If you thought for a second that Drake and all of his chart-topping music would be slowing down for any reason, think again.
According to Variety, the Grammy-winning rapper just signed a massive deal with Universal Music Group that, while its value hasn’t officially been revealed, sources say could be worth upwards of $400 million.
What was confirmed by UMG chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge on the company’s Q1 earnings call Tuesday morning that Variety attended were other details of the deal, such as it stretches across multiple projects, including recordings, merchandise and visual media.
Drake’s partnership follows that of a similar UMG deal inked recently by The Weeknd, whose contract terms were also not shared.
While we may not know the exact number, Drake is said to be on his way to making lots of cash with the new venture — a “Lebron-sized” deal as one insider referred to it.
Phoebe Bridgers has shared that she had an abortion last fall.
The “Kyoto” artist tweeted Tuesday, “I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour.”
She continued, “I went to [P]lanned [P]arenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access.”
Bridgers’ tweet comes after Politco published a draft of a Supreme Court opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade, which made abortion legal in the United States. The authenticity of the draft was later confirmed in a statement by the Supreme Court.
Bridgers also shared a link to a list of abortion funds to which you can donate.
ABC’s new true-crime show Who Do You Believe? premieres Tuesday night.
The show lets viewers play armchair detective, analyzing real cases presented from dual perspectives.
“In order to find the actual truth, you need to hear all sides. And when it comes to crime, too often the sides of, you know, you don’t really get the full picture,” executive producer Ben Crompton explains to ABC Audio. “Because everyone’s truth is different.”
He adds, “What we set out to do is to speak to people who were close to a really twisty, turny, true-crime story on either side of it. And what we found is their stories, their truth is often directly incongruent to the other person’s truth.”
Executive producer Alex Weresow says Who Do You Believe? isdifferent than other true-crime shows. “Yes, there are some murders, but the range of stories are pretty different, too,” he notes. “We have a conservatorship battle…You know, it’s mothers versus daughters, sons versus mothers…They’re not all bloody, gory murder.”
Since the show deals with court cases, ABC Audio asked Weresow about the fascination over coverage of Johnny Depp‘s lawsuit against Amber Heard.
“[Y]ou get to see her reaction to him on trial as he’s [testifying],” Weresow points out. “And that’s exactly what we’re doing in our show, utilizing split screen and kind of putting them in the same rooms. You can watch this person as that person is making the accusations against them, and they have the right to rebut everything as well.”
He adds, “So it is very much just like that, that trial. But hearing Amber being able to respond right away instead of having to bite her tongue.”
Who Do You Believe? airs at 10 p.m. Tuesday on ABC.
Oscar winner Viola Davis will play icy DC Comics character Amanda Waller once again in a small-screen spin-off centering on her Suicide Squad and Peacemaker character.
Deadline reports Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad writer-director James Gunn will executive-produce the series for HBO Max, with Christal Henry, writer on HBO’s Emmy winning Watchmen series, writing the stories.
Davis’ Waller was talked about throughout, but only seen in the finale of the hit Peacemaker, which centered on John Cena‘s title character and other members of her team of misfits from the Suicide Squad movies, Task Force X. Waller had planted her conflicted daughter, Leota Adebayo — played by Danielle Brooks — on the team in order to land Cena’s hero back behind bars.
Gunn had hinted to Deadline back in January that he was working on another spin-off from The Suicide Squad, noting, “it won’t be as much a comedy as Peacemaker, but it will be in the same universe.”
(WASHINGTON) — The first multistate contest of the 2022 midterm season kicks off Tuesday with primary races in Ohio and Indiana.
Ohio’s Senate race marks the first major test of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement power at the polls.
Here’s how the races are developing today. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.
May 03, 5:30 pm
What to watch for in Ohio
Tuesday’s Ohio Senate primary is among the first litmus tests of many this midterm season to gauge how much influence former President Donald Trump holds over the Republican Party. Almost all of the candidates — except for Matt Dolan — align with the former president, so even if “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance doesn’t win, the GOP nominee could well be a Trump-aligned Republican who endorses falsehoods about the 2020 election.
Another race seen as a test of Trump’s kingmaking power is in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, where the former president endorsed challenger and former aide Max Miller.
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, chose to hand out only his second primary endorsement of the cycle in Ohio to Rep. Shontel Brown in her rematch against progressive powerhouse Nina Turner, a close ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders, in a race that has pit establishment Democrats against progressives.
Gov. Mike DeWine, who is seeking a second term, is expected to survive a Trump-inspired, though not endorsed, challenge to his COVID governance and establishment leanings.
-ABC News’ Political Director Rick Klein
May 03, 5:18 pm
What to watch for in Indiana
Some races in Indiana — such as the state’s 1st Congressional District where a slew of Republican challengers are vying to win the seat held by incumbent Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan — are seen as possible bellwethers for whether Republicans manage can flip districts in Democratic strongholds.
Indiana’s 9th Congressional District — the only vacant congressional seat in the state — is also in play when it comes to which party will control the House of Representatives after the midterms.
Along with Ohio, the state is an early indicator of the power of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, as Trump carried the state in 2020. Trump has backed six incumbent members of the House of Representatives in the state, including Rep. Greg Pence, former Vice President Mike Pence’s brother.
Polls close in Indiana at 7 p.m. ET, though there is some variation because the state falls within two time zones.
May 03, 4:28 pm
Supreme Court bombshell lands as Ohio tests Trump and Biden
Voters head to the polls in Ohio on Tuesday on the heels of a shocking leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the court’s conservative majority may overturn nearly 50 years of abortion rights in America.
The endorsement power of former President Donald Trump — who promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe — faces a major test in the race of retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman in Ohio. While almost all the GOP candidates have centered their campaigns around being a Trump conservative, “never-Trumper” turned Trump ally J.D. Vance scored his coveted endorsement, upending the race.
On the Democratic side, the contest in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District between Rep. Shontel Brown and Nina Turner has pitted establishment Democrats against progressives. Biden endorsed Brown over Turner last week in his second primary endorsement of the election cycle, but progressives including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have backed Turner.
A new ABC News/Washington Post polling out Tuesday shows that 60% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents want the GOP to follow Trump’s leadership — about where that’s been since he left office. By contrast, only about 53% of Democrats and independents who lean that way want to follow Biden’s leadership, with younger Democrats most solidly favoring a new direction.
Matt Winkelmeyer/MG22/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue/ Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Cardi B insists there’s zero drama between her and Billie Eilish, despite what some reports are claiming. The “Up” rapper even shared a voice memo of the two mocking the rumor.
The internet began buzzing about potential beef between the two Grammy winners following the Met Gala, where they both attended the same after party. Cardi was filmed telling a crowd of people to have fun, drink and jokingly do drugs with her before the video jumps to another clip, taken across the room, which shows Billie mouthing “so weird” to her group of friends.
That led to reports that Billie was shading the rapper, prompting fans of the two artists to begin arguing on social media. Once Cardi caught wind of the drama, she took to Twitter to shut it down.
“I hate the internet cause one, how do y’all turn one of the most lit parties into drama? Two, ‘Ocean Eyes’ is the song I cater to my daughter. Three, Billie is my f***in baby,” Cardi declared. “Yesterday, from the met to the party, everything was drama free. Why do yall wanna turn everything into mess?”
The “Girls Like You” rapper then shared a voice memo exchange between her and Billie discussing what happened, which starts off with Billie explaining herself.
“Oh my god, I was so worried you were gonna see that [viral video.] I was f***ing calling the people around you ‘weird’ because everybody was coming up to you shoving their phones into your a**,” Billie explained. “And I was just like, ‘Just look at her? With your eyes?'”
Cardi replied using a dramatic crying voice: “The internet is trying to divide us. They don’t understand that you’re my baby!”
Jon Pardi and Midland have released the video for their new collaboration, “Longneck Way to Go.”
Lainey Wilson will perform as part of Marty Stuart‘s Late Night Jam at the Ryman Auditorium on June 8. Also on the bill is Marty’s wife, Connie Smith, plus Emmylou Harris, Billy Strings, Marcus King and more.
Chris Janson and Travis Tritt will co-headline The Can’t Miss Tour from October 17-November 19.
The Country Music Association has announced the recipients for its annual Music Teachers of Excellence Awards, honoring 30 educators from around the country. The awards ceremony will be held in Nashville on October 19.
Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — At least 19 states plan to offer legal refuge to transgender youth and their families displaced by anti-LGBTQ legislation that criminalizes the families and physicians of trans children.
“When trans kids’ lives are on the line, playing defense doesn’t cut it. It’s time to play offense,” said Annise Parker, president and CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group Victory Institute.
She went on, “We are using the collective power of LGBTQ state legislators all across the nation to launch a counter-offensive that aims to protect trans kids and parents while also demonstrating that there is a positive agenda for trans people that lawmakers can support.”
Lawmakers in states like Texas, Louisiana, Arizona and Alabama have proposed bills criminalizing gender-affirming transgender care.
In a February opinion, Texas state attorney General Ken Paxton called gender-affirming care “abuse.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott followed Paxton’s opinion by directing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate such care as child abuse.
These investigations have been halted after a family sued the state alongside the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has also issued several anti-LGBTQ policies, including a ban on transgender youth health care that physicians said was riddled with misinformation.
He signed SB 184, the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, which states that anyone who provides gender-affirming care — including puberty blockers, hormone therapy or physical gender-affirming surgeries — to an individual under age 18 could be convicted of a felony, face up to 10 years in prison and be fined $15,000.
To combat such efforts, a bill from California state Sen. Scott Wiener aims to make California a legal safe haven for parents who may have their transgender children taken away from them or be criminally prosecuted for providing care for their children.
“Starting with our legislation in California, we are building a coordinated national legislative campaign by LGBTQ lawmakers to provide refuge for trans kids and their families,” said Wiener. “We’re making it crystal clear: we will not let trans kids be belittled, used as political pawns and denied gender-affirming care.”
He has joined forces with LGBTQ advocacy groups from all over the country, including Victory Institute and Equality California.
“Parents should not live in fear of being hunted down by the government for loving and supporting their child,” said Tony Hoang, executive director of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality California.
He continued, “As a native Texan, I’m ashamed of Gov. Abbott’s hateful attacks against trans kids and their families. But as a Californian, I’m so proud of our state for serving as a beacon of hope and a place of refuge for those children and their parents.”
New York, Minnesota, Colorado, Connecticut, New Mexico and more have followed suit, introducing similar protections for trans people who come from out of state.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, there have been more than 300 bills targeting the LGBTQ community nationwide in 2022.
Aaron Katersky, Mark Crudele, and Meredith Deliso, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — A faulty fan caused the glitch that prevented cameras at a Brooklyn subway station from transmitting during a mass shooting on a rush-hour train last month, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The cameras were working until “less than 24 hours” before the April 12 shooting on the N train as it approached the 36th Street station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, MTA Chair Janno Lieber wrote in a letter to congressional representatives obtained by ABC News.
In the days before the incident, technicians worked to replace the fan unit for an issue that initially wasn’t impacting the transmission of the cameras’ feed, according to Lieber.
“Technicians replaced the fan unit on the morning of April 8, but the network diagnostics still indicated a problem,” Lieber wrote in the letter, dated May 2. “MTA technicians made a series of repairs in an effort to correct the issue, and on the morning of Monday April 11, as technicians were installing new communication hardware, the camera failed.”
Lieber characterized the cause of the outage as a “failure of hardware and software” at the communications room that governs the station’s cameras that prevented them from transmitting their feed. The outage also impacted the cameras at the 25th Street and 45th Street subway stations.
“Technicians were working in the communications room on the next morning, April 12, when the attack took place,” the chair wrote. “NYPD directed them to leave the communications room as the investigation began.”
The cameras were back online by 12:30 p.m. on April 13, according to Lieber.
Dozens of people were injured, including 10 by gunfire, in the shooting. Police arrested a suspect more than 24 hours after the incident.
The NYPD, which had initially said the cameras were out at the three stations due to a “technical issue,” called claims that the lack of operating cameras delayed the manhunt “unfair and misleading.”
“The MTA cameras in other parts of the system were essential elements in determining his movements before and after the shootings,” John Miller, deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism for the NYPD, said in a statement in the wake of the attack.
In his letter, Lieber also said the MTA’s subway camera system played a “critical role in the manhunt.”
The alleged gunman, 62-year-old Frank James, faces a terror-related count. Last week, defense attorneys charged in a court filing that federal agents improperly questioned him. In response, the federal government said it was authorized and within its rights in its interactions with James.
(WASHINGTON) — Comments on abortion rights made by the recent conservative additions to the Supreme Court during their Senate confirmation hearings are under fresh scrutiny after a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion appeared to indicate the panel’s conservative majority of justices is ready to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court confirmed that the draft, published Monday by Politico, is authentic. But it stressed that it is neither a decision by the court nor a final position of any justices in the case.
The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, involves Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy — well before the fetal viability standard established by Roe in 1973 and a subsequent 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, that legalized abortion across the U.S.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito, the opinion’s apparent author, wrote in the copy of the draft, dated Feb. 10.
An unnamed source familiar with the deliberations told Politico that Justices Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — the latter three who are conservative justices added to the bench during the Trump administration — all initially supported a ruling siding with Mississippi and “that line-up remains unchanged as of this week.”
The document posted online suggests a majority of justices is likely to side with Mississippi — breaking with precedent — but how broad the ultimate ruling will be remains unclear. It also is unclear how the justices will ultimately vote on the case.
During their respective Senate confirmation hearings after being nominated to the Supreme Court by former President Donald Trump, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh acknowledged the precedent set by Roe, while Barrett told senators she believed the decision was not a “super-precedent.”
Justice Neil Gorsuch
During confirmation hearings in March 2017, Democrats pressed Gorsuch for his views on abortion using his writing in a book he authored on euthanasia, in which he wrote that “the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong.”
“How could you square that statement with legal abortion?” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked.
“The Supreme Court of the United States has held that Roe v. Wade, that a fetus is not a person for purposes of the 14th Amendment. And the book explains that,” Gorsuch replied.
“Do you accept that?” Durbin asked.
“That’s the law of the land, I accept the law of the land, senator. Yes,” Gorsuch replied.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh
During his Senate confirmation hearings in September 2018, Democrats pushed Kavanaugh on his position on Roe in light of a reported 2003 email he wrote as a lawyer in the Bush White House challenging that the landmark decision was the “settled law of the land.”
“As a general proposition I understand the importance of the precedent set forth in Roe v. Wade,” Kavanaugh told senators.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked Kavanaugh, “What would you say your position is today on a woman’s right to choose?”
“As a judge, it is an important precedent of the Supreme Court,” Kavanaugh replied. “By ‘it,’ I mean Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, been affirmed many times. Casey is precedent on precedent.”
Additionally, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has said Kavanaugh repeatedly suggested to her privately that he considered Roe to be “settled law.” She criticized both Kavanaugh and Gorsuch on Tuesday for the apparent flip-flop.
“If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office,” Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement Tuesday morning. “Obviously, we won’t know each Justice’s decision and reasoning until the Supreme Court officially announces its opinion in this case.”
Justice Amy Coney Barrett
During her confirmation hearings in October 2020, Barrett was careful in her comments but told senators she believed the decision on Roe v. Wade was not a “super-precedent” when asked directly by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
She said she did not find the case to be “so well-settled that no political actors and no people seriously push for their overruling.”
“I’m answering a lot of questions about Roe, which I think indicates that Roe doesn’t fall in that category,” she said. “And scholars across the spectrum say that doesn’t mean that Roe should be overruled. But descriptively, it does mean that it’s not a case that everyone has accepted and doesn’t call for its overruling.”
As a law school professor, Barrett signed a 2006 newspaper ad calling for the overturning of the law’s “barbaric legacy.” She was questioned about that as well during her confirmation hearings.
“I signed that almost 15 years ago in my personal capacity still as a private citizen, and now I am a public official,” Barrett told Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
“I signed it on the way out of church,” she told Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. “It was consistent with the views of my church and simply said we support the right to life from conception to natural death.”
In response to Republicans’ questions about her faith and its influence on her work, Barrett — who has described herself as a “faithful Catholic” — told senators that her “personal, moral religious views” won’t impact her judicial decision-making.
“I have done that in my time on the 7th Circuit. If I stay there, I’ll continue to do that,” Barrett said. “If I’m confirmed to the Supreme Court, I will do that still.”
In prior comments, Barrett has said she didn’t think the right to abortion would change and it was unlikely Roe would be overturned by a conservative Supreme Court.
“I think some of the restrictions would change,” she said during a 2016 event at Jacksonville University’s Public Policy Institute.
“I think the question is how much freedom the court is willing to let states have in regulating abortion,” she continued.
ABC News’ Devin Dwyer and Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
