(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff made a surprise visit to schoolchildren at the National Museum of African American History and Culture to talk about the meaning of Juneteenth as the nation observed the new federal holiday on Monday.
Children and their families greeted Harris, the first Black woman to serve as the nation’s second-highest executive, with cheers as she entered the room.
“Happy Juneteenth, young leaders,” a smiling Harris told the children.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were the last to learn President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier, freeing them from slavery. The date achieved federal holiday status last June, when President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.
“Today is a day to celebrate the principle of freedom,” Harris told the children ages 4 to 10, “and think about it in terms of the context of history, knowing that Black people in America were not free for 400 years of slavery, but then at the end of slavery — right? … when the Emancipation Proclamation happened, that America had to really think about defining freedom …”
“I would argue, it is our God-given right to have freedom,” she added. “It is your birthright to have freedom, and then during slavery freedom was taken. And so we’re not going to celebrate being given back what God gave us anyway” as the group voiced agreement, one person saying, “Amen.”
She continued, “let this be a day that is a day to celebrate the principle of freedom, but to speak about it honestly and accurately, both in the context of history, and current application. That’s what I’m thinking about today.”
The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016, when it became “the 19th museum of the Smithsonian Institution,” according to the museum’s website.
After their remarks, the second couple talked with children as they worked on coloring books.
The surprise appearance on Monday follows Harris and Emhoff hosting the first-ever Juneteenth celebration at the vice president’s residence, she tweeted on Sunday.
“I can think of no better way to celebrate Juneteenth than by spending time with the community,” Harris said, sharing a photo of R&B duo sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey, who spoke at the event.
Biden released a statement on Sunday afternoon calling Juneteenth “a day of profound weight and power that reminds us of our extraordinary capacity to heal, hope, and emerge from our most painful moments into a better version of ourselves.”
He added, “This is a day to celebrate, to educate, and to act.”
Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to recognize Juneteenth as a paid state holiday.
(NEW YORK) — More than 1 million Americans have died from COVID-19, but recent data shows that deaths and severe disease are not increasing with the same vigor despite a surge in infections.
The U.S. has reported more than 700,000 new cases in the last week, but experts say totals are likely significantly undercounted as states shutter public testing sites and more Americans use at-home COVID-19 tests.
The number of virus-positive patients currently receiving care in hospitals across the country remains around 30,000 Americans, and on average, more than 4,200 virus-positive Americans are entering the hospital each day.
Although the number of people requiring hospitalization has doubled in the last two months, the total has plateaued in recent weeks, rather than surging significantly as they did in early January, when there were more than 160,000 patients receiving care.
Thus, even with infection rates surging, hospitalization and death rates have not seen a substantial increase, which experts say is likely the result of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots blunting the impact of severe disease.
“What has been remarkable in the latest increase in infections we’re seeing is how steady serious illness and particularly deaths are eight weeks into this,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, told The Associated Press late last month. “COVID-19 is no longer the killer that it was even a year ago.”
Approximately 300 COVID-19-related deaths are currently reported each day, and about 1,800 Americans have been reported lost to the virus in the last week.
In the Northeast, which experienced a significant viral surge throughout the spring, there has yet to be a subsequent increase in COVID-19 deaths.
Even with undercounting, death rates are currently nowhere near where they stood at their peak in January 2021, when there were more than 3,400 deaths reported each day, or during the omicron peak in February, when the U.S. was reporting about 2,700 deaths every day.
Although an ABC News analysis of federal data shows that there has been an increase in breakthrough infections and deaths, the unvaccinated still remain at higher risk for severe disease compared to the vaccinated and boosted.
In April, unvaccinated adults were six times more likely to die of COVID-19 compared to vaccinated individuals and, in May, two times more likely to test positive, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Similarly, among Americans over the age of 50, the unvaccinated had a risk of dying that was 42 times higher than people who had been fully vaccinated and double boosted.
Even with encouraging news, health experts stressed that every death is still a tragedy, and Americans must continue to consider ways to protect themselves and the most vulnerable as they learn to live with the virus.
“We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to these numbers,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week. “There is no acceptable level of deaths from COVID-19 when we have the tools to prevent, detect and treat this disease.”
Bebe Rexha has a remix of “Break My Heart Myself” coming out featuring K-pop girl group ITZY, reports NME. The singers spent the past few days teasing a possible collaboration. A release date is forthcoming.
BTS released an animated music video for “Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)” Monday. The clip sees the septet visiting an island and enjoying the hobbies they loved as kids — like painting and fishing. Fans can now visit the island in BTS’ new free app, where fans can make memories, relax and play games.
Britney Spears‘ father, Jamie Spears, claims she’ll make $15 million on her upcoming tell-all memoir. Entertainment Tonightreports the patriarch made the claim when filing paperwork to compel Britney’s deposition. He argues that if Britney can talk about the conservatorship in a book, she can also do so under oath.
Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” notched its seventh week atop the BillboardHot 100 after it sold 6,000 more copies and was streamed 22.4 million times over the past week.
Speaking of Harry, his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan was at his London concert over the weekend. Billboardsays Niall was caught bopping along to Harry singing 1D’s 2011 hit “What Makes You Beautiful.” Niall also sang along to “As It Was” and was photographed hugging Harry’s big sister, Gemma.
Jennifer Lopez referred to her child Emme using “they/them” pronouns when performing at the Dodgers Foundation’s Blue Diamond Gala. A fan captured the sweet speech, which ends with Emme joining Jennifer onstage to assist with a cover of Christina Perri‘s “A Thousand Years.”
We have a DVD release date for Camila Cabello‘s Cinderella! The movie arrives on digital and Blu-ray Tuesday, June 21. Previously, the film was only available on Amazon Prime Video.
Tory Lanez is gearing up to drop a music video for his latest single “City Boy Summer,” and on Monday, he shared a sneak peek of the new visual.
In the short clip, the rapper is seen rocking a few things around his neck: many iced-out chains, and a living and breathing brown snake.
Like many other hip-hop artists, the rapper is letting it be known what he’s looking forward to this summer as he returns to his hardcore rap sound and delivers bars over a beat sampled by Eric B and Rakim‘s 1987 hit “Paid in Full.”
“Had to check me a ho comin’ down / Bail out money, I got my dawg off the ground / I might’vе sold brown but I sippin’ on Doja / Fly city n***a, I’m a m**********n’ soldier.”
Lanez released “City Boy Summer” last week, with the video expected any day now.
Harry Styles’ “As It Was” notched its seventh week atop the BillboardHot 100 after it sold 6,000 more copies and was streamed 22.4 million times over the past week. The track is still not the longest-running #1 of the year, though. The honor goes to Adele‘s “Easy on Me,” which held a 10-week run at the top.
Speaking of Harry, his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan was at his London concert over the weekend. Billboardsays Niall was caught bopping along to Harry singing 1D’s 2011 hit “What Makes You Beautiful.” Niall also sang along to “As It Was” and was photographed hugging Harry’s big sister, Gemma.
Jennifer Lopez referred to her child Emme using “they/them” pronouns when performing at the Dodgers Foundation’s Blue Diamond Gala. A fan captured the sweet speech, which ends with Emme joining Jennifer onstage to assist with a cover of Christina Perri‘s “A Thousand Years.”
Lindsey Stirling gave fans a teaser of her Tuesday night performance for Disney’s Harmonious. Lindsey shared a video of her practicing the violin and included a graphic showing the notes she was playing. Lindsey joked, “I’m not sure what took me longer… learning the violin part or making that note graphic.” The livestreamed fireworks event will air at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+.
We have a DVD release date for Camila Cabello‘s Cinderella! The movie arrives on digital and Blu-ray Tuesday, June 21. Previously, the film was only available on Amazon Prime Video.
Actor, director and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Ben Stiller met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday’s World Refugee Day.
Stiller called Zelenskyy his “hero,” as he gave up a career in front of the camera for public service — and that was before he became the face of defiance amid the Russian invasion.
“You quit a great acting career for this,” Stiller said to the leader, to which the former comedian replied, “Not so great as yours,” getting a laugh from the Meet The Parents star.
“But what you’ve done and the way that you’ve rallied the country and for the world, it’s really inspiring,” Stiller told Zelenskyy, calling it a “great honor” to meet him.
Stiller is visiting Poland and Ukraine as an ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and as such is calling for urgent global support and funding for millions of refugees worldwide.
He’s also scheduled to visit Irpin, the scene of heavy fighting early in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Everybody has seen obvious clickbait stories, and knows to ignore them, but when actor Billy Eichner saw one relating to his dating life, he couldn’t resist a click.
The post, titled “New Celebrity Relationships That Made Us Feel Better About 2021,” featured Eichner, the writer and star of the gay rom-com Bros, paired up with Anna Kendrick.
“Um,” Eichner responded, before tweeting it at the Pitch Perfect actress: “Hey @AnnaKendrick47 – cats out of the bag!!!”
He also added, “Guys I know this is really bad timing with all the Bros stuff but…I’m straight.”
For her part, Kendrick replied, “We can finally live our truth Billy! You’ve felt so pressured to seem like a gay man that you made #BrosMovie but you’re free now! Our love can flourish!”
However, Eichner has already moved on from his fake relationship. The Billy on the Street and The Lion King star retweeted a post from Mariah Carey, who said she was planning to watch Bros at a private New York City screening related to Pride Month.
“Can’t wait to laugh, cry, laugh some more and love @billyeichner’s #BrosMovie,” the diva captioned a short video tweet.
To that, Eichner posted, “I’m sorry @AnnaKendrick47 but I’m seeing a new woman tonight.”
Keith Urban will perform on the Today show’s Citi Concert Series on June 30.
Carrie Underwood is honoring Barbara Mandrell‘s 50th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member and will perform two shows at the Opry on July 30. Barbara will be in attendance.
Tiera Kennedy has officially released “Found It In You” to country radio as her debut single. The song is inspired by her love story with husband Kamren Kennedy.
Kenny Loggins‘ new memoir, Still Alright, is out now, and in it he details his decades-long career, including his time in Loggins & Messina, his solo career, his hit movie songs, his drug use and his many famous collaborators, one of whom he identifies as his “musical soulmate.”
Loggins tells USA Today about the book, “I was very careful to tell the truth, but in a way that people wouldn’t be mad at me. I didn’t want Jimmy [Messina] going, ‘[F***] you,’ and my ex-wives, I let them both read their chapters before submitting [it].”
One of Loggins’ collaborators who gets a lot of space in the book is Michael McDonald, with whom he wrote the Doobie Brothers mega hit “What a Fool Believes” and his own solo smash “This Is It.” When asked by USA Today if he’d call McDonald his “musical soulmate,” Loggins says, “I think in some ways, yeah, I would give you that one … Every time we get together, we write something musically neither would have done alone.”
He adds, “I can’t explain it, but I think we didn’t really exploit our opportunities in the ’80s. I wish we would have written 100 songs and let 80 of them suck. When there’s chemistry there, don’t waste it.”
Loggins adds that he and McDonald are “still great friends and appreciate the history we created.”
The singer is also having a pop culture moment: His song “Footloose” has gone viral on TikTok, and his song “Danger Zone” was the only song from the original Top Gun that was retained for the soundtrack of the hit sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Loggins says he’s “dumbfounded” by the movie’s success.
“We knew something big was going to happen, but it’s just way huger than any of us imagined,” he adds.
(WASHINGTON) — The clock is ticking for Senate negotiators working to reach a final agreement on an anti-gun violence package before the Fourth of July recess.
After agreeing earlier this month on a framework for the deal — including enhanced background checks for those ages 18-21 and funding for mental health and school safety programs — negotiators trying to turn the agreement into legislative text left Washington over the weekend without a clear path forward on two outstanding elements: “red flag” laws and closing the so-called “boyfriend loophole” by expanding a ban on domestic abusers owning firearms.
Republican Sens. John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, have been huddled with Democratic colleagues Chris Murphy, of Connecticut, and Kyrsten Sinema, of Arizona, in efforts to turn their broad consensus into an actual piece of legislation that can be considered and taken up for a vote on the Senate floor.
Though tensions ran high at the close of last week, a source close to the negotiations told ABC News on Sunday that discussions were back on track and that they were “moving in the right direction.”
But time is running out for quick action, which many in Congress would prefer.
The Senate is set to depart for a two-week recess at the close of business this week. Pushing a vote on the legislation until after the break threatens to slow momentum for a package already struggling to find a home in the Republican conference.
A senior Democratic leadership aide told ABC that bipartisan negotiators must produce bill text by Tuesday, at the latest, to keep the upper chamber on track for a vote this week.
President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Monday, would not say whether he thought negotiators would have the legislative text finalized by later that day. But he expressed some optimism about the state of the talks.
“I’m confident that … there’s a serious, serious negotiation that’s getting close to becoming fruition,” Biden said. He pointed to the success of some state laws in controlling gun violence but ultimately added that “it’ll be better if we had better regulation of sale of firearms, nationally and nationally mandated.”
Biden won’t get the assault weapons ban he called for in an address to the nation after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last month left 19 elementary school students and two teachers dead — days after a separate shooting in a Buffalo, New York, grocery store killed 10. Still, lawmakers working on the package in the Senate hope their proposal, if passed, could make an impact on the high tide of gun violence.
But two outstanding topics have plagued bipartisan negotiators.
The framework, announced on June 12 with the filibuster-proof support of 10 Senate Republicans, included funding to incentivize states to implement “red flag” laws to remove firearms from people who are a danger to themselves and others. Lawmakers have struggled, in recent days, to define what sort of programs would qualify for that funding.
According to Cornyn, the chief Republican working on the deal, negotiators were struggling last week over whether monies made available to states to support such programs should also be available to states with other types of violence prevention, like veterans’ courts, mental health courts and assisted outpatient treatment programs.
Some Republicans have long struggled with “red flag” programs out of concern that those provisions violate the due process rights of those accused of being a threat.
Cornyn told reporters Thursday that he and the other senators were still “grappling with the contours” of the laws but assured, as he has in floor speeches, that states who qualify for funding under the proposed legislation would be held to “the most rigorous due process standards that exist.”
The group has also stumbled over how to draft legislative text aimed at closing the “boyfriend loophole.” Under current law, those convicted of domestic violence against their married partner or against those with whom they have a child are prohibited from purchasing guns. Democrats want to expand that language to include other kinds of dating partners.
But the group working on the Senate bill has had trouble agreeing upon a legal definition of a “boyfriend,” and Cornyn has expressed concerns about how such a change might be implemented.
“We’ve got to come up with a good definition of what that actually means, because what this does is it would add a category to a bar for people being able to purchase a firearm if they fall in that category,” Cornyn said last week. “So it’s got to be clear and it’s got to be something that can actually be applied, because we are talking about pretty serious consequences.”
The difficulty finalizing these outstanding topics emphasizes the pinch that many Republicans are feeling as they weigh supporting the first significant gun reform legislation in nearly 30 years.
Cornyn said, upon announcement of the original framework, that he hoped more than the 10 original GOP senators would ultimately back the finalized legislation. But as Republicans involved have tried to drum up additional support from their conference, they faced yet another warning of the potential political consequences on Friday when Texas Republicans at the state’s party convention booed Cornyn as he tried to defend the package.
“I will not, under any circumstance, support new restrictions for law-abiding gun owners,” Cornyn told the audience. “That will always be my red line. And despite what some of you may have heard, the framework that we are working on is consistent with that red line.”
The anger from the crowd was clear — though crossing the GOP base may not ultimately sway the crucial block of 10 Republicans. Cornyn would not go up for reelection until 2026. None of the other conservatives who signed onto the initial framework will face voters during the 2022 midterm races in November.
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell last week signaled willingness to support new gun legislation if it mirrored the proposals outlined in the group’s framework.
“My view of the framework if it leads to a piece of legislation I intend to support it I think it is progress for the country and I think the bipartisan group has done the best they can to get total support and the background check enhancement for that age group I think is a step in the right direction,” McConnell said Tuesday.
Other Republicans have also said they’re amenable to the broad details. But they’ll need to see text before they can make a determination.
ABC News’ Trish Turner and Rachel Scott and Sarah Kolinovsky contributed to this report
