A “deeply remorseful” Will Smith posted an emotional, nearly six-minute long video on Friday in which he addressed his physical and verbal attack on Chris Rock at this past March’s Oscars.
“It’s been a minute,” reads a title card that begins the video, as Smith is heard settling into a chair in front of a microphone. “Over the last few months I have been doing a lot of thinking and personal work,” the message continues, adding, “You asked a lot of fair questions that I wanted to take some time to answer,” before Will’s recorded message begins.
“Why didn’t you apologize to Chris in your acceptance speech?” Will first asks, quoting fans. He answered, “I was fogged out by that point. It’s all fuzzy.”
Will adds, “I have reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, and when he is, he’ll reach out. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here when you’re ready to talk.”
Will also apologizes to Chris Rock’s mother — who as previously reported gave an interview about the incident — and to Tony Rock, Chris’ writer brother.
“I spent the last three months replaying and understanding the nuances and the complexities of what happened in in that moment,” Smith continues. “And I’m not going to try to unpack all of that right now, but I can say to all of you, there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”
As for fans who asked if Smith’s wife, Jada, put him up to the stunt after “she rolled her eyes” at Chris Rock’s G.I. Jane jab at her, Smith denies it.
“I made a choice on my own, from my own experiences, from my history with Chris,” Will insists. “Jada had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry, babe. And say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I brought on all of us.”
Smith also acknowledges his remorse for “tarnishing” the moment for fellow Oscar nominees and winners, as well as letting his fans down.
“It hurts me psychologically and emotionally that I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me,” he declares. “The work I’m trying to do is I am deeply remorseful, and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed for myself. I’m human and I made a mistake.”
The actor — who won his first Oscar at the ceremony not long after the slap — concludes by saying, “I know it was confusing. I know it was shocking. But I promise you, I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world. And, you know, if you hang on a promise, we’ll be able to be friends again.”
(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:
Jul 29, 8:28 AM EDT
US ambassador to Ukraine speaks to ABC News as grain ships prepare to leave
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink told ABC News on Friday morning that she is “optimistic” ships carrying grain will begin leaving Ukraine this weekend, but that it’s up to Russia to keep its side of the deal.
During an interview in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, Brink told ABC News there is currently “no obstacle” to the ships’ departure.
“Ukraine is ready to ship this grain, but it’s also up to Russia to agree on the grain corridor and the ships will be ready to go,” Brink said. “It can be done, it should be done and, in fact, it must be done.”
She declined to say whether the United States would impose consequences on Russia if it disrupted the United Nations-brokered deal or attacked the ships. But she underlined her country’s support for Ukraine and the deal, saying it was important that Ukrainian grain starts reaching countries that need it.
“Twenty-four hours after the deal was agreed a week ago today, Russia bombed this very port where we’re standing,” Brink noted. “So I think it’s imperative on Russia to live up to its commitments and to implement the agreement it signed onto, and imperative on all of us to ensure that Russia lives up to those commitments.”
When asked if there was a “Plan B” if the deal failed, Brink said the focus was on doing everything to ensure “Plan A” works.
Earlier Friday, Brink and ambassadors of other G-7 countries held a press conference in Odesa while overseeing the preparations. She told reporters that she hopes an agreement confirming the safe corridors of the grain ships to sail through this weekend would be reached. Under the deal, Ukraine and Russia have been negotiating the precise routes the vessels will take across the Black Sea.
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain has skyrocketed worldwide. Russia and Ukraine — often referred to collectively as Europe’s breadbasket — produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but Kyiv has been unable to ship exports due to Moscow’s offensive. Last month, the Ukrainian Grain Association warned that Ukraine’s wheat harvest is expected to plummet by 40%.
In recent weeks, there has been an all-out push from the U.S. and the U.N. to facilitate exports from war-torn Ukraine, desperate to offset what they foretell is a looming global food crisis with the potential to devastate the developing world. A Russian blockade in the Black Sea, along with Ukrainian naval mines, have made exporting siloed grain and other foodstuffs virtually impossible and, as a result, millions of people around the world — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — are now on the brink of famine.
Jul 29, 7:11 AM EDT
Ukraine says 1st grain ships should leave this weekend
Ukraine announced Friday that it hopes the first ships carrying grain will finally be leaving two ports this weekend under a United Nations-brokered deal to end Russia’s blockade.
The departure of the first ships will be a major test of whether the deal with Moscow will hold and Ukrainian food can begin to ease the global hunger crisis worsened by the blockade amid Russia’s war.
Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksander Kubrakov, who is overseeing the operation, told reporters in Odesa on Friday morning that the port as well as the nearby Chernomorsk port are prepared to begin, with 17 ships already loaded with grain.
A final agreement mediated by the U.N. and Turkey needs to be signed off on the routes the vessels will take out of the heavily mined ports. Kubrakov said Ukraine had provided a number of options and that, from its side, the country is ready. Ukraine is waiting for the U.N. to confirm the routes are accepted by both sides.
Kubrakov said the first ships should leave by the end of the weekend.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also in Odesa on Friday morning to see the preparations and meet with Kubrakov as well as other officials, including U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Jul 27, 2:51 PM EDT
Blinken and Lavrov to discuss US proposal to free Griner and Whelan
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he plans to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the coming days, marking the first time the two leaders will speak since the war began.
Blinken said a critical topic of discussion would be securing the freedom of detained Americans Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, revealing that the U.S. has already put forward a plan to accomplish that.
“We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release. Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal, and I’ll use the conversation to follow up personally and I hope move us toward a resolution,” Blinken said.
“I can’t and won’t get into any of the details of what we’ve proposed to the Russians over the course of some many weeks now,” Blinken said.
Blinken said President Joe Biden played an active role in crafting the proposal for Griner and Whelan.
Blinken also stressed, “My call with Foreign Minister Lavrov will not be a negotiation about Ukraine,” adding, “Any negotiation regarding Ukraine is for its government and people to determine.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jul 27, 9:32 AM EDT
Ukraine uses US rocket system to strike key bridge in Russia-held Kherson
Ukrainian forces struck a strategic bridge in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson early Wednesday, according to local officials.
High-precision missile strikes by the Ukrainian military damaged the Antonivskiy bridge, forcing the occupied authorities to close the structure to civilian traffic. The mile-long bridge across the Dnieper River is an essential artery used by Moscow to supply its troops occupying southern Ukraine.
“Strikes were delivered on the bridge, on its road. The bridge is currently closed to the civilian population,” Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Moscow-appointed administration for the Kherson region, told local media on Wednesday.
The bridge’s pillars and spans were still intact as of Wednesday morning, according to Stremousov.
“It is simply that the number of holes on the road has increased. The strike on the bridge has affected only the civilian population,” he added.
According to Stremousov, Ukrainian forces hit the bridge with High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) supplied by the United States. He said ferry crossings across the Dnieper River will be organized during the bridge’s restoration, and that traffic will resume in the near future.
“We have prepared a pontoon bridge. We have a ferry link,” he told local media.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian military officials said the number of Russian soldiers killed in the war has surpassed 40,000, just more than five months after Russia launched its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in late February.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Max Uzol and Yuriy Zaliznyak
Dua Lipa is ready to speak out after someone smuggled fireworks into her Toronto concert and lit them off in the pit during her show.
The Grammy winner issued a statement via her Instagram Stories regarding the incident. “Last night, unauthorized fireworks went off in the crowd during my set in Toronto,” she expressed. “Creating a safe and inclusive space at my shows is always my top priority, and my team and I are just as shocked and confused by the events as you all are.”
“There is an ongoing investigation into the events being conducted, and everyone involved is working hard to find out how this incident occurred,” Dua continued.
The “Levitating” singer noted further, “Bringing this show to life for my fans has been such an amazing experience, and I am so deeply sorry for anyone who was scared, felt unsafe or whose enjoyment of the show was affected in any way.”
As previously reported, an unknown suspect lit fireworks in the concert pit toward the end of Dua’s show at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
A fan filming from the pit captured the incident as well as the singer’s reaction. Dua notices the fireworks going off at the end of the walkway and looks at her backup dancers in bewilderment but continues on with the number.
Three people were injured by the sparks and suffered “very minor injuries,” police told People. All victims were treated at the venue and did not require hospitalization. In addition, the fireworks did not damage the venue.
As Dua mentioned, the incident is under investigation. People must cross through a metal detector to get into the venue, which explicitly prohibits fireworks. It is unclear how the fireworks made it into the building.
(NEW YORK) — Global conservation efforts to save tigers have far exceeded expectations, according to experts. There have, however, also been unintended consequences.
Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba announced Friday, on International Tiger Day, that the number of tigers in the country has increased 290% since 2009. The revelation surpasses the joint target set by the government and conservationists, Narendra Pradhan, the Nepal program coordinator for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, told ABC News.
Nepal, a landlocked Asian country nestled in the Himalayan Mountains, is one of 13 countries that committed to doubling its tiger population during a 2010 international tiger summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
But as the number of tigers in Nepal continues to grow, so does the conflict between tigers and their human neighbors.
In the last year, tigers have killed three people every month on average, according to Nepalese officials.
Very few of these attacks involve “problem tigers” that venture from the forests and national parks to attack humans and livestock, Mayukh Chatterjee, field program manager for the Chester Zoo in the U.K. and a member of the IUCN’s Human-Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence Specialist Group, told ABC News. Many Nepalese live in subsistence farming communities and the majority of the attacks occur when they are foraging, Smriti Dahal, program coordinator for the World Wildlife Fund’s Tigers Alive Initiative and a native of Nepal, told ABC News.
Sometimes the attacks occur when the farmers bring their livestock, such as goats and cows, to the forest because they are unable to collect enough fodder, Dahal said.
Tigers are elusive and shy, Pradhan said, adding that the attacks likely occur when they feel startled or threatened.
Part of the reason why tigers have flourished in countries like Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is because these cultures revere big cats, experts said. Other Southeast Asian countries, such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, have continued to see a decline or even total extinction of tigers.
India is also seeing an increase of human-tiger conflict as a result of the soaring numbers, Chatterjee said.
In his address on Friday, Deuba stressed the necessity for more strategic methods of tiger habitat management due to the conflict, which he said is taking place in the absence of adequate food and water.
Communities in tiger countries are rapidly changing as development continues and people move around geographically, Dahal said. As humans produce more food to fulfill growing populations, tigers and humans will begin to share more space.
While conservationists are pleased with their efforts, the focus is now on educating locals on safety and getting them involved in conservation efforts, Chatterjee said.
In addition, partners in the tiger initiative will need to monitor and perhaps slow the growth in some populations. Tigers are “very prolific breeders” and not much thought was given a decade ago to how tigers would peacefully coexist with an ever-growing human population, Chatterjee said.
Further growth in tiger populations will only lead to more human-tiger conflicts as the number of individual tigers move out of the secure conservation lands, Chatterjee said.
Communities are aware and support the tiger conservation work, Pradhan said. But partners in the tiger initiative will need to be mindful of the conflict, because as humans continue to lose their livestock and even their lives, resentment toward the big cats could begin, Chatterjee said.
“We don’t want that social tolerance to go down one day and people start killing because they’ve reached a limit where they cannot live with tigers,” Dahal said.
The track is described as the brother trio’s version of a “punk ‘F-you’ song.”
“In our political climate and within the landscape of social media, everything is marketing and branding yourself to fit into a political or TikTok trend,” says band member Ryan Met. “It gets exhausting. You lose yourself in fitting into a subsection of culture.”
“In our show and our music, we’re about figuring out what makes you unique,” he adds. “The message is, ‘Be yourself.’ However, we know it’s much easier said than done. We wanted to make a song that inspired others, but also ourselves to be who we are.”
You can listen to “I Won’t” now via digital outlets. An accompanying video was set to premiere Friday morning but has been delayed until later in the day.
“We were up all night finishing the edit and it’s taking forever to export and upload,” AJR says. “Thank you for your patience.”
In the meantime, you can watch AJR’s performance of “I Won’t” on The Tonight Show.
“I Won’t” follows AJR’s 2021 album, OK ORCHESTRA, which includes the singles “Bang!” and “Way Less Sad.”
Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford has released a new song called “Grace,” which will appear on his upcoming debut solo album, (self-titled).
The track is available now via digital outlets and is accompanied by a video that a press release says “touches on the cathartic theme of the album.” You can watch that streaming now on YouTube.
“Grace” is the second cut to be released from (self-titled) following the song “Cannibal,” which dropped earlier this month alongside a video directed by Steven Spielberg. The album will arrive in full on September 16.
Mumford will launch a solo North American tour in support of (self-titled) September 19 in Boulder, Colorado.
The first installment, is titled Live from The Summit, Houston, TX, 1977, and features footage from a two-night stand that the rock legends played at the Houston venue in June ’77 during their Draw the Line Tour. The film, which has been digitized from the original analog tape and remastered in HD, will be viewable for one week after its premiere.
As previously reported, the five-part series will offer a new archival “official bootleg” concert film featuring never-before-seen footage debut weekly for five weeks. Each flick captures Aerosmith during a different decade and features shows filmed by multiple cameras.
One day after each film premieres, highlight clips from the respective movies also will be added to Aerosmith’s YouTube channel.
In conjunction with the 50 Years Live! series, Aerosmith has launched a contest at Tunespeak.com offering fans who watch the films each week a chance to win two tickets to the band’s 50th anniversary concert at Boston’s Fenway Park on September 8. Those who enter also will have the opportunity to win an Aerosmith t-shirt.
Here’s the complete schedule of the 50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults series:
7/29 — Live from the Summit, Houston, TX, 1977 (Draw the Line Tour)
8/5 — Live from the Capital Centre, Landover, MD, 1989 (Pump Tour)
8/12 — Live from the Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre, Pittsburgh, PA, 1993 (Get a Grip Tour)
8/19 — Live from Comerica Park, Detroit, MI, 2003 (Rocksimus Maximus Tour)
8/26 — Live from Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, 2016 (Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble Tour)
(NEW YORK) — At least 16 people have been killed amid devastating flooding in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said Friday, and he expects that number to “get a lot higher.”
Among those killed was an 81-year-old woman, according to the governor.
On Thursday, Beshear called it “one of the worst, most devastating” floods in the state’s history, and said he anticipates this will be one of the deadliest floods in Kentucky in “a very long time.”
A flash flood emergency was issued in Kentucky late Wednesday as 2 to 5 inches of rain pounded the Bluegrass State.
As of Friday morning, central and eastern Kentucky remain under a flood watch, according to Beshear. An additional 2 to 4 inches of rain is expected in eastern Kentucky through Monday.
For some areas, the water will not crest until Saturday, the governor said.
“While rain totals are not expected to be as high, flooding still remains a concern due to saturated grounds,” the governor tweeted.
The state is combating washed out roads, destroyed homes and flooded schools, according to Beshear.
“Hundreds” have been rescued by boat and many people remain stranded, Beshear said Friday.
Hundreds of residents are expected to lose their homes and it’ll likely take families years to recover and rebuild, he said.
Three of Kentucky’s state parks are being opened to people who have lost their homes, according to the governor.
President Joe Biden on Friday approved a disaster declaration for Kentucky.
Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Despite Wednesday’s news of a potential billion-dollar Senate climate deal, environmental activists still appeared at Thursday night’s annual Congressional Baseball Game in the hope that President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats will follow through on their climate promises, though at a much smaller scale than anticipated.
U.S. Capitol Police and Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department said earlier this week that they were aware of potentially hundreds of protesters and would have an increased presence in the area of Nationals Park, where the century-old charity event is taking place.
The climate activists want Democrats to immediately pass the newly announced energy investments — brokered, per a late Wednesday announcement, between West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as part of another spending bill via reconciliation — and for Biden to declare a climate emergency.
The protest was planned as anger mounted against Manchin, one of the most conservative Democrats in the 50-50 Senate who earlier this month seemingly closed the door on climate negotiations in the next spending package, saying he could not support the environmental provisions of Democrats’ bill because of historic inflation.
“Hopeful that both actions can be taken swiftly, activists will continue pushing until Democrats’ climate promises are signed, sealed, and delivered,” Now Or Never, the group of climate organizations organizing Thursday’s protest, said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a Now Or Never member, said the group was “very surprised” at the successful climate negotiations.
“We didn’t anticipate that announcement to happen at that hour,” Quentin Scott told ABC News. “We’re very encouraged by what the Senate and President Biden announced last night, and we support those negotiations. And so far, the text looks pretty solid, but not perfect.”
Scott and Chesapeake Climate Action Network decided a few hours before the baseball game that they would not be protesting. Another Now Or Never spokesperson said the demonstration would be “significantly different” after the announcement of climate provisions advancing in the spending bill.
On Wednesday, more than 300 people had registered to attend the protest. Upwards of 75 were seen gathered after the start of the game.
“We have decided not to protest tonight’s Congressional Baseball Game. Congressional leaders have declared they intend to meet many of our climate and justice demands, so we’ll be attending the game tonight just to urge Congress to seal the deal and to ask Joe Biden to still declare a climate emergency,” Chesapeake Climate Action Network Director Mike Tidwell said in a statement.
If passed, the Manchin and Schumer agreement, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, would be perhaps the largest clean energy package in U.S. history. Senate Democrats hope to approve it before the August recess begins next week — a daunting time-crunch, given other pressures.
The climate bill, which also includes major health care and corporate tax provisions, would spend about $370 billion for climate and energy programs over the next 10 years, such as using tax credits to incentivize consumers to buy electric cars, fund the domestic manufacturing of batteries and solar panels and allocate spending for other environmental initiatives.
“We’re really happy with this $60 billion in environmental justice priorities. We’re really happy with the $9 billion … rebates for homes. And we’re also very happy with the tax credits for used and new electric vehicles,” said Scott, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network spokesperson. “But,” he added, “we also recognize the things that are not perfect about the deal, we’re going to continue to fight.”
Thursday’s event organizers had warned that if Congress did not act on climate legislation by Sept. 30, they were planning a separate, “highly disruptive, mass direct action that fundamentally disrupts business-as-usual in D.C.”
“If Congress passes the deal that they announced yesterday, then it’s very unlikely that we will go ahead with a future action. But we also reserve the right to come back if somehow this deal falls apart and actually carry through those escalated actions,” Scott told ABC news.
District police said in a statement they were aware of potential protests and would have an increased presence in the area “to ensure the safety and security of the event.”
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that his officers had a “robust security plan in place” for the game.
“We are aware that demonstrators are planning to protest political issues at the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity. Our mission is to protect the Members of Congress during this family event, so we have a robust security plan in place,” Manger wrote.
“We urge anyone who is thinking about causing trouble at the charity game to stay home,” he wrote. “We will not tolerate violence or any unlawful behavior during this family event.”
Thursday’s demonstration also comes after the arrest of six congressional staff members for sitting in the office of Senate Majority Leader Schumer, urging him to keep negotiating on the climate provisions that were later revived with Manchin.
“Our first demand was to reopen climate negotiations which were considered dead for July — and they did!” he said. “So it is a big big win, now we need to fight to improve the policy and fight to pass it.”
The Congressional Baseball Game is a bipartisan tradition dating back to 1909, with proceeds supporting D.C.-area charities. The annual game has been under threat before. In 2017, at a practice for Republican lawmakers, then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and Capitol Police officer Crystal Griner were shot.
(LAS VEGAS) — Flash flood warnings are in effect Friday in Las Vegas after strong winds, lightning and heavy downpours struck overnight, flooding roads across Sin City.
Some people were seen getting rescued from their cars.
This flooding comes during the heart of monsoon season. Sometimes desert areas in the Southwest can see all of their annual rain in just a few days.
But Las Vegas has been even drier than usual, leaving the parched soil to act like concrete during a night of heavy rainfall.
