Lindsay Lohan‘s return to acting will be threefold — and available to stream on Netflix.
On Tuesday, Lohan and the streaming giant announced that they’ve signed a deal for the actress to star in two new films, bringing Lohan’s total films with the streamer to three.
“We’re so happy with our collaboration with Lindsay to date, and we’re thrilled to continue our partnership with her,” said Christina Rogers, Netflix’s director of Independent Film, according toVariety. “We look forward to bringing more of her films to our members around the world.”
The Mean Girls alum expressed her excitement on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of a headline announcing the news along with the caption, “Exciting things to come!”
Netflix did not reveal any information about the new films. However, Lohan is already set to star in Falling for Christmas, a holiday movie due out on Netflix later this year. In the project she works opposite Chord Overstreet as “a newly engaged, spoiled hotel heiress who gets into a skiing accident and suffers from total amnesia. During her recovery, around Christmas time, she finds herself in the care of a handsome, blue-collar lodge owner and his precocious daughter,” as described by Netflix.
Almost two years after Naya Rivera‘s tragic death, the Glee alum’s family has settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Ventura County.
Rivera’s estate and Ryan Dorsey — the father of the late actress’ son, Josey — filed the legal paperwork against the county and the United Water Conservation District and Parks and Recreation Management on behalf of the now six-year-old, who was four when Rivera drowned at Lake Piru during their mother-son outing in July 2020.
“Through this settlement, Josey will receive just compensation for having to endure the drowning of his beloved mother at Lake Piru,” the Rivera family’s lawyer, Amjad M. Khan, said in a statement to KABC. “Though the tragic loss of Josey’s mother can never truly be overcome, we are very pleased that the monetary settlement will significantly assist Josey with his life beyond this tragedy.”
Khan added that the settlement is “subject to approval by the Ventura Superior Court on March 16.”
Dorsey filed the suit in 2020, alleging that Rivera’s death was preventable, and that the boat that she and Josey were in at Lake Piru, where she died, “was not equipped with a safely accessible ladder, adequate rope, an anchor, a radio or any security mechanisms to prevent swimmers from being separated from their boats,” according to documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight.
Ryan divorced Naya in 2018 after four years of marriage.
Elton himself can’t be there, but this year’s Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing party will still be pretty star-studded.
Lady Gaga will co-host the evening, along with Billy Porter, Will & Grace star Eric McCormack and Elton’s husband and manager, David Furnish. As previously announced, Brandi Carlile will perform at the event, which takes place March 27 in West Hollywood Park.
It’s no surprise that Elton has tapped Gaga to co-host the event: Not only are they friends and musical collaborators, but Gaga is also the godmother to Elton’s two sons. Also, Gaga sadly didn’t receive an Oscar nomination for her role in House of Gucci, so she’s sort of free that night.
“Lady Gaga, Billy Porter and Eric McCormack are not only amazingly talented, but have greatly contributed to LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusion in entertainment – both on screen and in music,” Furnish, who’s also chairman of Elton’s AIDS Foundation, says in a statement. “I’m honored to have this group to join me on stage in West Hollywood Park to advocate for all marginalized groups affected by HIV.”
Porter and Furnish will take part in an Instagram Live conversation on March 3 at 8:45am ET on the EJAF feed. This will be the 30th anniversary of the Viewing Party, which has raised more than $86 million since its inception in 1992.
Meanwhile, Elton will miss the party for the first time because he has a concert that night which he can’t reschedule. On Instagram, he wrote that the event “is in the best hands with my dear friends @ladygaga, @eric_mccormack & @theebillyporter…And I can assure you…our return to West Hollywood for the first time in two years will be one truly spectacular evening!”
The Hollywood Critics Association held its fifth annual awards on Monday in Los Angeles, and Siân Heder’s CODA — which won for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at Sunday’s SAG Awards — took the top award for best picture, with Heder winning for adapted screenplay and Troy Kotsur winning for supporting actor, according to Variety. Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast grabbed the best cast ensemble award. Dune led the evening with four awards, including best score, best cinematography and best visual effects. Dune helmer Denis Villeneuve also tied for best director honors with Power of the Dog‘s Jane Campion. Other notable winners included West Side Story‘s Ariana DeBose, and Kristen Stewart and Andrew Garfield for their performances in Spencer and tick, tick…BOOM!, respectively…
Channing Tatum’s Free Association production company is partnering with Lionsgate on a live dance show inspired by the Step Up film franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The 2006 original film and its four sequels grossed over $650 million at the worldwide box office and launched a streaming series, currently in its third season, on Starz…
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes‘ Jason Clarke has joined the cast of Christopher Nolan’s next film, Oppenheimer, according to Deadline. The star-studded roster already includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh and Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy, the latter of whom is set to play the title role as J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the creators of the atomic bomb. Clarke can be seen next playing Los Angeles Lakers Legend Jerry West in HBO’s new series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, premiering on Sunday…
(NEW YORK) — Despite an extended deadline, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association were not able to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement on Tuesday.
After more than 16 hours at the negotiating table Monday, the league pushed the deadline to Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET in the hopes of reaching a deal. But players rejected the league’s final proposal before time ran out.
Without a new CBA, MLB will not begin its regular season as planned on March 31. Instead, the league announced that each team’s first two series of the regular season will not be played and that Spring Training games will begin no earlier than March 12.
“I had hoped against hope that I would not have to be in the position of canceling games,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a letter to baseball fans. “We worked hard to avoid an outcome that is bad for our fans, bad for our players and bad for our clubs.”
“I want to assure our fans that our failure to reach an agreement was not due to a lack of effort on the part of either party. The Players came here for nine days, worked hard and tried to make a deal. I appreciate their effort,” he added.
Manfred said the league is “prepared to continue negotiations.”
“We have been informed that the MLBPA is headed back to New York meaning that no agreement is possible until at least Thursday,” he noted.
He added, “The Clubs and our owners fully understand just how important it is to our millions of fans that we get the game on the field as soon as possible. To that end, we want to bargain and we want a deal with the Players Association as quickly as possible.”
(NEW YORK) — Fitbit is recalling approximately one million smartwatches after 78 reports of burn injuries — including two reports of third-degree burns.
The recall impacts the company’s Ionic smartwatches, which were sold across the United States.
The lithium-ion battery in the smartwatch can overheat, posing a burn hazard, according to a release from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Fitbit has received at least 115 reports in the United States of the battery in the watch overheating, with 78 reports of burn injuries in the U.S., the CPSC said. This includes two reports of third-degree burns and four reports of second-degree burns.
Consumers are advised to immediately stop using the recalled watches and contact Fitbit to receive pre-paid packaging to return the device. Upon receipt of the device, consumers will be issued a refund of $299 and receive a discount code for select Fitbit products, according to the CPSC, which said the company is voluntarily recalling the devices.
The devices were sold from September 2017 through December 2021 at various U.S. retailers. The company stopped production of the smartwatches in 2020, the CPSC said.
A new lawsuit is accusing Dua Lipa of stealing her hit song “Levitating.”
According to documents obtained by TMZ, the Florida reggae band Artikal Sound System is suing the British pop star for copyright infringement. They claim the uber-successful song was ripped off from their lesser-known 2017 track, “Live Your Life.”
Others, including Dua’s label Warner Records, are also included in the suit, in which Artikal claims that those working with Dua heard “Live Your Life” and then proceeded to make a duplicate.
As noted by TMZ, “the two songs do sound awfully similar, especially the chorus,” and although they have “different lyrics, obviously, the beat comes across as damn near the same.”
“Levitating” was released in October 2020 and is from her second studio album Future Nostalgia, which was released that same year. The track peaked at number two and spent 68 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the longest-running top-10 song by a female artist on the chart.
Artikal is reportedly asking for profits made from “Levitating,” as well as damages.
A new lawsuit is accusing Dua Lipa of stealing her hit song “Levitating.”
According to documents obtained by TMZ, the Florida reggae band Artikal Sound System is suing the British pop star for copyright infringement. They claim the uber successful song was ripped off from their lesser-known 2017 track “Live Your Life.”
Others, including Dua’s label Warner Records, are also included in the suit, in which Artikal claims that those working with Dua heard “Live Your Life” and then proceeded to make a dupe.
As noted by TMZ, “the two songs do sound awfully similar, especially the chorus,” and although they have “different lyrics, obviously, the beat comes across as damn near the same.”
“Levitating” was released in October 2020 and is from her second studio album Future Nostalgia, which was released that same year. The track peaked at number two and spent 68 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the longest-running top 10 song by a female artist on the chart.
Artikal is asking for profits made from “Levitating” as well as damages.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr 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, don’t appear to have advanced closer to the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least 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 02, 6:18 am
Third world war would be nuclear and destructive, Lavrov warns
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Wednesday that if a third world war were to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons and be destructive, according to Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.
Mar 02, 5:55 am
Putin’s fiercest critic Navalny calls for daily anti-war protests
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is urging people in Russia and around the world to stage daily protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We — Russia — want to be a nation of peace. Alas, few people would call us that now,” Navalny said Wednesday in a series of posts on Twitter via his spokesperson. “But let’s at least not become a nation of frightened silent people. Of cowards who pretend not to notice the aggressive war against Ukraine unleashed by our obviously insane czar.”
“They say that someone who cannot attend a rally and does not risk being arrested for it cannot call for it. I’m already in prison, so I think I can,” he tweeted. “We cannot wait any longer. Wherever you are, in Russia, Belarus or on the other side of the planet, go to the main square of your city every weekday and at 2 pm on weekends and holidays.”
“Yes, maybe only a few people will take to the streets on the first day. And in the second — even less,” he added. “But we must, gritting our teeth and overcoming fear, come out and demand an end to the war. Each arrested person must be replaced by two newcomers.”
Navalny called on people to not just “be against the war” but to “fight against the war.”
“If in order to stop the war we have to fill prisons and paddy wagons with ourselves, we will fill prisons and paddy wagons with ourselves,” he tweeted. “Everything has a price, and now, in the spring of 2022, we must pay this price. There’s no one to do it for us.”
Navalny, the most prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, was imprisoned last year when he returned to Russia from Germany after recovering from an attempted assassination with nerve agent poisoning in Siberia. Russia has denied carrying out such an attack.
Mar 02, 5:19 am
‘You can’t stay neutral right now,’ Zelenskyy warns
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Wednesday that the international community “can’t stay neutral,” as the Russian invasion entered its seventh day.
“Neutral Switzerland has supported EU sanctions against Russian oligarchs, officials, the state, and companies. Once again – neutral Switzerland. So why do other countries wait?” Zelenskyy said in a televised address. “Our anti-war coalition has already been joined by those countries that Moscow was counting on a week ago. This is an extraordinary result. You can’t stay neutral right now.”
“We are in our homeland and there will be an international tribunal for waging the war against us,” he added.
Zelenskyy also praised his fellow Ukrainians for being “united.”
“During this time, we have truly become one,” he said. “Today you, Ukrainians, are a symbol of invincibility. A symbol that people in any country can become the best people on Earth at any moment.”
Mar 02, 4:37 am
Russia claims to have captured Ukrainian port city
Russia claimed Wednesday to have captured Ukraine’s southern port city of Kherson, the largest Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces since the start of the invasion.
“Russian forces have taken full control of the Kherson regional center,” Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a press briefing Wednesday.
Russia-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine have also seized several cities and towns, advancing nearly 100 miles since launching the offensive, according to Konashenkov.
“Ukrainian servicemen will go home as soon as they make a written pledge not to take part in the hostilities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Russian forces have “disabled” the instrument room of the the main television tower in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, “putting an end to information attacks on Russia,” according to Konashenkov, who noted that “no damage was done to residential buildings in the course of the strike.”
Konashenkov also claimed that Russian aircraft had delivered a “massive strike” on Ukraine’s military infrastructure on Wednesday.
“Sixty-seven sites have been hit,” he added. “In all, 1,502 elements of Ukrainian military infrastructure have been disabled in the course of the operation. These include 51 command and communications centers belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, 38 S-300, Buk M-1 and Osa air defense missile systems and 51 radar stations.”
Mar 01, 10:59 pm
Boeing suspends all plane maintenance support for Russian airlines
The Boeing Company has suspended all parts, maintenance and technical support for Russian airlines as the conflict continues, the company announced Tuesday.
This is expected to have a significant impact on Russian carriers, as planes need constant maintenance.
“We have suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kyiv,” Boeing said in a statement. “We are also suspending parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines. As the conflict continues, our teams are focused on ensuring the safety of our teammates in the region.”
Mar 01, 10:56 pm
GOP points at Biden for Russian invasion in State of the Union response
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds implied Russia’s attack on Ukraine is connected to a lack of leadership from President Joe Biden in the Republican response to the State of the Union address, saying Biden has “sent us back in time” to the 1970s and ’80s, when the “Soviet army was trying to redraw the world map.”
Reynolds said Biden has failed on his promise to make America respected around the world once more and criticized Biden for the lead-up to the invasion, including waving sanctions against Russia and “focusing on political correctness.”
“Weakness on the world stage has a cost,” Reynolds said. “… We can’t project strength abroad if we’re weak home.”
Mar 01, 10:17 pm
‘Free world is holding Putin accountable,’ Biden says in SOTU address
In his first State of the Union address, President Joe Biden began by discussing the war in Eastern Europe and condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Biden invoked the strength of the Ukrainian people amid the attack, lauding the civilians who took up arms to defend their country and highlighting the work Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova has done on behalf of her people.
“She’s bright. She’s strong, and she’s resolved,” Biden said as first lady Jill Biden hugged Markarova.
Many lawmakers in attendance showed their support for Ukraine by wearing color-coordinated outfits and lapel pins in blue and yellow.
Biden described the invasion as “premeditated and totally unprovoked,” vowing, alongside NATO allies, to hold Putin accountable with sanctions on the Russian economy and Putin and the oligarchs themselves.
“When dictators do not pay a price for their aggressions, they cause more chaos,” Biden said. “They keep moving.”
Biden announced that American airspace would be closed to all Russian flights and pledged $1 billion in direct assistance to help “ease suffering” in Ukraine.
The president also “made clear” that while American forces would not go fight in Ukraine, he has mobilized the military to protect NATO countries.
“The United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory that is NATO territory with the full force of our collective power,” he said.
Mar 01, 9:45 pm
Biden announces ban on Russian flights in US airspace
President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address announced the U.S. will ban Russian flights from its airspace, joining Canada and the European Union, which issued bans on Russian planes in their respective airspaces over the weekend.
“Tonight I am announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights — further isolating Russia — and adding an additional squeeze on their economy,” Biden said.
The ban will apply to “operations of all aircraft owned, certified, operated, registered, chartered, leased, or controlled by, for, or for the benefit of, a person who is a citizen of Russia,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration. “This includes passenger and cargo flights, and scheduled as well as charter flights, effectively closing U.S. air space to all Russian commercial air carriers and other Russian civil aircraft.”
The ban will be “fully effective” by the end of the day Wednesday, the FAA said.
Mar 01, 9:12 pm
Lawmakers working to court ambassadors, diplomats ahead of UN vote to condemn Russia
While all eyes in Washington are on President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, some lawmakers have been working the phones to rally support at the United Nations for a resolution before the General Assembly to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and call for a peaceful resolution.
Working with the United States Mission to the United Nations, Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee have identified more than a dozen countries to target and called for ambassadors and key diplomats to leverage relationships to build more support for the nonbinding resolution.
“This has been a way for Congress to really play an important role working with the executive branch in getting this done and showing the world that Russia’s actions are illegal and should be condemned,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, a senior member of the committee that is leading the effort, told ABC News.
The vote “is an opportunity for countries to take a stand, and it’s especially a chance for the United States to demonstrate leadership among the nations of the world,” he said.
“President Biden and his administration, and now Congress, I believe, have demonstrated our ability to marshal our allies to condemn something the world has worked for decades to root out — which is a sovereign nation invading another,” Castro said.
Republicans have also been working to build support for the measure in the General Assembly, Castro said.
Mar 01, 8:35 pm
Ukrainian foreign minister addresses reports of racism
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba addressed the accounts of racism at the border by people of color attempting to flee, tweeting Tuesday, “Ukraine’s government spares no effort to solve the problem.”
Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also addressed the reports of racism and discrimination during a powerful speech at the U.N. Assembly on Tuesday.
“Every refugee must receive protection, no matter what their nationality, no matter what their religion, no matter of the color of their skin,” Baerbock said.
(NEW YORK) — Since Russia invaded Ukraine last week, an estimated 660,000 refugees have fled to other countries — with the number only expected to grow.
The UNHCR said in a statement Tuesday the conflict could lead to “Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century” as displaced people pour into Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova.
Non-profit organizations and other groups are warning many could wind up lacking access to basic health and medical needs including food, clean water, shelter, hygiene supplies and medication. And they say cases of communicable diseases, such as COVID-19 and polio, have the potential to grow along with gastrointestinal ailments.
That’s on top of trekking, on foot in cases, in the middle of winter in Eastern Europe.
“Fleeing your home is a last act of desperation,” Chris Skopec, executive vice-president of global health at Project Hope, a humanitarian nonprofit organization providing assistance to Ukrainian refugees, told ABC News. “All of your support networks are within your immediate community and, once you leave that, you excessively become more vulnerable to all kinds of things.”
Refugees may not have access to food, water or sanitation
Humanitarian groups say there are many health concerns for refugees fleeing the crisis in Ukraine.
Although there are public transit buses, trains and taxis that have been taking people to border checkpoints, some refugees have had to reach checkpoints on foot.
Additionally, stories have circulated of Ukrainians waiting up to 60 hours at border crossings just to get into a neighboring country, Skopec said.
“If you have less than sanitary conditions, if you’re walking on the road for days or sitting in your car, you don’t have access maybe to clean drinking water or the ability to wash or access proper hygiene facilities,” he said. “Then you’ve got concerns about gastrointestinal diseases, which can lead to other health conditions and really overall weaken the body.”
Refugees could also fall ill as they wait in long lines at the border in freezing temperatures. Temperatures usually don’t go much higher than 38 degrees Fahrenheit and fall to the low 20s at night.
“We’re talking about winter in central Europe,” Dr. Andrea Barschdorf-Hager, CEO of Care Austria, a nonprofit also helping Ukrainian refugees, told ABC News. “The weather conditions are hard and people are literally fleeing with just one winter jacket.”
When Russia invaded, Ukraine was already dealing with two public health crises, the first linked to the COVID pandemic.
Even while daily average COVID cases peaked at 37,000 last month, as data from Johns Hopkins University shows, less than 40% of Ukrainians aged 60 and older have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to the World Health Organization.
The country has also been trying to beat back a polio outbreak since October 2021 due to low immunization rates. During that time frame, at least one child was identified with paralytic polio and 19 other children have been infected, but not paralyzed, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
People traveling in large groups without masks or social distancing, drinking contaminated water or coming in contact with an infected person could lead to surges of these diseases in the refugee population.
“When you have a large population in mass movement fleeing the country, you don’t have the kind of personal protective equipment required to prevent the spread of infections,” Skopec said.
Right now, there are no reports that COVID-19 is spreading among the refugee population.
‘Stress and anxiety’ for those fleeing their homes
There are mental health concerns for refugees as well.
Skopec said one of the concerns is for those with chronic mental health conditions, who will be traveling without access to care or their medications. The other concern is broader and affects all those who are stressed due to fleeing.
“Everybody doing this is going through a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety,” Skopec said.
Barschdorf-Hagersaid said it will be important to provide psychosocial support to refugees when they cross the border.
“Not everyone is traumatized, but they have to digest what has happened,” she said. “We need to set up social workers for people who want to talk to a social worker. The refugees need help to integrate and some moments will haunt them for the rest of their lives.”
She continued, “We are in a war situation and we have to make them feel welcome and let them know they have a safe space to stay, come and go.”
Refugees need to be met with care packages and hygiene kits
Skopec said Project Hope is currently deploying four different teams to Poland, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine, and focusing on the medical and health needs of refugees, including those who have not crossed into neighboring countries.
“So in Poland, we are simultaneously looking to get medical supplies into Ukraine to distribute to medical facilities while at the same time offering support to the Polish health authorities in terms of receiving refugees and making sure that they’ve got proper screening and proper basic care available for them,” he said.
Skopec added the organization has also put together interagency emergency kits, which are described by the WHO as being filled with medicines such as ibuprofen and morphine and medications to treat conditions including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and pulmonary diseases.
Each kit can treat 30,000 people for one month and Project Hope has seven kits on standby whenever governments request them.
Meanwhile, Barschdorf-Hagersaid said CARE Austria is working with its partner organization, People in Need, to supply care packages of clean water and food, including baby food, to refugees as well as hygiene kits.
“I don’t know of any border where there are enough sanitation places. There are not enough toilets, not enough washing stalls,” she said. “So the kits include diapers for babies, sanitary pads for young girls and women and so on.”
Barschdorf-Hagersaid also said the refugees need cash assistance so they can buy tickets to get their families living elsewhere in Europe or so they can buy things.
“Cash assistance is important to meet the needs of the moment because banks are not functioning in Ukraine,” she said. “It’s really key that people get cash assistance.”
