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.”
The new Disney+ film Better Nate Than Ever is about a musical theater loving teen who is trying to live out his dream of someday being on Broadway.
Nate, the main character of the film — played by Rueby Wood — is also gay, and writer/director Tim Federle tells ABC Audio his hope is that it “causes discussion” and “bring some eyeballs to a movie that might not have light sabers or Marvel characters or Homer Simpson.”
What Better Nate Than Ever does have, says Federle, is Friends alum Lisa Kudrow “and a whole bunch of heart.”
What doesn’t show up in the film is any mention of the word “gay,” and it wasn’t overt for a reason.
Notes Federle, “I’m not sure how many things are overt when you’re 13. So when I was 13, I knew I was different, and I knew that I was probably trending toward identifying as gay. I certainly wasn’t ready to say the word out loud.”
“If it’s a word that some people are still afraid to say, then certainly when you were at your most vulnerable, which for many of us is when you’re in seventh grade, you’re going to be really careful with how far you put yourself out there,” he continues. “So I see Nate’s journey in the movie as taking a step toward who he will become.”
As for the film’s message, it’s pretty simple: “No matter what your dream is, chess player…an animator…president of United States — what you need more than anything is people around you who get you and encourage you to kind of step into your own light,” he explains. “And that, to me, is what this is really about.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)
Better Nate Than Ever starts streaming today on Disney+.
(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.
Here are highlights of what a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Wednesday on Day 36:
Russians being hunted as they withdraw from Kyiv area
The U.S. continues to see roughly 20% of the Russian forces that were arrayed against Kyiv repositioning away from the capital, the official said. And Ukrainian forces are attacking these troops as they withdraw from the area.
“As these forces begin to reposition, the Ukrainians are moving against them,” the official said.
Most of the Russian forces that are repositioning were located to the north and northwest of Kyiv. Most notably, they seem to have abandoned Hostomel airport, which has been a site of intense fighting at various points since the beginning of the invasion.
“We believe that they have very likely abandoned Hostomel airfield,” the official said.
Although some troops are repositioning, long-range strikes on Kyiv continue.
“Despite the rhetoric of de-escalation, we’re still observing artillery fire and airstrikes in and around Kyiv,” the official said.
Shifting focus to Donbas
“This repositioning that they’re doing around Kyiv and other places in the north, and this reprioritization on the Donbas, clearly indicates that they know they have failed to take the capital city, that they know they have been under increased pressure elsewhere around the country,” the official said.
While Russia might be dedicating more forces to taking control of the Donbas region, the Ukrainians are primed to make it a tough fight.
“The Ukrainians know the territory very, very well. They have a lot of forces still there, and they’re absolutely fighting very hard for that area, as they have over the last eight years,” the official said. “So just because they’re going to prioritize it and put more force there or more energy there doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy for them.”
Russian ships can hit Donbas
While there are still no signs of any imminent amphibious landings, Russia has several ships in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov that could be used to threaten the Donbas region with cruise missiles, the official said.
Putin not getting full picture from advisers
“Our assessment is that the planning for this war was done with a very small circle of people, and that Mr. Putin’s advisers do not count many. And, you know, our assessment is that they have not been completely honest with him about how it’s going,” the official said.
The official said Russian President Vladimir Putin has kept to a “very, very close circle,” a leadership style that inherently limits access to information.
“I can’t account for the fact that the people advising him have chosen to obstruct certain information or omit certain information. All we can say is we don’t believe that he has been getting the full picture,” the official said.
Odesa under blockade
“We know that the Russians have continued to blockade Odesa,” the official said. “So obviously it’s having it’s having an economic impact there.”
Kherson contested
“We assess that they’re still fighting over Kherson. We know that the Russians are in the city, but we aren’t prepared to call it for one side or the other at this point. I mean, it had been in Russian control, but the Ukrainians are attempting to retake Kherson, so it’s still being fought over,” the official said.
Bombardment of Mariupol continues
“I don’t have an update on the degree to which a cease-fire is being applied in Mariupol. What I try to give you is what we’ve seen, you know, in the last 24 hours since we last talked, and we have continued to see Mariupol will come under airstrikes,” the official said.
(NEW YORK) — The body of a Nevada teenager who was allegedly kidnapped from a Walmart parking lot over two weeks ago has been found, authorities said.
Naomi Irion, 18, was last seen inside her car outside a Walmart in Fernley, Nevada, outside Reno, on March 12, according to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office. Surveillance video captured a man getting into the driver’s seat of her car and leaving in an unknown direction with Irion in the passenger seat.
A tip regarding her disappearance led investigators to a remote part of neighboring Churchill County on Tuesday, where they found a “possible gravesite” and recovered the body of a woman from the scene, authorities said. On Wednesday, the remains were identified as Irion’s by the Washoe County Medical Examiners Office.
Her death is being investigated as a homicide, authorities said Thursday.
“The exact cause of death is known however cannot be released at this time as the circumstances around that event if released would compromise the ongoing investigation,” the Lyon County and Churchill County sheriff’s offices said in a statement.
No further information is being released at this time due to the ongoing investigation, authorities said.
“We would like to extend our sympathy and condolences to the Irion family and thank all the volunteers for their hard work in trying to find Naomi and bring closure to the family,” the Churchill County Sheriff’s Office and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said in a joint statement.
Irion was waiting for a shuttle bus on March 12 around 5 a.m. to take her to her job at Panasonic Energy of North America in the Reno area. Her brother reported her missing the following day when she did not come home from work.
The sheriff’s office initially characterized her disappearance as “suspicious in nature.” After locating her car on March 15 in an industrial park about a mile from the Walmart, the sheriff’s office said investigators found evidence suggesting her disappearance was “criminal in nature.”
A suspect in the alleged kidnapping was arrested last week. Troy Driver, 41, of Fallon, Nevada, has been charged with first-degree kidnapping and is being held on $750,000 bail following his first court appearance Wednesday, according to Reno ABC affiliate KOLO.
The FBI was offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to Irion’s location. The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office also released multiple photos and a video of the man authorities say entered Irion’s car in hopes of identifying him.
Driver’s next hearing is scheduled for April 5, KOLO reported.
