In a video circulating online over the weekend, Full House star Jodie Sweetin was seen being pushed to the ground by Los Angeles police during a protest over the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The clip shows Sweetin being grabbed and shoved by LAPD officers at the Saturday rally. She’s quickly helped to her feet by fellow protestors.
On Sunday, the actress reshared a posting of the video, commenting, “Thank you for posting. Love everyone out there in the streets fighting for what’s right…”
She also released a statement through her publicist, saying, “I’m extremely proud of the hundreds of people who showed up yesterday to exercise their First Amendment rights and take immediate action to peacefully protest the giant injustices that have been delivered from our Supreme Court.”
The statement continued, “Our activism will continue until our voices are heard and action is taken. This will not deter us, we will continue fighting for our rights. We are not free until ALL of us are free.”
After Sean “Diddy” Combs delivered a show-stopping performance of some of his greatest hits at the 2022 BET Awards on Sunday, he accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by legendary producer Babyface and the night’s special guest, Kanye West.
Ye’s entrance onto the stage of “culture’s biggest night” shocked the crowd, as he walked out sporting his famous face mask, which covered his mouth for the duration of the moving speech to his “favorite artist,” Diddy.
“How do we crown our kings? How do we appreciate our kings?,” Ye began. “To think how far we could just make if off of inspiration, to hear the way somebody chopped a sample in. Me and [friend] rushin’ to see who could get the Bad Boy mixtape and play back the original version of “Benjamins,” over and over, thinkin’ I was one of the Hit Men.”
“I was signed to Puff without him knowing,” he joked before adding, “That statement is not legally binding!”
Ye went on for a few minutes, reminiscing on his early music years inspired by Puff and reiterating the his admiration for the 52-year-old music mogul.
“Puff if I never told you, I love you. You my brother.”
Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Lil Kim, Bryson Tiller, Faith Evans and others, made cameos in the elaborate tribute performance that spanned Diddy’s career. It also featured a moving tribute to Kim Porter, Diddy’s former partner who died in 2018.
“Stay connected to God, and he’ll bring you out,” he said. “I just want to say thank you to Kim.”
Diddy wrapped his speech by recalling a “dream” he says, of Black people “being free” and “controlling our own destiny.” He then pledged $1 million to Howard University, his alma mater.
It was a star-studded night at the BET Awards 2022, which aired live from Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater Sunday, with Taraji P. Henson hosting for the second year in a row.
Lizzo got the celebration started with an energetic performance of “About Damn Time.” Later, Jack Harlow, was joined by Lil Wayne to perform their track “Poison” and Brandy, who rapped her freestyle to “First Class.”
Ella Mai brought out Roddy Ricch and singer-songwriter extraordinaire Babyface during her turn on stage while Latto, who snagged the Best New Artist award, had the iconic Mariah Carey join her to perform the “Big Energy” remix.
Not many awards were given out during the ceremony, but the ones that were included Mary J. Blige who took home the BET Her Award, Tems who won for Best International Act and Best Collaboration where she featured on Wizkid‘s “Essence,” and Album of the Year for Silk Sonic‘s An Evening with Silk Sonic.
As if it wasn’t already an A-list event, R&B legends Blige and Jodeci kicked off a nostalgic tribute for Diddy before he took over and guided fans through a medley of hits he’s credited for, including “Bad boyz,” “It’s All About the Benjamins (Remix),” “I Need a Girl (Pt. 2),” “Pass the Courvoisier,” “I’ll Be Missing You,” and his latest release “Gotta Move On.” Shyne, The Lox, Lil Kim, Busta Rhymes, Faith Hill, and Bryson Tiller joined Diddy for the medley, which also included an emotional video of Kim Porter, Diddy’s former partner who died in 2018.
Afterwards, Babyface and Ye, stepped to the mic to share a few words about the man of the hour, before presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award. During his acceptance speech, Diddy handed out a laundry list of thank-you’s, including one to his ex, Cassie.
Brandy joined Jack Harlow on stage at the BET Awards 2022.
Harlow took the stage as one of the first performers at the award ceremony, which was held live at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater on Sunday, and during his hit “First Class,” the rapper surprised the audience by bringing out Brandy, who performed her previously released freestyle over the beat.
The moment was an interesting one given that about a month ago the two artists appeared to be beefing after Harlow failed to realize that Brandy was Ray J‘s sister.
After watching the viral interview clip where Harlow asks, “Who’s Ray J’s sister?” Brandy tweeted, “I will murk this dude in rap at 43 [years old] on his own beats and then sing [h]is a** to sleep.”
While the iconic singer could very well give the “Nail Tech” rapper a run for his money, she posted a follow-up tweet saying, “See, I can have a little fun too hehe…all love.”
Responding to Brandy’s clapback, Harlow posted an image of Brandy and Ray J accompanied by Kanye West‘s 2005 track, “Bring Me Down,” on which Brandy sings the chorus.
Brandy then hit back by putting her spin on Harlow’s “First Class,” releasing a freestyle over the beat in which she introduced herself as “world-famous,” “one of the greatest” and a “living legend” before adding, “Did I mention my resume is amazing?”
Any beef these two artists may have had though seems to have officially been squashed when they united together on stage.
Harlow was also joined by Lil Wayne during the performance, where they rapped their song “Poison” from Harlow’s latest album, Come Home the Kids Miss You.
(EL ESPINAL, Colombia) — At least four people have died and dozens were injured after an accident occurred at the venue of a bullfight in Colombia.
The spectators were watching the bullfight in El Espinal, Colombia — about 100 miles southwest of Bogota — on Sunday when several stands collapsed, the Tolima Civil Defense told ABC News.
In addition to the four people who died, about 60 people were treated on-site for minor injuries, while another 10 were transferred to local hospitals.
It is unclear what caused the stands to collapse.
Additional information was not immediately available.
The ethics surrounding bullfighting, which involves killing the bull at the end of the contest, has come into question in recent years. While the practice is customary in many Spanish-speaking countries, a judge in Mexico City extended a ban on bullfighting indefinitely earlier this month over complaints that bullfights violated resident’s rights to a healthy environment free from violence, The Associated Press reported.
While four states in Mexico have already banned bullfighting, a ban in Mexico City could mark the end of nearly 500 years of bullfighting in Mexico and could threaten the practice internationally, The AP reported.
ABC New’s Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Sunday that women shouldn’t be prosecuted for seeking abortions following the Supreme Court’s ruling last week overturning Roe v. Wade, which allowed state-level abortion bans in South Dakota and elsewhere to take effect.
Noem, a Republican, celebrated the high court’s finding that there is no constitutional guarantee to abortion access, but she told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz, “I don’t believe women should ever be prosecuted. I don’t believe that mothers in this situation [should] ever be prosecuted. Now doctors who knowingly violate the law, they should be prosecuted.”
South Dakota was one multiple states that had in place a so-called “trigger law,” which immediately banned abortions once the Supreme Court announced its ruling, according to the research and policy group Guttmacher Institute. Following the court’s decision, all abortions in the state became illegal “unless there is appropriate and reasonable medical judgment that performance of an abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant female.”
The law makes performing an abortion — either through a procedure or via medicine — a felony.
However, Noem said Sunday, “I don’t believe there should be any punishment for women, ever, that are in a crisis situation or have an unplanned pregnancy. And South Dakota has been strong on that argument.” She called the new court ruling “wonderful news in the defense of life. Every life is precious.”
“We want to help support these mothers,” she continued. “I think we can do better in this country making sure that we’re walking alongside them in these situations.”
Raddatz cited data from the nonpartisan social policy think tank Commonwealth Fund that “the 14 states that have the most restrictive abortion laws, including South Dakota, invest the least in policies and programs for women and children.”
“So what do you mean when you say these mothers will never be alone?” she asked, challenging Noem.
“I would say that the facts on the ground are that South Dakota’s doing a lot to coordinate with nonprofits, with churches, and then also the state in a new way by launching this website,” Noem answered, referring to a government portal with information about resources for pregnant women and new mothers.
The Supreme Court handed down its decision reversing Roe on Friday, ruling that there was not a constitutional guarantee to abortion access and that abortions could be regulated, or banned, by each state individually.
Raddatz noted in 2006 and in 2008 that South Dakota voters rejected initiatives for complete bans on abortion. She asked Noem if the governor would “be willing to let the voters of the state decide the issue again?”
Noem said voters decide the issue of abortion “every single year when we come to legislative sessions.”
“They vote for their representatives to come to sessions,” she said.
President Joe Biden, responding to the Roe reversal, said Friday that his administration would work to protect certain medications that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, “like contraception, which is essential for preventative healthcare [and] mifepristone, which the FDA approved 20 years ago to safely end early pregnancies and is commonly used to treat miscarriages.”
When Raddatz pushed Noem on her stance on abortions via medication, using the “so-called abortion pill,” Noem said she didn’t believe telemedicine abortions were safe.
“I don’t believe that telemedicine abortions are safe for individuals, for women to conduct at home, many times they’re doing it unsupervised. It’s a medical procedure, and so I do believe that there should be a physician supervision in place when that is being conducted by individual,” Noem said.
Medication abortions are considered safe, according to the nonprofit organization Kaiser Family Foundation, “with a 0.4% risk of major complications, and an associated mortality rate of less than 0.001 percent (0.00064%).”
She also said she thinks there will be continued discussion among local lawmakers about the legality of constituents who travel across state borders to get an abortion elsewhere.
“That, certainly, isn’t addressed in our statute today and so I think that there’ll be a debate about [it], but also we’re having lots of debates in South Dakota,” she said.
(TACOMA, Wash.) — At least eight people were injured early Sunday when gunfire broke out at a dance party being held in an industrial area of Tacoma, Washington, police said.
The shooting occurred at 12:45 a.m. at a private venue in South Tacoma, where police said the rave attracted a large crowd.
A barrage of gunfire erupted during an argument that broke out in an alley behind the venue, located in an area filled with mostly car dealerships and auto repair shops, according to police.
Police immediately closed streets around the crime scene as officers and paramedics responded and began treating the wounded.
There were no immediate reports of fatalities and no arrests were immediately announced.
The victims appear to have all suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were hospitalized in stable condition, the Tacoma Police Department said in a statement.
Officers responded to the scene after multiple 911 callers reported shots being fired at the rave.
“Officers arrived to find a chaotic scene with a large crowd and multiple shooting victims,” according to the police statement.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(EAST LONDON, South Africa) — At least 22 people were found dead in a South African tavern early on Sunday morning, officials said.
The South African Police Service said they were found dead inside a local tavern in Scenery Park in the area of East London, according to Police Spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said.
“We received this report in the early hours of this morning. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation,” Kinana said. “We do not want to make any speculation at this stage as our investigations are continuing.”
Police responded to the Enyobeni Tavern at about 4 a.m. local time, Kinana said, and were combing the scene for evidence midday. Scenery Park is in East London, a city in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province.
Kinana said the dead were between up to 20 years old.
The youngest victim was 13, South African Police Service Spokesperson Col. Athlenda Mathe told reporters.
ABC News’ Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
(KRUN, Germany) — The Group of Seven nations on Sunday began rolling out a global infrastructure initiative in a bid, as they described it, to promote “stability” and improve conditions in developing and middle-income countries around the globe.
The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment plans on disbursing $600 billion by 2027 in infrastructure investments, with President Joe Biden announcing the U.S. alone would aim to spend $200 billion in public and private partnerships.
Biden and other world leaders, speaking in Germany’s Bavarian Alps, cast the investments as “critical” amid crises on multiple fronts, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, an energy crunch fueled in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and more.
“These strategic investments are in areas critical to sustainable development and to our shared global stability: health and health security, digital connectivity, gender equality and equity, climate and energy security,” Biden said.
“We need a worldwide effort to invest in transformative clean energy projects to ensure that critical infrastructures resilient to changing climate. Critical materials that are necessary for clean energy transition, including production of batteries, need to be developed with high standards for labor and environment,” he added.
The G-7 announcement comes as the alliance looks to lay down markers of tangible investments and accomplishments at a time when China and Russia are looking to make inroads elsewhere.
China has become increasingly involved in Africa and Latin America, investing hefty sums in building roads, bridges and more in an aggressive diplomatic effort on both continents.
In his remarks on Sunday, Biden directly contrasted the new announcement with what China has done, emphasizing that the G-7’s investments will be based on “shared values,” a signal to nations that it’s in their benefit to align with the U.S. and others compared with China.
“What we’re doing is fundamentally different because it’s grounded on our shared values of all those representing the countries and organizations behind me. It’s built using the global best practices: transparency, partnership, protections for labor and the environment,” he said.
He said the infrastructure program was not “aid or charity,” but instead “an investment that will deliver returns for everyone, including the American people and people of all” nations.
“It’ll boost all of our economies, and it’s a chance for us to share our positive vision for the future …. Because when democracies demonstrate what we can do, all that we have to offer, I have no doubt that will win the competition, every time,” he said.
The investments in energy and climate infrastructure have taken on heightened on importance both as nations race to combat climate change’s effects and make themselves less reliant on countries like Russia for oil and natural gas — a dependency that has hindered the response to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
There was no question-and-answer session at the end of the G-7 announcement, but when one reporter shouted a question, it was about whether the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade had come up in meetings.
“What decision?” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen could be heard asking as she walked off stage.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
