Halsey is getting candid about their post-baby body struggles.
The singer opened up Thursday night on Twitter about how they are dealing with their new body since the birth of their first child, Ender, back in July.
“My pregnancy has changed my body so much,” Halsey wrote. “Learning how to have a personal sense of style when you’re not used to your new shapes has become a real struggle. To all the mommas (or really just anyone going thru something similar) I feeeel you.”
Halsey, who stepped out for a New York Fashion Week event Wednesday night with partner Alev Aydin, added that the expectation to look a certain way has been weighing on them.
“The pressure to look ‘androgynous’ as a means of gender non-confirming expression (as a big t**** breastfeeding mom) coupled with expectation to have a perfect body right after birth is a cocktail of confusion,” the 26-year-old wrote. “I’m patiently reminding myself to do me in any way that feels good.”
“It’s all bulls*** and we are all doing our best,” Halsey concluded. “Anyways, just some vulnerable thoughts. If you relate you’re not alone.”
Rihanna has reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with her father after filing a lawsuit accusing him of illegally using her name for his own profit.
Radarreports that the nine-time Grammy winner dropped the lawsuit against Ronald Fenty before they were due to go to trial on September 22.
In 2019, RiRi sued her father and his company, Fenty Entertainment. Court documents state, “Although Mr. Fenty is Rihanna’s father, he does not have, and never has had, authority to act on Rihanna’s behalf.”
Rihanna said that her dad, who is not her agent, booked a $15 million overseas tour without her approval. She also claims that he attempted to trademark the phrase “Fenty” to open a chain of hotels.
Now the “Umbrella” singer is focused on hosting an after party for the Met Ball Gala on Monday in New York City. She will also present her annual Savage X Fentyfashion show on September 24. It will stream in over 240 countries and territories on Amazon Prime Video, and will “combine fashion, dance, music, and iconic architecture.” Last year’s presentation at the Los Angeles Convention Center featured appearances by Normani, Roddy Ricch, Miguel, Ella Mai and Mustard.
Last month, Forbes declared Rihanna’s fashion/music empire is now worth $1.7 billion, making her the wealthiest female musician in the world, and second to Oprah Winfrey as the richest female entertainer.
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 654,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.6 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 62.5% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Sep 10, 1:48 pm
Florida governor’s school mask mandate ban is reinstated
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ school mask mandate ban was reinstated by an appeals court Friday.
This overrules a Tallahassee judge’s decision on Wednesday to lift the stay, preventing the state from enforcing the ban. (The appeals court still needs to rule on the legality of the order, but the reinstatement of the stay means that until then, the state can continue sanctioning school districts.)
DeSantis has struggled to rein in the state’s largest school systems as they implement mask mandates in defiance of state law. At least 13 districts, including Florida’s six largest, have mask requirements in place. The Florida Department of Education has threatened to withhold the salaries of school board members in most of these districts and has begun doing so in at least two cases.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Sep 10, 1:00 pm
CDC studies: Vaccines still dramatically reduce risk of hospitalization, death amid delta
The unvaccinated “are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky said at Friday’s White House COVID briefing.
Three new studies from the CDC show vaccines still dramatically reduce the risk of hospitalization and death amid the delta surge.
A study of U.S. veterans fully vaccinated with Pfizer and Moderna found no real change in vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization pre-delta to post-delta. A second study of all three vaccines across nine states found vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization was 86% for all age groups. A third study of all three vaccines across 13 jurisdictions found vaccines performed roughly equally well protecting against hospitalization and death during the delta surge compared to pre-delta.
Across the studies, vaccines remained 86-87% effective against preventing hospitalizations.
But effectiveness dropped more for people ages 65 and older in recent months compared to before delta, likely due a combination of vaccine effectiveness fading over time and the slight impact of the delta variant on vaccine efficacy.
Vaccines are losing some of their effectiveness when it comes to preventing mild infections among the vaccinated.
-ABC News’ Sony Salzman
Sep 10, 11:28 am
Kentucky deploys more National Guard members to help strained hospitals
In hard-hit Kentucky, over 300 more National Guard members will be sent to help at 21 strained hospitals, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
More than 300 additional @KentuckyGuard members will be deployed to 21 strained hospitals. This is the largest deployment of the Guard for a health crisis in our history. We’ve asked a lot of these heroes, but every time we’ve asked, they’ve stepped up and served us proudly. pic.twitter.com/gu4rBO4Whw
Kentucky’s positivity rate was above 14% Thursday as the state set new records for hospitalizations and patients on ventilators, the governor said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Sep 10, 9:54 am
FDA says it won’t cut corners for vaccine for young kids
While awaiting Pfizer trial data for kids ages 5 to 11, the Food and Drug Administration is vowing not to cut corners.
The FDA said, “it’s critical that thorough and robust clinical trials of adequate size are completed to evaluate the safety and the immune response.”
“Children are not small adults — and issues that may be addressed in pediatric vaccine trials can include whether there is a need for different doses or different strength formulations of vaccines already used for adults,” the FDA said.
When the FDA receives a completed emergency use authorization request, “the agency will carefully, thoroughly and independently examine the data to evaluate benefits and risks and be prepared to complete its review as quickly as possible, likely in a matter of weeks rather than months.”
“However, the agency’s ability to review these submissions rapidly will depend in part on the quality and timeliness of the submissions by manufacturers,” the FDA added.
Sep 10, 5:43 am
Milwaukee Public Schools to require COVID-19 vaccination for staff
All employees of Milwaukee Public Schools must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination by Nov. 1, unless they qualify for a medical or religious exemption, school board members voted unanimously on Thursday night.
The board also decided that staff who qualify for an exemption must take COVID-19 tests twice weekly. Anyone who does not comply with the new vaccine mandate or is not exempt would be placed on unpaid leave and ultimately could lose their job.
Students are not required to get vaccinated, but the board approved monetary incentives of $100 for those who are 12 and older and can provide proof of vaccination by the Nov. 1 deadline.
Sep 09, 7:33 pm
LA school district to mandate vaccine for students
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education unanimously voted Thursday to require the COVID-19 vaccine for all eligible students.
All students ages 12 and up will be required to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 10, 2022, unless they have a “medical or other exemption,” said the district, which is the second-largest in the nation with over 600,000 students.
All teachers and staff are already required to be vaccinated by Oct. 15.
“Today’s decision furthers our longstanding commitment to ensure the safety of our students, families, and staff,” Board President Kelly Gonez said in a statement. “The vaccine is the single best way to protect students and schools from COVID-19.”
(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — When Cathey Stoner gave birth to a baby boy last month, it was a miracle years in the making.
Stoner delivered the child after serving as a surrogate for her twin sister, Sarah Sharp, who could not carry a pregnancy after being diagnosed with choriocarcinoma, a rare and fast-growing cancer that occurs in a woman’s uterus.
The newborn baby, named John Ryder Sharp and born on Aug. 18, is the biological child of Sharp and her husband, Richard.
“Her offering that to me was the biggest act of love that anyone’s ever extended to me or my family,” Sharp, 33, said of her sister carrying her child. “Surrogacy is a beautiful gift that you can give somebody and I will forever be grateful.”
Sharp, who, like her sister, lives in the Nashville area, was diagnosed with choriocarcinoma in 2018, about one year after she gave birth to her now 4-year-old daughter Charlotte.
She underwent seven rounds of chemotherapy in an attempt to beat the cancer while also saving her uterus. She was declared cancer free in December 2018, but by her first checkup, in January, the cancer had returned.
She began a new course of chemotherapy and also underwent a hysterectomy, which successfully removed the cancer but left her without the hope of giving birth to another child.
Just before Sharp underwent the hysterectomy, Stoner told her sister for the second time in her cancer battle that she would carry any future children for her.
“We kind of laughed a little bit again but for me, in the back of my mind, it was something to hold onto,” Sharp told “Good Morning America” in June. “It was something to help me move myself forward mentally. It was hope and grace and the future all in one.”
Once Sharp finished her cancer treatments, she prepared to become a mom again, and turned to her sister for help.
Stoner, mom to a 4-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter, said she had no hesitation about helping her sister expand her family in any way she could.
“We decided to knock on the doors and see if they opened,” Stoner told “GMA” in June. “There was a lot of waiting, but it went really smooth.”
By the end of 2020, the two sisters, whose story is featured in the new issue of People magazine, were celebrating the news that Stoner was pregnant.
“From the beginning I’ve felt differently in this pregnancy because I know it’s my nephew and not my son, and I have loved every step of the way,” said Stoner, who was the baby’s gestational carrier. “I tell people, ‘I’m just carrying my nephew.'”
“To be able to go to the doctor for such a happy reason is really healing for all of us,” she added, noting that her sister was with her at every doctor’s appointment during the pregnancy.
Bullet for My Valentine has released a new song called “Shatter,” a track off the band’s upcoming self-titled album.
“It’s one of our personal favorites and we’re pretty sure it’ll be one of yours,” Bullet says of “Shatter.” “It’s an absolute sledgehammer of a track with riffs for days. Let the head banging commence!”
You can download “Shatter” now via digital outlets. Its accompanying video is streaming now on YouTube.
“Shatter” is the third track to be released from Bullet for My Valentine, following “Knives” and “Parasite.” The whole album is set to arrive October 22.
Jimmie Allen was well into Dancing with the Stars rehearsals before the cast was revealed. In a new post on social media, he shows off the elaborate disguise they used to hide his face prior to the cast announcment, leading some to believe he was a professional athlete instead of a singer.
“Back when people thought I was a football player walking into rehearsal. Haha Before the cast reveal of [Dancing with the Stars] we had to wear these face shields. I about tripped and fell like 8 times.”
Jimmie has already reached out for advice to several of his famous friends who have competed on DWTS.
“I talked to Chuck Wicks, he did it,” Jimmie shared on Good Morning America. “Lauren Alaina. I actually talked to AJ [McLean]. Rashad Jennings, Bobby Bones. I know Nelly did it last season. They said it’s gonna be difficult, but it’s fun, and they’re not lying. These rehearsals … I never ballroom danced a day in my life. It’s rough.”
Jimmie joins an all-star cast that includes JoJo Siwa, Christine Chiu, Sunisa Lee, Brian Austin Green, Amanda Kloots, Martin Kove, Olivia Jade and more.
Season 30 of Dancing with the Stars will premiere on Monday, September 20, at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
Nicki Minaj and husband Kenneth Petty; Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Marc Jacob
Nicki Minaj‘s husband, Kenneth Petty, faces up to ten years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender in California.
Petty, who married the “Anaconda” rapper in 2019, pleaded guilty on Thursday, according to court records obtained by ABC News. Sentencing has been scheduled for January 24, 2022. Petty faces a maximum ten-year prison sentence and a fine of $250,000 or more, though the law allows for a minimum sentence of five years of supervised release for the violation.
As her husband faces more legal drama, the five-time MTV Video Music Award winner announced Thursday she will not appears at the VMAs on Sunday in New York City. “I just pulled out. I’ll explain why another day,” Minaj tweeted in response to a fan asking if she would be performing on Sunday. “Next year we there baby.”
Petty was arrested in March 2020 after being indicted for failure to register as a sex offender. He pleaded not guilty and posted $100,000 bail. The 43-year-old, who has homes in New York City and Los Angeles, was registered as sex offender in New York, but not in California. He is required to register as a sex offender in both states after being convicted for the first-degree attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl in 1995, for which he served a four-year prison sentence.
As previously reported, Petty’s alleged rape victim, Jennifer Hough, recently filed a lawsuit against him and Minaj in which she accused the pair of attempting to intimidate her into recanting her rape accusation. She asserts in the lawsuit that Petty “intimidated” and “harassed” her not to talk about the incident, and says that Nicki “threatened” her and wanted her to disavow her accusations against Petty, according to Billboard.
Hough alleges that Nicki falsely claims that she wrote a letter recanting her statement accusing Petty of rape, and that on two different occasions, Minaj and Petty offered her $500,000, and $20,000 to recant her statement.
I just pulled out. I’ll explain why another day. But I love those guys at MTV. thank you Bruce. I love you so much. Next year we there baby. https://t.co/QkueA9fcOu
(NEW YORK) — With the U.S. military and diplomatic withdrawal now complete after 20 years in Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over the country, including the Kabul airport, the site of an often-desperate evacuation effort in past weeks.
But even as the last American troops were flown out to meet President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, other Americans who wanted to flee the country were left behind. The Biden administration is now focused on a “diplomatic mission” to help them leave but some hoping to evacuate are still stuck in the country. Meanwhile, the Taliban has announced its new “caretaker” government which includes men with U.S. bounties on their heads — and no women.
Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:
Sep 10, 12:46 pm
2nd Qatari flight lands in Doha with foreigners on board
A second Qatar Airways flight from Kabul landed in Doha at 7:29 p.m. local time, according to flight data, with an unknown number of foreign nationals on board.
The flight number for the Boeing 777 — QR7277 — was the same as Thursday’s, the first flight out of Kabul since all U.S. personnel withdrew.
Sep 10, 12:23 pm
Kinzinger blasts US evacuation mission as ‘strategic failure’
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., criticized the Biden administration’s handling of evacuations from Kabul as a “strategic failure” on ABC’s “The View” on Friday and expressed deep concern for what will happen in the coming weeks as the Taliban exercises complete control of the country.
“Afghanistan has a constitution. That constitution and that government was overthrown by force by a military coup of the Taliban. I don’t think at any other time we’d look at a military coup by an enemy, in a country of an ally and say, we’re looking forward to finding opportunities to work with them,” Kinzinger said, as the U.S. cooperates with the Taliban to get some 100 remaining Americans out.
“There will be a moment, I fear, when the cell towers come down or the information is locked down, and we see the acceleration of the brutalization of women, of gays, of people that are different than what the Taliban wants them to be,” he added.
Kinzinger argued there is “so much hypocrisy” in the debate on whom to blame for the war ending as it began, under Taliban rule, including on all four presidents preceding Biden, but said the execution of the withdrawal is “what’s broken so many hearts.”
-ABC News’ Joanne Rosa contributed to this report
Sep 10, 11:33 am
2nd passenger plane takes off from Kabul
A second Qatar Airways flight has taken off from the airport in Kabul with an unknown number of Americans on board, a day after the more than 100 foreign nationals left Afghanistan on the first flight out since the U.S. military’s withdrawal.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed that 39 Americans had been invited on Thursday’s chartered Qatar Airways flight from Kabul and from that group, 10 U.S. citizens and 11 lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, flew out.
Another 43 Canadian citizens, 13 British citizens and others were also aboard.
The Biden administration offered some praise for the Taliban on Thursday for their cooperation as officials try to fly out some 100 Americans without U.S. troops or a State Department presence on the ground.
Sep 10, 8:00 am
US has ‘many means’ to get intelligence in Afghanistan, Mayorkas says
The United States has “many means” of gathering intelligence in Afghanistan despite not having boots on the ground, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday.
“We no longer have troops in Afghanistan, but we have other resources to learn information on the ground and we certainly use those resources to the best of our abilities,” Mayorkas told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview on “Good Morning America.”
“We are quite creative and quite capable of learning information from coast-to-coast and all over the world,” he added.
Mayorkas noted that the U.S. government is watching the potentially re-emerging terrorist threat in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan “very closely.”
“We watch the threat landscape all over the world,” he added. “We have built an entire architect to protect, to safeguard the American people.”
But the greatest threat to the U.S. homeland is currently domestic terrorism, according to Mayorkas.
“Individuals who are prone to violence by reason of an ideology of hate or false narratives that we see on social media or other online platforms,” he said. “I think it’s a sad thing to see hate emerge, as we have observed it emerge over the last several years.”
With the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks approaching, Mayorkas said the government is not aware of any “specific credible threats targeting the United States” on the somber date.
“But we are vigilant,” he added. “We watch the information, we learn information; but at this point in time, we don’t know of any threat on the anniversary.”
Sep 09, 3:57 pm
More than 30 Americans invited as passengers on flight from Kabul, some declined
More than 30 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents were invited by the U.S. to be passengers on the first chartered flight out of Kabul since the American evacuation mission ended, but not all said yes. Some said no because of medical reasons, extended family members or their desire for more time, among other reasons, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price.
Price said he could not give an exact number of those who did make Thursday’s flight to Qatar.
Echoing an earlier statement from the National Security Council, Price said he welcomed the Qatari Airways departure from Kabul. He said he hopes and expects more flights will be allowed to continue in the days to come.
Sep 09, 2:16 pm
White House confirms flight with Americans landed in Qatar, calls Taliban cooperation ‘professional’
National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne has confirmed that U.S. citizens and permanent residents were among the passengers on the first charter flight to leave the airport in Kabul since Qatar took over operations at the airport and that they have safely landed in Qatar.
The statement offered no passenger numbers, so it’s unclear how many U.S. citizens were on board, but it did provide some praise for the Taliban’s cooperation.
“The Taliban have been cooperative in facilitating the departure of American citizens and lawful permanent residents on charter flights from HKIA. They have shown flexibility, and they have been businesslike and professional in our dealings with them in this effort. This is a positive first step,” the statement said.
Here are some notable new tracks to take you through the weekend:
Glass Animals has released their new single, “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance).” Frontman Dave Bayley says the song was inspired by pandemic and needing to find an outlet to let off some steam. “I want people to switch their devices off, put this song on, close their eyes, and have that release for a moment,” he says.
BLACKPINK’s Lisa has officially released her debut solo project, LALISA, featuring the dance and hip-hop inspired title track and a song called “Money.”
Walker Hayes‘ viral crossover hit “Fancy Like” is getting some extra pop star power. The country star has just released a new version of the song featuring Kesha. Kesha sang the praises of the song, tweeting, “This song speaks to me on a very deep level. I’m fancy like…. A southern b**** who loves a Waffle House after a night at the dive bar n karaoke…. How u fancy like?”
And speaking of viral hits, Tai Verdeshas released a new version of his track “A-OK” featuring 24KGoldn.
The Hella Mega tour might be over, but you can still “Rock and Roll All Nite” with Green Day.
Billie Joe Armstrong and company have officially released their cover of the KISS classic, recorded during their trek with Fall Out Boy and Weezer. You can download the cover now via digital outlets, and watch its accompanying video, featuring Hella Mega live footage, streaming now on YouTube.
When Green Day first debuted their version of “Rock and Roll All Nite” live, both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley praised the performance.
The Hella Mega tour concluded this past Monday in Seattle. The European leg of the outing is set to kick off June 2022.
