(NEW YORK) — Kim Kardashian is back on the beauty scene with a brand new launch.
The reality star and businesswoman will debut a line of skin care products, SKKN BY KIM, on June 21. The collection will include nine products, meant to mirror her own daily skin care routine.
“I’ve been so privileged to learn about skin and skincare over the years from the world’s top dermatologists and estheticians, and every bottle from my new line is filled with the knowledge I’ve accumulated along the way,” Kardashian said in an Instagram post.
“You will experience refillable packaging, and clean, science-backed ingredients designed to nourish all skin types, tones, and textures at all stages of maturity,” she added.
According to a press release from the brand, Kardashian’s passion to create a skin care line was born out of her dream to bridge the gap between the world’s most renowned dermatological experts and people at home seeking high-performance skin care products.
The collection features a cleanser, toner, exfoliator, serum, face cream, eye cream and two face oils ranging between $43 – $95.
Unique standouts from the upcoming launch include the Vitamin C8 Serum, which targets fine lines, pigmentations and wrinkles, and the Oil Drops, which have Vitamin C and reduce the look of pores, the brand said.
“What began as a psoriasis diagnosis became the catalyst for my journey of skincare discoveries, inspiring me to learn more about my skin and how to care for it,” Kardashian said in a statement. “Working with some of the top dermatologists and estheticians over the years has given me the incredible opportunity to learn from their expertise — and I knew I had to share my learnings.”
Together with Coty Inc., the new skincare-focused brand has kept sustainability top of mind by using minimalistic refillable packaging, with refills also housed inside eco-friendly materials.
News of the skin care line comes approximately one year after Kardashian announced that her former cosmetics line KKW Beauty was temporarily shutting down.
The reality TV star is also the founder of solutionwear brand SKIMS, which offers a range of undergarments, accessories and loungewear.
Press Service of the Office of the President of Ukraine
(NEW YORK) — Since the start of Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian first lady has been in hiding with her two children. A difficult question her 9-year-old son keeps asking is when the war will end, Olena Zelenska said in an exclusive interview with ABC News.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think any Ukrainian would be able to answer that question,” Zelenska told Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts in her first televised solo interview since the invasion began.
In discussing the state of the conflict nearly 100 days after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Zelenska said that conceding territory to Russia won’t stop the war.
“You just can’t concede … parts of your territory. It’s like conceding a freedom,” Zelenska, 44, said in the interview, airing on Good Morning America Thursday. “Even if we would consider territories, the aggressor would not stop at that. He would continue pressing, he would continue launching more and more steps forward, more and more attacks against our territory.”
World seeing Zelenskyy’s ‘true identity’
Zelenska’s son has also continued to ask about his father, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom they have been separated from since the start of the war.
“We said goodbye to one another on the very first day. And over the next two months, we only had a chance to speak via the phone,” Zelenska said.
As he’s handled the stress of war, she said she is “proud” that the whole world has gotten to see Zelenskyy’s “true identity.” The two met at university and have been married for nearly 20 years. She said Zelenskyy’s decision to run for president of Ukraine amid a successful comedy career was “unexpected.”
“There’s one trait about Volodymyr that’s very important — he likes to change things around himself,” she said. “And that’s why I clearly realized that there wouldn’t be anything even closely related to the word boring when you were staying with him.”
But as his family, she said she will support him in any way she could.
“If one day he would say that, ‘OK, I’m going to go to space as an astronaut,’ then, well, I would have to fly with him,” she said, laughing.
‘I have to be strong’
Zelenska said she doesn’t feel as courageous as her husband, but as first lady, she feels motivated to “keep on working to do my own part in order to … get closer to our victory.”
“I realized that I have to be strong, that I have to be courageous, that I have to support him,” she said.
Zelenska has drawn attention to the women involved in the war, saying in an Instagram post in March that the Ukrainian resistance “has a particularly female face.”
“I always thought that Ukrainian women are the best. And I was really proud of how the Ukrainian women behaved themselves during the war,” she said. “Now, I’m proud of the fact that the whole world has seen the true face of the Ukrainian women.”
Zelenska said there are countless stories that have inspired her, though one, in particular, involved a maternity nurse in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol.
“She continued working, despite all those shelling,” she said. “There was no water supplies. There was no electricity supply. And she kept on working until that maternity hospital was completely destroyed.”
The nurse, Tatiana, helped deliver 27 newborns during that time, Zelenska said.
Another story of heroism involved a 15-year-old girl named Leeza who helped evacuate four people from a village in eastern Ukraine even after both her legs were wounded during shelling.
“When I saw her on the news report … that was the face of a child,” Zelenska said. “And still, she found the courage to keep on driving.”
Addressing trauma
For all the stories of unity and heroism, Zelenska noted that the war has been deadly for Ukraine’s children. As of Wednesday, 243 children have been killed as a result of the conflict, she said.
June 4 marks the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, as commemorated by the United Nations.
“Unfortunately, this year we will be marking this event,” the first lady said.
Children have also been traumatized by the war; Zelenska recounted hearing about two boys who saw their mother killed in front of them, and then had to bury her themselves.
“We need to help people to live that through. We need to help people psychologically, mentally, in whatever ways possible,” she said.
To that end, she is introducing a national program to provide mental health support for those impacted by the war’s “atrocities,” she said.
“The medical institutions and medical system as we have it right now, it might simply be not enough to cover all the needs,” she said. “That’s why we need to be prepared.”
Another challenge will be getting Ukrainians who might not be used to seeking mental health support to avail themselves of this help, she said.
“Even the parents, they might not recognize that their child is having a problem, is having some sort of PTSD,” she said.
Global support
Zelenska discussed the “enormous support” Ukraine has felt from across the globe amid the war — before the interview was interrupted by an air raid siren.
“It’s really important, because you feel you’re not alone,” she said once the interview was able to safely resume.
First lady Jill Biden’s surprise visit to western Ukraine last month was another “tremendous” sign of support, Zelenska said.
“I finally managed to see her face-to-face, and it was a tremendously courageous action that she has made,” Zelenska said. “She came to the country which is at war, and the people of Ukraine, they highly appreciated that.”
This week, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. will be sending Ukraine more sophisticated military equipment as part of a $700 million package of security assistance. The move comes following calls from Zelenskyy last month for long-range rocket systems to “allow the defeat of tyranny.”
Zelenska said they are grateful for the humanitarian and security assistance Ukraine has received so far, and that they “hope and wait for more assistance to come.”
As the war continues, another difficult question Zelenska finds herself unable to answer is what message she would give to the Russian people.
“Whenever we are trying to ask them a question or relay any message, they tend to answer that we have other information. … Or they might be saying that we have other viewpoints on the situation,” she said. “But how can you have any other view on those killings? On those atrocities committed?”
In a message to the American people, she implored them to “not get used to this war.”
“Otherwise, we are risking a never-ending war and this is not something we would like to have,” she said. “Don’t get used to our pain.”
The interview with Zelenska will air Thursday on Good Morning America and across ABC News. Good Morning America airs at 7 a.m. ET on ABC.
(NEW YORK) — One woman has died and another is missing after a group of 12 kayakers became stranded and then went over Bosher’s Dam in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday afternoon.
Ten kayakers were rescued shortly after the incident took place on the James River at around 3 p.m. local time, according to Richmond Fire Department Assistant Chief Jeffrey Segal. The dam has a 12-foot drop.
Two kayakers — identified by the Henrico County Police Division as Lauren Winstead and Sarah Erway — were initially deemed missing. Their last known location was where most of the kayakers were rescued. Winstead’s body was recovered from the James River on Wednesday afternoon, while the search for Erway has transitioned from a rescue mission into a recovery operation, police said.
The search and rescue mission for the missing women ceased Monday night because it was getting dark, Segal had said. The operation resumed the next morning.
Henrico County Police Division spokesman Lt. Matthew Pecka said Tuesday that multiple agencies responded to assist in the search between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., searching from the Bosher Dam to Powhite Parkway along the James River. Agencies used drones, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and inflatable vessels in their efforts, Pecka said.
The search continued Wednesday. That evening, Henrico County Police Division took to Twitter to announce that search teams had recovered Winstead’s body from the James River, just west of the Powhite Parkway Bridge, at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time.
“Our deepest condolences are with Ms. Winstead’s family during this difficult time,” police tweeted. “The search for Sarah Erway will continue and is transitioning from a search and rescue mission to a recovery operation.”
It was unclear if all the kayakers knew each other, according to Segal, and if they were all physically inside the kayaks at the time of the emergency.
Keith Urban’s current single, “Wild Hearts,” is a love letter to the dreamers of the world, encouraging listeners to chase their passion, no matter how many people tell them it can’t be done.
That’s a very personal concept for the singer. “I had plenty of those people in my life that didn’t believe in me,” he admits. “And I probably found that fuel for my fire, even more so than the people who believed in me … Proving them wrong was great motivation.”
Specifically, he remembers something one older country artist told him at a festival in Australia, after he’d just come back from a writing trip to Nashville. The older artist approached him backstage and asked him why he’d been out of town.
“I said, ‘Oh, I’ve been in Nashville writing songs.’ I was so excited. And he looked at me and he says, ‘Yeah, you got to get it out of your system, don’t you?’” Keith recounts. “And I could have punched this guy square in the face. I was so angry at this condescending, jaded thing that this guy said to me.”
The comment hurt in the moment, but as he looks back, Keith acknowledges that he owes a debt of gratitude to that older artist and everyone else who told him he was wasting his time pursuing his musical career.
“I think about that guy a lot, and I’m grateful now that he gave me that fuel to burn on,” he says. “So that second verse [in ‘Wild Hearts’] is kind of a thank you to the people who say you can’t do it, because they give people like me a lot of fuel.”
Fuel indeed: “Wild Hearts” is currently in the top 5 and climbing on the country radio charts.
After their 2014 song “I Love You So” blew up on TikTok, Chicago band The Walters, who’d split up in 2017, reunited, and now they’re close to wrapping up their first tour in five years. The band tells ABC Audio that they feel lucky to have attracted a whole new audience.
“There’s a lot of new fans from TikTok,” says lead singer Luke Olson. “Honestly, when we went on our hiatus, we had a lot of young fans that are now a little older. So it’s been really exciting for us that we got blessed by getting all these new people.”
And while The Walters are hopeful that their new fans are enjoying their EP Try Again, which came out last month, Luke says he’s really excited at the prospect of them checking out the music they released before their split.
“Y’know, ‘I Love You So’ is a really great song,” Luke says. “The lyrics are very like…pretty much everyone can identify. [But] I think…if people are going to go and now check out the rest of our catalog, I think they’ll be surprised and pleased. Because there’s other tracks that, y’know, a lot of people think are better than “I Love You So!'”
The Walters’ tour wraps in Los Angeles on June 9. What’s next? More music, says Luke.
“We’re trying to create easy-listening music, trying to bring back some sounds, but also have this modern thing,” he explains. “And that’s what we intend with this new EP and the music we continue to create.”
“We’re not trying to become some new band,” Luke adds. “We’re not, like, now going to change our sound and do some experimental thing…[We ]know what we like, we know what our fans like, and we just want to keep doing that.”
While Memorial Day has come and gone, it’s not too late to prepare music playlists for upcoming summer holidays and events this year. In honor of June’s Black Music Month, and with the double whammy Juneteenth and Father’s Day on Sunday, June 19, here’s a list of a few popular hits that will most likely be played at a Black cookout.
–“Before I Let Go” by Frankie Beverly & Maze is probably the song that gets everybody up & on the dance floor. This ’80s classic transcends every generation; some consider it the “Black Anthem.”
–“Before I Let Go” by Beyoncé is a more-than-suitable cover of the original, if for some reason the young crowd at the cookout thinks they’re too good for oldies.
–“September” by Earth, Wind & Fire will certainly keep the party going. Grandparents might look for their grandson or daughter to “dance with me baby,” as they would say, while kicking their old-school two-step.
–“Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross is a hit most likely everyone knows the lyrics to — or maybe just the chorus — and will have the whole party chanting, “a thousand kisses from you is never too much.”
–“Candy” by Cameo comes on and the shoutin’ and groovin’ begins. This timeless ’80s classic is as important to the moms & dads as it is to Gen Z’s TikTok-loving kids.
–“The Cupid Shuffle” is probably the #1 line dancing song that leads to folks putting their plates down so they can dance.
–“Do I Do” by Stevie Wonder might bring the romance out of family couples, and have aunts and uncles reminiscing about their love journey.
–“Just Fine” by Mary J. Blige does just what the song says it will, makes you “wanna move,” makes you “wanna have fun.”
Earlier this year, the English band deleted all their social media profiles, which, as past 1975 album cycles have taught us, is usually a precursor to a new music announcement. In a tweet Wednesday, the group confirmed exactly that.
“Your new album. Your new era. Your old friends,” The 1975 wrote alongside a link to sign up for their email list, which promises to deliver “Album 5 news first.”
Meanwhile, The 1975’s label, Dirty Hit, shared a photo of a poster with the date July 7, suggesting that we’ll be hearing new music then.
The 1975’s most recent album is 2020’s Notes on a Conditional Form.
Steve Nicks often posts heartfelt essays in response to world events, and the mass shooting in Uvalde, TX that left 19 children and two adults dead has inspired her latest missive.
On Facebook, Stevie writes, “My hope for this country is that the lawmakers just find a way to make buying an assault rifle more difficult.”
The Fleetwood Mac frontwoman continues, “When those guns go into the hands of obviously disturbed people, it gives them a sense of unbelievable power that they have never felt before. Power, used in a bad way, is the opposite of ‘power’ used in a good way. Once people have felt the power of those guns…they are addicted…So don’t give them that power. Make it really hard for them to get that gun.”
She emphasizes, “No one is trying to take away guns from people who get them for a good reason. Guns are not toys. Background checks are not that hard.”
Stevie then poses this question: “So, I ask you; do you want to go down in the history books as being responsible for these school shootings that will inevitably continue, or do you want to be remembered as the people who finally gathered together in unity and empathy as the people who stopped it[?]”
Saying she’s “dying inside for the loss of those children in Texas and their parents,” Stevie writes, “If I had gone to school one day when I was ten and been shot; my little body destroyed, I think my father would have done the same thing that that lovely teacher’s husband did. Gone home, sat down in a chair and died…of a broken heart.”
Two days after teacher Irma Garcia died in the shooting, her husband Joe suffered a fatal heart attack.
Here’s the church, and here’s “The Steeple.” Open the doors and see Halestorm‘s latest #1 hit.
Lzzy Hale and company’s current single has reached the top of Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. It’s the sixth Halestorm tune to achieve that feat and the second from the group’s new album Back from the Dead, following the title track.
As Hale tells ABC Audio, both “Back from the Dead” and “The Steeple” are songs about “survival,” though “The Steeple” has more of an outward message.
“We came out with a banger with ‘Back from the Dead,’ and that was more first-person, me-talking-about-me,” Hale laughs. “So with ‘The Steeple’ I really wanted to put out that sense of community.”
As the preacher in “The Steeple,” Hale is reaching out to those who subscribe to the church of rock and the congregation of live shows.
“I wanted to remind everybody of … the big ‘why’ we go to shows, and the big ‘why’ that we all stand together,” Hale says.
“There is that feeling that happens [when] you’re in a crowd of people and you’re all singing the song together, and you’re standing shoulder to shoulder with people that are just like you,” she continues. “It’s a beautiful communion, and it’s a celebration of this thing, this intangible magic that is music.”
That magic, Hale has found, is irreplaceable.
“It’s the best feeling in the world, and that hole cannot be filled with anything else, as we discovered during lockdown,” Hale laughs. “There is nothing else that is like it.”
Allan Clarke and Graham Nash in 2010; Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Last November, Graham Nash revealed that he was working on a new album with his childhood friend and fellow Hollies co-founder Allan Clarke, and now the folk-rock legend has shared more details about the project.
Nash tells ABC Audio that the record actually is a new Clarke solo album that’s due out in late July, and that he is singing on “maybe seven or eight tracks.”
Graham says he’s also written one tune for the album.
“[It’s] a song I had written very quickly. It’s a very simple song…about The Hollies’ love for Buddy Holly, and it’s called ‘Buddy’s Back,'” he explains. “And I think it’s a lovely recording. And…it might be his first single off the record.”
Nash, who like Clarke turned 80 earlier this year, says the remainder of the album is made up of new songs written by Allan.
“[H]e’s been writing incredibly well,” Graham raves. “And in a way, more importantly, he has been singing the s*** out of [the songs].”
Nash says he’s particularly happy that Clarke has been singing well, because he’d lost his voice about two decades ago, “which is why he left The Hollies.”
Graham adds, “I probably wouldn’t have done [the album] with such emotion and pleasure if he wasn’t singing quite right…But he’s singing his a** off.”
Nash also says he’ll be glad to perform some shows with Clarke to help promote the project.
“I told him I will do any press that he wants,” Graham notes. “Any way to point the fingers back to Allan Clarke is what I’ll do.”
