Oscar winner Nicolas Cage is expecting his third child, his first with fifth wife Riko Shibata.
A rep for the couple, who met via mutual friends, tells People, “The parents-to-be are elated!”
Cage, who changed his surname from Coppola early in his career to distance himself from his uncle Francis Ford Coppola, already has two sons: 31-year-old Weston Coppola Cage, and 16-year-old Kal-El Coppola Cage, from respective previous relationships with ex-girlfriend Christina Fulton and ex-wife Alice Kim.
Cage, 57, married Shibata, 27, in Las Vegas in February of last year.
(NEW YORK) — An Egyptian American has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of Egypt as he “tracked and obtained information regarding political opponents” of the Egyptian president, federal prosecutors in New York said.
It’s the latest example of an autocratic leader extending their grip beyond their borders to quash political dissent — a hand that in recent years has even extended into the U.S., according to some analysts.
Pierre Girgis, 39, “operated at the direction and control of multiple employees of the Egyptian government,” according to the criminal complaint, as he spied on critics of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Egyptian general who seized power in 2013.
Sisi has overseen a widespread crackdown on human rights in Egypt, which is among the least free countries in the world, according to the think tank Freedom House. Sisi’s government has imprisoned tens of thousands of political prisoners, criminalized expressions of dissent and deployed security forces with impunity, according to human rights groups.
“At the behest of Egyptian officials, Girgis’ alleged prohibited conduct included attempting to covertly gather non-public intelligence about the activities of political opponents of Egypt’s president, and attempting to gain access for foreign officials to attend law enforcement-only trainings in Manhattan,” U.S. attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
Girgis is charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general of the United States and with conspiracy.
The Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C., has not yet responded to a request for comment. The government has previously denied harassing dissidents or defended arrests as critical to national security, and Sisi once claimed his government held no political prisoners.
Critics, such as the Freedom Initiative, have alleged that Sisi’s repressive tactics now extend beyond Egypt’s borders to target dissidents overseas.
“Mr. Girgis’ activities are not isolated. Egypt has engaged in a pattern of intimidating and harassing rights defenders, journalists and the families of political prisoners in the U.S. for years,” said Allison McManus, research director of the human rights organization founded by Mohamed Soltan.
Soltan, an Egyptian American, spent nearly two years in prison for protesting Sisi’s 2013 seizure of power. He was tortured in prison, he said, and went on hunger strike to demand his release, but after being returned to the U.S., his outspoken advocacy has resulted in Egyptian authorities harassing his family, he claimed.
Soltan’s father has been arrested by Egyptian authorities and has had no communication with his family since, according to Soltan, while five cousins have been arrested and released twice now. The Freedom Initiative alleged in a May 2021 report that at least a dozen American citizens have had family members back in Egypt detained throughout 2020, five of which were in direct response to their political activity in the U.S.
The State Department declined to comment on Girgis’ case, saying it is an active law enforcement matter. But spokesperson Ned Price told ABC News, “We are seeking to hold to account countries that would pursue dissidents, that would undertake such activity extraterritorially.”
Critics say that little has been done to punish Egypt, one of the United States’ key Middle East allies and a major recipient of military aid.
The Biden administration withheld $130 million in military aid last fall, which human rights groups in a joint statement said “undermines the human rights of Egypt’s citizens and further erodes the standing of the United States.”
Examples of this kind of “extraterritorial” activity by autocratic governments have grown in recent years, too.
The Saudi government ordered the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at its consulate in Turkey, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko grounded a Ryanair flight to arrest a dissident blogger on board, and Russian agents poisoned former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the United Kingdom. Saudi Arabia claimed it was a rogue operation, while Russia denied any responsibility for Skripal’s poisoning.
This is also not the first case of a foreign agent spying on dissidents in the U.S.
Last summer, the Department of Justice accused four Iranian citizens, including one intelligence agent, of attempting to kidnap activist and writer Masih Alinejad from her New York apartment. Federal prosecutors said the suspects were directed by the Iranian government to bring Alinejad back to Tehran because of her criticism of the government.
It’s unclear what Girgis’ information was being used for, if at all, but an Egyptian official allegedly made its value to the government clear in encrypted communications sent in 2018, according to the criminal complaint.
“You do a lot of good things,” one message from an unnamed Egyptian official said, according to the complaint. “You have become an important source for them to collect information.”
In a 2019 message, Girgis and the same Egyptian official reportedly discussed an upcoming trip of certain Egyptian officials to the United States.
“Tell me what you want me to do,” Girgis asked his handler, according to the criminal complaint.
The Egyptian official responded by inquiring about Girgis’ relationship with a particular U.S. law enforcement officer.
“Ask [the U.S. law enforcement officer] for something,” the official reportedly said. “We want you to find out if there are any police trainings happening in Manhattan in the coming days, and if so, who are the people in charge of these trainings? We would like to attend.”
Girgis surrendered Thursday morning to the FBI and was due to make an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court later in the day. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had arranged a lawyer.
Taraji P. Henson has been very public about suffering from depression, and she explores mental health issues in her Facebook Watch program,Peace of Mind with Taraji. Now she’s taking the show on the road. On February 16, the 10-time NAAACP Image Award winner will appear in Boston at the Museum of Science for “Peace of Mind: An Evening with Taraji P. Henson,” the Boston Globe reports.
The event will feature the Empire star talking about her mental health advocacy, and breaking down stigmas around mental health, specifically in communities of color.
In other news, following Tuesday night’s premiere of the eighth and final season of black-ish, featuring MichelleObama, series star Tracee Ellis Ross says she’s proud of the program’s legacy.
“I don’t take it lightly, the cultural value and importance of our show. It’s not lost on me that we were thriving for eight years within a system that really isn’t designed to bring shows like black-ish into people’s homes,” she tells EW.com
Finally, 9-1-1 star Angela Bassett‘s iconic career continues to thrive at age 63, and after acting for 37 years, she’s loves seeing other Black actresses making their mark in Hollywood.
“It’s wonderful with 9-1-1 that I get to work with Aisha [Hinds] because I was such a big fan of hers watching Underground. And then for them to bring in Marsha Warfield to portray her mother, who I grew up watching on Night Court, ” the Golden Globe winner tells InStyle.
“I’m so proud of Halle [Berry] for making her directorial debut [with the Netflix movie Bruised]. Whatever a woman’s doing, I’m supporting and applauding her. Because we don’t feel 100% every day,” Bassett says. “We need to be able to look out and find inspiration.
Don’t expect to get your hands on a physical copy of The Weeknd‘s new album, because he hasn’t made any… yet.
Taking to Twitter on Thursday, hours before Dawn FM arrives, he announced that he is only selling digital copies of his new album. The revelation came after a fan noted a since-deleted tweet that declared because there will be “no physical copies (vinyls, CDs, cassettes)” during the first week of release, it will “obviously impact first week figures.”
The Canadian artist didn’t sweat the possibility of losing out on possible sales, and shot back, “This doesn’t matter to me. what matters is getting to experience the album together with the fans during these times.”
If you’re more traditional with your music consumption, no fear: you’ll soon be able to listen to The Weeknd’s new album the old-fashioned way. According to his online store, cassette, CD and vinyl copies of Dawn FM are on sale but won’t start shipping until January 28.
Saturday Night Live is coming back on January 15 with West Side Story‘s Ariana DeBose as host, and musical guest Roddy Rich.
The long-running sketch show posted the news to social media Thursday afternoon.
Not only will it be the first SNL show of the new year, it will be the first since the sketch show’s Christmas episode with Paul Rudd was sidetracked by the Omicron spike.
Instead of the traditional show with an audience, Rudd, and guests like Tom Hanks and Tina Fey introducing pre-taped content, as well as favorite sketches from holiday episodes past.
SNL cast members Kenan Thompson and Michael Che also appeared, the other joining Fey for a stripped-down version of “Weekend Update” presented with them sitting on simple chairs on stage.
Britney Spears is continuing to indulge herself now that she’s free of her 13-year conservatorship, and her most recent outing brought tears to her eyes.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Britney opened up about having a magical dining experience at a “very nice place in Los Angeles.”
“I didn’t have any expectations at all because I haven’t been out in a while,” she admitted, but she was blown away by the experience. “It was absolutely beautiful,” she declared. “I looked up and it was a glass roof, I could see the stars.”
The singer took a beat to rave about the “girly” and “beautiful” women’s restrooms before going into detail about her fine dining experience. Britney revealed that restaurant is where she was finally able to enjoy a glass of red wine, her first in 13 years, which was a profound moment for her.
“I felt more sexy in that restaurant than I ever have in my entire life … Then I look up at the stars. Wow, is this what I’ve been missing???,” she wrote, adding that the second course — which she described as a “crunchy sushi with a sweet sauce” — brought her to tears. “It made me want to cry, so I did !!! I cried over food in this beautiful restaurant … I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing.”
“I will say it was one of the most magical experiences of my life and I will never forget it,” Britney added, but declined to reveal the name of the institution. However, she did provide fans a quick glimpse at the fancy place when sharing a video of her cracking open her dessert, a chocolate tower, with the side of her spoon.
Jack Harlow will celebrate the Memorial Day weekend performing in his Louisville, Kentucky hometown.
The “What’s Poppin” rapper is one of the headliners of the 20th anniversary Forecastle Festival being held May 27-29. The lineup also features Tyler, the Creator, Wale, 6Lack and many more. Tickets are now on sale on the festival website.
Jack kicks off his Crème de la Crème Californiatour Friday, January 7 in Los Angeles, with another show in LA on Saturday. The tour will continue with stops in Pomona, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco. It wraps up January 16 and 17 in Sacramento.
This week, Harlow shared that Louisville declared December 18 as Jack Harlow Day. The plaque reads that he was honored “For answering, once and for all, that ‘What’s Poppin’ is Louisville when it comes to talent that makes it bigger than big, that doesn’t forget the ‘home’ in hometown or homegrown.”
“The rapper’s way with words and beats has earned him untold fans, chart-topping releases and an ability to give back in meaningful ways, and he does,” the citation continues.
It’s been an almost three-year drought, but the wait for The Chainsmokers‘ new music is finally over. The “Closer” singers revealed on Thursday that they’re back in the studio and cooking up something extra special for their fans.
The duo teased an all-new single, called “High,” on Twitter, and it sounds as if they’re returning to their EDM roots. The small teaser contains a thrumming beat, choppy distorted vocals and other electronica elements.
“Who’s ready?” The Chainsmokers ask in the caption, including a purple devil emoji as well as a link to pre-save the new single. They also use the hashtag #TCS4, which is a code name of their upcoming fourth studio album that they’ve been teasing for several years.
The last time the duo tweeted was in February 2020, where they announced a social media hiatus so they could work on the album and “give it the attention it needs.” They also said at the time, “We will be back soon (ish), but other than that next time you see our faces on here, will be when TCS4 is ready… time for album mode.”
Does the announcement of “High” mean the album has been completed, as they previously promised? Already their social media accounts have adopted new imagery, such as profile pictures and purple headers that match the color scheme they picked for their new music teaser.
So far, no date has been given when we’ll hear “High,” nor when we can expect their next record.
The last original single The Chainsmokers released was their Blink-182 collaboration “P.S. I Hope You’re Happy” in December 2019. However, on January 2, the duo released a remix of Bonnie Raitt‘s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” calling it “a gift for your patience.”
Back in August, Kane Brown took to Instagram to share the before and after shots of a personal project he’d been working on: His fitness level.
“Scroll to see how tiny I was,” the singer wrote in the caption, putting an old picture side by side with his current, more muscular physique by way of comparison.
In a new interview with Men’s Health, Kane talks in greater depth about the moment that he decided to up his fitness game. It all started during a Fourth of July get-together with some friends, including his fellow country artists Granger Smith and RaeLynn.
Granger had been on tour with Kane in the past, and the headliner recalled how Granger would take his shirt off and toss it into the crowd. “He was just so shredded,” Kane remembered. The conversation turned to the singer’s own physique, which he and his friend thought was comparatively kind of scrawny.
“So I told them, from then on, ‘Just wait. I’m going to get ripped,’” he continues. “And every day since then, I’ve started working out.”
Kane started exercising with his security guard every morning between 9:30-11:00 a.m., six days a week. “I’ll usually take Sundays off, kind of like Chick-fil-A,” he jokes.
Now, though, the singer says he’s a work in progress, and he’s starting to reap the benefits of his hard work. Not only does he like the way he looks, but he’s also in better shape to play with his two-year-old daughter, Kingsley, and he has an easier time putting on a killer live show.
“Ask anyone who has seen my show recently; I’m literally sprinting across the stage,” Kane points out.
Welcome to 2022…we’ve got new Guns N’ Roses music. Or we will, anyway.
In an interview with Classic Rock magazine, Slash reveals that there’s “new Guns material coming out as we speak.”
The guitar icon notes, “We’ll probably keep putting it out until the entire record’s worth of stuff is done and then put it out solid,” adding, “It’s cool. I’m enjoying working on the stuff and having a good time doing it.”
Last year, GN’R released two new singles: “Absurd” and “Hard Skool.” The tracks marked the first new tunes from the “Welcome to Jungle” rockers since Slash and bassist Duff McKagan rejoined frontman Axl Rose in the band in 2016.
The most recent Guns N’ Roses album is, of course, Chinese Democracy, which was finally released in 2008 after nearly a decade in development hell. Rose is the only original GN’R member featured on that record.
Slash, meanwhile, is set to drop a new album called 4 with his solo band Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators on February 11.
