With her new home goods collection, Wanda June Home, Miranda Lambert is paying homage to the generations of women who came before her.
Named after her mother, Beverly June, and her grandmother Wanda Coker, the country star’s kitchen and home decor line is inspired by her own kitchen that marries southwestern flair with farm chic. Products range from vintage striped porcelain dishware to a fringe pillow and flatware displaying phrases like “bless your heart” and “hot stuff.”
“They both taught me everything I know about being a woman and how to make a warm home full of laughter, love and memories. That’s really the heart of my Wanda June Home brand,” Miranda said in a statement about her mother and grandma. “The products are a physical representation of a long line of beautiful memories with amazing women.”
Wanda June Home is available exclusively at Walmart, where the singer’s grandfather used to be a greeter.
(ATLANTA) — An armed man is in custody after officials say he threatened people inside a HomeGoods store in the Atlanta area.
The HomeGoods in Alpharetta, about 25 miles from Atlanta, was evacuated as were the neighboring businesses, authorities told reporters.
There were no reports of shots fired, the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety said.
“The manager came out of the office and she just told all of us to run,” one HomeGoods employee told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV.
Authorities said the suspect, who has not been identified, was located in the store and contained at 12:20 p.m. Police said negotiators tried to speak with him.
At 1:28 p.m., authorities announced that the suspect had been taken into custody.
(WASHINGTON) — Celebrity chef José Andrés on Monday announced plans to open a restaurant in the Old Post Office, the Washington landmark which recently reopened as the Waldorf Astoria Washington D.C. after operating for five years as the Trump International Hotel.
“People of DC big news! Today after a dream of 30 years I’m announcing we will open @bazaarbyjose in the Old Post Office!” Andrés tweeted. “Building longer tables in the heart of our nation’s capital, welcoming people from across the city & the world.”
The new restaurant follows Donald Trump’s company agreeing to sell its hotel lease in May.
It’s not the first time Andrés has planned to have a location in the complex — or the first time his career overlapped with Trump. According to The Washington Post, Andrés was in progress on the $7 million Topo Atrio, at Trump International, when Trump launched his 2016 presidential candidacy.
The chef split with Trump after the latter, then a businessman and reality TV show host, announced his campaign at an event in New York where he notoriously disparaged some immigrants.
Andrés subsequently sought to exit their partnership and a legal battle ensued. (It was settled in 2017.)
The chef went on to repeatedly, publicly criticize Trump-the-politician, tweeting in 2017 that Trump’s continued behavior only reaffirmed his decision to pull out of the hotel partnership.
The forthcoming eatery, The Bazaar by José Andrés, has locations in Chicago, Miami’s South Beach and in Las Vegas. It offers a “vibrant mix of sophisticated cuisine” and “playful lounge spaces,” according to the restaurant’s Twitter.
A hotel spokesperson told ABC News they “look forward to sharing more details about new partnerships in the coming months” but that “with a long history of innovation across the culinary industry, Waldorf Astoria creates iconic, award-winning dining experiences at its landmark locations worldwide. We are continuing that tradition with exciting food and beverage concepts at our newest hotel.”
In a video Andrés — whose humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen is also working to provide meals to Ukrainians during the Russian invasion — tweeted with his announcement on Monday, he took in the historic bells of the Old Post Office ringing in the background.
“For whom the bells toll?” he asked. “Well, for a new restaurant by José Andrés at the Old Post Office.”
(WASHINGTON) — A series of photos taken on election night 2020 inside the Trump White House captures the tension as Donald Trump’s family and his top aides track election returns and see Trump’s early lead fade away.
The photos, taken by a White House photographer and published exclusively in the book, Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show, are a visual representation of the testimony of senior Trump advisers who told the House Jan. 6 committee that they did not believe Trump should declare victory on election night.
The photos show Trump’s family and campaign team camped out in the Map Room of the White House.
The room, located in the basement of the White House residence, is where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt tracked the movement of Allied Forces during World War II.
It’s called the Map Room because some of the maps used by FDR are framed and on the walls.
For election night, however, Trump’s political team transformed the room in to a campaign war room, installing large-screen televisions and placing them over FDR’s maps.
The photos capture the apparently pained expressions on the faces of Trump’s inner circle.
According to a source who is shown in at least one of the photos, they were taken as the campaign’s analysts, who had been more confident early in the evening, became concerned Trump could lose.
The photos feature some of Trump’s most prominent advisers, including chief of staff Mark Meadows, campaign manager Bill Stepien, senior strategist Jason Miller, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
Also present are several Trump family members, including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Lara Trump.
In videotaped testimony released Monday by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Stepien said Trump was “increasingly unhappy” on election night as votes were counted and he started to lose.
Stepien, Miller and other key aides urged Trump not to declare victory that night.
“My belief, my recommendation was to say that votes were still being counted, it’s too early to tell, too early to call the race,” Stepien said in a clip of his interview with the committee played during Monday’s hearing.
Trump, he said, “thought I was wrong,” and would instead declare victory at the White House early the next morning on the advice of Rudy Giuliani, who Miller said was “definitely intoxicated” on election night.
Giuliani on Tuesday challenged Miller’s testimony and denied being drunk on election night at the White House.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the Steve Miller Band‘s 12th studio album, Abracadabra.
Powered by the chart-topping title track, Abracadabra peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and was the group’s last album to enjoy significant commercial success in the U.S. The song “Abracadabra” spent two nonconsecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September of ’82. The tune was only one of two tracks that frontman Steve Miller wrote on the album, along with “Give It Up.”
Steve Miller Band drummer Gary Mallaber co-wrote the album’s remaining eight songs, four of which in collaboration with Miller Band guitarist John Massaro.
“Cool Magic” and the aforementioned “Give It Up” were also released as singles, although they only reached #57 and #60, respectively, on the Hot 100.
“Abracadabra” is the Steve Miller Band’s final top-40 hit to date. Its popularity was bolstered by a music video that received heavy airplay on MTV.
The album, which was co-produced by Miller and Mallaber, has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 1 million copies in the U.S.
Here’s the full Abracadabra track list:
“Keeps Me Wondering Why”
“Abracadabra”
“Something Special”
“Give It Up”
“Never Say No”
“Things I Told You”
“Young Girl’s Heart”
“Goodbye Love”
“Cool Magic”
“While I’m Waiting”
James Patterson is apologizing for his statement that white male writers face a “form a racism.”
Taking to Twitter Tuesday, the 75-year-old author wrote, “I apologize for saying white male writers having trouble finding work is a form of racism. I absolutely do not believe that racism is practiced against white writers.”
“Please know that I strongly support a diversity of voices being heard—in literature, in Hollywood, everywhere,” he added.
The apology comes after Patterson expressed his struggle to find work in the film, theater, TV, and publishing industries, calling it “just another form of racism,” in an interview published in The Sunday Times on June 12.
“What’s that all about?” he continued. “Can you get a job? Yes. Is it harder? Yes. It’s even harder for older writers. You don’t meet many 52-year-old white males.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Cleveland 4, Colorado 3
San Francisco 4, Kansas City 2
L.A. Dodgers 2 L.A. Angels 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston 6, Oakland 1
NY Yankees 2, Tampa Bay 0
Baltimore 6, Toronto 5
Chi White Sox 5, Detroit 1
Houston 4, Texas 3
Seattle 5, Minnesota 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis 3, Pittsburgh 1
NY Mets 4, Milwaukee 0
Atlanta 10, Washington 4
St. Louis 9, Pittsburgh 1
Miami 11, Philadelphia 9
San Diego 12, Chicago Cubs 5
Cincinnati 5, Arizona 3 (12)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Washington 83, Phoenix 65
Seattle 81, Minnesota 79
(FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.) — Two wildfires are threatening communities near Flagstaff, Arizona, as the fire danger remains high due to dry, hot conditions.
The largest, the Pipeline Fire, has quickly swelled to over 20,100 acres since first reported on Sunday and is 0% contained. It is burning about 6 miles north of Flagstaff, with “critical” weather concerns due to warm and windy conditions, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center.
The Haywire Fire is also burning nearby, about 17 miles northeast of Flagstaff. It has grown to over 4,000 acres since first reported on Monday and merged with the smaller Double Fire and is also 0% contained.
On Monday, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency due to the Pipeline and Haywire fires.
Several communities are under evacuation and parts of the Coconino National Forest are temporarily closed due to the fires.
High winds and remote terrain have challenged the fire response, though aerial operations were seen on Tuesday. Some 500 fire personnel are working on both fires, with aerial resources including six helicopters and one fixed-wing aircraft, state officials said Tuesday.
“We are priority for all our aircraft, at least in the region if not the nation,” Aaron Graeser, incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service, told reporters Monday.
The causes of both fires are under investigation. Fire officials suspect a lightning strike caused the Haywire Fire. A 57-year-old man was arrested by U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officers for “federal natural resource violations” in connection with the Pipeline Fire, according to the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.
Federal court records show Matthew Riser was charged with building a prohibited fire, residing on national forest lands and possession of a controlled substance (marijuana).
Riser allegedly lit toilet paper on fire in the Coconino National Forest around noon on Saturday. The Pipeline Fire was reported the following day at around 10:30 a.m. in the area, according to a statement of probable cause. Riser reportedly told a law enforcement officer that he did not see the “no campfire” signs, but saw them when he drove out of the area, the probable cause stated.
His attorney told Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV there is no evidence that Riser started the fire. A detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
(RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.) — The manager of a Northern California gas station was fired after he accidentally set the gas price to 69 cents a gallon.
John Szczecina, who served as the manager for a Shell gas station in Rancho Cordova, said he mistakenly placed the decimal in the wrong spot and that the price was supposed to be $6.99 a gallon.
“I put all three prices on there, except the diesel. The last one kind of didn’t go. So, I just took responsibility for it and said yeah, it’s my fault,” Szczecina told ABC News Fresno station KFSN.
The pricing error reportedly cost the gas station $16,000, as hundreds of drivers capitalized on the mistake and filled their tanks.
Szczecina told KFSN he’s worried the station owners will sue him for lost revenue, revealing that his family created a GoFundMe to help repay them.
According to auto club AAA, nationwide gas prices recently reached $5 a gallon for the first time.
Drivers in California are paying much higher prices for gas — an average of $6.43 per gallon — than the national average.
Gas prices have skyrocketed in the last few months, pinching the pockets of millions of Americans who are struggling to fill their tanks amid inflation costs.
More motorists are also poised to hit the road as the busy summer season gets
(WASHINGTON) — Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, can now be seen on U.S. quarters available for purchase.
Mankiller, an activist for Native American and women’s rights, is the third woman to have her face adorned upon a quarter as part of the American Women Quarters Program.
“Chief Mankiller was a true champion for tribal sovereignty, women’s rights, health care, education and building strong communities for the Cherokee people. Every Chief that has followed her looks to her as the standard by which their work should be measured,” Chuck Hoskin Jr., the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, told ABC News Tuesday.
The new coin design shows Mankiller with a “resolute gaze to the future,” the U.S. Mint said in announcing the design.
Mankiller looks to be wearing a traditional shawl, and to her left is the seven-pointed star of the Cherokee Nation. The coin is inscribed with several phrases, including, “E Pluribus Unum,” “Wilma Mankiller,” “Principal Chief,” and “Cherokee Nation,” which is written in the Cherokee syllabary.
“Even years after her passing, Chief Mankiller is making an impact,” Hoskin said at a coin release event held by the Cherokee Nation and U.S. Mint last week.
“She’s not changing the world on this day simply because her likeness is being struck on the quarter. Her likeness is being struck on the quarter because she keeps changing the world for the better,” Hoskin added.
Mankiller served as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1985 to 1995. During her leadership, the nation’s population sprung from 68,000 to 170,000, according to a biography on her website.
The first woman to hold this title, Mankiller advocated throughout her tenure for improved healthcare, education and housing services. While she was principal chief, infant mortality declined and educational achievement rose across the nation, Cherokee Nation officials say.
“She was very driven on behalf of other people she was nurturing, she wanted to make people feel better. She was very approachable,” Ross Swimmer, the Cherokee Nation’s former principal chief, said at the release event.
Mankiller worked with the federal government while chief, working to pilot a self-government agreement for the Cherokee Nation through the Environmental Protection Agency. She guarded centuries of Cherokee traditions, customs and legal codes while managing a budget that reached $150 million by 1995, her website says.
“Wilma suffered from several serious illnesses and was almost killed in an auto accident, but she never complained. She would never say, ‘well, I just can’t do that today, I just don’t feel like it,’ or ‘no, I’m in pain,’ you would never hear that from her. She would go right on and get done what needed to be done,” Swimmer said at the event.
“I want to leave you with my mom’s last words. In 1995, the last time she took the podium as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, she said, ‘I did what I could,’” Felicia Olaya, her daughter, said in a speech at the release event.
In 1993, Mankiller was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
After Mankiller finished her term as principal chief, President Bill Clinton honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998. In 2018, Mankiller was inducted into the National Native American Hall of Fame as one of the first female inductees.
“Chief Mankiller’s efforts to inspire our Cherokee people to work together at the grass roots level to build strong communities in the spirit of “Gaudgi” is alive and well. Our Cherokee people remain organized to this day working on their own solutions and for every challenge they are confronted with, not simply content to wait for any government to come to the rescue,’ Hoskin told ABC News.
Mankiller began her activism in 1969, when she began serving as director of Oakland’s Native American Youth Center, working to restore pride in Native heritage and reduce the downward spiral of Native youth who grew up in the streets.
In the late 1970s, Mankiller founded the Community Development Department for the Cherokee Nation, which focused on improving access to water and housing. A feature film was created around this work, entitled “The Cherokee Word for Water.”
“Chief Mankiller is still making an impact today, because now every time a little girl sees Wilma’s face on a quarter, and reads her story, she realizes she can do it too,” Hoskin said Tuesday.
Mankiller died in 2010 from pancreatic cancer.
The first coin of the American Women Quarters Program was released in January, with a quarter featuring poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.
“These inspiring coin designs tell the stories of five extraordinary women whose contributions are indelibly etched in American culture,” Alison L. Doone, the Mint’s acting director, said in a statement last year. “Generations to come will look at coins bearing these designs and be reminded of what can be accomplished with vision, determination and a desire to improve opportunities for all.”
In March, Sally Ride, the first woman to travel to outer space, appeared on U.S. quarters.
Nine Otero-Warren, a leader in Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools, and Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood who left a legacy for women in the film industry, are both set to appear on U.S. quarters in the coming months.
