(NEW YORK) — Authorities will not bring any charges against the man accused of fatally shooting Jamaican immigrant Peter Spencer nine times on a camping trip in western Pennsylvania last December.
“We believe in this case that there is enough evidence presented for self-defense that we are not going to be able to overcome our burden and show this was not self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, and for that reason, there will be no charges filed against the suspect in this case,” District Attorney Shawn White told reporters Tuesday.
“This is my call,” he added. “I believe it’s the right one.”
Spencer who is Black, went on a camping trip with a co-worker, who is white, in Rockland Township, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 11, 2021. A few hours after going on the trip, in the early hours of Dec. 12, Pennsylvania State Police were called to the scene and Spencer was found on the front lawn of the rural cabin with nine bullet wounds in his body, including six in his chest.
White said Spencer was using hallucinogenic mushrooms and started “acting crazy” as he fired multiple rounds from an AK-47 he had brought with him. White said Spencer was “not ambushed” and that he began firing the gun and ordered other campers to stay at gunpoint. Spencer’s co-worker then shot him.
Police said they found multiple firearms, “ballistic evidence” and controlled substances at the cabin.
The case was brought to the Heritage Affairs Team, which investigates hate crimes, but Corp. Aaron Allen, the liaison for the office, said he also will not be bringing charges.
“We also have been making sure that there isn’t any hate and/or bias detected throughout this investigation, and I can tell you right now that there’s not been any sort of hate and/or bias detected,” Allen said.
The Spencer family said it is not giving up despite the announcement charges will not be filed.
“We are not surprised by it, this is the type of behavior we have seen from the PA State Police and Venango County District Attorney from the outset,” Paul Jubas, the attorney for Peter Spencer’s family, said in a statement.
While state charges will not be filed, it is possible that there could be federal hate crime charges brought. Cindy Chung, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, will make that decision.
“If you want to know from a federal standpoint whether there’s any hate crime, I’m not competent to testify to that or give you an answer,” White said. “That’s her jurisdiction, she’s aware of the facts. Give her office a call.”
Spencer’s family said it will host a press conference next week with independent forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht to discuss their next steps.
(NEW YORK) — Nearly three weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, more than three million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes seeking safety. And while the number of refugees who have left the country has risen at a staggering rate, many others, like Nina Sideleva, have sought safety in the Western part of Ukraine.
Sideleva is a mother of two from Kyiv, who said before Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine, she was just like anyone else.
“I had a family, I have kids, I went to my job,” she told ABC News’ Start Here podcast, with her brother Alex Sidelev aiding in translation. “We lived a regular life with our plans, with our dreams for the future.”
Like many Ukrainians, Sideleva said she didn’t believe the reality of war would come so close to her family’s home. But on Feb. 25, when she saw so many others in the capital city fleeing their homes for bomb shelters, it began to feel real.
Initially, she hoped to stay in Kyiv with her children, husband and parents. But in the early days of the Russian invasion, one of the blasts killed Sideleva’s former boss. His death left Sideleva no choice.
“I need to leave my parents and save my kids,” she said.
All Ukrainian men of fighting age are now required to stay in the country, so Sideleva’s husband decided to remain in Kyiv to keep her parents safe. Through tears, Sideleva described what could be her final goodbye to her husband.
“I promised that we are going to see each other soon,” she said at the time.
“But she thinks that she doesn’t know anymore,” Sidelev said, describing how the horrors of the ongoing war have shaken his sister’s vow.
Sideleva’s escape took her and her sons on a lengthy train trip, arriving first in Lviv, and later traveling to Vyzhnytsia, a smaller town near the Romanian border. And while she was greeted by a large number of people prepared to provide help to people arriving from cities farther east, Sideleva said she struggles with accepting that assistance.
“It is difficult to think that she needs help because she feels that she can care about herself,” her brother told ABC News. “But it needs to have settled in her mind that it’s she needs help and people are helping her out while she wants to have everything back to normal.”
Now, staying with people she knows in Vyzhnytsia, Sideleva feels safe, but knows that feeling could vanish as quickly as it did in Kyiv.
Sidelev, who works as a structural engineer in New York City, said hearing his younger sister’s story left him feeling desperate and powerless, and that his ultimate dream is to be with his family.
“Every time I wake up, I want to wake up from reality, I want to wake up in a world with no war in Ukraine,” he said.
For now, Sideleva and her children feel safe in Vyzhnytsia, with plans to celebrate one son’s 10th birthday there. While it’s not how any of them wanted to celebrate, she says, it is the best place for them to be right now.
Still, she knows she must remain ready in case the terror of war approaches her current reprieve. If that does happen, Sideleva said she would want to be with her brother in the United States.
“The only family member who she knows outside of Ukraine, any country, it’s only me,” Sidelev said. “I’m her brother. And she says that I want to be with my brother if I need to leave the country. I want to be with my family member.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees confirmed on Tuesday that the number of Ukrainians who have fled to neighboring countries, including Poland, Moldova and Romania, has surpassed three million. The agency estimates that the war has internally displaced an additional two million people.
The fog of war leaves so much of what comes next in doubt. But Sideleva said she holds out hope for her country to remain a sovereign democracy, as it has been since the fall of the Soviet Union.
“I am a Ukrainian citizen. It’s my motherland. I want to be free. I don’t want Russia here. I really want to be free in my motherland, I want to be in Ukraine,” she said.
That is a sentiment Sidelev echoes, saying, “Ukraine is our land. We don’t need any of this. We don’t need to go through all of this. It means we are Ukrainian, we want to be free in Ukraine. We don’t need Russian involvement.”
(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.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance, coming within about 9 miles as of Friday.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 15, 9:55 pm
Biden to announce $800M in new military assistance to Ukraine: Source
President Joe Biden is planning to announce $800 million in new military assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The new assistance includes anti-armor and anti-aircraft weapons, the source told ABC News.
The funding is part of a $13.6 billion aid package to Ukraine that was included in the $1.5 trillion government spending bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday.
The law designates that $3.5 billion of the Ukrainian aid package go toward weapons, but leaves the exact military equipment and weaponry up to the administration. Biden is expected to provide more details Wednesday on how the $800 million will be spent.
Mar 15, 8:00 pm
EU leaders who came to Kyiv took a ‘courageous’ step: Zelenskyy
After meeting with the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia in Kyiv on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the European Union leaders took a “courageous, right” step.
“They are not afraid of anything. And they are more afraid for our fate. And they are here to support us,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted to Facebook.
“We absolutely trust these friendly countries,” he later said.
The leaders — Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, as well as Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski — traveled to the Ukrainian capital on a European Union mission to show support for the country.
In another video, Zelenskyy said their visit was a “strong sign of support.”
The meeting’s “top agenda” was “international assistance and reconstruction of Ukraine,” according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
The leaders are working together “to ensure that the funds & property of the Russian Federation will be paid to Ukraine to restore everything destroyed by [the Russian] aggressor,” he said on Twitter.
-ABC News’ Matt Foster
Mar 15, 6:23 pm
US providing another $186M in humanitarian aid for Ukraine
The U.S. will provide an additional $186 million in humanitarian assistance to support Ukrainians displaced by the war, including those in the country and refugees who have fled, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday.
The funding, which brings the total U.S. assistance since the invasion began to $293 million, will support “food, safe drinking water, protection, accessible shelter and emergency health care,” he said in a statement.
The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development are not directly providing this assistance but are working through international and non-governmental partners.
Russian bombardment and shelling continue to damage roads, bridges and railroads in Ukraine, making it difficult for aid workers to reach people in need, according to a senior administration official, who warned the situation is “rapidly getting worse.”
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
Mar 15, 5:18 pm
Thousands of civilians evacuate Mariupol during pause in attacks
A pause in Russian attacks on the besieged city of Mariupol has allowed for around 20,000 people to evacuate after almost two weeks of continuous bombardment, Ukrainian authorities said.
About 4,000 private vehicles were able to get civilians out of the city on Tuesday, according to Kirilo Timoshenko, an official from Ukraine’s presidential office. Of those, around 570 have reached the safer city of Zaporizhzhia to the north.
This is in addition to the 160 private vehicles that evacuated residents during a lull on Monday.
Some 300,000 people had been estimated to be trapped in the city. Russian attacks impeded previous efforts to get civilians out and to allow for humanitarian supplies to be brought in.
The Mariupol City Council reported Sunday that 2,187 residents had been killed since the start of the invasion. Vereschuk said last week that the city was “beyond a humanitarian disaster,” with most roads destroyed, little communication with the outside and no power, gas or heat.
Mar 15, 4:47 pm
4th round of Ukraine-Russia talks to resume Wednesday
The fourth round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian leaders will resume on Wednesday, Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted.
Podolyak called it a “very difficult” process with “fundamental contradictions,” but added, “there is certainly room for compromise.”
State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Tuesday declined to say whether the department was optimistic about the talks, but said the U.S. hasn’t seen any action from the Kremlin to demonstrate “good faith.”
“We have yet to find a Russian interlocutor that is either able or willing to negotiate in good faith, and certainly not in the context of de-escalation,” he said.
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan and Christine Theodorou
Mar 15, 3:50 pm
Food shortage ‘could be hell on Earth’
David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Programme, is sounding the alarm about a global food shortage for the world’s most vulnerable populations if the war in Ukraine doesn’t end soon.
“You’re talking about the breadbasket of the world where we buy 50% of our grain from Ukraine. And so with the farmers on the battlefront, when it’s harvest time and planting time, it’s going to wreak havoc not just inside Ukraine, but worldwide,” Beasley told ABC News.
Before the war broke out, Beasley said climate, the pandemic and supply chain issues had already increased costs by millions, reduced available food and forced the WFP to cut distribution around the world.
“In the next nine months, if we don’t end this war quickly, it could be hell on Earth,” Beasley said.
-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, Sam Sweeney
Mar 15, 3:30 pm
Fox News cameraman killed in Ukraine
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski has been killed in Ukraine, according to Fox News.
Zakrzewski, 55, was newsgathering with correspondent Benjamin Hall on Monday in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, when their vehicle was hit by incoming fire, the network said.
Hall was injured and hospitalized in unknown condition.
“Pierre jumped in to help out with all sorts of roles in the field – photographer, engineer, editor and producer and he did it all under immense pressure and with tremendous skill,” a statement from Fox News PR said. “He was a professional, he was a journalist, and he was a friend. We here at the Fox News Channel want to offer our deepest condolences to Pierre’s wife, Michelle, and his entire family.”
Ukrainian producer and fixer, 24-year-old Oleksandra Kuvshynova, who was working for Fox News during the war, was also killed in the shelling, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Mar 15, 1:42 pm
Refugee numbers reach 3 million
Over 3 million refugees have now fled Ukraine, according to Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Over 1.5 million of those refugees are children, according to UNICEF spokesperson James Elder.
Mar 15, 1:26 pm
Thousands of civilians evacuate Mariupol during pause in attacks
A pause in Russian attacks on the besieged city of Mariupol has allowed for about 2,000 private vehicles to evacuate civilians on Tuesday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk said.
This is in addition to the 160 private vehicles that evacuated residents during a lull on Monday.
Russian attacks impeded previous efforts to get civilians out and to allow for humanitarian supplies to be brought in. The Mariupol City Council reported Sunday that 2,187 residents had been killed since the start of the invasion. Vereschuk said last week that the city was “beyond a humanitarian disaster,” with most roads destroyed, little communication with the outside and no power, gas or heat.
Mar 15, 1:14 pm
NATO leaders to meet March 24
NATO leaders will meet on March 24 to address the Russian invasion, NATO’s “strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defence,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted.
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
Mar 15, 1:06 pm
Russian TV anti-war protester fined and released
Anti-war protester Marina Ovsyannikova has been fined and released after crashing a Russian state news broadcast.
She told reporters she was interrogated for more than 14 hours and said she’d provide more comments on Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 15, 12:16 pm
Fox News cameraman killed in Ukraine
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski has been killed in Ukraine, according to Fox News.
Zakrzewski, 55, was newsgathering with correspondent Benjamin Hall on Monday in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, when their vehicle was hit by incoming fire, the network said.
Hall was injured and hospitalized in unknown condition.
“Pierre jumped in to help out with all sorts of roles in the field – photographer, engineer, editor and producer and he did it all under immense pressure and with tremendous skill,” a statement from Fox News PR said. “He was a professional, he was a journalist, and he was a friend. We here at the Fox News Channel want to offer our deepest condolences to Pierre’s wife, Michelle, and his entire family.”
Mar 15, 11:34 am
US, EU, UK expand sanctions targeting Russia
The European Union Council on Tuesday imposed a fourth package of economic and individual sanctions, including restricting the export of luxury goods to Russia and banning new investments in Russia’s energy sector.
Sanctions also target “key oligarchs, lobbyist and propagandists pushing the Kremlin’s narrative on the situation in Ukraine,” the Council said in a statement.
“The aim of the sanctions is that President Putin stops this inhuman and senseless war,” Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement.
The United Kingdom is expanding sanctions targeting over 300 people including former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and oligarchs with an estimated worth of more than $94 billion.
The U.S. is also expanding sanctions, including against Russian Ministry of Defense officials.
The State Department is also implementing a new visa ban policy against Russian officials who have “cracked down on Russian citizens who have taken to the streets to protest their government’s brutal campaign in Ukraine” and “are responsible for suppressing dissent in occupied areas of Ukraine.”
In retaliation for sanctions from the U.S., Russia’s foreign ministry has announced personal sanctions against President Joe Biden and many top administration officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The sanctions also target Biden’s son, Hunter, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou, Tanya Stukalova, Patrick Reevell and Conor Finnegan
Mar 15, 7:51 am
Two killed in strike on Kyiv neighborhood
Two people were killed on Tuesday morning after Russian forces shelled residential areas in Kyiv, officials said.
The sound of large explosions echoed across Kyiv before dawn from what Ukrainian authorities said were artillery strikes. The shelling ignited a huge fire and a frantic rescue effort in the Svyatoshyn neighborhood.
Shockwaves from an explosion also damaged the entry to a downtown subway station that has been used as a bomb shelter. City authorities tweeted an image of the blown-out facade, saying trains would no longer stop at the station.
Mar 15, 5:51 am
Residents protest in Russian-occupied cities: UK military
Residents of Kherson, Melitopol and Berdyansk, cities occupied by Russian forces, have held “multiple” demonstrations protesting the occupation, the U.K. Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.
Protests in Kherson came as Russia may be making plans for a “referendum” to legitimize the region as a Russian-backed “breakaway republic,” similar to Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, the Ministry said.
“Further protests were reported in the city yesterday with Russian forces reportedly firing warning shots in an attempt to disperse peaceful protesters,” the Ministry said.
Russia is likely to “make further attempts to subvert Ukrainian democracy,” the update said.
“Russia has reportedly installed its own mayor in Melitopol following the alleged abduction of his predecessor on Friday 11 March,” the update said. “Subsequently, the Mayor of Dniprorudne has also reportedly been abducted by Russian forces.”
Mar 14, 9:56 pm
Latest talks with Russia went ‘pretty good,’ will continue tomorrow, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy updated the status of negotiations with Russia in his latest address Monday, saying the latest talks went “pretty good” and will continue tomorrow.
Zelenskyy also addressed Russian troops, telling them they would be treated “decently” should they surrender.
“On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance — chance to survive,” Zelenskyy said. “You surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently.”
Zelenskyy also thanked the producer at a Russian state news channel who appeared on camera behind an anchor and held up an anti-war sign. She was later arrested.
“I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth,” he said. “To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, real facts to their friends and loved ones. And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war.”
(WASHINGTON) — On her 18th birthday, just days into her freshman year at Harvard in 1988, Ketanji Brown Jackson says she broke down in tears on the university library steps, overcome by homesickness and seeking solace in faith.
“Even in my loneliness, I thanked God for the opportunity he’d given me, for the firm foundation he had provided, and also for how far I had come,” Jackson recounted years later in an address to graduates of Montrose Christian School, a private Baptist-affiliated high school in Rockville, Maryland, where she served on the advisory board.
“The Bible is filled with people who, through faith, were able to see beyond the present, to a world of hope and glory,” she said, according to a copy of the 2011 speech reviewed by ABC News. “God knows what lies ahead of each of us. The best that you can do, as you look forward, is to take the long view.”
Just over a decade later, Jackson addressed the nation from the White House as the first Black woman ever nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Putting her faith into public view, she opened her remarks by “thanking God for delivering me to this point.”
“I do know that one can only come this far by faith,” Jackson said during the nationally televised nomination ceremony last month.
Jackson’s faith will share the spotlight with her judicial philosophy, legal training and career experience next week as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee examine her record for key sources of influence ahead of voting whether to recommend her confirmation to the high court.
“A judge’s life experience — whether its religion or jobs or what part of the country they grew up in — affects how they view the law,” said ABC News legal analyst Sarah Isgur.
Friends and former colleagues close to Jackson have described her religious practice as private and deeply personal, neither a frequent topic of conversation nor an overly outward display. She identifies as a Protestant Christian, one Jackson associate, who asked to speak anonymously due to sensitivity of the matter, told ABC News.
The Montrose Christian School commencement address is one of just two public speeches — among more than 2,000 pages of Jackson’s personal records supplied to the Senate — that include references to God and the Bible.
In 2017, Jackson spoke at Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland, for an adult education program entitled “The Concept of Justice.” “The Bible is also filled with stories that have as their subtext the fact men must face consequence in the wake of their moral failings,” she said, according to a copy of remarks provided to the Senate.
The most prominent religious affiliation on Jackson’s public resume is her advisory board role at Montrose Christian School between 2010 and 2011, where she focused primarily on fundraising, she testified last year. The private K-12 institution closed permanently in 2013, two years after she left the position.
The school’s website directs visitors to a statement of beliefs from the Montrose Baptist Church which says, in part, that Christians are obligated to oppose homosexuality, abortion and same-sex marriage, and advocates a wife’s subservience to her husband — all positions in contrast with key planks of the Democratic platform.
Jackson said last year that she was not familiar with the website at the time of her service.
During Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation process in 2020, several Democrats suggested that her position on the board of a group of private Christian schools affiliated with the conservative Catholic community People of Praise meant she could not be impartial on hot-button issues.
Trinity Schools Inc., where Barrett served on the board for three years and also sent at least three of her children, also opposes homosexuality, same-sex marriage and bars LGBTQ teachers from the classroom.
Republicans now want to question Jackson about whether her role at Montrose Christian School should be interpreted as an endorsement of its beliefs in the same way Democrats did to Barrett.
“I’ve served on so many boards, and I don’t necessarily agree with all of the statements, of all of the things that those boards might have in their materials,” Jackson told Republican Sen. Josh Hawley during her confirmation hearing to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She later clarified that she was not espousing any position, for or against, on the school’s beliefs.
“Any personal views about religion would never come into my service as a judge,” Jackson said.
How Jackson came to be associated with Montrose Christian School and why she apparently ended her affiliation after one year is not clear. The White House declined to comment. Former school head, Dr. Ken Fentress, did not respond to messages left by ABC seeking comment.
Matters of faith and religion have been raised during every modern Supreme Court confirmation process.
Sometimes the questioning has veered toward religious bigotry. In 1836, Roger B. Taney, the first Catholic elevated to the bench, faced intense scrutiny over alleged allegiance to the pope. Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish American justice, was hit with anti-Semitic attacks during his confirmation in 1916.
More recently, Christian conservatives voiced outrage in 2017 after Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., probed then-Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Catholic beliefs, saying “the dogma lives loudly within you.” Some viewed the comment as anti-religious and derogatory.
“Overnight, Barrett became a legal celebrity, law students were wearing T-shirts sporting her face, and she moved to the top of the conservative SCOTUS wish list,” said Isgur. “It was a huge misstep by the Democrats in that sense and one I’d imagine Republicans learned from.”
Many recent Supreme Court nominees have openly talked about the influence of religion on their lives and outlook.
“I am religious, and I am a Catholic,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh told Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during his 2018 confirmation hearing. “And I grew up attending Catholic schools. And the Constitution of the United States foresaw that religious people or people who are not religious are all equally American.”
Justice Samuel Alito testified as a nominee in 2006 that the legacy of strong anti-Catholic sentiment in mid-nineteenth century America and its impact on his own family colors his view of discrimination cases. “I do take that into account,” he said.
“As you know — I don’t think it’s a secret — I am Jewish,” Justice Elena Kagan declared during her Senate confirmation hearing in 2010. “The state of Israel has meant a lot to me and my family.”
Senators from both sides of the aisle — and the nominees themselves — have all tended to directly disavow any relevance of individual faith to qualification to be a justice.
Justice Clarence Thomas, questioned in 1991 about a past statement suggesting religious values should be taught in public schools, insisted a “wall of separation” between church and state is “an important metaphor.”
Chief Justice John Roberts downplayed any judicial influence by his devout Catholic faith, flatly telling the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005: “My faith and my religious beliefs do not play a role in judging.”
During the 2017 confirmation hearings for Neil Gorsuch, then-Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., delicately broached the topic of religious bias with the nominee: “I would not ask you your religion or how you practice your faith,” Flake said. “If you can, just talk, in general, about what the role of faith is… on the courts, what role should it play?”
Gorsuch replied, “How far does my religious faith, your religious faith permit us to engage in things that our religion teaches are wrong, sinful? That is a matter of religious faith.”
In 2020, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., highlighted then-nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s conservative Catholic “tenets of faith” and asked for a public declaration: “Can you set aside whatever catholic beliefs you have regarding any issue before you?” he asked. “I can,” Barrett replied.
If confirmed, Jackson would become only the second Protestant justice on the current court, alongside Justice Gorsuch, who was raised Catholic but said during his 2017 confirmation hearing that his family attends an Episcopal church.
Six of the justices are Catholic; Justice Kagan is the only Jew.
“I’m certain her faith will come up in terms of how it has informed her views of the world and the law,” Isgur said, “but I doubt it will be a point of contention so much as a point of pride.”
Mrs. Doubtfire stars Mara Wilson and Lisa Jakub reunited at Connecticut’s Hartford Convention Center last weekend for the first annual 90s Con.
Speaking about the movie — and their friendship — nearing its 30th anniversary, the two reflected on working with late comedy legend Robin Williams, who died by suicide in 2014.
“I have so many moments of him being kind and looking me in the eye and and talking to me very gently,” Wilson told ABC Audio. “He was a very gentle and quiet, introverted person underneath”
Wilson said Williams also often acted “silly, like making his carpet bag bark like a dog and making little hand puppets that would talk to you and make little jokes. …I consider myself incredibly lucky to have known him”
Said Jakub, “What was most meaningful to me was to see that human beneath the comedic act.” She said Williams “was very open about his issues with mental wellness” and taught her “it was okay to be vulnerable.”
“That really had a massive impact on me,” she revealed. Jakub has since launched the mental health resource platform Blue Mala.
Wilson and Jakub, who were six and 14 when filming Mrs. Doubtfire, shared how Sally Field and Williams teamed up to take care of them on set. Jakub said the two treated “us like we were their kids” by ensuring “we had time to just be kids and not always be working all the time.”
Wilson agreed the two were “parental,” and said, “Sally would get down to my level and help me with my lines… They treated us like we were kids, but they also helped us with our responsibilities.”
Mrs. Doubtfire opened in theaters on November 22, 1993 and won the Oscar for Best Makeup.
If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. You can reach Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 (U.S.) or 877-330-6366 (Canada) and The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386.
It may be a little while until Halloween, but the spooky season is getting a head start this year thanks to the Trinity of Terror tour.
The triple-headlining bill features Black Veil Brides, Motionless in White and Ice Nine Kills. As BVB frontman Andy Biersack tells ABC Audio, he’s long dreamed of launching a tour like this.
“Us and Motionless have toured together before, it was, like, 11 years ago, and both of our careers are in a very different place nowadays,” Biersack says. “So we just thought it would always kind of be, like, the ultimate thing.”
He adds, “And then Ice Nine Kills has just grown exponentially over the years and have just gotten so huge in kind of the world that are bands exist in. And so it just seemed like an obvious thing to be able to try to get us all three together.”
Every night on the tour, the three bands will play a full-length, full-production set, with a rotating order.
“I think the biggest goal is to try to utilize as much video as possible,” Biersack says of the stage setup.
In addition to having easily abbreviated band names, BVB, MiW and INK all share a certain common horror-esque vibe. Still, Biersack says you can expect “three very different shows” on the tour.
“You’ve got Motionless, who is a traditionally very heavy band,” Biersack says. “You’ve got Ice Nine Kills, who’s very theatrical in terms of lyric and tone, and their stage show involves a lot of theatrics. And then we come from a more rock ‘n’ roll, hard rock singalong, big guitar solos, gang vocals kind of world.”
The Trinity of Terror tour launches this Thursday, March 17, in Mesa, Arizona.
At age 77, Rod Stewart‘s long past the age when most people retire, but he just keeps on going. Still, that’s not stopping him from performing at a three-day virtual event being staged by AARP.
The event, called AARP Celebrates You, runs from March 24 to March 26. It’ll feature musical performances, celebrity chats, a movie screening and informational discussions, and it’s free. So if you couldn’t get tickets to Rod’s upcoming North American tour, now’s your chance to see him in action.
Rod will be performing March 25 from 8 to 9 p.m. ET, and the organizers promise he’ll be singing hits like “Maggie May,” “You’re in My Heart,” and “Have I Told You Lately.”
And if a free performance from Rod’s not enough to make you want to sign up, the event also features a moderated discussion with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Dolly Parton and James Patterson discussing their new co-authored book Run Rose Run and a Motown Dance Party with The Commodores, Gloria Gaynor and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
You can register, and find out more about all the stars who’ll be there and the sessions being offered, at aarp.org/celebrates.
Sammy Hagar knows a thing or two about what makes a great cocktail, having launched a number of popular liquor brands over the years, so it seems natural that the Red Rocker would want to share some of his favorite drink recipes with the world.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will be doing just that with a new book titled Sammy Hagar’s Cocktail Hits: 85 Personal Favorites from the Red Rocker, which will be released on March 29.
Hagar co-wrote the book with James Beard Award-winning cookbook author James O. Fraioli. The collection of recipes showcase drinks made with Sammy’s award-winning spirits, including Santo Tequilas and Santo Mezquila, brands that Hagar launched with celebrity chef Guy Fieri, and Beach Bar Rum, a partnership between Sammy and Rick Springfield.
Among the signature cocktails featured in the book are the Coconut Mojito, Maui Mama, Tiki Swizzle, Blanco Gimlet, Coco Loco, Coronarita, Santo Oaxaca, Santo Paloma, Brazilian Kiss, Vojito, Strawberry Surf and Black & Blue Lemonade.
To accompany each recipe, Hagar has penned segments in which he shares some of his fondest memories.
“I wrote this book for [my fans] the Redheads,” says Hagar. “I have been working and studying the art of making and drinking cocktails for decades now and have finally pulled together all of my favorites, my knowledge on how to do it, and what you need to throw the best parties with the best cocktails. I guarantee this is the only cocktail book you will ever need.”
Sammy Hagar’s Cocktail Hits includes a foreword written by Fieri. The book can be pre-ordered now, and is available in hardcover for $29.99 and in a Kindle edition for $19.99. Visit RedRocker.com for more information.
John Oates of Hall & Oates kicks off a brief solo acoustic tour tonight, March 16, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
The trek will feature Oates teaming up with acclaimed Nashville session guitarist Guthrie Trapp, a longtime member of John’s solo group The Good Road Band, for an intimate evening of songs and stories.
Oates tells ABC Audio that the concept for the show “was spawned by [Guthrie and I] sitting in the living room and just playing, and we kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Man, this really sounds good. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could just go out and do this in front of people?’ And we kind of laughed and we said…’Why not? Let’s bring the living room to the stage.””
John says the show will feature songs by artists who influenced him as a young musician, some favorites from his solo career, tunes he co-wrote with artists other than Daryl Hall, and “newer songs that I’ve just written.”
As Oates explains, “I’m using this show as a vehicle to…show people that, hey, there’s a whole other musical life here that…was definitely shelved during the halcyon days of the Hall & Oates craziness.”
That being said, John reveals that he will include a few of his favorite Hall & Oates tunes in his show, performed “in a very acoustic kind of reimagined way.”
Oates tells ABC Audio that he and Trapp have played a few gigs like the ones they’ll be showcasing on the tour, noting that “the response has been phenomenal, and people really seem to love the intimacy and the casual approach that we’re doing.”
The U.S. trek, which visits seven venues in the Northeast, runs through a March 26 date in Newport, Rhode Island. Check out John’s full schedule at JohnOates.com.
Clayton Echard‘s roller coaster journey to find love came to a heartbreaking end when, for the first time in The Bachelor‘s 26 seasons, he was rejected on the final day and ended up alone — or did he?
Tuesday’s season 26 finale began with Clayton simultaneously breaking up with Rachel and Gabby, following his admission to his parents on Monday that his heart belonged to Susie — despite telling the two that he was in love with them.
When they were alone, Gabby expressed her frustration over how he’d handled everything. “I can’t believe anything you say — not one thing,” she said. Refusing to let Clayton walk her out, she got in the car and left, without shedding a tear for the cameras.
Rachel took the news a lot harder, tearfully explaining that the love she felt for him differed from the love he felt for her. After letting Clayton walk her out and before she drove away she said, “You gave up on us. I never gave up.”
Host Jesse Palmer then visited Susie, delivering a letter from Clayton in which he poured out his feelings for her and invited her to join him in the Icelandic countryside.
There, Clayton told her he saw himself growing old and having a family with her, but Susie responded by saying his letter and his romantic declaration meant a lot to her, but that she wasn’t on the same page with him.
“To me it’s not over until you tell me it’s over,” Clayton said, asking if she could ever see her feelings matching his.
Susie replied, “I feel like it’s over.”
However, Tuesday’s finale had one more shocking twist, when it was revealed that Susie’s feelings changed over the weeks following their split.
“That’s my boyfriend,” she confirmed, pointing to Clayton.
After teasing a potential proposal, Clayton handed her his final rose, which she accepted.
However, there was even more history to be made on Tuesday, when, during After the Rose, Jesse Palmer revealed a Bachelorette first — Rachel and Gabby would be sharing the upcoming 19th season as co-Bachelorettes.
Palmer will return as the host of The Bachelorette when it returns July 11 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
