With spring inching ever closer, Home Town Takeover stars Ben and Erin Napier have some advice on what projects you should plan on starting soon.
“Spring cleaning is a thing for a reason!” Ben told ABC Audio, saying one of the first thing he does is fire up the pressure washer to give their home’s exterior a “deep clean.” He and Erin also say spring is when they “paint the front porch floor” if it needs a little freshening. That also includes other areas of their home, like the baseboards or door frame.
“That’s a that’s a way that you can freshen things up without really, really taking on a big project,” Ben suggested.
As for things one shouldn’t be doing at this time, Erin warned, “Don’t plant your flowers until after Easter! It doesn’t matter how warm it is, it can still freeze.”
The HGTV stars also caution those looking to get a jump start on home renovating projects — such as getting that long-overdue addition started — to “make sure you know what you’re getting into.”
On that note, Erin warned against doing everything on your own: “Hire professionals to do electrical and plumbing.”
The couple, who share two young daughters, wished they had professionals helping them with their year-round “ritual” — constantly cleaning their home.
“We’re in the season of life where we have a toddler and a baby,” Erin noted. “It’s spring cleaning for us every day. We actually used our Swiffer Wet Jet Wood this morning because breakfast got a little bit messy.”
She explained their daughters tried “feeding each other” but managed to feed the floorboards “smashed strawberries and bananas” instead.
Home Town Takeover airs on HGTV and is streaming on Discovery Plus.
(NEW YORK) — South Korea elected Yoon Suk-yeol, of the conservative People Power Party, as its 20th president on Wednesday. Yoon claimed victory in a tight race against Lee Jae-myung, of the ruling Democratic Party.
“I learned a lot while carrying out the campaign, what is needed to be a leader of a country, how to listen carefully to the people,” Yoon said in his victory speech. “This election process and competition are all for the people. Election is over now, and we need to be all one for the people and our Republic of Korea,” he said as supporters cheered and chanted “regime change”.
Results show a close race with 48.61% of ballots going to Yoon, and Lee garnering 47.78%.
About 77% of South Korea’s 44 million eligible voters cast ballots in this election, according to the country’s National Election Commission. Yoon will replace President Moon Jae-in.
Yoon jumped into politics last June after a 27-year career as a prosecutor. He achieved fame during his career for his aggressive prosecution of political players, including former President Park Geun-hye.
He is well-known for his quote at a parliamentary inquiry after prosecuting his own boss, then-Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, in 2013 — “I am not loyal to the person but loyal to the organization.”
Moon appointed Yoon as the prosecutor general in 2019 to lead a national political campaign to investigate corruption, but Yoon spent most of his term going after President Moon’s ruling party officials, ministers and presidential aides.
Yoon’s break with Moon intensified after indicting Moon’s then-closest aide and former justice minister, Cho Kuk, in 2019 on several charges including bribery and document fraud. That angered Moon’s supporters and Yoon eventually stepped down from position amid political pressure.
He was courted by the People Power Party last year to run for the presidency.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(HEALDSBURG, Calif.) — A group of grade-schoolers is inadvertently bringing joy, laughter and some wise words to thousands of strangers, all thanks to their Peptoc art project.
Peptoc is the brainchild of art teacher Jessica Martin and artist Asherah Weiss, who worked with the K-6 students at West Side Elementary School in Healdsburg, California. The children created vibrant flyers and posters filled with charming drawings and reassuring messages.
But it’s the second component of Peptoc – a free hotline – that has unexpectedly gone viral.
To experience Peptoc, simply dial 707-998-8410 and you’ll be greeted by several students who will give you multiple options to choose from:
“Please listen to the following options for encouraging messages. If you’re feeling mad, frustrated, or nervous, press 1. If you need words of encouragement and life advice, press 2. If you need a pep talk from kindergarteners, press 3. If you need to hear kids laughing with delight, press 4. If you would like to make a donation to support this project, please press 6. For encouragement in Spanish, press 5.”
The kids are full of suggestions: punch a pillow or go scream outside if you’re frustrated; indulge in ice cream if you’re sad or angry. They can be the cheerleader that’ll pull you right out of an afternoon slump: Try it again! Believe in yourself! It’s OK to be different!
Another favorite? “Estás triste, va compra donas!” (Spanish for “If you’re sad, go buy doughnuts!”)
“There’s a pretty clear reason why this is so popular. We’re in a very broken world right now and we need to hear this, from children especially,” Martin told “Good Morning America.”
The artist and educator, who has led the art program at West Side for the last four years, said it was powerful to hear the young students share their positivity despite setbacks like the pandemic and ongoing challenges like wildfires.
“It was really hard for me to hold it together when I was recording them,” Martin recalled. “The overwhelming sweetness of these kids … was crushing me but also, it broke my heart a little bit too, because a lot of these kids, what they were saying — they’re in first and second grade — what they were saying was very profound and it really spoke to their life experience.”
Weiss, also an alum of West Side, has been sharing the students’ creative work and posting the flyers around Healdsburg. “Someone thought I was putting up a lost dog poster or something like that and they’re like, ‘Oh, what did you lose?’ And then they realized what we were doing and they were very, very happy to see that outside their door,” the 34-year-old recalled.
Martin added that she has received messages from people from around the world after Peptoc went live on Feb. 26.
“I just heard back from a bunch of people from Argentina and it ranges from a whole cancer ward of patients getting chemotherapy, to a lady who just found out her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s to a fellow high school teacher just saying how incredible the project was. It’s touched a lot of people, so we’re pretty proud of these kids,” Martin said.
“One little small, easy act of kindness can easily touch millions in just a few days,” she added.
Martin said she and the school are determined to maintain Peptoc “for months or years” and is raising funds online to keep it going indefinitely. She pointed out that another hotline, Callin’ Oates, which lets callers request any Hall & Oates song, has been going strong for the last decade.
“Within the first few days, we were getting 500 calls an hour and we had to find $800 a day with that volume,” Martin said. “I eventually was able to talk with the president (of hotline service Telzio) and she donated a million minutes to the project. We’re currently now getting 5,000 calls an hour. And that million minutes, I think, probably will last us through the end of next week.”
For Martin, the runaway success and response to Peptoc shows how necessary arts education is in schools.
“If this isn’t proof to fund arts, I don’t even know what to say,” she said.
As for the future of Peptoc, Martin is planning to work with students to record more advice, including additional Spanish messages. She and Weiss hope the students will continue to learn from the powerful project too.
“You don’t ever know how your work is going to be received,” Weiss said. “But just to take the courage to do something is what the message I want people to take from this.”
Added Martin: “I hope that the memory of this experience they’ll carry that with them through their life, that they won’t feel like they’re helpless in a dark world.”
On the same day Entertainment Weekly posted a first look at Obi-Wan Kenobi, Disney+ did one better and dropped the first trailer for the anticipated Star Wars spin off.
“The fight is done. We lost,” Ewan McGregor‘s exiled Jedi master admits in voiceover, as we see him for the first time in the flesh in the years after the events of Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. At the end of that film, he promised to stay on Tatooine to watch over a young Luke Skywalker, and he’s shown doing just that — using binoculars to watch a young Luke Skywalker apparently already dreaming of being a pilot, as he’s shown wearing a helmet and mimicking working a ship’s controls.
“Stay hidden,” McGregor can be heard saying — either to Luke, or to himself.
Meanwhile, we see there’s great reason for them both to do so. Inquisitors have been dispatched all over the galaxy by Emperor Palpatine to hunt down the remaining Jedi, like Kenobi, who survived the Empire’s purge.
Rupert Friend, who plays the fearsome, pale-skinned Grand Inquisitor, tells his lieutenant, Moses Ingraham‘s Reva, “The key to hunting Jedi is patience. Jedi cannot help what they are. Their compassion leaves a trail. The Jedi Code is like an itch: He cannot help it.”
“Where is he?” he screams to an unseen character, with his fearsome spinning red lightsaber making his point.
As John Williams‘ unforgettable “Duel of the Fates” plays, we see Reva also slashing away with her Sith saber, as a legend reads, “Between darkness and defeat hope survives.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts on Disney+ May 25, aka Star Wars Day.
Before she was a pop star, Tate McRae was a champion dancer, so it’s no surprise that she’s one of the celebs who’ll be appearing on the upcoming ABC special Step Into…The Movies with Derek and Julianne Hough.
The special will focus on the most iconic dance moments on film — think Dirty Dancing, Saturday Night Fever, Singin’ in the Rain, Moulin Rouge!, Chicago and more — and will feature the Hough siblings and guest stars reimagining those scenes “through a modern lens.”
Tate is one of the guest stars, which is appropriate, since her current video “she’s all i wanna be” was inspired by the dance movie musical A Chorus Line. Prior to her breakthrough with “you broke me first,” Tate was the first-ever Canadian finalist on So You Think You Can Dance, and she was also named Best Female Dancer multiple times at the annual Dance Awards.
Other stars taking part in the special include Kevin Bacon, Charli D’Amelio, Jenna Dewan, Oscar nominee Ariana DeBose, John Stamos and former Glee stars Amber Riley and Harry Shum Jr.
Moulin Rouge! director Baz Luhrmann, Chicago director Rob Marshall and filmmaker/choreographer Kenny Ortega, who did the choreography for Dirty Dancing and High School Musical, among other films, will also appear.
Step Into…The Movies with Derek and Julianne Hough airs March 20 at 10 p.m. on ABC.
Tenacious D has announced a new batch of tour dates for this year.
The fall headlining outing kicks off September 9 in Wilmington, North Carolina, and will wrap up September 20 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The duo is also set to play the just-announced 2022 Louder than Life festival.
During the tour, the D will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of 2001 self-titled debut album, which features the best song in the world, “Tribute.”
Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 11, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit TenaciousD.com.
The fall dates follow the D’s previously announced summer tour, which begins in June.
Here’s some news that likely will interest AC/DC fans in the U.S. who like to rock out while sipping a brewski or two: A new beer inspired by the legendary Australian band is now being shipped to 33 states.
AC/DC For Those About to Rock Ale was created by high-end collectible company KnuckleBonz in collaboration with the Bay Shore, New York-based Great South Bay Brewing company.
The new brew is a cold-fermented Australian lager made with native Aussie hops and cane sugar, with an alcohol by volume content of 5.9%. The ale, which is the latest offering in KnuckleBonz’s Limited Edition Beverage Series, is described as having “a clean citrusy hop profile, a subtle malty sweetness, and a bright straw color.”
The beer’s name, of course, is a reference to AC/DC’s 1981 album, For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), and the can’s design features a cannon like the one that appears on the record’s cover.
For Those About to Rock Ale can be ordered online via KnuckleBonz’s distribution partner Half Time Beverage.
Last year, KnuckleBonz teamed with the CaliCraft Brewing Company to introduce two other AC/DC-inspired beers: AC/DC PWR UP Juicy IPA and AC/DC TNT Double IPA.
Atlanta rapper Alyssa Stephens, known by her stage name Latto, took to her Instagram in a series of posts to promote her upcoming single, “Wheelie,” and revealed the name of the song’s featured artist — 21 Savage.
After weeks of teasing the new track, the rapper posted the single’s cover photo on Tuesday. It shows Latto sporting an all-black cut-out ensemble and standing in a militant-like fashion alongside her fellow Atlanta-based rapper.
Latto first teased the new track four weeks ago by re-posting TikTok videos to her Instagram of users dancing to the few-seconds preview. The post’s caption read, “This mf ain’t even out yet!#WHEELIE”.
On Monday, Latto posted another video teaser, this time of her sitting in what looks to be a music studio and pointing out hints, written as text on-screen, as to who the feature artist might be.
Fans and celebrities alike celebrated the news, leaving the fire emoji symbol under Tuesday’s album cover post.
Adele and Taylor Swift are among the leading nominees for the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, receiving four nominations each.
Adele and Taylor are up for Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Song for, respectively, “Easy on Me” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version).” They’re also both up for Favorite Album, but Taylor has two entries in that category — Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) — while Adele has one: 30. Adele has an additional nomination in the category of Favorite Global Music Star, where she’s representing the U.K.
Other nominees for the Kids’ Choice Awards this year include Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Jonas Brothers and Maroon 5.
Fans can vote on the official Kids’ Choice Awards website, KidsChoiceAwards.com, and through the Screens Up app on iPad, iPhone and Android devices in the U.S.
The KCAs will air April 9, live from Santa Monica, CA with hosts Miranda Cosgrove and Rob Gronkowski. In addition to musical performances and pranks, the producers promise a record-setting 1,000 slimings. You can watch it on Nickelodeon, TeenNick, Nicktoons and the Nick Jr. channel.
Here are the music nominees:
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
Adele
Ariana Grande
Billie Eilish
Cardi B
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
Bruno Mars
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Justin Bieber
Shawn Mendes
The Weeknd
FAVORITE MUSIC GROUP
Black Eyed Peas
BTS
Florida Georgia Line
Jonas Brothers
Maroon 5
Migos
FAVORITE SONG
“All Too Well” (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift
“Bad Habits” – Ed Sheeran
“Easy On Me” – Adele
“Happier Than Ever” – Billie Eilish
“Take My Breath” – The Weeknd
“Up” – Cardi B
FAVORITE BREAKOUT ARTIST
Chlöe
Glass Animals
Jack Harlow
Olivia Rodrigo
Saweetie
Walker Hayes
FAVORITE ALBUM 30 – Adele Certified Lover Boy – Drake Fearless (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish Justice – Justin Bieber Red (Taylor’s version) – Taylor Swift
FAVORITE MUSIC COLLABORATION
“Beautiful Mistakes” – Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion
“Best Friend” – Saweetie featuring Doja Cat
“Leave Before You Love Me” – Marshmello & Jonas Brothers
“Rumors” – Lizzo featuring Cardi B
“Save Your Tears” – The Weeknd & Ariana Grande
“STAY” – The Kid LaROI & Justin Bieber
FAVORITE GLOBAL MUSIC STAR
Adele (UK)
Camilo (Latin America)
Tones and I (Australia)
Tems (Africa)
BTS (Asia)
Rosalía (Europe)
Olivia Rodrigo (North America)
Florence + the Machine‘s next album officially has a title.
The fifth studio effort from Florence Welch and company is called Dance Fever. In an Instagram post announcing the news, Welch describes the record as a “fairytale in 14 songs.”
Dance Fever will presumably feature the recent Florence singles “King” and “Heaven Is Here,” both of which premiered in the last two weeks. A release date for the record has yet to be announced.
Whenever it does arrive, Dance Fever will follow Florence’s 2018 album High as Hope, which spawned the single “Hunger.”
