Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions; Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody says she “still can’t believe” she worked with Madonna, telling ABC Audio it was “a dream come true” to co-write her idol’s biopic.
The Queen of Pop announced in September 2020 that she would be directing her own biopic, and tapped Cody to co-write the script with her. According to Madge, the movie is a “happy, sad, mad, crazy, good, bad and ugly” story of her rise to stardom.
“I still can’t believe that’s how I was able to spend my summer,” Cody said of the experience. “She’s incredible! I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody with a work ethic like that before.”
“Madonna is just on another level,” the Juno writer continued. “I can’t really say that much about [the movie] but I can say that I’m profoundly grateful for the experience.”
Cody also said the collaboration was a bucket-list experience, explaining, “If you had told me when I was in the fifth grade that some day I would get to hang out with Madonna and breathe the same air as Madonna and sit at her knee as she shared the stories of her life? I would never have believed you.”
Madonna isn’t the only pop star the screenwriter’s worked with recently. Cody teamed with Alanis Morissette to transform her breakthrough Jagged Little Pill album into a two-time Tony Award-winning musical, which has been adapted into a young adult novel.
As for which star Cody hopes to work with next, she tells ABC Audio that Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson is her “favorite,” adding, “Brian Wilson is my hero…To collaborate creatively with him would be the dream.”
And while she admits she doesn’t “know if I’ll ever get the chance” to work with Wilson, Cody says there’s no harm in putting that energy “out there.”
If the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album has you itching to shred yourself, Fender is here to help.
The famed guitar company has announced the addition of Chili Peppers songs to its Fender Play guitar instruction app, which allows users of all levels to play along to hits from some of the biggest names in rock.
Among the RHCP tunes now available in Fender Play include “Suck My Kiss,” “Under the Bridge,” “Californication,” “Scar Tissue” and “Can’t Stop,” as well as “Black Summer,” the lead single off the aforementioned new album, Unlimited Love.
Judging by its first week of sales, a whole lot of people have been jamming along to Unlimited Love. The record debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with the best sales week for any rock album since Paul McCartney‘s 2020 solo effort, McCartneyIII.
“Black Summer,” meanwhile, is the number-one song on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart, and number two on Mainstream Rock Airplay.
Serena Williams is one of the most celebrated, decorated and beloved tennis stars of all time. But her superstar status as an Olympic medalist doesn’t negate the fact that as a Black woman, she’s at times overlooked and undervalued.
In a personal essay for ELLE magazine, the 40-year-old star shares the harrowing story of what happened after she gave birth to her now 4-year-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., when Serena developed life-threatening blood clots throughout her body.
Generally speaking, Williams described her journey as a “wonderful pregnancy,” saying, “I guess I’m one of those women who likes being pregnant.” The fun of it all came to a halt after giving birth, when her requests for medical attention were ignored by nursing staff, she says.
As someone who’s already at-risk for blood clots, Williams asked of her nurses, “When do I start my heparin drip? Shouldn’t I be on that now?”
The apparent disregard for her health and safety made her worry. “All I could think was, ‘I’m dying, I’m dying. Oh my God,'” Serena wrote. Her constant coughing, which she was told “might burst her [C-section] stitches”, finally prompted a CT scan, which revealed clots in her lungs and arteries. After four subsequent emergency surgeries, they were successfully removed.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the story for many other Black women in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women are.
Thinking of those women who don’t have the same “happy ending” to their birthing story, Williams said, “Being heard and appropriately treated was the difference between life or death for me; I know those statistics would be different if the medical establishment listened to every Black woman’s experience.”
Black Maternal Health Week is celebrated every year from April 11-17.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News that police had probable cause to arrest James, 62, for the attempted murder of 10 people — a determination made overnight after more than 18 hours of investigation that included video, cellphone data and interviews with witnesses. The U.S. Marshals Service joined the search for James — who was considered a dangerous and wanted fugitive — along with other federal and local agencies.
The “active shooter” incident unfolded on a Manhattan-bound N subway car during the Tuesday morning commute, just before 8:30 a.m. ET, as the train approached the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, according to police.
A man mumbling to himself on the train donned a gas mask and detonated a smoke canister before pulling out a handgun and firing at least 33 bullets, a police official told ABC News. Three teenagers were among the 10 people shot. The gun jammed during the incident, which is believed to have saved lives, a law enforcement official told ABC News.
Smoke poured out of the subway car as the doors opened and screaming riders ran out onto the platform of the station. Bloodied people were seen lying on the floor of the train and the platform as others attempted to administer aid.
Twenty-nine people suffered various injuries, hospital officials said. As of Wednesday morning, just four of the wounded remained hospitalized, according to the mayor.
“At this time, based on the preliminary investigation, we believe he was alone,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams told ABC News in an interview Wednesday on Good Morning America.
“We still do not know the suspect’s motivation,” New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a press conference Tuesday evening. “Clearly this individual boarded the train and was intent on violence.”
The Glock 9 mm semi-automatic handgun James allegedly used was purchased legally in 2011 in Ohio, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The gun, and the purchase of a gas mask on eBay, are among the pieces of evidence that elevated James from person of interest to suspect, the sources said.
Authorities have at least one of James’ credit cards and are able to track his purchase history.
Phantom Fireworks, a company in Wisconsin, confirmed that James bought fireworks products there last year that were believed to have been left behind in the subway station.
Senior law enforcement officials told ABC News that they have uncovered a number of social media posts and videos tied to James and are studying them closely to see if they are relevant to the subway attack.
Sewell said she increased security for the mayor after investigators found what she called “concerning posts,” but declined to call them “threats.”
“There are some postings possibly connected to our person of interest where he mentions homelessness, he mentions New York and he does mention Mayor Adams,” Sewell told reporters Tuesday. “And as a result of that, in an abundance of caution, we’re going to tighten the mayor’s security detail.”
Police said James had rented a U-Haul van possibly connected to the violence. The key to the van and a credit card, which law enforcement sources told ABC News was used to rent a U-Haul, were among the gunman’s possessions recovered from the scene of the shooting. James had rented the same van in Philadelphia, according to police.
Police said the U-Haul van was found Tuesday afternoon, unoccupied and parked near a subway station on King’s Highway in Brooklyn’s Gravesend neighborhood, about 5 miles southeast of the 36th Street station. Nothing of investigative interest was discovered in the vehicle, apart from a pillow and other indications that James had been living inside, a law enforcement source told ABC News.
Other items discovered at the scene of the shooting include the gun used in the attack, three extended magazines, a hatchet, gasoline, four smoke grenades and a bag of consumer-grade fireworks.
None of the surveillance cameras inside the 36th Street subway station were working at the time of Tuesday’s shooting, a police official told ABC News. The cameras, which are aimed at the turnstiles, didn’t transmit in real-time due to a glitch computer malfunction, a source said. The same glitch impacted cameras at the stops before and after 36th Street. Investigators said they are looking into how this malfunction happened.
However, the cameras at the Kings Highway subway station in Gravesend were transmitting live feeds in real-time. That’s where investigators believe James entered the subway Tuesday morning, just blocks from where the U-Haul van was parked and eight subway stops away from the 36th Street station.
Police were able to get an image of the suspect from a bystander’s cellphone video, a law enforcement official told ABC News. Investigators are looking through video from other witnesses and surrounding businesses, hunting for any clues.
“The fact that these cameras are not working is a large concern,” Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso told ABC News Live on Wednesday. “There’s a lot of work to do in the city now to check every camera, make sure they’re all working, and also a deeper dive into what happened and what we can do in the future to ensure this doesn’t happen.”
Subway service at the 36th Street station resumed Wednesday morning.
The bloodshed came amid a surge in crime within New York City’s transit system. The mayor said he has already doubled the number of police officers patrolling the city’s subway stations and is also considering installing special metal detectors in the wake of Tuesday’s shooting.
But Reynoso said, “More cops is not necessarily going to solve for this problem.”
“I think there are root causes to this violence that exists, mostly mental health at this point, is what we’re seeing in New York City. And that’s where we should be spending resources and energy,” Reynoso said. “More cops to respond to a crime won’t necessarily stop the crime. In this case, this individual was inside a train car — unless you believe that you can put a police officer in every single train car in New York City, which is physically impossible … that’s not the way we’re going to solve that issue.”
Anyone with information, videos or photos related to the shooting is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
ABC News’ Luke Barr, Mark Crudele, Alex Hosenball, Joshua Hoyos, Soo Rin Kim and Christopher Looft contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Amid a growing shortage of baby formula across the country, major retailers have begun limiting the amount of formula customers can buy.
As of April, 31% of popular formula brands may be sold out at stores nationwide, according to Datasembly, a tracking firm that tracks products stocked on store shelves.
In response, CVS and Walgreens are among the retailers now restricting purchases of formula products.
“Following supplier challenges and increased customer demand, we’ve added a limit of three baby formula products per purchase in our stores and online. We’re continuing to work with our baby formula vendors to address this issue and we regret any inconvenience this causes our customers,” Matt Blanchette, a senior manager of retail communications at CVS Pharmacy told GMA via email.
A Walgreens spokesperson also told GMA in a statement: “Due to increased demand and various supplier challenges, infant and toddler formulas are seeing constraint across the country. Similar to other retailers, we put into effect purchase limits of three per transaction on all infant and toddler formula to help improve inventory. We continue to work diligently with our supplier partners to best meet customer demands.”
The shortage is due to several factors, experts say, including supply chain issues, rising inflation and previous recalls of baby formula products.
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to use certain Alimentum, EleCare, or Similac powdered infant formulas that were recalled due to possible bacterial contamination.
The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend breastfeeding infants as breast milk contains the optimal nutrients and health protection for babies. However, breastfeeding may not always be possible for a host of reasons and may need to be supplemented with formula.
Nearly 70% of babies in the U.S., or nearly 3 million babies, are fed infant formula and get some or all of their nutritional needs from it, according to a 2016 review based on FDA data.
As the baby formula shortage continues, experts say parents and caregivers should reach out to pediatricians and seek help from resources like the federal Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program. If a child needs specialized formula, like a hydrolyzed formula for a baby with allergies, they should talk to their child’s pediatrician or care team, like a pediatric dietitian, gastroenterolgist, or nephrologist.
Here are five more tips for parents, according to Dr. Steven Abrams, a professor of pediatrics at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
Be flexible with formula brands
Experts like Abrams say for most families, if one formula isn’t available, look for generic or alternative formulas.
“If you use the one brand name, identify the comparable version that might be the other competing brand names or the generic versions,” Abrams told GMA. “They’re virtually identical. There’s no reason that the overwhelming majority of parents can’t use almost any of the routine formulas they see out there that are comparable to what they’re used to.”
Check for formula in different stores
Abrams suggests looking in multiple stores for formula, including groceries and supermarkets, big box stores, convenience stores, and warehouse stores. Another option is to search online from reputable stores or to order from manufacturers directly.
“It’s harder for people who are more isolated from cities or more rural, and that’s where they can look online. If it’s one of those super-specialized formulas like Elecare, sometimes the pediatrician will be able to connect them with a formula representative that can help them. Sometimes the hospital may have a small supply they can use,” Abrams said.
Don’t hoard baby formula
Abrams also added that there is no reason to panic buy baby formula.
“I know it’s tempting to stock up four months’ supply because you’re worried about it, but obviously, it’s like everyone going to the gas station at the same time. If everybody buys formula at the same time, then there isn’t for other people,” he said.
Never dilute formula
Diluting infant formula can be dangerous and even life-threatening for babies, leading to a serious nutritional deficit and health issues, such as brain damage and seizures.
Follow basic hygiene standards, like washing hands before preparation, and follow instructions on the formula packaging. If preparing powdered formula, the FDA recommends using clean, potable water to mix. Some liquid formula also requires water to be mixed in.
Don’t try to DIY formula
Commercially available baby formula is heavily regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration to be a safe breast milk alternative/supplement to provide babies the nutrition they need. The FDA does not recommend parents make or feed a child formula that hasn’t been evaluated as the formula may not have the correct amount or type of nutrients that a baby would need and could be adulterated.
“Only buy proper formulas that are sold legally in the United States via stores or online as legitimate formulas. There have been a couple of cases of babies actually getting homemade formulas and dying from them or being critically injured by them,” Abrams said.
The FDA has noted these past incidents, saying on its website, “The agency has received reports of hospitalized babies who had been fed homemade infant formula and then suffered from hypocalcemia (low calcium). Other potential problems with homemade formulas include contamination and absence of, or inadequate amounts of, critical nutrients.”
Dierks Bentley’s Seven Peaks Festival is returning to Colorado this Labor Day Weekend, and the singer unfurled the event’s impressive roundup of performers this week.
Dierks will co-headline the three-day event with Morgan Wallen. Other big-name acts taking the stage include Ashley McBryde, Jordan Davis, Tracy Lawrence, Lainey Wilson, Travis Denning and more.
Of course, no Dierks-led event would be complete without an appearance from the Hot Country Knights, the spoofy ‘90s country act that will no doubt feature prominently in Seven Peaks’ annual ‘90s Night.
Seven Peaks is also known for blending a lineup of mainstream country with Americana and bluegrass-leaning acts, and those genres are represented this year by Old Crow Medicine Show, Rapidgrass and Boy Named Banjo.
Launched in 2018, Seven Peaks took place in Buena Vista, Colorado for two years running before taking a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the festival is moving to Villa Grove, Colorado. It will take place September 2-4.
Passes to the camp-out event go on sale to the general public April 22 at 10 a.m. MT. 3-day GA admission starts at $219, and there are a variety of camping and VIP packages to choose from, too.
Arcade Fire is teasing another new song from the band’s upcoming album, WE.
The “Wake Up” outfit has shared a video of the WE vinyl spinning on a record player while playing an unreleased tuned. The clip is captioned, “Lookout…”, suggesting that the teaser is previewing the WE cut “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid).”
Arcade Fire previously released the WE songs “The Lightning I” and “The Lightning II” in March. The album, the follow-up to 2017’s Everything Now, arrives in full on May 6.
Arcade Fire currently doesn’t have any tour dates scheduled, though the band did just play the March Madness Music Festival earlier this month in New Orleans. In May, they’ll perform at the 2022 Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys.
Olivia Rodrigo is currently embarking on her sold-out SOUR world tour, but on Wednesday, the 19-year-old singer revealed she’s been dreaming of set lists since she was a tot.
Sharing a small update about how things are currently going, writing, “Tour is going gr8,” OIlivia also enclosed a few throwback photos, and one of them earned a thumbs up from the Jonas Brothers.
In the first snap, a very young Olivia is seen singing into a microphone and standing next to a set list, which is just a a white board with several songs that were popular in the late aughts. Among the titles are three JoBros songs — “Year 3000,” “When You Look Me in the Eyes” and “S.O.S.”
The white board also features Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas’ “This Is Me” collaboration.
Joe and Kevin Jonas jumped into the comments to rave about the adorable throwback. Remarked Kevin, “Solid set list,” while Joe used a fire emoji and marveled, “Set list!”
Other songs appearing on little Olivia’s white board are Taylor Swift‘s “Love Story” and “Picture to Burn,” as well as Girl Authority‘s cover of Gwen Stefani‘s “Hollaback Girl,” Corbin Bleu and Zac Efron‘s “The Boys Are Back,” and Billy Ray Cyrus‘ “Ready, Set, Don’t Go.”
That wasn’t the only throwback treat the Grammy winner shared with fans on Wednesday. Olivia also enclosed a photo of her old Twilight earbuds, which featured Robert Pattinson‘s Edward Cullen front and center — showing she was Team Edward when the franchise was all the rage.
Another slide enclosed a recent video of her fans belting out “drivers license” at a show.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is getting both praise and criticism after doubling down on describing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide” — the first time he’s used the term since the invasion began nearly 50 days ago — even as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for weeks has claimed that is what’s happening on the ground.
During prepared remarks in Iowa Tuesday blaming inflation and gas prices on “Putin’s price hike,” Biden said, “Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should on hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away.”
His use of the word raised questions among Washington reporters about whether it was an ad-libbed moment or a policy shift from the White House — until Biden later insisted he meant exactly what said.
“Yes, I called it genocide,” Biden told reporters after his remarks. “Because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian. And the evidence is mounting. It’s different than it was last week, the more evidence is coming out of the — literally, the horrible things that the Russians have done in Ukraine and we’re going to only learn more and more about the devastation.”
Biden went on to acknowledge the U.S. government has an internal, legal process for designating whether genocide has occurred but still stood by what he indicated was his opinion.
“We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me,” Biden added.
Genocide is defined as an act “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,” according to the United Nations’ Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Zelenskyy has argued — and pleaded — for weeks that Russia has met this definition and called on Western leaders to use the same term. He was quick to applaud Biden’s comments as “true words of a true leader.”
The Kremlin, meanwhile, blasted the comment as Putin indicated this week indicated his invasion won’t stop until his goals are met and said peace talks with Kyiv had reached a “dead end.”
“We consider this kind of effort to distort the situation unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday. “This is hardly acceptable from a president of the United States, a country that has committed well-known crimes in recent times.”
It’s not clear how many Western leaders will go as far as Biden and Zelenskyy — or what will take for them to reach the same conclusion.
No other Western nations have made the determination, aside from Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas tying Russia’s crimes to the term in a tweet. French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Wednesday he’s more “careful” with his words than the American president, saying only that “war crimes” have been confirmed.
“So far, it has been established that war crimes were committed by the Russian army and that it is now necessary to find those responsible and bring them to justice,” Macron told France 2 in an interview.
“I am very careful with some terms [genocide] these days,” he added. “I’m not sure the escalation of words is helping the cause right now.”
Macron also rebuked Biden’s language last month, when asked about Biden calling Putin a “butcher” and saying he “cannot remain in power” during remarks in Warsaw.
“I wouldn’t use those terms, because I continue to speak to President Putin,” Macron said in another interview with France 3. “Because what do we want to do collectively? We want to stop the war that Russia launched in Ukraine, without waging war and without escalation.”
Biden stood by his words then, saying he was “expressing moral outrage” but also clarified that he wasn’t “articulating a policy change” amid some fallout.
It’s unclear now what pushed Biden to change his stance on using the term “genocide” — because asked directly last week if he thought the atrocities documented in Bucha were genocide, he said no.
“I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal. Well, the truth of the matter, you saw what happened in Bucha,” Biden said April 4. “He is a war criminal — but we have to gather the information, we have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight, and we have to gather all the detail so this could be an actual — have a war crime trial. This guy is brutal. What’s happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone sees it.”
Asked directly, “You agree this is genocide?”
“No, it is a war crime,” Biden replied.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan followed Biden’s comment the same day by saying the administration had not yet seen the “systematic deprivation of life” necessary to meet the definition of genocide.
“This is something we, of course, continue to monitor every day. Based on what we have seen so far, we have seen atrocities, we have seen war crimes. We have not yet seen a level of systematic deprivation of life of the Ukrainian people to rise to the level of genocide,” Sullivan said.
According to the White House, President Biden called President Zelenskyy Wednesday morning to update him on ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine.
This call comes as the U.S. could announce an additional military assistance package to Ukraine as soon as Wednesday that could be as much as $750 million, and include a range of new military hardware.
ABC News Sarah Kolinovsky, Molly Nagle and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Justin Bieber released the first images of his new partnership with the Italian scooter company Vespa.
TheRobb Reportobtained the first-look photos of the luxury all-white scooter Justin designed for Vespa. Dubbed Justin Bieber x Vespa, it comes with a a multifunctional display that’s smartphone compatible, as well as a white leather seat, white-rimmed wheels and light gray flames painted on its chassis. You also get matching white gloves, helmet and a bag that all bear the same flames.
Justin says of his new creation in a statement, “The first time I rode a Vespa was somewhere in Europe, probably either London or Paris… I just remember seeing a Vespa and being like ‘I want to ride one of those.'”
If you’re hoping to get your hands on the Justin Bieber x Vespa, you can pre-order it now on Vespa’s website through April 20. The models will only be produced until the end of the year and retail between $4,999 and $6,549, depending on horsepower.
When it was announced last year, the Vespa partnership was hailed as “one of the most unexpected and exciting collaborations of 2022” that will celebrate “style and design.”
Justin said at the time, “My fans know how much I love sports: skateboarding, hockey, basketball, BMX. I’ve always been drawn to that mix of style, grace and speed. I’m excited to put my spin on the iconic Italian design of Vespa.”
