Andi Dorfman is finally getting her happy ending! The former Bachelorette is engaged to her boyfriend Blaine Hart.
Dorfman shared the exciting news Wednesday, sharing a sweet picture of the newly engaged couple smooching on the beach to Instagram.
“WORTH THE WAIT!!!!” she wrote in all caps, along with the ring emoji.
Speaking withPeople, the Bachelor alum shared the details of her romantic beach proposal and sentimental engagement ring.
“Blaine told me he made dinner reservations and asked if I wanted to do sunset cocktails on the beach, which is something we do all the time here in LA,” she shared.”We get down to our spot, pour some wine, walked toward the water and when I turned around, he was on one knee.”
Dorfman gushed that as an added surprise Hart had both their families and friends waiting at their home afterwards to celebrate.
As for the ring, the stunning sparkler was made by the same jeweler who made an engagement ring for Dorfman’s mother 40 years prior and symbolized “love and happiness,” Dorfman said.
When it comes to wedding details, Dorfman already has a potential location in mind.
“I think we would love to do a wedding in Italy where we rekindled our relationship last summer,” she teased.
Dorfman gained notoriety after appearing on Juan Pablo Galavis‘ season of The Bachelor in 2014. She then went on to become the lead for season 10 of The Bachelorette where she got engaged to winner Josh Murray. They announced their split in 2015.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Sophia Simons
(NEW YORK) — One crew member is dead and two were rescued after a Navy aircraft crashed off the Virginia coast Wednesday, according to the U.S. Navy.
The E-2D Hawkeye, which was assigned to an East Coast Airborne Command and Control Squadron, crashed at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the vicinity of Wallops Island and Chincoteague, Virginia, officials said.
Two crew members were rescued by U.S. Coast Guard search and are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The third crew member was found dead on the aircraft, the Navy said.
The Navy said the name of the crew member killed would be released once next of kin are notified.
The cause of the crash is not known at this time.
U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., tweeted that she is monitoring the situation.
“I’m keeping our naval aviators, their families, and our first responders in my thoughts and prayers tonight as rescue and recovery efforts continue,” Luria said.
(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:
Mar 31, 4:32 am
Putin ‘massively misjudged’ invasion of Ukraine, UK spy chief says
Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently “massively misjudged” his invasion of Ukraine, a U.K. intelligence chief said Thursday.
“It’s clear he misjudged the resistance of the Ukrainian people. He underestimated the strength of the coalition his actions would galvanize. He underplayed the economic consequences of the sanctions regime, and he overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory,” Jeremy Fleming, head of the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), said during a speech in Australia’s capital, Canberra.
“We’ve seen Russian soldiers, short of weapons and morale, refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft,” he added.
While Fleming agreed with a recent assessment by U.S. intelligence that Putin’s advisers were believed to be too afraid to tell the truth, he said the “extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime.” He warned that Russia is searching for cyber targets and bringing in mercenaries to reinforce its stalled military campaign in Ukraine.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Dallas 120, Cleveland 112
Washington 127, Orlando 110
Denver 125, Indiana 118
Toronto 125, Minnesota 102
Charlotte 125, New York 114
Miami 106, Boston 98
Atlanta 136, Oklahoma City 118
Sacramento 121, Houston 118
Memphis 112, San Antonio 111
New Orleans 117, Portland 107
Phoenix 107, Golden State 103
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Winnipeg 3, Buffalo 2 (SO)
NY Rangers 5 Detroit 4 (OT)
Edmonton 4, Los Angeles 3 (SO)
Arizona 5, San Jose 2
St. Louis 4, Vancouver 3
Vegas 3, Seattle 0
Chris Rock kicked off a six-show set Wednesday at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre, his first performances since Will Smith walked onto the stage and slapped him at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony over a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair.
The line outside of the Wilbur Theatre stretched for blocks, a sight the check-in attendant, who has worked there for years, tells ABC News he’s never seen.
The 57-year-old comedian got a standing ovation when he took the stage. When the cheers subsided he quipped, “What’s up Boston?” followed by “How was your weekend?” which drew laughs from the crowd.
Visibly moved, Rock told the audience, “Y’all are getting me all misty-eyed and s***.”
That brought the audience back to their feet, after which Rock said, “I don’t have a bunch of s*** about what happened,” he said Wednesday night. “I had like a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I’m kinda processing what happened. So at some point, I’ll talk about that s***.”
He then launched into his routine, starting off with jokes about the COVID-19 pandemic, noting sarcastically that people only die twice a year from it.
Will Smith refused to leave the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday after slapping comedian Chris Rock, according to the Academy.
“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” the Academy said in a statement on Wednesday. “While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”
The Academy also announced that its Board of Governors initiated disciplinary proceedings against Smith “for violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, including inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy.”
Smith went onto the stage at the Oscars Sunday night and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith‘s hair. Back in his seat, Smith then shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth,” twice.
Rock would go on to present for best documentary and later in the evening Will Smith won best actor for his role in King Richard.
Smith seemingly referenced his confrontation with Rock and apologized to the Academy during his acceptance speech before issuing a formal apology to the Academy on his Instagram saying, in part, “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” the actor added.
Now, the Academy said it is giving Smith “at least 15 days’ notice of a vote regarding his violations and sanctions, and the opportunity to be heard beforehand by means of a written response.”
At their next board meeting on April 18, the Academy said it may take disciplinary action, which may include suspension, expulsion or other sanctions.
(NEW YORK) — If the United States switched completely to cleaner energy vehicles and power plants, it would not only benefit the environment but also save an estimated 110,000 lives and $1.2 trillion in health costs over the next 30 years, the American Lung Association says in a new report.
“These numbers are enormous,” said Will Barrett, the national senior director of clean air advocacy for the health organization. “It’s hard to wrap your head around. $1.2 trillion in public health benefits and 100,000 lives saved.”
Pollution from traditional cars and other vehicles has long been known to affect human health, leading to higher rates of lung disease and other illnesses.
“Right now, today, people’s health is suffering because of our dependence on combustion technologies for energy for transportation,” said Barrett, the lead author of the new report.
“We know that kids and seniors along with people with asthma, lung disease, and heart disease, are at risk due to unhealthy air,” said Dr. Philip Harber, an adjunct professor at the University Of Arizona’s College Of Public Health, who was not a coauthor of the new report.
The report finds that additional health benefits include avoiding nearly 3 million asthma attacks nationwide.
The harmful impacts of pollution disproportionately affect lower income communities and communities of color, more often living near major sources of pollution such as highways, power plants and refineries, the report says.
About 3% of U.S. counties with the highest populations of people of color would disproportionately benefit from a transition to electric vehicles and non-combustion electricity generation, the report estimates.
Currently, about 11% of cars and other vehicles sold in the 4th quarter of 2021 use clean energy, and roughly 20% of power plant generation is green, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Experts say the nation doesn’t need a full transition all at once, and even modest improvements now will start saving lives.
“Even without fully green power production, the results will be worthwhile,” said Harber.
“Not being able to do a complete transition is not a reason to delay doing what is feasible now,” he said.
The recently-passed federal infrastructure bill includes of $2.5 billion for zero-emission school buses and $7.5 billion to expand the national infrastructure for electric vehicles.
“That this is a down payment on what we really need is a much larger broader investment in incentive programs for purchases of vehicles,” Barrett said.
Harber says the transition to electric vehicles can start small. Even if you “only get one local pizza chain to use electric vehicles, that symbolism matters to a community,” he said.
“If we put more money into fossil fuel infrastructure today, it’s going to be there for decades. And it will continue to do damage to people’s lungs, people’s hearts, and our environment,” Barrett said.
Matt Feeley, MD, is a resident physician in Occupational and Environmental Medicine from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.
(NEW YORK) — With four perennial powerhouse teams set to play and a legendary coach prepared to end his career win or lose, this weekend’s Final Four showdowns of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament are casting March Madness on ticket prices.
The highest-priced pair of prized near-courtside ducats for the two games at the 78,000-seat Superdome in New Orleans were going for $18,510 each on Wednesday on the mobile ticket marketplace app, Gametime.
But even tickets for the highest level of the nosebleed sections are going for more than $1,000.
“We have seen just tremendous demand for this Final Four,” Adam Budelli, a spokesperson for StubHub, a ticket exchange and resale company, told ABC News. “This is currently the second-highest average ticket price we have seen for a Final Four in StubHub history.”
Budelli said the average ticket price to the Final Four on StubHub as of Wednesday afternoon was $1,050 while the lowest get-in-the-door ticket was $280 if fans are lucky enough to snag the few left. Budelli said about 3,400 seats in total were still available with the most expensive ticket on StubHub going for a little over $13,000.
The highest average ticket price for a Final Four in the company’s 22-year history remains the $1,260 college basketball fans paid in 2015 when the Duke Blue Devils beat the Wisconsin Badgers to win a fifth national title.
Duke is once again in the Final Four for the 17th time, including 13 under legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. Affectionately known as “Coach K,” the 75-year-old winningest men’s basketball coach in NCAA Division I history announced in June that he is retiring at the end of this season.
Krzyzewski, who has been the Blue Devils’ coach since 1980, will lead his team Saturday as they take on their home state rival the University of North Carolina for the first time ever in the annual NCAA tournament. The other Final Four game on Saturday will be between Villanova and Kansas.
The winning teams will face off on Monday night for the NCAA national title.
The combination of Coach K’s last hurrah and two games involving four of the nation’s most elite teams is providing what Budelli described as a “perfect storm” to drive up ticket sales and prices.
“There’s certainly a wide variety of factors, the biggest one being you’re talking about four traditional kind of what they call ‘blue blood’ teams that have nationwide fan bases with a history of traveling and spending money, especially on their basketball programs,” Budelli said. “And then within that, you have the match-up of Duke and North Carolina, a storied rivalry. They’ve never played (each other) in March Madness, it’s Coach K’s final year and on and on you go.”
Budelli said that all four teams have such wide fan bases that StubHub’s sales data shows people across the nation are buying tickets to the Final Four. He said that while 11% of the company’s tickets so far have been purchased by people in North Carolina, 10% of purchases have been made in New York and 9% in California and New Jersey.
“All four of these teams, regardless of their alumni base,” said Budelli, “have just a wide variety of fans because of their histories in the game.”
As The Rolling Stones prepare to launch their 60th anniversary tour with a European leg starting this June 1 in Madrid, Mick Jagger has shared a few details about the trek in a new interview with Rolling Stone.
The 78-year-old singer says the band won’t be making that big deal about the milestone, noting that he and his band mates will approach it with “a light touch,” adding, “I’m not going to push it that hard.”
For The Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary tour, former bassist Bill Wyman and guitarist Mick Taylor made guest appearances with the group, but as for something similar happening during this year’s trek, Jagger says, “We’re not going to go there, I don’t think.”
He adds, “The tour’s called Sixty, but apart from that we’re not going to do too much. I think that’s enough.”
Meanwhile, Mick notes that he’s finding it a challenge to come up with a set list for the trek.
“It’s hard,” he notes. “It should be easy but it’s not as easy as all that to get ones that everyone likes and goes for. It’s the common denominator of getting 50,000 people to want to hear a song that they want. You want to be adventurous — and you can be adventurous for a minute — but you can’t be adventurous for too long, because they get bored.”
Jagger also says he likely will pick some songs that he likes, regardless of what the fans might think.
“You always got to do some things for yourself,” he says. “That’s one of things I’m working on.”
The Rolling Stones’ Sixty tour of Europe features 14 dates and runs through a July 31 show in Stockholm, Sweden.
(NEW YORK) — The antiparasitic drug ivermectin did not reduce the risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a large study published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Ivermectin was popularized as an alternative COVID-19 treatment despite a lack of strong evidence it helps. The recent study is among the largest that has failed to show a benefit.
In the study, researchers in Brazil compared more than 1,300 patients, some given ivermectin and others given placebo, and found no difference between the groups.
Early in the pandemic, lab experiments on cells suggested ivermectin could have some promise, but studies in people failed to back that up.
Some studies on ivermectin are ongoing, but today, we have several highly effective vaccines and COVID-19 treatments, with robust studies in people showing they work to dramatically reduce COVID-19 risk.
