Phoebe Bridgers has announced a U.S. headlining tour.
The long-winding trek launches April 13 in Phoenix, and will run all the way through late August. Tickets will go on sale this Thursday, March 10, at noon local time through Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform. Registration is open now through Tuesday, March 8, at noon ET.
Bridgers will be touring in continued support of her 2020 album, Punisher, which features the Grammy-nominated single “Kyoto.”
Along with the headlining dates, Bridgers will play a number of festivals this year, including Coachella, Forecastle and This Ain’t No Picnic.
Aunjanue Ellis has a special request for whoever designs the dress she wears at her first-ever Academy Awards ceremony.
The King Richard actress, who’s nominated for best supporting actress, told Good Morning America Monday she wants to honor her late mother on Oscars night.
“Whoever I’m wearing, I’m just insisting that my mother’s name be somewhere on the dress,” Ellis, 53, said. “She left me a couple years ago and I want her with me that night in some sort of way.”
While Ellis is planning to honor her own mother, she might be winning an Oscar thanks to playing Oracene Price, the mother of Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard.
The film, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, is all about Richard Williams, the tennis stars’ father. Will Smith plays Richard in the movie, with Saniyya Sidney as Venus and Demi Singleton as Serena.
King Richard is nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture, best actor for Smith, best supporting actress for Ellis, best original screenplay, best film editing and best original song for “Be Alive,” by Beyoncé.
Ellis also told GMA the person she most wants to meet at the Oscars is Beyoncé — who, like Ellis, is also nominated for her first-ever Oscar this year.
“Putting it out to the universe,” Ellis said of wanting to run into the Grammy winner at the star-studded event. “Hear me, universe. It’s all I want.”
The 94th Academy Awards will air live Sunday, March 27, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Brothers Osborne reclaimed their status as Vocal Duo of the Year at the CMAs last November, beating out Dan + Shay — a group who’d previously won the award two years in a row.
But can the brother duo repeat their success at the 2022 ACM Awards? Dan + Shay have had a tight grip on the ACMs Duo of the Year title ever since the Brothers last won in 2018.
“I hope so!” TJ Osborne says cheerfully. “We haven’t yet been back, coming back on an ACM. But that’s the plan.”
The brothers and band mates joke that they’re visualizing a win ahead of the big night — so much so that they left a little extra room for a trophy in their luggage. “I packed a little light this time, left a little room in my suitcase,” TJ adds.
But the competition between the duos is all in good fun. In fact, TJ’s joking about his extra trophy space, too.
“That’s also a total lie!” He clarifies, admitting that he might even have overpacked for his trip to Vegas. “I was, like, jamming that thing together.”
The 2022 ACM Awards are streaming tonight on Amazon Prime Video beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Dolly Parton will co-host the event with Gabby Barrett and Jimmie Allen, live from the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
If you ever find yourself thinking, “Boy, Britney Spears goes on a lot of exotic vacations,” well, she’s here’s to tell you that she deserves to after suffering years of abuse from her conservators.
She writes on Instagram, “After 13 years damn straight I should go [on vacation] !!! I was treated less than, demoralized and embarrassed … nobody should ever be treated the way I was.” Britney then goes on to detail what her life was like during what she claims was a four-month period during her conservatorship.
“In a world where it’s okay to lock your daughter up and make her work 7 days a week…8:00 am to 6:00 pm…no days off… No private baths … seen naked when changing … drugged … can’t even speak or talk,” she writes.
Britney then says she had to go to bed at 9 p.m. every night and give “like 8 gallons of blood weekly,” and concludes, “this happened to me for 4 months after I worked for my dad and my family for 13 f***king years.”
The singer then says she was “nothing more than a puppet to my family,” and that her treatment was “accepted and approved by the people I loved the most.” She then notes, “The reason I bring this up is because ending the conservatorship is a huge deal but come on … THAT’S IT ??? They all got away with it !!!”
She ends her post noting that “you would be upset too” if you were “in shock for four months.”
“I’m not done … I want justice and won’t stop until something is done to those who harmed me … and YES I was harmed !!!!” Britney rages. “This is a message to all who have been threatened for their life … You are NOT ALONE !!!!”
Asking Alexandria and Nothing More have announced a co-headlining U.S. tour.
The joint outing launches May 13 in Kansas City, Missouri, and wraps up June 19 in Houston, Texas. Atreyu and Eva Under Fire will also be on the bill.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 11, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit AskingAlexandria.com or NothingMore.net.
Asking Alexandria will be touring in support of their 2021 album See What’s on the Inside, which features the singles “Along Again” and “Never Gonna Learn.” Nothing More is currently working on a new record, the follow-up to 2017’s The Stories We Tell Ourselves.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, don’t appear to have advanced closer to the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 07, 12:18 pm
White House mulling Russian oil ban without European allies participating: Official
The White House indicated on Monday that it was considering a ban on Russian oil even without the support of its European allies, an official with the National Security Council told ABC News.
Europe relies much more on Russian oil and gas than the United States does and would likely see much higher prices if such a significant chunk of their energy imports were suddenly cut off.
If the United States banned Russian oil imports without Europe doing the same, the impact on Russia would be much smaller than if the U.S. and Europe worked in concert. Russia exported 1% of its oil exports to the United States in 2020.
Moving forward without Europe would also be a departure from Biden’s approach of working in lockstep with Europe on sanctions against Russia.
Bloomberg reported Sunday night that the Biden administration was weighing this move.
Mar 07, 12:13 pm
Zelenskyy tells David Muir path to peace ‘more difficult’ than acknowledging Putin’s ultimatums
In an exclusive interview Monday with ABC News anchor David Muir, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the path to peace is “more difficult than simply acknowledging” another ultimatum from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy spoke with Muir from the Presidential Office in Kyiv and said he will stay in his country for the duration of the war.
“When the Kremlin says these three conditions to end the war … that you must give up on joining NATO, recognize Crimea as part of Russia and recognize the independence of those two separatist regions in the east … you say it’s a nonstarter, not willing to [accept] those three conditions right now?” Muir asked.
Zelenskyy responded, “It is more difficult than simply acknowledging them … this is another ultimatum and we are not prepared for ultimatums.”
He went on, “But we have the possible solution resolution for these three items, key items, what needs to be done is for President Putin to start talking. Start the dialogue instead of living in the information bubble without oxygen. I think that’s where he is. He is in this bubble. He’s getting this information and you don’t know how realistic that information is that he’s getting.”
Mar 07, 11:04 am
Biden to speak with UK, French and German counterparts about Ukraine
President Joe Biden is scheduled to hold a secure video teleconference Monday morning with leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia and Ukraine, according to the White House.
Biden is expected to be in the White House Situation Room when he participates in a teleconference with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to the White House.
The teleconference will be closed to the press and will occur after Biden received his daily intelligence briefing, the White House said.
Mar 07, 9:57 am
Putin falsely claims his forces are ‘taking measures to save lives’
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with European Council President Charles Michel on Monday and according to a Kremlin readout of the conversation, falsely claimed Russian forces are “taking all possible measures to save the lives of civilians” in Ukraine.
Putin also repeated the Russian military’s claim that Ukrainian “nationalists” are preventing humanitarian corridors from being opened to allow the evacuation of civilians. But Ukrainian authorities have claimed efforts to evacuate its citizens out of the country have been disrupted by Russian forces shelling the humanitarian corridors Moscow agreed to in a cease-fire.
“The main threat comes from nationalist formations, which essentially use the tactics of terrorists, hiding behind the civilian population,” Putin told Michel, according to the report.
The Russian president “called on the European Union to make a real contribution to saving people’s lives, to put pressure on the Kyiv authorities and force them to respect humanitarian law,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 07, 7:42 am
Ukrainian foreign minister again calls for NATO no-fly zone
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba on Monday called for NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying Russian planes were targeting civilians.
“The Russian Air Force dominates in the skies and continues bombing our cities and killing many civilians,” Kuleba told George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America.
U.S. and NATO officials have rejected calls from Ukrainian officials to impose a no-fly zone, saying doing so could provoke Russia, perhaps pulling other European countries and NATO members into the conflict. The U.S. and NATO have offered other military aid, including a possible deal to send aircraft to Ukraine.
“We believe that the rejection of the idea of the no-fly zone is based in the lack of confidence in the strength of NATO as an alliance,” Kuleba said. “Because the military might of NATO is incomparably bigger compared to Russia. So why would Russia dare to shoot down a NATO plane, knowing it is doomed, eventually doomed, if a war with NATO begins.”
Kuleba over the weekend had urged the international community to help in the struggle against “Russian barbarians.” He posted a photo on Twitter on Sunday of an unexploded bomb, which he said landed on a residential building in Chernihiv.
Mar 07, 5:50 am
Ukraine casts doubt on Russian pledge for civilian pathways
Ukrainian officials said Russia’s proposal on Monday to open “humanitarian corridors” for cities in Ukraine is not a genuine offer because it offers to evacuate civilians only to Belarus and Russia.
Iryna Vereshchuk, a Ukrainian vice prime minister, in a televised briefing called that “unacceptable” and said Ukraine had demanded instead that civilians be allowed to evacuate to other parts of Ukraine.
Russia’s Defense Ministry had said it would open a corridor from towns and villages north of Kyiv, where heavy fighting is taking place, but that would allow people to travel to the Belarusian city of Gomel and then be flown to Russia. Russia also offered corridors near the besieged northeastern and eastern cities of Kharkiv, Sumy and Mariupol, but that would also only allow people to leave over the border to Russia.
“This is an unacceptable option of humanitarian corridors. Our people from outskirts of Kyiv won’t go to Belarus and then to Russia,” Vereshchuk said.
She said that Ukraine wants civilians north of Kyiv to be permitted to leave to the capital and for those from Kharkiv to be allowed to western cities by train, and from Mariupol north to the central city of Zaporizhzhia.
“We delivered our proposal on how the corridors should be organized,” Vereshchuk said, later adding, “Humanitarian aid is prepared for a number of towns in the east and south. We ask Russia to confirm these corridors and provide ceasefire.”
Russia has repeatedly violated its own ceasefire since offering humanitarian corridors for Mariupol and another eastern town Volnovakha, including shelling evacuation points in Mariupol according to officials there. The Red Cross, which is trying to organize the evacuations, has said the agreements currently are too vague and without clear understandings for routes out.
Russia said Monday’s offer for the corridors was made following a lengthy phone conversation between French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
Vereshchuk said Russia was trying to exploit Macron’s name for a disingenuous offer of corridors.
“I hope president Macron understands that his name and good intentions are manipulated by Russia,” she said.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 07, 3:43 am
Refugee arrivals to Poland top 1 million, guard says
More than 1 million people fleeing Ukraine have arrived in Poland since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, the Polish Border Guard said on Monday.
A record 142,000 people arrived on Sunday, the guard said on Twitter. On Monday, about 42,000 people had crossed the border before 7 a.m. local time.
As of Sunday, more than 1.5 million people had fled the war in Ukraine, marking the “fastest growing refugee crises in Europe since World War II,” according to Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Mar 07, 2:43 am
With attacks on TV towers, Russia seeks to isolate Ukrainians, UK says
Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian communications infrastructure to “reduce Ukrainian citizens’ access to reliable news and information,” the U.K. Ministry of Defence said on Monday.
“Russia reportedly struck a TV tower in Kharkiv yesterday, suspending broadcasting output,” the Ministry’s update said.
Russian forces on March 1 struck a TV tower in Kyiv, the capital.
Mar 07, 2:18 am
Russia says cease-fire will allow evacuations from 4 cities
Russia declared a cease-fire starting Monday morning, opening humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy, the Russian interagency humanitarian response staff in Ukraine said.
“Taking into account the disastrous humanitarian situation and its severe deterioration in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, and Mariupol, and also at French President Emmanuel Macron’s personal request to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Armed Forces are declaring a ceasefire and opening humanitarian corridors for reasons of humanity starting 10:00 a.m. on March 7, 2022,” the staff said.
Ukrainian officials in Mariupol said Russia broke planned cease-fires on Saturday and Sunday.
Megan Thee Stallion: Jason Koerner/Getty Images; Dua Lipa: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
They’re tour mates, and now they’re about to team up on record as well.
Dua Lipa‘s Future Nostalgia tour will feature Megan Thee Stallion as the opening act starting March 15, so the two are now dropping a collab this Friday. Both artists teased the track on their Instagrams; Dua’s features a tiny snippet of the song, while Megan’s shows photos of herself and Dua on a series of cakes.
According to Genius, the song is called “Sweetest Pie” but that hasn’t been confirmed yet. Genius has the lyrics as, “Uh, baby, we can go fast/I’ll drive and you just lay back/I got the flavor that lasts/Yeah, the sweetest pie.”
Maren Morris is set to take her new album, Humble Quest, on a headlining tour.
The superstar will hit the road for roughly five months, beginning in June. Along the way, she’ll make stops at Red Rocks Amphitheater, the Greek Theatre, and the famous Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The 41-date tour wraps on December 2 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Maren is bringing a crew of Americana artists with her as opening acts including Ruston Kelly, The Highwomen costar Natalie Hemby, Brittney Spencer, Joy Oladokun, Brent Cobb and Lone Bellow.
“Oh, how I’ve missed you. I can’t wait to see you out under the stars,” Maren shares.
This serves as her first tour since GIRL: The World Tour in 2019. She was supposed to headline RSVP: The Tour in 2021, but it was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Maren’s third studio album, Humble Quest, will be released on March 25. Its lead single, “Circles Around This Town,” is climbing the top 30 on country radio.
Tickets go on sale to the public on March 11 at 10 a.m. local time. Visit Maren’s website for a full list of dates.
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a petition from Pennsylvania prosecutors seeking to reinstate the 84-year-old disgraced comedian’s 2018 sexual assault conviction.
The justices declined to review last year’s Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that led to Cosby’s release after he served just three years of a three-to-10-year sentence for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004. The state’s high court ruled that Cosby’s due process rights were violated when the Montgomery County district attorney’s office brought the case against him based in part on a previously sealed deposition by Cosby, despite an earlier pledge by a different DA not to prosecute based on the deposition.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ejection of the petition Monday effectively ends litigation around the Cosby sexual assault allegations.
Cosby’s spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, issued a statement to ABC News thanking the high court on behalf of Cosby and his family.
“This is truly a victory for Mr. Cosby but it shows that cheating will never get you far in life and the corruption that lies within Montgomery County District’s Attorney Office has been brought to the center stage of the world,” the statement declared, in part.
(NEW YORK) — New York City dropped several of its COVID-19 mandates on Monday, including mask and vaccine requirements.
Restaurants, bars and other indoor public areas — including gyms and entertainment venues — will no longer be required to ask people for proof of vaccination under the “Key to NYC” vaccine passport program.
Additionally, masks will be optional for public school students aged 5 and older.
When announcing the changes Friday, Mayor Eric Adams said it was time to drop restrictions because COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are declining and more than 75% of New York City residents are fully vaccinated.
“Two years ago, we were the epicenter of the COVID virus, and two months ago we became the epicenter again under omicron,” he said during a press conference in Times Square. “New Yorkers stepped up. They heard the call and they responded. We did the masking, we did the social distancing, we did the vaccinations and boosters shots.”
Although he acknowledged “COVID is still here,” he said “we are beating it back” and added that the next phase of the pandemic response will focus on reviving New York City’s economy.
“The overall restriction is being removed. This is about giving people the flexibility that is needed to continue to allow not only safety, but we have to get our economy back on track,” Adams said. “It’s time to open our city and get the economy back operating.”
However, other COVID restrictions will remain in place.
Any settings with children under age 5, including daycares, will still require masks, and K-12 schools will still have daily screenings to check for any students exhibiting symptoms.
In addition, anyone using public transit — including trains, buses, taxis and ride-share services — must wear masks.
Some indoor businesses have said they will keep their mask and vaccine requirements in place.
The Broadway League, which operates all Broadway theaters, said its guidance on masks and proof of vaccination for audience members will last until at least April 30, 2022.
Adams also said Friday the city will neither be lifting its municipal employee vaccine mandate nor reinstating any unvaccinated workers who were fired.
“The overwhelming number of New York City employees did the right thing, and it sends the wrong message,” he said. “We can’t send the wrong message that, when we say something, we’re going to change and vacillate.”
The city is currently recording a seven-day rolling average of 569 COVID cases, the lowest seen since October 2020, according to NYC Open Data.
Additionally, the test positivity rate has also dropped by nearly half from 2.65% to 1.41% over the last 28 days, data from the city’s Department of Health & Mental Hygiene shows.
