Fenton would serve as the White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis would serve as the White House National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator.
The pair will “will lead the Administration’s strategy and operations to combat the current monkeypox outbreak, including equitably increasing the availability of tests, vaccinations and treatments,” according to a statement from the White House.
Hotez said Biden’s appointees are qualified to lead the task and said one of the issues that they’re going to have to tackle is the vaccine supply. In addition, he said they will have to determine if there will be an increased call to use the antiviral drug tecovirimat, a.k.a. TPOXX, to treat patients while the country replenishes the vaccine supply.
“The problem is this: We don’t have the full armamentarium of tools to control it,” he said. “So we’re in a race trying to…accelerate the control tools, [so] that we have the diagnostics, the drugs and the vaccines versus that steep trajectory of cases.”
(WASHINGTON) — Abortion rights activists on Wednesday were relishing a major victory after Kansas voters soundly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to roll back abortion access in the first state-level test since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. v. Wade.
That win — in a red state former President Donald Trump carried by double digit margins in 2020 — is a clear warning shot for conservative candidates and state lawmakers alike who campaign on Roe’s downfall: Put the fate of abortion in the voters’ hands and suffer the political consequences.
Kansas voters choose to protect abortion access
Several factors may have motivated Kansas voters to defeat the amendment 59%-41%, but left-leaning strategists are likely to paraphrase Barack Obama famously observing, “elections have consequences.”
Those sorts of consequences can be measured in turnout.
On Tuesday, an eye-popping number of voters took to the polls, in near presidential general election-levels. So far, about 900,000 Kansans sounded off — compared to numbers in the 300,000 range in the 2016 and 2014 primaries. The turnout was stunning by any measure, for a primary night in the middle of summer vacation season.
Can Democrats repeat the results in other states?
Beyond the headline there’s layered impact here, as those seeking an abortion in a handful of states bordering Kansas — states that have implemented trigger law restrictions — can legally travel across state lines for the procedure.
While it might be a stretch for Democrats to do too big a victory lap for the cause, never in this midterm cycle has the left had a flare so bright and powerful, especially as down-ballot Democrats inherit the baggage of a generally unpopular president in Joe Biden, staggered inflation numbers, and mounting concerns about inflation.
The White House is championing this win, with Biden releasing a statement that the vote “makes clear” that “the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion.”
But several questions remain, a chief one being whether this voter enthusiasm can be replicated in other deeply red states. And will Republican-controlled legislatures dare to push amendments for fear of the same sort of result?
A winning strategy forward for Democrats to preserve abortion rights remains unclear and will surely be tested in the upcoming August primaries.
Plus, the result in the rest of Tuesday night’s primaries will likely give Democrats more headaches than produce high-fives.
A mixed night for impeachment backers, but a big night for election deniers
Elections in Michigan, Missouri, Arizona and Washington made way for big wins for “the big lie” and saw the end of the reelection road for Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer, one of the few Republicans who broke party ranks and voted to impeach Donald Trump. Meijer’s loss is something of a grim prescription for the remaining anti-Trump Republicans — Rep. Liz Cheney take note — who have staked their reputations and job security on the anything-but-MAGA line.
Instead of Meijer, ultra-conservative election-denier John Gibbs advances to the general election. The embers of Democrats’ stoking far-right flames burned in this race, too, with the party’s congressional campaign arm pumping $500,000 in ads boosting Gibbs’ profile in the hopes he would be easier for Democrats to beat in November.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, another vocal anti-Trump Republican who decided to back out reelection, told CNN that “the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) needs to be ashamed of themselves.”
Tricky news in any event for Cheney, who faces her own set of hurdles in the Wyoming at-large primary on Aug.16. A quirk of the Wyoming election rules where Democrats and Independents can change party affiliations at the time of voting introduces a safeguard not accessible to someone like Meijer, however.
If the Republican primary cycle has taught anything, it’s that there is legitimate appetite for election conspiracy among the GOP electorate – or at least, a willingness to support “big lie” candidates despite everything that’s been revealed. FiveThirtyEight estimates at least 120 nominees deny the credibility of the election.
Arizona is something of the ground zero of election denial, where candidates at nearly every level champion a flavor of “election integrity.” In the GOP primary for attorney general, former prosecutor Abe Hamadeh, with a blessing from Trump, will effort to make Arizona great again.
It’s too early to call the results for the Republican gubernatorial primary, where former tv anchor Kari Lake has made a questioning of the election her mantra, turning interviews back on journalists to make her case.
Which sort of Democrat is left to fend off someone like Lake? In Arizona, it will be former secretary of state Katie Hobbs, who already is campaigning against “conspiracies of the past.”
“We need leaders who will look to the future, not conspiracies of the past. Leaders who are doers, not whiners. Do you want a governor whose entire platform boils down to being a sore loser or a governor who will get the job done for Arizona?” Hobbs pitched in her victory speech Tuesday night.
The 1975 has premiered a new song called “Happiness,” which will appear on the band’s upcoming album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language.
The horn-laden track is accompanied by a video featuring a smoking Matty Healy performing in front of disinterested lounge patrons as the stage setup continually changes. You can watch that now streaming on YouTube.
“Happiness” is the second Being Funny in a Foreign Language cut to be released following lead single “Part of the Band.” The album will arrive in full on October 14.
Along with the song premiere, The 1975 has announced a U.S. tour in support of Being Funny in a Foreign Language. The headlining run begins November 3 in Uncasville, Connecticut and concludes December 17 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit The1975.com.
Selena Gomez is heading back to the kitchen for a new round of Selena + Chef, with its fourth season premiering on August 18. The trailer is out now.
In a press release, Warner Media says this season will take us to a beautiful Malibu beach house, where the Grammy winner will invite her friends and family to help her master the culinary arts. This is the same house where Hannah Montana was filmed, a series Selena starred in as diva Mikayla in 2007.
This time, famed chefs Gordon Ramsay, Priya Krishna, Matty Matheson, Rachael Ray, Devonn Francis, Kristen Kish, Ludo Lefebvre, Paola Velez, Nick DiGiovanni and Adrienne Cheatham will be on hand to whip the “Wolves” singer into shape.
These esteemed chefs have the important task of guiding Selena through recipes and giving her tips to avoid kitchen disasters. They will have their hands full because, as seen in the trailer, Selena finds herself in questionable situations with cooking utensils.
While some chefs will continue to educate Selena virtually, Chef Ramsay becomes the first in-person guest on the show and declares, “We’re f***ed” when Selena admits her cooking skills are severely lacking.
As with the past three seasons, all guest stars will highlight a certain cause or charity. Since Selena + Chef began airing, it has raised $400,000 for 26 organizations.
Selena previously said in a statement, “I am looking forward to another season of being in the kitchen with some of the world’s best chefs. Hopefully, my skills have improved. More importantly, we’ve been able to raise money for incredible charitable organizations.”
The beloved cooking show will air in three parts. Three episodes will premiere on August 18. Three more will arrive on the streamer the following week. The final batch of episodes — four in all — will premiere September 1 for the season finale.
For Cole Swindell, there’s not much that can top a live duet with Tim McGraw.
That’s exactly what happened last week at Michigan’s Faster Horses Festival: Tim and Cole got to share the stage, performing a live rendition of Tim’s classic “I Like It, I Love It” as a packed crowd of fans roared along with them.
Cole shared a close-up video of the moment on Instagram this week, introducing the duet by writing, “One of the coolest moments of my career is about to happen,” as the camera pans across him wearing a vintage McGraw shirt.
Flash forward to their time onstage, the two stars hold their microphones up to the crowd as the fans sing the chorus of “I Like It, I Love It” back to them.
“They never sang it back this loud when I covered it in college,” Cole jokes.
“Glad someone captured this because I mayyyy have blacked out up there!” the singer notes at the conclusion of his post.
Cole’s ‘90s country fandom continues to be a big part of his career: His new single, “She Had Me at ‘Heads Carolina,’” pays homage to another ‘90s classic from Jo Dee Messina.
Come crawling faster…to buy new Stranger Things-themed Metallica merch.
The metal legends have teamed up with the Netflix sci-fi show to create a new line of apparel featuring the logo of the Hellfire Club, the Dungeons and Dragons group led by everyone’s favorite metalhead, Eddie Munson.
The merch collab, of course, follows the placement of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in the Stranger Things season four finale, which has led to a renewed interest in the 1986 song. Following the finale’s premiere in July, “Master of Puppets” made its first-ever appearance on the Billboard Hot 100.
Metallica previously rocked Hellfire Club shirts in a TikTok of them jamming “Master of Puppets” alongside the scene where Eddie shreds the thrash classic in the Upside Down. The “Enter Sandman” outfit later met actor Joseph Quinn, who plays Eddie, backstage at last week’s Lollapalooza.
The expanded collection includes a bonus disc featuring 12 of the tracks that appeared on Adams’ 2022 Classic and Classic Pt. II digital albums, which originally were released in March and last week, respectively. Those albums boasted newly recorded versions of many of Bryan’s best-known tunes.
A two-LP, 14-track vinyl edition of the Classic recordings will be released on October 28, and will be available on standard back vinyl and limited-edition orange vinyl. Both versions will feature a laser etching of Adams’ silhouette on the fourth side.
You can preorder the two-CD version of So Happy It Hurts and the Classic two-LP sets now.
Coinciding with the recent release of the digital version of Classic Pt. II, Adams debuted a music video for his updated rendition of his 1998 single “When You’re Gone,” a duet with Melanie C of the Spice Girls. Bryan also recently premiered a video for the So Happy It Hurts track “I Ain’t Worth S*** Without You” that was shot on the stage of London’s historic Royal Albert Hall.
Here’s the track list for the super deluxe So Happy It Hurts package:
Disc 1
“So Happy It Hurts”
“Never Gonna Rain”
“You Lift Me Up”
“I’ve Been Looking for You”
“Always Have, Always Will”
“On the Road”
“Kick A**”
“I Ain’t Worth S*** Without You”
“Let’s Do This”
“Just Like Me, Just Like You”
“Just About Gone”
“These Are the Moments That Make Up My Life”
Disc 2
“Summer of ’69”
“(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”
“Run to You”
“Heaven”
“Can’t Stop This Thing We Started”
“Cuts Like a Knife”
“Please Forgive Me”
“Straight from the Heart”
“When You’re Gone” — featuring Melanie C
“Here I Am”
“Back to You”
“Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman”
And here’s Classic two-LP track list:
“Summer of ’69”
“(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”
“Run to You”
“Heaven”
“Can’t Stop This Thing We Started”
“Cuts Like a Knife”
“Please Forgive Me”
“Straight from the Heart”
“Hidin’ from Love”
“When You’re Gone” — featuring Melanie C
“Here I Am”
“When You Love Someone”
“Back to You”
“Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman”
