Katy Perry announced that her cover of the classic Beatles song “All You Need Is Love” has raised $100,000 to help needy children.
Katy told her fans on Twitter, “Pleased as punch that so many of you streamed my All You Need is Love track on @Spotify. Because of it, @Gap will be donating $100k to @baby2baby #GivingTuesday.”
Katy launched her fundraiser in October as part of her holiday campaign with the Gap, where a dollar would be donated to Baby2Baby every time someone streamed the song on Spotify, for a maximum donation of $100,000.
The Grammy-nominee previously said in a statement that Baby2Baby, which provides basic necessities to children living in poverty, is “a charity that’s close to my heart.”
Katy, who is the mom of one-year-old Daisy Dove, added, “Children are our future. We need to lift kids and help them find their value, self-worth and self-respect.”
“All You Need Is Love” is now available for purchase and streaming. You can also hear a clip of Katy’s cover on the Gap’s Christmas commercials that are airing now.
(ATLANTA) — Stacy Abrams will be back on the campaign trail in a second bid for governor of Georgia, setting the stage for a possible rematch with GOP Gov. Brian Kemp whom she lost to in 2018.
Abrams, hoping to become the nation’s first Black chief state executive, made her campaign announcement Wednesday on Twitter.
“I’m running for Governor because opportunity in our state shouldn’t be determined by zip code, background or access to power,” Abrams said in an announcement video.
I’m running for Governor because opportunity in our state shouldn’t be determined by zip code, background or access to power. #gapol
In 2018, she ran a closely-watched race for governor against Kemp, but lost by almost 2 points.
Following the loss, Abrams continued to gain notoriety as she advocated for voting rights legislation. She launched the Fair Fight voter protection organization, which is credited with helping Joe Biden win Georgia in 2020, as well as Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win the state’s two Senate seats.
“We believe in this place and our folks who deserve to be seen and heard and have a voice because in the end, we are one GA.”
Abrams highlighted the work she’s accomplished since leaving the campaign trail in an announcement video that shows Abrams at community events and features various scenes of Georgians at work. I’ve worked to do my part to help families make it through paying off medical debt for 68,000 Georgians expanding access to vaccines, bringing supplies to overwhelmed food banks, lending a hand across our state, especially in rural Georgia,” she said.
Kemp may face a Republican primary challenge.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Record breaking gymnast Simone Biles is one of the People of the Year! The seven-time Olympic medal winner joins Dolly Parton, Sandra Oh from Grey’s Anatomy, and National Teacher of the Year Juliana Urtubey, on the list of People Magazine’s 2021 People Of the Year
At the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, Simone withdrew from several events. citing mental health issues. She still won a silver medal and a bronze medal. “Now [people] view me as human, which makes me so happy,” she tells People. “I fought hard. I survived. I’m proud of myself.”
In the other news, there will be a remake of the 1992 film White Men Can’t Jump starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Deadline reports that Calmatic, who recently wrapped production directing the House Party reboot, will direct. Kenya Barris is producing and co-writing the script.
Finally, Gabrielle Union is joining the cast of the live reenactment of the 80s sitcom, The Facts of Life, according to Variety. Gabrielle will play Tootie, originally portrayed by Kim Fields. The Facts of Life live will air with a live reenactment of Diff’rent Strokes.
As previous reported, Kevin Hart will star as Gary Coleman‘s character, Arnold Drummond, and Damon Wayans will play his brother Willis, originally portrayed by Todd Bridges. Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes will air live Tuesday, December 7 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Michael Bublé isn’t taking for granted any moment with his eight-year-old son, Noah. The singer lived through his worst nightmare when then-three-year-old Noah diagnosed with liver cancer.
Although doctors gave Noah the all-clear four years ago, Michael says that journey permanently changed his outlook on life.
“I live a much deeper life now,” the singer revealed to People. He explained that painful part of his life taught him the value of seeing the silver lining around every dark cloud.
“I don’t wish that kind of pain upon any human being, but I do feel that when you’ve truly suffered, when you’ve truly felt fear and loss, it allows you to live a deeper life,” the four-time Grammy winner admitted. “Once you’ve felt those things, you are able, in context, to truly feel joy, gratitude and happiness.”
Michael, 46, also says that scary moment in his life reminded him of one of his grandfather’s old sayings, which was, “Today’s curse is tomorrow’s blessing.”
“Even though for some of us who have lost so much these last few years, whether it’s our jobs or our loved ones, it doesn’t all come with negative connotations,” Michael continued. “There’s always a silver lining to that cloud.”
Noah was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2016, when he was three, and went into remission the following year. Michael celebrated Noah’s eighth birthday in August, writing on Instagram, “I’ll never truly be able to express how proud I am, or how deep and profound Mommy’s and my love is for you.”
Michael shares two other children with wife Luisana Lopilato: a five-year-old son named Elias and a three-year-old daughter named Vida.
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration is preparing to implement new travel guidelines that would require proof of a negative COVID-19 test within one day of flying into the U.S., including for vaccinated people, a spokesperson from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed.
The expected change comes as the country beefs up surveillance for the omicron variant, the first case of which in the U.S. has been identified in California, the California and San Francisco Departments of Public Health said Wednesday. The CDC said the person traveled from South Africa on Nov. 22.
Omicron has been deemed a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization and had been detected in over 20 countries as of Tuesday.
“CDC is working to modify the current global testing order for travel as we learn more about the omicron variant; a revised order would shorten the timeline for required testing for all international air travelers to one day before departure to the United States,” CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund said Tuesday night. “This strengthens already robust protocols in place for international travel, including requirements for foreign travelers to be fully vaccinated.”
Under the current guidelines, people from other countries who are not fully vaccinated cannot travel to the U.S., while people who are fully vaccinated can as long as they provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within three days of traveling. For unvaccinated Americans, the guidelines already required proof of a negative test within one day of traveling. The potential new rule would expand that one-day requirement to all vaccinated travelers coming into the U.S. from other countries.
For post-travel recommendations, the CDC also suggests vaccinated travelers get tested three to five days after arriving in the U.S. and that unvaccinated travelers stay home to self-quarantine for a full seven days, even if they test negative during that timeframe.
Earlier on Tuesday, the White House confirmed it was considering updates around testing requirements and said policy discussions were ongoing across the government as more is learned about the omicron variant.
More updates on the country’s response to the variant are expected Thursday.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky outlined some of the expected changes at the White House COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday morning. She said the CDC is analyzing 80,000 COVID-positive tests per week — or about one in seven tests — looking for the omicron variant. The delta variant continues to account for 99.9% of all tests analyzed, Walensky said.
Asked if she was confident in the CDC’s surveillance system given how many other countries had detected the variant before the U.S., Walensky said the system is “robust.”
The director also said the CDC is working on expanding a surveillance program in the nation’s four busiest international airports, John F. Kennedy International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which would allow for more COVID-19 tests on international arrivals — though there was no indication that testing would be mandatory for arriving travelers or which arriving planes would be offered the tests.
In the meantime, experts are calling on all Americans to get vaccinated if they haven’t yet and to get boosted if they’re over 18 and were fully vaccinated over six months ago. Of those eligible for a booster, 100 million Americans haven’t gotten one yet, the White House said on Tuesday, while just about 20% of fully vaccinated Americans have, the CDC’s vaccine data shows.
Though the data on how transmissible and severe the omicron variant is will not be available for a few more weeks, as scientists around the globe work to gather it, experts believe it’s unlikely it will completely chip away at the protection from vaccines and boosters, particularly when it comes to hospitalization and death.
“Remember, as with other variants, although partial immune escape may occur, vaccines and particularly boosters give a level of antibody that even with variants like delta, give you a degree of protection, particularly against severe disease,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, said on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Pfizer BioNTech asked the Food and Drug Administration to consider expanding the booster recommendation to include 16- and 17-year-olds. The agency is expected to review the request in the coming weeks.
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Andre Carson on Tuesday night forcefully condemned the anti-Muslim remarks made by their colleague, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, last week.
Omar, Tlaib, and Carson are the only three Muslims in Congress.
“We may only be three among hundreds serving in Congress, but we are strong advocates that won’t shy away in demanding better for our communities. No one deserves to feel hate or racism solely based on one’s faith. It’s completely unacceptable,” Tlaib said.
A shaken Omar spoke of her difficult experiences as a Muslim American — from the person who told her she would never be elected to Congress for wearing a hijab, to the bigoted reception she received from some Republican members when she was first elected.
“So, when a sitting member of Congress calls a colleague a member of the “jihad squad” and falsifies a story to suggest that I will blow up the Capitol, it is not just attack on me, but on millions of American Muslims across this country,” Omar said of Boebert.
In a video posted to Twitter last week, Boebert referred to Omar as a member of the “Jihad Squad” and claimed that a Capitol Police officer thought she was a terrorist in an encounter in an elevator on Capitol Hill.
She apologized on Twitter Friday “to anyone in the Muslim community I offended,” adding that she had reached out to Omar’s office to speak with her directly, but the phone call did not go well.
Omar hung up on Boebert after the Colorado Republican refused to make a public apology to her, according to a statement from Omar and Boebert’s account of the call.
“We cannot pretend that this hate speech from leading politicians doesn’t have real consequences,” Omar said Tuesday. “The truth is that anti-Muslim hate is on the rise both here at home and around the world.”
Omar said she has received “hundreds” of death threats often triggered by Republican attacks. She held up her phone to the mics and played out a disturbingly graphic voicemail she received just hours after she got off the phone with Boebert on Monday — highlighting the types of threats she receives.
“Condemning this should not be a partisan issue,” Omar said. “This is about our basic humanity and fundamental rights of religious freedom enshrined in our Constitution. Yet, while some members of the Republican Party have condemned this, to date, the Republican Party leadership has done nothing to hold their members accountable.”
Omar said she wants “appropriate action” taken against Boebert but will leave it to leadership to decide what that means. She did not seem keen on the idea of a resolution that would condemn Islamophobia, noting that it’s been done before.
“This kind of hateful rhetoric and actions cannot go without punishment. There has to be accountability,” she said.
A senior Democratic aide confirmed to ABC News that House leadership discussed a possible resolution condemning Islamophobia but didn’t make any decisions during a meeting Tuesday night.
“Rep. Boebert has directed hateful, racist rhetoric against my colleague and friend, Rep. Omar,” Rep. Carson said. “Her verbal abuse was incendiary and hurtful to her and Muslims across the country and the world.”
“This is not about hurt feelings or mean-spirited words. This is about calling out individuals who deliberately incite violence and irresponsibly spread lies and misinformation,” Carson added.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who is not Muslim, also stood in solidarity with Omar, Tlaib and Carson during the press conference and called on Boebert to be removed from her committees.
“I’m urging House leadership to hold Lauren Boebert accountable by removing her from her committee assignments, advancing a resolution of condemnation, and taking all other appropriate measures to ensure our message that Islamophobia, anti-Blackness, and xenophobia will not stand is loud and clear,” he said in a statement.
ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday heard historic arguments over a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with conservative justices openly raising the prospect of overturning decades of legal precedent since the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide.
After almost two hours, the conservative majority appeared headed toward changing 30 years of settled law protecting a woman’s right to end a pregnancy before fetal viability and upholding the Mississippi ban, which legal scholars say could clear the way for stringent new restrictions on abortion in roughly half the country.
“Viability it seems to me has nothing to do with choice,” said Chief Justice John Roberts. “Why is 15 weeks not enough time?”
“That’s not a dramatic departure from viability,” Roberts added of the state law and the line it would draw.
Since the 1973 landmark Roe ruling and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey case that affirmed the decision, the court has never allowed states to prohibit the termination of pregnancies prior to fetal viability outside the womb, roughly 24 weeks, according to medical experts.
Mississippi argues Roe was wrongly decided and that each state should be allowed to set its own policy.
Scott Stewart, the solicitor general of Mississippi and a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, spoke first, saying that the precedents the Supreme Court set with Roe and Casey in 1992 “damaged the democratic process” and “poisoned the law,” adding, “they’ve choked off compromise.”
“For 50 years they’ve kept this court at the center of a political battle that it can never resolve,” he said.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned whether the court should have taken up the case since the legal right to an abortion based on viability has been a long-standing precedent.
“There has been some difference of opinion with respect to undue burden, but the right of the woman to choose, the right to control her own body has been fairly set since Casey and never challenged. You want us to reject that viability line and adopt something different,” she said. “Thirty (justices) since Casey have reaffirmed the basic viability line. Four have said no to the members of this court, but 15 justices have said yes or varying political backgrounds.”
Referring to comments from a Mississippi lawmaker, she said, “The Senate sponsor said we’re doing it because we have new justices on the Supreme Court,” noting the new makeup of the court with three conservative justice appointed by former President Donald Trump.
“Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?” she asked.
Justice Stephen Breyer stressed the importance of stare decisis — the legal principle that courts generally adhere to precedent.
“To overrule under fire in the absence of the most compelling reason to reexamine a watershed decision would subvert the court’s legitimacy beyond any serious question,” Breyer said.
Jackson Women’s Health and its allies say the high court’s protection of a woman’s right to choose the procedure is clear, well-established and should be respected.
But the current court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, is widely considered more sympathetic to abortion rights opponents than any in a generation.
Conservative justices homed in on the current viability standard of roughly 24 weeks, with Justice Samuel Alito describing the line set as “arbitrary.”
As Julie Rikelman of the Center for Reproductive Rights, representing Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, argued the impact of pregnancy, Alito responded, “If a woman wants to be free of the burdens of pregnancy, that interest does not disappear the moment the viability line is crossed,” adding, “The fetus has an interest in having a life, and that doesn’t change from the point before viability and after viability.”
When Justice Thomas asked her to identify the constitutional right at issue — whether to abortion, privacy or autonomy, Rikelman replied, “It’s liberty.”
“It’s the textual protection in the 14th Amendment that the state can’t deny someone liberty without the due process of law,” she said.
“Allowing a state to take control of a woman’s body and force her to undergo the physical demands for risks and life-altering consequences pregnancy is a fundamental deprivation for liberty, and once the court recognizes that liberty interest deserves heightened protection, it does need to draw a workable line of viability that logically balances the interests at stake,” Rikelman added.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked if the court’s decisions in Roe and Casey were wrong to begin with, how that would counter the stare decisis principle.
“The Constitution is neither pro-life nor pro-choice on abortion. If we think that the prior precedents are seriously wrong, why don’t we return to neutrality? Doesn’t the history of this court’s practice with respect to those cases tells us that the right answer is actually a return to the position of neutrality, and not stick with those precedents in the same way that all those other cases did?”
Later, Kavanaugh asked Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, arguing the Biden administration’s support for abortion providers, “Why should this court be the arbiter rather than Congress?”
“There’ll be different answers in Mississippi in New York, different answers and Alabama than California because they’re two different interests at stake and the people in those states might value those interests somewhat different way,” Kavanaugh said, signaling he might support handing the issue back to the states, despite saying at his confirmation hearings that Roe was “settled law.”
Prelogar replied that it’s not up to states to decide whether to honor fundamental rights.
A former clerk to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Elena Kagan, Prelogar earlier said, “The court has never revoked a right that is so fundamental to so many Americans and so central to their ability to participate fully and equally in society. The court should not overrule the central component of women’s liberty.”
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who’s personal views on abortion factored large during her confirmation hearing last year, raised doubts about how sweeping the impact would be if the court sides with Mississippi. “Don’t Safe Haven Laws take care of that?” she said, referring to legislation in nearly every state allowing a parent to abandon a newborn baby without fear of prosecution in the event life circumstances make them unable to parent.
Majorities of Americans support the Supreme Court upholding Roe v. Wade and oppose states making it harder for abortion clinics to operate, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll this month. Three in four Americans, including majorities of Republicans, independents and Democrats, say the decision of whether or not to have an abortion should be left to a woman and her doctor.
But Americans appear more sharply divided on the type of ban at issue in Mississippi. A Marquette University Law School poll this month found 37% favored upholding a 15-week ban, with 32% opposed.
Overshadowing the case is the Supreme Court’s still-pending decision in a separate dispute over Texas’ unprecedented six-week abortion ban, SB8, which has been in effect for nearly three months and dominated national headlines.
The justices gave the Texas law a highly expedited hearing, during which a majority appeared skeptical of its enforcement scheme that encourages citizens to sue anyone who aids or abets an unlawful abortion for the chance at a $10,000 bounty. Many observers assumed the court would quickly move to put the law on hold, but it has not done so.
A decision in the Mississippi and Texas cases are expected by the end of the court’s term in June 2022.
The abortion rights battle at the Supreme Court comes as Republican-led states have enacted more than 100 new abortion restrictions so far this year, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
Twenty-one states have laws in place that would quickly impose abortion bans in the event the Supreme Court overturns Roe.
Fourteen states plus Washington, D.C., have laws explicitly protecting access to abortion care, according to Guttmacher.
New details have been announced about the release of the previously reported behind-the-scenes documentary film Barn, capturing the making of Neil Young & Crazy Horse‘s upcoming album of the same name, which is due out Friday, December 10.
In addition to the movie being released as part of the deluxe edition of Barn and as a standalone Blu-ray, as previously announced, the film also will be screened in select U.S. theaters on December 9 and in Toronto on December 11.
The Barn documentary also will premiere exclusively on-demand via the AARP Members Only Access service on December 10 and will be available through January 10. Barn also will be screened on AARP’s Music for Grownups platform on December 17.
The Barn film, which was directed by Young’s wife, actress Daryl Hannah — aka “dhlovelife” — offers an intimate look at Neil and the current Crazy Horse lineup working on the album in 19th-century log barn in Colorado’ Rocky Mountains during the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year. Most of the album was recorded live.
A video for one of the songs, “Heading West,” premiered on Young’s official YouTube channel this week, and the track will be made available as the third advance digital single from the album this Friday, December 3.
Barn, which you can pre-order now, is a 10-track collection that will be available on CD, vinyl, cassette and digital formats, and as a deluxe box set. The box set includes a CD and a vinyl LP, as well as the aforementioned Blu-ray featuring the Barn film.
12/9 — Chicago, IL, Landmark Century Centre Cinema
12/9 — Santa Monica, CA, Laemmle at the Monica Film Center
12/9 — New York, NY, IFC Center
12/11 — Toronto, ON, Canada, Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
Cardi B says several times in her Grammy-nominated hit “I Like It” that she likes her diamonds and she just added another rock to her collection.
“Girls Like You,” Cardi’s collab with Maroon 5, crossed over into the realm of RIAA Diamond-certified songs, meaning it has sold over 10 million copies. This is Cardi’s and the band’s second Diamond-certification.
The 29-year-old has now made history as the first female rapper to score two Diamond-certified tracks. Cardi previously snagged the honor with her breakout single “Bodak Yellow.”
She took to Twitter to celebrate making history, tweeting out, “Wow I got two Diamond records! Thank you sooo much @maroon5 for including me on this song and this is the song I cater to my daughter every time I perform it. I’m forever grateful.”
The band celebrated the new achievement on Instagram, writing, “Girls Like You ft. Cardi B has been RIAA certified 10x Multi-Platinum!”
“Girls Like You,” released in 2018, spent seven weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was one of the top-selling songs of the year. Its music video — which featured Gal Gadot, Ellen DeGeneres, Camila Cabello, Aly Raisman, Tiffany Haddish, Jennifer Lopez, Mary J. Blige and many other famous women — has amassed over three billion views on YouTube.
Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
Later this month, we’ll mark the fifth anniversary of the tragic death of George Michael, who passed way on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53. Now, one of his famous friends is expressing regret at not doing enough to prevent his death.
Speaking with Apple Music, Sting tells Zane Lowe of his late pal, “You wonder where that immense talent would’ve developed. What would he be doing now? And it’s with such sadness that I think of George, because he had such potential and died far too young.”
Sting adds, “And he was a lovely, lovely man. I just miss him. I just miss him. I wish we could have helped him more. I think he was lonely and we should have helped him more.”
Sting and George were both huge pop stars in the ’80s, and sang together on the Band Aid single “Do They Know It’s Christmas.” Over the years, they collaborated onstage, and George covered Sting’s classic Police hit “Roxanne” on his 1999 album Songs from the Last Century.
In 2017, Sting dedicated his song “Fragile” to George and two other icons who left us too early: David Bowie and Prince.
Speaking about his friendships with other artists, Sting told Lowe that many of them came about thanks to the massive charity events that were so popular in the ’80s.
“Events like Live Aid or the Amnesty Tour forced us to share space, to share dressing rooms, to share the stage, to share the limelight, to share airplane journeys together,” he explains. “And some of those friendships that were forged then — for example, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen…Tracy Chapman — those friendships are solid to this day because of that. We recognized our own situation in those other people. We didn’t feel isolated.”
