This week, Dylan Scott had a big announcement to share: His new album, Livin’ My Best Life, will be out in August.
The project will include “New Truck,” a 2021 single that Scott describes as an “up-tempo breakup song” about a guy who decides to swap out his truck for a new one after realizing that the one he’s got is filled with memories of the girl who just broke his heart.
While Dylan — who’s a happily married father — might not seem on the surface to have anything in common with the guy in the song, he says he can relate.
“I’ve been with my wife since I was 15 and we went through a little break-up for a while, about a three-month breakup,” he admits. “And I remember, man, it was tough. It was really tough. You hop in your truck and you still see her over there, think of memories or find little things that belong to her.”
But these days, things are great: In fact, Dylan says, he named his new album and his Livin’ My Best Life Tour after where he’s at in his own life right now.
“I’m definitely living my best life right now — with all the success going on, and getting to play all these awesome shows, and the kids at home, and the wife,” he reflects. “I mean, it really is, dude — life is great right now.”
Brandy, who starred with the late Whitney Houston in the 1997 ABC TV version of Cinderella, felt like a princess again in Tuesday’s season finale of ABC’s Queens.
Her character, Naomi, married her longtime love Eric Jones while wearing a gorgeous white gown that was reminiscent of her costume in the film. “It was beautiful to then end up walking down the aisle and marrying the man she never stopped loving,” the Grammy winner told Deadline. “And, on top of that, her daughter gave her away. It really was a fairy tale, but most importantly, it was also very real.”
Brandy added, “It did make me feel like Cinderella again! It felt like the Cinderella that got married in the end. That’s how it felt.”
Another special moment in the finale was the return of Brianna, portrayed by Eve, who temporarily left the series to give birth to son Wilde, born February 1.
“Actually, it was a surprise for us. We didn’t even know anything they were planning, they kept it under wraps so our reactions could be real,” Brandy says. “It was unbelievable. I’m a little teary-eyed just thinking about that moment.”
Though Queens has yet to be renewed, Brandy hopes there will be a second season.
“I hope that we get another chance to do what we all love to do. I know I would love to see more performances, more rapping, and more stage stuff if there is a season two,” Brandy comments. “We didn’t really get a chance to do a lot of the stage performances that I wanted to do this year. I hope we get to tell more great stories and have a lot more entertainment in terms of the group. Fingers crossed.”
Here’s your chance to party in wine country with Metallica.
The metal legends have announced a charity raffle with the grand prize of two VIP three-day passes to the ‘Tallica-headlined BottleRock Napa Valley festival, taking place May 27-29 in Napa, California.
The campaign will raise money for Metallica’s All Within My Hands charity foundation. The more you donate, the more entries you’ll receive.
In related news, Metallica’s hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, have announced the details of its 2022 Metallica Night. The annual celebration, which has missed the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, makes its return to Oracle Park on May 24.
Previous Metallica Nights have featured the band performing the national anthem and throwing out the game’s ceremonial first pitch.
“Life Goes On” singer Oliver Tree releases his new album Cowboy Tears today, and kicks off a headlining tour tomorrow. He says the album represents a new sound for him — country music — which he says is a result of where he was when he wrote it.
“It was all something that happened very organically, I lived at my grandparents’ ranch for six months. They have a cattle [and] horse ranch,” he tells ABC Audio. “And so I was just there during COVID and my grandfather has this acoustic guitar there…he’s no longer with us, he passed, but I was using his acoustic guitar and I just wrote these songs.”
As for the title Cowboy Tears, Oliver explains, “My grandfather was a cowboy. His grandfather was a cowboy, I come from the lineage of it…and I’m a very emotional person. I always cry.”
The artist says creating the album was “two-year process,” which saw him penning 112 songs, of which 13 made the final cut. “I really am excited about this album because it covers so much range and every song is so poignant thematically,” he notes. “They’re big concepts.”
As for the tour, Oliver promises his shows will feature, “WWF wrestling…some scooter tricks…comedy…drama, performance art” and “incredible dance moves, choreographed by yours truly.”
You can also expect multiple genres — “everything from hip hop to a rock show to, now, country…[and] dance music…something for everyone,” Oliver boasts.
We’re not sure how serious he is about any of that, though, considering he also tells ABC Audio of the tour, “Of course, I grew up belly dancing, so you’re going to get to see some on my belly dance moves as well.”
Oliver’s tour, billed as his last one ever, wraps up March 26 in Austin, TX.
It was a decade ago that fun. first set the world on fire with Some Nights.
The second and, so far, final album from the trio — made up of Nate Ruess, Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost — was released February 21, 2012, 10 years ago this Monday. The now triple-platinum record spawned hit singles in “We Are Young,” “Some Nights” and “Carry On.”
Of the three, “We Are Young,” featuring guest vocals by Janelle Monáe, was the biggest, hitting number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually earning Diamond certification by the RIAA.
“We Are Young” was fun.’s first-ever song to even chart on the Hot 100, making them the first multi-member rock band to hit number one with their debut appearance on the ranking since Nickelback did it in 2001 with “How You Remind Me.”
The success of Some Nights led to fun.’s first and only performance on Saturday Night Live in 2012. At the 2013 Grammys, Some Nights was nominated for Album of the Year, and “We Are Young” won Song of the Year. while fun. also won Best New Artist.
After two years of nearly nonstop touring in 2012 and 2013, fun. played only a handful of shows in 2014. At the beginning of 2015, the trio put out a statement saying that, while they were not breaking up, they were taking time to pursue other projects. fun. hasn’t released any new music since then.
Ruess would hit number one again in 2013 with his Pink duet “Just Give Me a Reason,” and released his debut solo album, Grand Romantic, in 2015. Antonoff, who’d started his band Bleachers in 2014, has since gone on to become one of music’s most in-demand producers, working with artists including Taylor Swift, Lorde, St. Vincent and Lana Del Rey.
(“Some Nights” video contains uncensored profanity.)
(AUSTIN, Texas) — The City of Austin has agreed to pay a combined $10 million to two demonstrators who were injured during by police during the 2020 racial justice protests that took place in the city.
Two protesters, Justin Howell and Anthony Evans, were severely injured when police used “less-lethal” ammunition as a form of crowd control during protests that took place after the deaths of George Floyd and Michael Ramos, who was killed by an Austin Police officer, according to two civil lawsuits filed against the city.
Members of the Austin City Council voted Thursday to approve the settlements to Anthony Evans, who will be paid $2 million, and Justin Howell, who will receive $8 million, marking the largest settlement amount ever paid for a use-of-force case in Austin, ABC Austin affiliate KVUE-TV reported.
Howell was critically injured on May 31, 2020, when an officer shot him with “less-lethal” ammunition in downtown Austin, then-Police Chief Brian Manley told KVUE-TV the next day. Howell, who was a 20-year-old political science major at Texas State University at the time, suffered a fractured skull. He filed a civil lawsuit against the city in the Western District of Texas in August 2021.
Evans was peacefully protesting at the Austin Police Department headquarters on June 6, 2020, when he was hit with bean bags and foam bullets deployed by officers, KVUE-TV reported. Evans spent his 26th birthday undergoing surgery on his face, telling the station that his jaw looked like he “got hit by a car.” Evans underwent two surgeries, had a metal wire placed in his mouth for six weeks and now has a permanent titanium plate in his jaw, he told KVUE-TV.
Evans filed his lawsuit against the city in the Western District of Texas in October 2020.
In a statement to KVUE-TV, a City of Austin spokesperson said the city was settling lawsuits filed by two individuals who “suffered significant injuries” in the protests. The “significant dollar amounts” included in the settlement stem from the plaintiffs’ “need for ongoing and long-term care,” the spokesperson said.
“We have reviewed the totality of the circumstances surrounding the protests, and we believe it is in the best interest of these plaintiffs and the City of Austin to resolve these cases now,” the statement read. “We have other claims and lawsuits that have been filed as a result of injuries during the protests, and we will review each of those matters individually.”
Eleven Austin officers were disciplined for their actions during the protests after Manley completed his review of all known complaints and incidents involving officers during the demonstrations.
The Austin Police Department was not adequately prepared for the size of the crowd during the 2020 protests and did not anticipate the injuries that would occur from the “less-lethal” rounds, Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said in a statement. The department now prohibits less-lethal ammunition for crowd control.
“I understand the Council’s decision to settle these two cases now, and our hearts go out to these two individuals who received serious injuries during the May 2020 protests,” Chacon said.
(NEW YORK) — Americans in at least 30 states are on high alert for snow, ice, flooding and tornadoes as storms sweep across the eastern half of the country.
They could bring damaging winds across the Deep South Thursday into Friday.
Excessive rain could lead to flooding across the Ohio Valley and the interior Northeast and ice jams are possible in the eastern Great Lakes.
Winter weather is expected from Wichita to Detroit. Half a foot of snow and icy conditions are expected through late Thursday.
A tornado watch is in place for Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi through 6 p.m. Central Time.
A few tornadoes are likely in addition to wind gusts up to 75 mph.
Very heavy rain and flood threats extend into Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
Heavy snow is falling Thursday afternoon from Wichita to Chicago, with over 9 inches of snow already reported in the Kansas City area.
Storms will continue across Tennessee and Mississippi Thursday evening and severe weather will stretch from Louisville to Nashville to Birmingham.
Heavy rain and flood threats will move east across the Ohio Valley and into the interior Northeast, from Cincinnati to Buffalo.
Chicago could potentially see between 1 to 4 inches of snow and 4 to 8 inches of snow in Detroit by Thursday night.
A storm moves into the Northeast late Thursday night through early Friday morning, with rain likely.
Heavy downpours are expected overnight, with possible thunder as the storm moves through the I-95 corridor in the early morning.
High wind warnings are in place along the coast from Long Island to Cape Cod, where gusts could exceed 60 miles per hour. The winds could cause damage and power outages by Friday morning.
Parts of the Denver metro area got more than a half a foot of snow overnight Wednesday into Thursday, causing slick roads and closing parts of I-70.
(CHICAGO) — Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability has released videos and documents related to the death of Irene Chavez, a woman who died in police custody last December.
The materials were released as part of an investigation by the civilian oversight agency looking into Chavez’s death.
According to police, the 33-year-old woman died after an “attempted suicide” on Dec. 18, 2021, at the 3rd District Police Station. The official cause and manner of death are pending autopsy results, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office told ABC News.
Body camera video released by COPA shows Chavez being arrested hours before her death and transported to the police station.
According to the incident report and videos released by COPA, Chavez told officers that she is a veteran and suffers from PTSD.
Police said Chavez was taken into custody after her involvement in a bar fight at the Jeffery Pub Tavern and was belligerent during processing.
Chavez could be heard by police shouting in the holding cell, the report said. After about five minutes of silence, an officer went to check on her well-being by looking through the window. That’s when Chavez was found with her shirt wrapped around her neck and a “faint pulse,” the report said.
Video released by COPA shows officers performing CPR before Chavez was transported to the University of Chicago Hospital. According to COPA, Chavez was in “critical condition” at the time and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
COPA said in a statement that the agency has been in touch with Chavez’s family and provided them with documentation for viewing prior to the release of materials.
Chavez’s family is now demanding answers from police.
Iris Chavez, Irene’s sister, told reporters in December that police have not provided details surrounding her sister’s death and called for an investigation.
Iris Chavez started a GoFundMe page to support the family in covering costs related to her sister’s death and said that Irene was her only sister.
“When I say my heart is what one would call broken glass in a bag…MY absolute FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD and ONLY SISTER HAS PASSED AWAY,” she wrote on the page.
Chavez is one of two women to die in Chicago police custody within less than two months.
COPA is also investigating the death of London Marquez, 31, who died on Jan. 27. According to Marquez’s family, she was pregnant at the time of her death.
The investigation is ongoing and the cause and manner of death are pending autopsy results by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Chicago police declined to comment and referred questions regarding both cases to COPA.
(NEW YORK) — The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use certain powdered infant formulas made at Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan, facility amid an investigation into four infant illnesses.
Parents should discard any affected formula, according to the agency. Specifically, the FDA is advising consumers not to use Similac, Alimentum or EleCare powdered infant formulas if: the first two digits of the code are 22 through 37, and the code on the container contains K8, SH or Z2, and the expiration date is 4-1-2022 (APR 2022) or later.
“As a result of the ongoing investigation, along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local partners, the FDA is alerting consumers to avoid purchasing or using certain powdered infant formula products produced at this facility,” a press release stated.
“This is an ongoing investigation, and the firm is working with the FDA to initiate a voluntary recall of the potentially affected product,” it said, noting the FDA has “initiated an onsite inspection at the facility.”
In a press release, the FDA announced it is investigating consumer complaints of Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella Newport infections that resulted in four infant illnesses and hospitalizations in three states — Minnesota, Texas and Ohio. Cronobacter may have contributed to a death in one case, according to the report.
According to the FDA, Cronobacter bacteria can cause life-threatening infections such as sepsis or meningitis.
“Symptoms of sepsis and meningitis may include poor feeding, irritability, temperature changes, jaundice (yellow skin and whites of the eyes), grunting breaths and abnormal movements. Cronobacter infection may also cause bowel damage and may spread through the blood to other parts of the body,” the FDA says. “Parents and caregivers of infants who have used these products, and are concerned about the health of their child, should contact their child’s health care provider.”
Products made at the Sturgis, Michigan, facility are available across the U.S.
“As this is a product used as the sole source of nutrition for many of our nation’s newborns and infants, the FDA is deeply concerned about these reports of bacterial infections,” said Frank Yiannas, the FDA deputy commissioner for food policy and response in a press release. “We want to reassure the public that we’re working diligently with our partners to investigate complaints related to these products, which we recognize include infant formula produced at this facility, while we work to resolve this safety concern as quickly as possible.”
The FDA will provide consumer safety information on the investigation as it becomes available.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman and Stephanie Ebbs contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The United States continues to warn that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day” amid escalating tensions in the region, with President Joe Biden telling reporters Thursday that the threat is now “very high.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday, making urgent remarks to the U.N. Security Council, challenged Moscow to commit to no invasion.
More than 150,000 Russian troops are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders, U.S. officials said, and while Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin claim that some Russian forces have begun to withdraw, Biden said more Russian troops have moved in, contrary to Moscow’s claims.
It remains unclear whether Putin has made a decision to attack his ex-Soviet neighbor.
Russia has denied it plans to invade and issued new demands Thursday that the U.S. and NATO bar Ukraine from joining the military alliance.
Latest headlines:
-Austin says Russia forces near Ukraine border stocking up on blood supplies
-Blinken says Moscow will ‘manufacture a pretext’ for invasion as US blames Russia for Donbas shelling
-Blinken calls on Moscow to commit to not invading, meet next week
-Blinken to UN Security Council: ‘I am here today not to start a war, but to prevent one’
-Russia’s response to the US teases ‘military-technical measures’
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 17, 9:28 pm
Biden to host meeting of allied leaders Friday: Canada PM’s office
President Joe Biden will host a closed-door meeting on Ukraine Friday with several U.S. allies, according to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office.
The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, the UK, the EU and NATO will participate in the meeting, Trudeau’s office said while sharing the prime minister’s Friday iterinary.
A White House official confirmed to ABC News that Biden will have a phone call Friday afternoon with transatlantic leaders “about Russia’s buildup of military troops on the border of Ukraine and our continued efforts to pursue deterrence and diplomacy.”
Also on Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and hold a meeting with the leaders of the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as she travels to Germany for the annual Munich Security Conference, the White House said.
Feb 17, 9:22 pm
Senate passes non-binding resolution in support of Ukraine
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution Thursday affirming its support for Ukraine.
The resolution denounced Russian troop buildups on the border and urged President Joe Biden to act if Russia were to invade Ukraine. “[The] United States Government should use the tools at its disposal to impose significant costs on the Russian Federation to restore peace in Europe,” it stated.
The non-binding “sense of the Senate” resolution conveys the sentiment of senators, but it does not mandate any action.
The resolution, which passed by voice vote with bipartisan support, follows a bipartisan statement from Senate leaders Tuesday that said “Russia must be made to pay a severe price” in the event of invasion.
The Senate departed for a weeklong recess Thursday night without approving a Russian sanctions package, which was the initial aim of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez and Ranking Member Jim Risch.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
Feb 17, 7:35 pm
Reports of more shelling in eastern Ukraine overnight
Tensions around the Russian-controlled separatist areas in eastern Ukraine on Thursday remained high, with reports of shelling. Sporadic firing from the separatist side continued to hit the village Stanytsia Luhanska, setting two homes on fire, local police told ABC News. Earlier Thursday, separatist shelling struck a kindergarten in the village, injuring two teachers.
The escalation comes amid concerns from Western officials that Russia and its separatist proxies may be laying the groundwork for a pretext for a possible Russian intervention by accusing Ukraine of preparing to launch an offensive.
Valery Zaluzhny, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, warned in a statement Thursday night that the military has information the separatist forces are planning to evacuate several villages near the front line, possibly ahead of a planned escalation in firing.
Zaluzhny also accused the Russian-controlled forces of firing deliberately onto civilian infrastructure and accused Russia and the separatists of using propaganda and disinformation to claim Ukraine is shelling civilians.
He said Ukraine is not planning any offensive operations and is observing a ceasefire.
There was dramatically more shelling Thursday than usual, according to monitoring by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Ukraine accused the separatists of violating the ceasefire 47 times, including mainly using large-caliber weapons banned from the front line.
Russian officials continued to claim Thursday that some Russian forces are returning to their home bases and accused the U.S., along with the U.K., Canada and the Baltic nations, of using claims of Russian aggression as a pretext to arm Ukraine.
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Fidel Pavlenko
Feb 17, 1:03 pm
Austin says Russia forces near Ukraine border stocking up on blood supplies
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, at NATO headquarters in Brussels Thursday, said the U.S. has evidence of Russia stocking up on blood supplies and military forces nearing the border as officials believe Russia will launch an invasion of Ukraine within days.
“We see some of those troops inch closer to that border. We see them fly in more combat and support aircraft. We see them sharpen their readiness in the Black Sea. We even see them stocking up their blood support supplies,” Austin told world leaders.
“You know, I was a soldier myself not that long ago, and I know firsthand that you don’t do these sorts of things, for no reason. And you certainly don’t do them if you’re getting ready to pack up and go home,” he added.
President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken also warned Thursday that, despite claims of pulling back, Russia appears to be ready to invade at any moment.
