In case you missed it, Lainey Wilsonmade an appearance on TODAY Tuesday, May 24, to perform her new single “Heart Like a Truck.”
Brett Young is headlining the 2022 Wisconsin State Fair on August 13. Tickets go on sale on June 2.
Before his new album arrives on June 17, Brett Eldredge is hosting a special free album premiere event in Nashville on June 10. For details on how to attend, and how to score VIP access by joining his fan club, visit his website.
Katy Perry recently teamed up with country superstar Thomas Rhett for the song “Where We Started,” which they performed on the American Idol finale. While it’s unlikely that she’ll ever make a full-on country album, Katy says she might take inspiration from country music for a future project.
Asked about making a country record, Katy toldExtra, “I might get back a little bit more to my roots with that singer-songwriter side. I spent so much time in Nashville just laying my musical foundation, so I’d love to continue on that path.”
Katy also told Extra that over the years she’s been sent “a bajillion country songs,” but didn’t record them, even though some of them, she says, went on to become “massive.” However, she felt that the Rhett duet is “the one I was meant to start with to cross over into this world.”
Why? Because, she notes, “The story of this song is really beautiful … It talks about a relationship and where you started and if you ever have doubts about it, look at how far you have come. I feel that so much, even in my own relationship — it has been a beautiful journey.”
Katy also clarified to Extra that despite reports that she’s moved to Kentucky permanently, she was only there for a few months because her fiancé, Orlando Bloom, was making a movie there.
“I loved it. It was so beautiful to see the heart of America,” she says. “Also just to be ‘mom’ every day, all day — I love that.”
Having already given their new song “The Foundations of Decay” its live debut, My Chemical Romance performed another track for the first time during their ongoing reunion tour.
The set list for Tuesday’s show in Dublin, Ireland, included the song “Tomorrow’s Money,” which My Chem had never before played live. “Tomorrow’s Money” originally dropped in 2012 as part of the Conventional Weapons series, which consisted of 10 then-unreleased songs that had been recorded in 2009.
You can watch fan-filmed footage of the “Tomorrow’s Money” performance streaming now on YouTube.
My Chemical Romance’s reunion tour, which had been originally scheduled for 2020 before getting delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finally kicked off last week in the United Kingdom. Its launch was preceded by the premiere of “The Foundations of Decay,” which marked the first new MCR song in eight years.
Washington County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images
Former reality star Josh Duggar has been sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison on child pornography charges, according to ABC-TV affiliate KHBS in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The 34-year-old former 19 Kids and Counting star was found guilty last year on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography. Each charge carries a maximum 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines, but District Judge Timothy Brooks relied on just one of the charges – the more severe receipt of child pornography charge – in determining the sentence.
Duggar was accused of downloading child sexual abuse material, some of which depicted children younger than 12, and having it in his possession in May 2019, according to the indictment. He pleaded not guilty.
Duggar has been the focus of several controversies over the years, starting in 2006 when he was investigated for allegedly molesting five underage girls when he was a teenager. Since then, two of his sisters — Jill and Jessa — have come forward as two of his victims.
(UVALDE, Texas) — Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez offered a poignant message to families Wednesday, one day after a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
“Go hug your babies before you send them to school,” he said, visibly holding back tears. “There are 19 parents here in Uvalde that aren’t gonna get to hug their babies anymore.”
Gutierrez, who represents the district where the shooting occurred, told ABC News Live that “we need to do anything that’s possible to stop this paradigm that keeps happening over and over again.”
Gutierrez discussed his frustration with Republican colleagues in the Texas State Senate and his desire to see a federal assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, reinstated at the federal level.
“At the local level,” he said, “our state government and my Republican colleagues seem to be opening access to these types of weapons.”
State legislation H.B. 1927, which was passed last year, allows anyone over 18 to carry a weapon openly without a license. The gunman, who opened fire at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, purchased two AR-15-style rifles just days prior to the shootings, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Striking another personal note, Gutierrez said, “I’m a hunter. There’s no one in this district that goes hunting with an AR-15.”
“We need people in the Senate to break the filibuster and act immediately on legislation,” Gutierrez said, noting that he received a call from the White House yesterday. Two bills that would require more intensive background checks on gun sales, named H.R. 1446 and H.R. 8, are currently stalled in the U.S. Senate.
There have been 213 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2022, according to figures from the Gun Violence Archive.
The shooting in Uvalde, a city of a little more than 16,000 people in southern Texas, comes less than two weeks after a shooting in Buffalo, New York, which left ten people dead.
“At the federal level,” Gutierrez said, “we need to be talking about an assault weapons ban.”
In addition to urging action from federal lawmakers, Gutierrez said he is committed to continuing to seek gun reform on a state level. Gutierrez voted against the open carry law last year and filed a “red flag” law in the state senate last year without success. The law would prohibit the sale of guns to individuals who could pose a threat to themselves or others.
“We don’t need these types of militarized weapons on our streets anymore,” he said. “I feel comfortable saying that.”
(UVALDE, Texas) — A small town in rural Texas is reeling after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school on Tuesday, killing 19 children.
Two teachers were also among those killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, authorities said.
Prior to opening fire at the school, the suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother, authorities said.
The suspect — identified by officials as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a student at Uvalde High School — is dead.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 25, 4:24 pm
Accused shooter purchased guns at local store: Sources
The accused gunman in Tuesday’s deadly school shooting purchased two AR-15-style rifles at Oasis Outback, a federally licensed store located in Uvalde, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
A general manager at Oasis Outback told ABC News that he is working with law enforcement but would not comment on whether the alleged shooter did or did not purchase his guns there.
Oasis Outback is located approximately 3 miles from Robb Elementary School.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the alleged shooter made his gun purchases on two separate days: May 17 and May 20. That means he bought the first AR-15-style rifle one day after he turned 18 and the second four days before the shooting.
Both weapons were purchased at that same store, Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, confirmed during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
The guns were purchased legally.
-ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Aaron Katersky, Laura Romero and Olivia Rubin
May 25, 4:09 pm
Rep. Hoyer to bring ‘red flag’ bill to House floor next month
The House will move on a bill to create a national red flag law, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland.
The bill would allow family members or law enforcement officers to “petition for an extreme risk protection order with respect to an individual who poses a risk to themselves or others.”
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., whose 17-year-old son Jordan Davis was fatally shot in 2012.
Hoyer said on Twitter Wednesday that he plans to bring the bill to the floor when the House returns from recess next month.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa
May 25, 2:48 pm
Gunman warned about shooting in Facebook messages minutes beforehand, Meta says
The gunman warned about the shooting in private messages on Facebook minutes beforehand, a spokesperson for Meta said Wednesday. The warning on Facebook was made in “private one-to-one text messages that were discovered after the terrible tragedy occurred.”
The gunman sent three messages on Facebook about 30 minutes before the shooting saying: “I’m going to shoot my grandmother,” “I shot my grandmother” and “I’m going to shoot an elementary school,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a press conference.
Abbott said the suspect was reportedly a high school dropout. Officials have reportedly not identified a criminal history for the suspect, but Abbott said he may have had a juvenile record, but that is yet to be determined.
Abbott said the suspect did not have a known mental health history.
According to the ATF, the shooter made his gun purchases on two separate days: May 17 and May 20.
May 25, 2:09 pm
Beto O’Rourke interrupts press conference, yelling at Texas governor
Beto O’Rourke, a candidate running for governor of Texas, interrupted a press conference held by current Gov. Greg Abbott Wednesday, shouting at Abbott before being escorted from the building.
O’Rourke protested the current governor’s stance on gun control.
“You are doing nothing!” he shouted.
May 25, 1:13 pm
6 people injured in shooting remain hospitalized
Six people injured in the Texas elementary school shooting remain hospitalized on Wednesday.
Three children and one adult are at the University Hospital in San Antonio, two of whom are in serious condition.
Two other adults are hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center, both in serious condition.
All patients treated at Uvalde Medical Center have been discharged. The hospital said it treated 15 individuals, 11 of whom were children. Three of those 11 children were transferred to other hospitals in San Antonio and eight were discharged home.
The four remaining patients were adults, one was transferred to another hospital and three were discharged home.
-ABC News’ Jennifer Watts
May 25, 1:05 pm
Father of victim says he holds school, police responsible for the massacre
Jacinto Cazares, the father of Jacklyn Jaylen Cazares, a 10-year-old killed in the Texas elementary school shooting, told ABC News he blames the school and police for the massacre, not the murder weapons.
“I want to say we hold the school responsible for not having locked doors and no protocol, no training. Also the Police for not having a better and faster tactical response time. There was at least 40 lawmen armed to the teeth, but didn’t do a darn thing till it was far too late,” Cazares told ABC News in a statement.
He added, “The situation could’ve been over quick if they had better tactical training and we as a community witnessed it first hand. I’m a gun owner and I do not blame the weapons used in this tragedy. I’m angry how easy it is to get one and young you can be to purchase one.”
-ABC News’ Miles Cohen
May 25, 1:01 pm
Homeland Security secretary calls shooting ‘callous act of violence’
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said the department is “horrified by this callous act of violence,” in a statement Wednesday.
Mayorkas said one Border Patrol agent was injured in the crossfire.
“We are grateful for the courageous members of our Border Patrol, many of whom are part of the Uvalde and surrounding communities, who immediately responded to the scene along with local and state law enforcement,” Mayorkas said.
He added, “Without hesitation, they put themselves between the shooter and students to end the bloodshed and administer medical aid. Without question, their heroism yesterday saved lives.”
The department will continue to coordinate with local, state and federal partners, Mayorkas said.
“As we pray for the families and loved ones and recognize the bravery of frontline law enforcement personnel, we must redouble our collective efforts to make our communities safer,” Mayorkas said.
May 25, 12:19 pm
Texas state senator urges Congress to pass assault weapons control
Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez called on lawmakers to act on gun control, specifically calling on them to look into an assault weapons ban at the federal level, in an interview on ABC News Live Wednesday.
“We have to make sure that we’re creating laws in the state of Texas, as well as at the federal level, so that we can stop access to these types of militarized weapons,” Gutierrez said on ABC News Live.
“I know my district — there’s nobody in this district that goes hunting with an AR-15,” Gutierrez said, referring to the assault weapon the alleged shooter had purchased two days before the shooting.
Gutierrez called on the U.S. Senate to break the filibuster and pass legislation in order to stop seeing “these types of militarized weapons.”
“We have young, confused men, young men violating lives across this country and violating families across this country.”
He added, “It is high time that we do something. My heart goes out to the people in my community here in the valley, but we’ve got to take that to another level and do something now. Because if we can’t do something, then what are we? What are we sending people off to Washington for? What are we sending people up to Austin for? We’ve got to do more.”
May 25, 11:50 am
Gun violence is a ‘plague upon this nation,’ Sen. Chuck Schumer says
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer gave a passionate speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, calling gun violence “a plague upon this nation.”
“The problem in the Senate is simple too many members on the other side of the aisle are disconnected from the suffering of the American people, too many members on that side care more about the NRA than they do about families who grieve victims of gun violence,” Schumer said.
Schumer criticized Republicans for their opposition to gun control legislation.
“Republicans don’t pretend that they support sensible gun safety legislation. They don’t pretend to be moved by the fact that 90% of Americans, regardless of party, support something as common sense as background checks,” Schumer said.
Schumer said he aches for the families of those killed in Texas and urged Republicans to act “for the sake of these children.”
“To my Republican colleagues: Imagine if it happened to you. Imagine if this was your kid or your grandkid. How would you feel? Could you ever forgive yourself for not supporting a simple law that would make these mass shootings less likely? Please, please, please dammit. Put yourself in the shoes of these parents for once,” Schumer said.
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
May 25, 10:31 am
6 people injured in shooting remain hospitalized
Six people injured in the Texas elementary school shooting remain hospitalized on Wednesday.
Three children and one adult are at the University Hospital in San Antonio, two of whom are in serious condition. Two other adults are hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center, both in critical condition.
All patients treated at Uvalde Medical Center have been discharged. The hospital said it treated 15 individuals, 11 of whom were children. Three of those 11 children were transferred to other hospitals in San Antonio and eight were discharged home.
The four remaining patients were adults, one was transferred to another hospital and three were discharged home.
-ABC News’ Jennifer Watts
May 25, 10:16 am
Texas governor to hold press conference at 1:30 p.m. ET
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a press conference Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET to discuss the state’s response to the Robb Elementary School shooting.
The governor will be joined by state officials including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas state House Speaker Dade Phelan, U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzalez.
May 25, 9:16 am
Gunman’s grandfather says he was unaware the suspect purchased weapons
Rolando Reyes, 72, the gunman’s grandfather, told ABC News he had no idea his grandson had purchased two AR-15-style rifles or that they were in his house.
Since Reyes is a felon, it is illegal for him to live in a house with firearms. Reyes said he would have turned his grandson in.
Reyes said there were no signs the morning of the shooting that anything unusual was going to happen. The suspect had a minor argument with his grandmother over the payment of a phone bill, but nothing significant.
The suspect lived in a front room and slept on a mattress on the floor, according to Reyes. The suspect had been staying with his grandparents after having a falling out with his mother.
Reyes said he took the suspect to work sometimes and that he was very quiet, but he did not seem violent. Reyes also said he tried to encourage his grandson to go to school but the suspect would typically just shrug in response.
Reyes said the suspect did not know how to drive and did not have a driver’s license. Reyes also wondered how his grandson would have even gone to purchase the weapons or if he trained on the weapons, saying someone must have taken him there.
The suspect’s grandmother, who he shot in the forehead, is undergoing surgery on Wednesday. Reyes said he believes she will survive.
May 25, 8:43 am
Shooter purchased two rifles within eight days of turning 18 this month
Salvador Ramos, the suspect in the Robb Elementary School shooting, after turning 18 on May 16, purchased two rifles and carried out the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history within the span of eight days, according to multiple law enforcement officials.
The suspect purchased two AR-15-style rifles on May 22, two days before the massacre and six days after his birthday, multiple law enforcement officials told ABC News. They were legal purchases.
Once the shooter made entry into a classroom he barricaded himself and opened fire, according to the sources.
Officers from the Uvalde Police Department and agents from Customs and Border Protection entered into the classroom and immediately took fire from the gunman before they shot and killed him.
Investigators are going through the ballistics to determine who fired the fatal shot.
May 25, 6:46 am
Ukrainian president offers condolences to families of the victims
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered his condolences to the families of the victims of the shooting on Twitter.
“Deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas. Sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the people of the US and @POTUS over this tragedy,” Zelenskyy said in a tweet.
Zelenskyy added: “The people of Ukraine share the pain of the relatives and friends of the victims and all Americans.”
May 25, 5:24 am
Matthew McConaughey calls for action after shooting
Actor Matthew McConaughey decried the shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.
“We have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us,” he wrote in a statement on Twitter.
“We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo,” he said.
May 25, 4:55 am
Amanda Gorman pens poem about shooting
The 24-year-old National Youth Poet Laureate took to Twitter following the tragedy to share a poem.
Schools scared to death.
The truth is, one education under desks,
Stooped low from bullets;
That plunge when we ask
Where our children
Shall live
& how
& if
She also posted a series of tweets on gun violence.
“It takes a monster to kill children,” she wrote. “But to watch monsters kill children again and again and do nothing isn’t just insanity — it’s inhumanity.”
May 25, 4:55 am
Biden addresses ‘horrific’ mass shooting
President Joe Biden addressed the nation Tuesday night following the mass shooting in Texas — not even two weeks after he mourned victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.
“I’d hoped, when I became president, I would not have to do this again,” Biden said. “Another massacre. Uvalde, Texas. An elementary school. Beautiful, second-, third-, fourth-graders.”
“As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby,” he said. “I am sick and tired of it — we have to act.”
May 25, 4:55 am
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy pleads with lawmakers after shooting
Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy gave an impassioned argument on the Senate floor to his colleagues late Tuesday afternoon, hours after 21 were killed in the mass shooting.
“What are we doing?” Murphy asked the chamber. “There have been more mass shootings than days in the year.”
“Our kids are living in fear every single time they set foot in the classroom because they think they’re going to be next. What are we doing?” he asked.
Sen. Chris Murphy delivers remarks on Uvalde, Texas elementary school shooting: “What are we doing? What are we doing?…This only happens in this country and nowhere else. Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking that they might be shot that day.” https://t.co/Zh3OvUaIwmpic.twitter.com/TjJVoaFbRN
May 25, 4:55 am
What we know about the shooting so far
At least 21 people are dead after a gunman opened fire in Uvalde on Tuesday, authorities said.
Most of the victims were children in their last week of school before the summer break. Many other students and adults were injured in the mass shooting.
(UVALDE, Texas) — Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, interrupted a press conference from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott about the Uvalde shooting Wednesday, shouting at the current governor before being escorted from the auditorium.
He said the response from Abbott and other Texas leaders was “totally predictable,” and did nothing to solve the problem easy access to guns that is plaguing communities across Texas and the nation.
Abbott ordered law enforcement officers to escort O’Rourke, who is running for governor, outside the building.
Several attendees on the stage, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, began yelling back, telling O’Rourke to sit down, that he was “pathetic,” and that this was no place for politics.
Following the outburst, Abbott resumed the press conference, saying, “Every Texan, every American, has a responsibility we need to focus on ourselves and our agendas, we need to focus on the healing and hope that we are providing to those who suffered unconscionable damage to their lives.”
The governor went on to say that state laws that allow 18-year-olds to purchase long-barrel rifles have been on the books for 60 years. He said the only new aspect that is driving mass shooting is “the status of mental health in our society.”
Outside, O’Rourke held an impromptu press conference, railing against Abbott’s record.
“He’s refused to expand Medicaid, which would bring $10 million a year, including mental health care access for people who need it,” O’Rourke said. “He’s refused to champion red flag laws. … He’s refused to support safe-storage laws so young people cannot get their hands on their parents’ weapons.”
Growing angrier with each word, O’Rourke said, the gunman “who just turned 18, bought an AR-15 and took it into an elementary school and shot kids in the face and killed them.”
“Why are we letting this happen in this country? Why is this happening in this state? Year after year, city after city,” O’Rourke said. “This is on all of us if we do not do something and I am going to do something and I’m not alone. The people of Texas are with us, the majority of people in Texas are with us. Well, we’ve got to stand up to this.”
He continued, “We just can’t accept this theater or business as usual, and accept the next shooting.”
“We could have stopped this if we had stood up after Santa Fe High School, if we had stood up after El Paso,” he said of two recent mass shootings in Texas. “We are going to stop the next one. We’re standing up right here in Uvalde, Texas, right now. That’s why I’m here.”
Prior to the interruption, Abbott said the suspected gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, used an AR-15 rifle with .223 caliber ammunition.
He said the suspect appeared to have no adult criminal records, although investigators are looking to see if he had a juvenile record. He also said there was no evidence the suspect was ever treated for mental illness.
“There was no meaningful forewarning of this crime,” Abbott said.
He said the only warning came in a direct message Ramos wrote on Facebook about 30 minutes before he allegedly shot his grandmother at her home. Abbott said the suspect wrote to an individual or individuals, whose names were not disclosed, “I’m going to shoot my grandmother.”
Abbott said the grandmother, who is in a hospital in critical condition, called 911 to report being shot.
Abbott said that a few minutes after the first direct message, Ramos sent another, allegedly writing, “I shot my grandmother.”
The governor said that about 14 minutes before the shooting at Robb Elementary School, the suspect sent out another Facebook direct message, writing, “I’m going to shoot an elementary school.”
He said three law enforcement officers were injured when the suspect crashed a vehicle outside the school and allegedly engaged them in a gunfire before entering the school and committing the massacre.
Abbott also said that in addition to the 19 students and two faculty members killed, 17 people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting, including three law enforcement officers. He said a deputy sheriff was among the parents who lost a daughter in the shooting.
“It could have been worse. The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officers did what they do,” Abbott said, praising the officers who ran into the school and fatally shot the gunman before he could kill more people.
Following the release of her latest album, Blue Water Road, Kehlani debuted the music video for romantic R&B track “Melt” Wednesday. Kehlani’s co-star in the new visual is none other than her partner, rapper Danielle Balbuena, better known as 070shake.
In advance of its release, Kehlani teased the video on Instagram, calling it, “a true story,” preceded by an image of the pair posted with caption, “@070shake iLoveyou.”
“It’s about the feeling of laying up with someone, cuddling, or even being sexually intimate, and you want to fall in their skin,” Kehlani said of the track.
The video, which was filmed in São Paulo, Brazil, follows Kehlani’s announcement last week that her Blue Water Road tour featuring Rico Nasty and DestinConrad isset to kick off on July 30.
While many people were learning how to bake sourdough bread during quarantine in 2020, Jimmie Allen took to the bowling alley instead.
The hit country singer developed a passion for bowling at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, so much so he frequented Nashville bowling alley, Tusculum Strike & Spare during quarantine. “I really got into it and I was like ‘yo, this is great!” he tells Entertainment Tonightabout his newfound love for the sport.
In addition to getting a coach, he’s also joined multiple bowling leagues, including one with his band. Among his frequent bowling partners is his mother, Angela, friend Chuck Wicks, a fellow singer who’s married to Jason Aldean‘s sister Kasi, and MLB player Mookie Betts.
“I went and bought my own balls. I bought six balls, got some shoes,” he describes of his dedication to the activity.
Jimmie can’t get enough of the sport, so much so he’ll make stops at local bowling alleys across the country while on tour. He’s been spotted playing a round at Buffaloe Lanes South Bowling Center in Raleigh, N.C. and Sioux Falls Sport Bowl in South Dakota.
Halsey doesn’t feel that speaking out online after the shooting in Ulvade, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead will do any good — but they did it anyway.
“It is so difficult to make statements and engage in conversations about lives lost to gun violence and mass shootings because it is so frequent and so horrific,” they wrote on their Instagram Story. “But unfortunately, it is also a routine news story for this generation and it shouldn’t be.”
The star continued, “I have nothing of value to add to this conversation because it never seems to move forward. And I don’t think a graphic from a musician is going to do anything but add noise to an already loud discussion.”
That being said, Halsey went on to write, “Just like many of you, as a mother, I’m scared. As a big sister I’m scared. As a citizen I’m angry. I can’t think of anything to say besides make sure you’re registered to vote.”
“I just want all school-age children to be protected and not grow up in the epicenter of trauma,” they concluded. “It is so futile and revolting that lawmakers protect guns over our youth. It’s despicable.”
