CBS has renewed all of three of its NCIS dramas for the 2022-2023 broadcast season, the network announced on Thursday. With the pickups, NCIS will return for its 20th season, while spinoffs NCIS: Hawaii and NCIS: Los Angeles will return for their second and 14th seasons, respectively. “NCIS, one of the most popular and enduring series in the world, and fan favorite NCIS: Los Angeles have been hugely successful on the CBS schedule for years,” Kelly Kahl, president of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement. “With the strong new addition of NCIS: Hawaii, we are able to expand the strength of this formidable franchise across our schedule. We couldn’t be more excited to have all three talented casts and creative teams back to bring more compelling NCIS stories to viewers in the U.S. and around the globe”…
Eddie Murphy is in early talks to star in and produce an upcoming biopic about Parliament-Funkadelic leader George Clinton, according to Deadline. Clinton is widely known as a funk music pioneer, along with James Brown and Sly Stone. The film will chronicle Clinton’s rise from humble beginnings in North Carolina in the 1940s to the formation of his groundbreaking bands Parliament and Funkadelic and major influence on artists of the hip-hop generation, including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Outkast and Wu-Tang Clan, among many others. Clinton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and those members were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards…
Sunday’s CODA‘s history-making Oscar best picture win has given Apple TV+ a big boost, according to Variety. The streaming service’s viewership increased by 25% and raised the film’s viewership from the week before. CODA won in all three categories in which it was nominated, including best supporting actor for Troy Kotsur, and best adapted screenplay for director Siân Heder — making it the first film on a streaming service win the top Oscar prize…
(NEW YORK) — In an announcement last week, Consumer Reports revealed results after it tested 118 food packaging materials from U.S. restaurants and grocery stores, and found evidence of dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in more than half of those products. The items ranged from paper bags for french fries and wrappers for hamburgers, to molded fiber salad bowls and single-use paper plates.
PFAS are man-made chemicals, dubbed forever chemicals because they don’t break down easily, that persist in the environment for a long time and are used in various industries around the world. If exposed in sufficient levels, PFAS can pose potential health risks to humans. The chemicals used to reduce friction are used in applications from cookware to aerospace technology.
Director of Medical Toxicology at St. John’s Riverside Hospital Dr. Stephanie Widmer told Good Morning America that “PFAS chemicals are essentially everywhere, they are used, to varying degrees, in the manufacturing of a ton of everyday objects and appliances, things all of us use on a daily basis.”
The concern, she continued, is that “we can’t exactly get away from these potentially dangerous chemicals and they are extremely difficult to regulate, so the best we can do is try to limit our exposure.”
“Consuming and being exposed to small amounts of PFAS is unlikely to cause any harm, and just like anything else we are exposed to in the world, nothing is ever good in excess, moderation is key,” Widmer said. “Toxic doses for PFAS have not been well established, although the EPA has set ‘health advisory’ thresholds in drinking water.”
Other reports, including a 2019 report from New Food Economy, make similar claims about the public health risks from these products. However, reporting, so far, is insufficient to conclude that PFAS in food containers are definitively harmful to humans.
Consumer Reports tested for total organic fluorine content, a simple and cheap substance. However, there are multiple types of PFAS chemicals which could mean that the test from Consumer Reports may have underreported the true amount of PFAS in these materials.
The exposure in these sources alone is unlikely to cause adverse health effects. It is more likely that adverse health effects come from direct exposure such as through ingestion, inhalation or dermal exposure — from contaminated water, soil, workplaces or food, as well as, from the lifetime cumulative exposures from multiple sources.
While some reports suggest a harmful link between PFAS and health issues, that has yet to be proven.
In response to Consumer Reports’ testing, Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons, announced new bans on the use of PFAS in its food packaging.
“As a next step in our product stewardship journey, the Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes brands have required that any added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) be phased out from all approved, guest-facing packaging materials globally by the end of 2025 or sooner,” the company said in a statement.
Chick-fil-A followed suit shortly after stating the brand has “eliminated intentionally added PFAS from all newly produced packaging going forward in its supply chain.” The fast food expects the chemicals “to be phased out by the end of this summer.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, toxicity is difficult to evaluate because each chemical variation of PFAS has different half-lives, or time that it takes to break down, combined with water solubility and varied effects on humans.
Regulations, protections and studies on PFAS
The Environmental Protection Agency has established a health advisory level for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water at 70 parts per trillion (ppt) (0.07μg/L) individually or combined.
Last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that goes into effect in 2023 to ban PFAS in paper-based food packaging and require disclosure of toxic substances in cookware. While this will regulate a specific maximum level, tougher regulation is likely needed.
“The potential dangers that have been demonstrated in animal studies, don’t necessarily translate to humans, and possible links to illnesses in humans — are merely an association, a causal relationship is yet to be determined,” Dr. Widmer explained. “Think potential links that we are aware of at this time are kidney and genitourinary cancers, blood pressure disorders, hormone imbalances and high cholesterol.”
In animal studies results show PFAS exposure can cause enlargement and changes in the function of the liver; changes in hormone levels; suppression of adaptive immunity; and adverse developmental and reproductive outcomes.
In human studies, there have been disease associations found, but no causal links. Some of the associations include: high cholesterol; ulcerative colitis; thyroid toxicity; testicular cancer; kidney cancer; preeclampsia, and elevated blood pressure during pregnancy.
How to protect yourself?
“Again, do all things in moderation,” Widmer said. “Maintain variety in your diet and the sources where you obtain food and water. If you want to be proactive, you can look into the levels of PFAS in your local drinking water by visiting the EPA website.”
The EPA says to be aware of the water and food you consume and ensure they do not come from contaminated sources. A map with historical advisories can be found here from the EPA.
While individuals do not need to be tested for PFAS exposure, according to the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the agency recommends undergoing regular routine health screenings and following a physician’s guidance.
Dr. Matt Feeley, a resident physician in the ABC News’ Medical Unit, contributed to this report.
(ROME) — Pope Francis apologized Friday for the Catholic Church’s role in running Canada’s brutal residential school system, which saw Indigenous Canadians taken from their families and sent to boarding schools where they suffered horrific conditions.
“I feel shame — sorrow and shame — for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, in the abuses you suffered and in the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values,” Francis said in an address from the Vatican. “All these things are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask for God’s forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry. And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon.”
Earlier this week, Indigenous leaders from the First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities as well as survivors of Canada’s church-run residential schools held a series of meetings in the Vatican, calling for a formal papal apology for the Catholic Church’s role in what has been described as “cultural genocide.””
While the state of Canada has apologized for the system, in which Indigenous Canadians were ripped away from their homes to be raised in boarding schools characterized by appalling conditions, Friday’s statement was the first formal apology from the Catholic Church.
At least 150,000 Indigenous children were part of the system while it was active, and more than 6,000 are estimated to have died, according to a 2015 report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The report stated that the residential school system, in operation for over a century until the final institution was closed in the 1990s, was created to separate Aboriginal youths from their families and “indoctrinate children” into a new culture.
According to the report, cases of physical abuse and neglect were rife in residential schools, and there was no recorded cause of death in around half of the cases. The true number of deaths is unlikely to be ever known due the number of destroyed and incomplete records, the report stated.
The Catholic Church is estimated to have operated around two-thirds of Canada’s residential schools. Each of the three Indigenous groups as part of the Canadian delegations to the Vatican had asked for a papal apology. Francis expressed “indignation” and “shame” at what he had heard from the Indigenous leaders this week.
In recent years, the discovery of mass graves — such as the remains of 215 children found at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia last year — have highlighted the unresolved trauma felt by Canada’s Indigenous communities.
Earlier in the week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chief Willie Sellars of Williams Lake First Nation announced additional funding to support those affected at St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia, where investigations this year found sites believed to be unmarked graves. Trudeau described the pain felt as “deep and everlasting,” while Sellars said there is “a huge amount of work still to be done.”
Francis heard testimony from various school survivors and Indigenous leaders this week, all of whom called on the pope to apologize and visit Canada.
In his apology on Friday, the 85-year-old pope expressed his intention to travel to Canada, where he would “be able better to express” his closeness.
The new home makeover series ChaostoCalm is all about teaching celebrities — and viewers — how to create organized and functional spaces.
Each episode of the show, which airs on Aspire TV, stars Lauren Hill, Tneisha Brown and Varatip “V” Johnson of the Dallas-based home organization company The Order Project, who tackle a client’s problem area and dramatically transformation the space.
In a recent episode, Grammy-winning Gospel artist Kirk Franklin makes an appearance, and Hill tells ABC Audio they helped him with fridge organization.
“So this one we tackle fridge organization, which is not typically seen as a space that people just navigate towards,” she explains. “But we’ve done a lot of spaces for them, and so they’ve been really happy with everything that we’ve done. And when it came down to, you know, another space, we were like, ‘Oh, you guys are on the go all the time. You have a very busy lifestyle, you lead a very healthy lifestyle and you’re constantly on the go. So, what else can we do around your home that makes your life easier?’ And we said, ‘OK fridge organization. Let’s go.'”
Hill, who notes they’ve done multiple projects for the Franklin family, adds, “This [episode] is probably my favorite because you get to we got to see everything that we done we had done before and they kept it just I mean, it really works because we gave them a functional system.“
In addition to Franklin, NBA star Thaddeus Young has made an appearance on the series to get help organizing his massive sneaker collection. As for what celebrities make the trio’s dream client list? Oprah, Beyoncé, and the Obamas topped the list.
(WASHINGTON) — The House is once again poised to pass legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, known as the MORE Act, would remove marijuana from the controlled substances list, leaving it up to states to set their own laws. It would also release people incarcerated on cannabis-related offenses of less than 30 grams and expunge criminal penalties associated with those who manufacture, distribute and possess it.
“There’s so many discussions that have gone on over the years about the use of marijuana or cannabis or whatever. The fact is, it exists. It’s being used. We’ve got to address how it is treated legally,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday during her weekly press conference.
Congress has tried, unsuccessfully, to pass this type of legislation before. The House passed a version of the same bill in December 2020, but it was stalled in the Senate because then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell never brought it to the floor.
The legislation is an attempt to reverse the harmful effects stemming from the “war on drugs,” a global campaign started in the 1970s by former President Richard Nixon with the stated goal of eliminating illegal drug use and trade in the United States. When former President Ronald Reagan took office, he substantially increased the scope of the drug war to focus on criminal punishment rather than rehabilitation and treatment. That drastically increased the number of incarcerated non-violent drug offenders, with a disproportionate impact on communities of color.
“More than anything else, the MORE Act is about ending and reversing decades of failed federal policy that has taken a heavy toll on too many people across this country, with a disproportionate impact on communities of color,” Rep. Nadler, D-N.Y., who authored the bill, said in a statement to ABC News.
Black people are almost four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession compared with their white counterparts despite using it at similar rates, according to a 2020 American Civil Liberties Union report.
“The sentence doesn’t really end after we get those folks out of prison,” said Stephen Post, campaign strategist at the Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit advocating for reforming marijuana laws and releasing people incarcerated on marijuana offenses from prison.
“Whether it be denying them federal relief or impeding them from getting licensure for work, all these different laws create further barriers for folks when they’re trying to reenter society,” he told ABC News.
In an effort to help restore resources to communities adversely impacted by the “war on drugs,” the bill also creates a Cannabis Justice Office charged with establishing and carrying out the Community Reinvestment Grant Program. The program would provide legal aid in civil and criminal cases, job training and health education programs, among other community initiatives.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who vowed to make marijuana legislation a priority, is working on a separate bill with Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., that is expected to be introduced in April but would need all Democrats and at least 10 Republicans to pass the Senate.
Though roadblocks remain for federal decriminalization,18 states along with Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states have legalized medical marijuana.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.” Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as well as other major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 01, 6:43 am
Over 4.1 million refugees have fled Ukraine: UNHCR
More than 4.1 million people have been forced to flee Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Refugee Agency.
The tally from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) amounts to just over 9.2% of Ukraine’s population — which the World Bank counted at 44 million at the end of 2020 — on the move across borders in 36 days.
More than half of the refugees crossed into neighboring Poland, UNHCR figures show.
-ABC News’ Zoe Magee
Apr 01, 5:48 am
Russia accuses Ukraine of striking oil depot in Russian city of Belgorod
Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out airstrikes on the Russian city of Belgorod early Friday.
Belgorod Oblast Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement via Telegram that two low-flying Ukrainian helicopters entered Russian airspace and fired on an oil depot in Belgorod city, setting the building ablaze. Ukraine has yet to comment on the claim.
The depot run by Russian energy giant Roseneft is located about 21 miles north of the border with Ukraine. Two employees were injured but are expected to survive, while all other staff have been safely evacuated from the building, according to Gladkov.
Security camera footage circulating online and verified by ABC News shows an attack on an oil depot in Belgorod. In the video, two airstrikes can be seen in the distance, with a helicopter flying nearby.
Another verified video circulating online shows oil tanks on fire and a massive cloud of smoke billowing from the depot.
Russian news agency Interfax reported that at least two businesses in the village of Severny, just north of Belgorod, were also damaged by an early morning airstrike.
It remains unclear who is responsible for the attacks.
Belgorod, a city of more than 300,000, is about 50 miles north of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which Russian forces have shelled heavily in recent weeks.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Apr 01, 4:32 am
100,000 remain trapped in Mariupol despite evacuation efforts, official says
An estimated 100,000 civilians remain trapped in Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol despite repeated efforts by Ukrainian officials to evacuate them, according to Petro Andryushenko, adviser to Mariupol’s mayor.
Andryushenko told ABC News on Friday morning that Russia has not confirmed any humanitarian corridors leading out of Mariupol since announcing a localized cease-fire on Thursday to allow civilians to be evacuated.
A convoy of 45 evacuation buses that were sent to Mariupol have yet to reach the southeastern port city because it remains under Russian lockdown, according to Andryushenko, who noted that some people managed to escape by foot or in their own cars.
-ABC News’ Oleksii Pshemysky
Mar 31, 7:15 pm
Some Russian troops possibly heading to Belarus to regroup: Pentagon
Russian troops that have begun to withdraw from the ground effort against Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv seem to be heading north to Belarus to regroup before rejoining the fight, the Pentagon said Thursday.
“The best assessment we have – and it’s an assessment at this early stage – is that they’re going to be repositioned probably into Belarus to be refit and resupplied, and used elsewhere in Ukraine,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters.
It’s not clear where they might go, but the Donbas region is one candidate, Kirby said.
Roughly 20% of the Russian forces that were designated to move on Kyiv are now repositioning, several U.S. officials said.
Kirby said Russian forces that are apparently leaving the Chernobyl nuclear power plant also seem to be heading toward Belarus, though noted that “indications are not completely clear at this time.”
The Pentagon assesses these troops are leaving to “refit and resupply,” and not due to a health hazard or other crisis at Chernobyl, Kirby said.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Detroit 102, Philadelphia 94
Atlanta 131, Cleveland 107
Milwaukee 120, Brooklyn 119 (OT)
Chicago 135, LA Clippers 130 (OT)
Utah 122, LA Lakers 109
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
NY Islanders 5, Columbus 2
Carolina 4, Montreal 0
Florida 4, Chicago 0
Toronto 7, Winnipeg 3
Boston 8, New Jersey 1
Pittsburgh 4 Minnesota 3 (OT)
Colorado 4, San Jose 2
Los Angeles 3, Calgary 2 (SO)
Dallas 3, Anaheim 2 (OT)
Olivia Rodrigo is up for a whopping seven Grammys on Sunday night, including Album, Record and Song of the Year and Best New Artist. And according to Olivia, she’s kind of been preparing for this moment for years.
“Ugh, it’s so crazy,” Olivia told ABC News about her nominations. “I have always looked forward to the Grammys, since I was like 12 years old.”
“I would watch every year with my mom,” she adds. “And I used to live really close to the Grammy Museum when I was probably 14 years old and I would go every weekend and make my mom come with me, just because I was so enamored with it and loved learning about all the artists.”
“To be nominated is just one of the most surreal things ever,” notes Olivia. And even though the chart-topping “drivers license” star is booked to sing on the show, she says even attending the ceremony will be a huge thrill for her.
“I’m just so excited to go,” she tells ABC News. “I’ve always wanted to go, and so it’s so crazy that I, you know, [am] going and now performing too — that’s crazy!”
The Grammys air Sunday night on CBS live from Las Vegas, and Olivia’s got the chance to make Grammy history depending on her wins. For example, if she wins all seven of the Grammys for which she’s nominated, she’ll become the female artist with the most Grammy wins in a single night.
In addition, if Olivia wins Album, Record and Song of the Year and Best New Artist, she’ll be one of only three artists ever to sweep those four major categories in one night, along with Billie Eilish and Christopher Cross.
The 2022 Grammys finally take place this Sunday. Here’s a rundown of who’s competing in the rock categories:
In the so-called Big Four categories, Billie Eilish‘s Happier Than Ever is nominated for Album of the Year, and its title track will compete for Song and Record of the Year. Eilish’s brother and collaborator, FINNEAS, is up for Best New Artist, as is Glass Animals.
In the Best Rock Album field, you’ll find Foo Fighters‘ Medicine at Midnight, AC/DC‘s Power Up, Chris Cornell‘s posthumous No One Sings Like You Anymore Vol. 1, Paul McCartney‘s McCartney III, and Black Pumas‘ Capitol Cuts — Live from Studio A.
The Best Rock Song nominees are Foo Fighters’ “Waiting on a War,” McCartney’s “Find My Way,” Mammoth WVH‘s “Distance,” Kings of Leon‘s “The Bandit,” and Weezer‘s “All My Favorite Songs.”
For Best Rock Performance, the nominees include Foo Fighters’ “Making a Fire,” AC/DC’s “Shot in the Dark,” Cornell’s cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Black Pumas’ “Know You Better (Live from Capitol Studio A),” and Deftones‘ “Ohms.”
Deftones is also up for Best Metal Performance with “Genesis,” along with Dream Theater‘s “The Alien,” Gojira‘s “Amazonia,” Mastodon‘s “Pushing the Tides,” and Rob Zombie‘s “The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition).”
Finally, the Best Alternative Album nominees include St. Vincent‘s Daddy’s Home, Halsey‘s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, Fleet Foxes‘ Shore, Japanese Breakfast‘s Jubilee, and Arlo Parks‘s Collapsed in Sunbeams.
Disgraced rocker Marilyn Manson is also controversially nominated for Album of the Year as a contributor to Kanye West‘s Donda.
The 2022 Grammys take place April 3, though the rock categories are often announced ahead of the actual ceremony, which airs at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Eilish is among the confirmed performers. Foo Fighters were originally scheduled to perform, but according to Rolling Stone, they won’t appear, following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Scott Dudelson/Getty Images; Donald Kravitz/Getty Images
Todd Rundgren‘s joint U.S. tour with Hall & Oates lead singer Daryl Hall begins tonight in Chicago.
Rundgren will open for Hall on the 14-date cross-country trek, which winds down May 22 in Austin, Texas.
Todd, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this past October, says his tour with Daryl probably will be “the high point of the year” for him.
“First of all, I get…an hour-long set of my own material to do with a great band…I’ll be with Daryl’s house band,” Rundgren notes. “And [we’re] playing like the most prestigious venues. You know, we’re only doing eight shows in the first leg, but it’s Carnegie Hall [in New York] and Auditorium Theatre in Chicago and the Ryman in Nashville. You know all these classic venues.”
Todd says he also appreciates that Hall has at least one day off between each concert on the trek, which he notes is “just the easiest possible way to get through a tour.”
Meanwhile, Rundgren reveals that he’ll be joining Hall at the end of the shows for “a little encore sing-off thing.”
“[T]hat should be a lot of fun…because Daryl and I kind of challenge each other in little ways,” Todd maintains. “And it gets us both kind of at the edges of our capacities, you know, just trying to keep up with each other.”
The trek’s kickoff coincides with the release of Daryl’s first-ever solo compilation, BeforeAfter. The 30-track collection features selections from Daryl’s solo albums, as well as eight performances from his TV/web series Live from Daryl’s House, including a duet with Rundgren on Todd’s 1978 hit “Can We Still Be Friends.”
