What do Jeff Bezos, Leonardo DiCaprio and Lauren Sanchez have in common? The fact that the internet is going crazy over an exchange the three had over the weekend.
The trio were attendees at the LACMA Art+Film Gala on Saturday, November 6, and a short video clip shared by Variety‘s Marc Malkin on Sunday shows Bezos’ girlfriend, Sanchez — who is standing between the Amazon founder and the Oscar winner — lean in close to DiCaprio while looking up at him and smiling.
What seems like a simple exchange that almost any fan of the Titanic star could hope for has turned into internet gold, with one Twitter user hilariously commenting, “Looks like Bezos’s date rather be with Leo,” to which another replied, “Who doesn’t!!!”
Another quipped, “I guess we won’t be seeing any of Leo’s movies on [Amazon] prime.”
Needless to say, it didn’t take long for Bezos to chime in on the chatter. On Monday, the billionaire tweeted a photo of himself leaning over a sign that reads “Danger! Steep Cliff Fatal Drop” and jokingly captioned it, “Leo, come over here, I want to show you something… @LeoDiCaprio.”
Sanchez, whose romance with Bezos became public in 2019, has not yet commented on the exchange.
(GROVELAND, Fla.) — A Florida mom who spent 85 days hospitalized with COVID-19 complications was able to return home to finally meet her newborn baby.
“I got out of the car by myself and walked into my own house and I didn’t think I’d be able to do that,” Paola Gambini, 32, of Groveland, Florida, said of her homecoming. “And now I’m changing my daughter’s diapers and rocking her, and those are things I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do.”
Gambini, a hair stylist, tested positive for COVID-19 in late July, when she was 33 weeks pregnant.
She isolated at home with mild symptoms initially after testing positive, but then was transported to the hospital by ambulance when she began to have difficulty breathing.
“I remember the EMT saying, ‘You’re so lucky you called us. I don’t know that you would have made it,'” said Gambini, who was admitted to the hospital and less than 24 hours later had to undergo an emergency C-section. “I was freaking out wondering if I was going to die, if the baby was going to survive.”
Gambini gave birth to her daughter, Lilliana, on July 30. The baby was born healthy but was soon whisked away as doctors focused on continuing to treat Gambini.
“I remember touching her and she had so much hair. I’ll never forget that moment. All I cared about was making sure she was okay,” Gambini said. “They took her away and were like, ‘OK, now we’re going to take care of you.'”
Gambini, who had no pre-existing medical conditions but had not been vaccinated, was transferred shortly after giving birth to a nearby hospital, Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center.
She was placed on a ventilator, where she remained for two weeks, and then on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, machine, which removes carbon dioxide from the blood and sends back blood with oxygen to the body, allowing the heart and lungs time to rest and heal.
Gambini remained on the ECMO machine for more than 40 days, while her parents, her fiancé, Michael Hazen, and his parents cared for Lilliana.
“My fiancé was able to visit me and there was not one day he missed,” Gambini said. “He was my rock.”
As Gambini’s health began to improve, her medical team worked with Hazen to coordinate a surprise.
On Gambini’s birthday, Sept. 3, she was reunited with her daughter for the first time since giving birth.
“I remember waking up and they sang happy birthday to me and asked if I was ready to see my baby,” Gambini said. “They had balloons and my whole room was decorated.”
Gambini was then able to see her daughter, recalling, “They let me hold her but I was so weak, I didn’t want to drop her. My arms were so weak.”
Gambini said the more she was weaned off medication, the more she saw how long her road to recovery would be, but she was determined to do it in order to go home to Lilliana.
“I remember worrying what quality of life I would have and the nurses told me, ‘You think this is forever? You just have to get up and move and you’ll be back to normal,'” she said. “From then on, every day I was like, ‘What’s the plan? I want to get home to my baby.'”
On Oct. 22, 85 days after she was admitted, Gambini was able to leave the hospital to go home, where she continues to recover.
“COVID really attacked my lungs, so half of my left lung is damaged. I get winded if I walk too fast,” said Gambini, who is still on oxygen. “And I lost 80 pounds so my body is rebuilding its strength.”
Gambini is now able to hold Lilliana, whom she describes as “such a happy baby.”
“We appreciate life on a level that no one else will experience unless you go through something like this,” she said. “We don’t take anything for granted.”
Declaring “My heart is broken,” Drake is sharing his thoughts following the events of Travis Scott‘s Astroworld Festival on Friday that left eight dead and hundreds injured when the crowd of 50,000 concertgoers rushed the stage.
Taking to Instagram Monday night, the “Way 2 Sexy” rapper wrote in a statement, “I’ve spent the past few days trying to wrap my mind around this devastating tragedy. I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself.”
“My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering,” he continued. “I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in anyway I can. May God be with you all.”
Drake’s statement comes after Scott shared his sentiments on the unfortunate events on Saturday, saying he is “absolutely devastated” by what happened and that is “committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.” Scott also promised to refund concertgoers for their tickets, and plans to cover the funeral costs of those who died.
Both rappers are being sued over the events that unfolded at Astroworld, which took place at Houston’s NRG Stadium.
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump Organization secured a partial victory on Monday as a Washington, D.C., superior court judge dismissed a portion of a lawsuit brought by the D.C. attorney general over actions by former President Donald Trump’s 2017 Presidential Inaugural Committee.
The judge dismissed a claim by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine that Trump’s inaugural committee “wasted” $1 million in rented ballrooms at Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel, writing that they have not met the standard of proof that would allow that part of the lawsuit to proceed.
“In short, there is no genuine dispute that the value paid for the space at the Trump Hotel reaches the extreme burden that Plaintiff need to carry a waste claim to its fruition,” Judge José López wrote.
But López did allow the case to proceed, in part, on the claim of “private inurement” — the question of whether the inaugural committee used their funds for private benefit and not for nonprofit purposes — which means the case could proceed to trial.
“It’s a big deal that our lawsuit is moving forward and going to trial. The Inaugural Committee misspent more than $1 million in nonprofit funds to unlawfully benefit private interests,” a spokesperson for the D.C. attorney general’s office said in a statement. “We cannot allow those in power to get away with using money to illegally enrich themselves and their families. AG Racine is working to get that money back and make sure it supports a legitimate public purpose.”
The ruling removed the Trump Organization as a named defendant in the case, yet still keeps the former president’s Washington hotel as a named defendant, as well as the inaugural committee itself.
The judge ordered a status hearing be held in February to determine how the remaining parties want to proceed.
The AG’s probe has been looking into the spending of the Trump inaugural committee, specifically at the Trump International Hotel in Washington.
The investigation began, in part, after claims were leveled by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a one-time adviser to former first lady Melania Trump, who worked on the inauguration events and later wrote a tell-all book, “Melania and Me,” about her relationship with the Trump family
“I’m working with three different prosecutors, and it’s taken over my life,” Winston Wolkoff told ABC News in an interview last year, referring to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and local attorneys general in New Jersey and Washington, D.C.
No case has yet to be brought by prosecutors from New York’s Southern District or New Jersey.
The Trump Inaugural Committee, a private tax-exempt organization, raised nearly $107 million in donations and spent $104 million of that on the event, the most ever for an inauguration and twice as much as the amount spent on President Barack Obama’s first inauguration.
The money not spent — totaling about $3 million — was reportedly donated to charity.
(WASHINGTON) — The government’s top doctor released a step-by-step toolkit Tuesday morning to help people combat misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines in their own close circles.
“We need people in communities all across our country to have these conversations,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in an interview with ABC News.
“This is not just the government that needs to be engaged in these conversations. If anything, it’s individuals who have people they trust in their lives who have great power when it comes to helping them move our vaccination rates in the right direction,” Murthy said.
The guide provides a road map for vaccinated people to talk to unvaccinated people who have bought into conspiracy theories or lies that spread on the internet about the COVID-19 vaccines.
Over the summer, the surgeon general issued an advisory that called misinformation an urgent public health threat.
The toolkit, which Murthy hopes will be used by health professionals, faith leaders, teachers or parents with children newly eligible for the shot, is the next step in addressing the ongoing problem. November polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that nearly eight in 10 adults have come across false statements about COVID-19 and have either believed them or been unsure if they were true.
“During the COVID 19 pandemic, misinformation has in fact cost people their lives. So we don’t have an option to give up,” Murthy said.
He called for more transparency in the tech industry since misinformation spreads rapidly on social media platforms.
“The companies have done some work to address health misinformation but they’ve not done nearly enough. And it’s not happening nearly quickly enough,” Murthy said.
The information released Tuesday encourages people to talk in person instead of online. One section is even entitled “If you’re not sure, don’t share!”
It includes discussion questions and illustrations explaining why people share misinformation or what a hypothetical conversation around misinformation could look like.
The recommended approach relies heavily on listening, providing empathy and avoiding shame.
“When talking with a friend or family members, emphasize the fact that you understand that there are often reasons why people find it difficult to trust certain sources of information,” it says.
Murthy acknowledged that it may be hard for vaccinated Americans to be empathetic or understanding when many feel angry that unvaccinated Americans have allowed the virus to spread.
“But nobody generally changes their mind when they feel shame and blame, if anything that hardens people in their position,” Murthy said.
He described a conversation he recently had with an unvaccinated man who had seen myths about the vaccines on Facebook. They talked for 30 minutes, he said. Murthy called it an “open, honest conversation” about what the man’s concerns were.
“And I tried to share with him what we knew and what we didn’t know. I tried to be honest about what the science actually tells us,” Murthy said.
“He sent me a note after that saying he made the decision after that conversation to get vaccinated, and ultimately he did get vaccinated,” Murthy said.
“So what we need to do is is to start by listening to people, by being empathetic, trying to understand where they’re coming from, why they may have the beliefs that they do, and then to try to share our own experience with them to try to help them to access credible sources, like their doctor or other people that they actually trust who are credible scientific sources,” he said.
Back in September, Christina Aguilera performed in Brooklyn, NY at the LadyLand Festival. If you weren’t able to attend, you’ll be able to enjoy it later this month..
Christina’s 40-minute performance, which was her first New York City show since 2018, will be streamed globally Tuesday, November 30 via the Moment House platform. Tickets and merch bundles are on sale now via Moment House.
The September show featured outrageous costumes, choreography and guest appearances by RuPaul’sDrag Race stars Aquaria, Milk, Jaida, Essence Hall and Dahlia Sin. In addition, Christina performed her hits “Dirrty,” “Genie In a Bottle,” “Lady Marmalade,” “Candyman,” “Ain’t No Other Man,” “Beautiful” and more.
Christina recently released the new single, “Pa Mis Muchachas,” the first release from her upcoming Spanish-language album, her first since 2000.
Andy Grammer‘s latest single “Damn It Feels Good to Be Me” is a song that he wrote, he says, as a reminder to “follow the beat of my own drum.” But he also believes it’s a song with a message that everyone can relate to and benefit from.
“It’s just a big, bombastic track about [how] it just feels good to be at a place where I know who I am,” Andy tells ABC Audio. He says it takes the concept of his 2019 album Naive one step further.
“The whole idea of Naive is like, ‘I’m in on the joke and I don’t care,'” he explains. “But that’s still a little bit defensive. And ‘Damn It Feels Good to Be Me’ is like, ‘This is what I am,’ like, with a smile on. And I think a lot of people are gonna wrap their story around it.”
Andy compares “Damn It Feels Good to Be Me” to his previous hit “Don’t Give Up on Me.” That track was written from personal experience, but it was then adopted by fans as an anthem for whatever personal situation they happened to be struggling with.
“You’re trying to find a mixture of something that’s broad and specific enough so it really hits and people can use it,” Andy explains. “I love songs that people can use. And I think that ‘Damn It Feels Good to Be Me’ is gonna be a song that helps people connect with themselves.”
“Damn It’s Good to Be Me” is the first official single from Andy’s forthcoming album, which is due out in early 2022. He’ll perform his other recent song, “Lease on Life,” tonight on ABC’s The Bachelorette.
Luke Bryan feels a deep sense of responsibility and pride in hosting the CMA Awards for the first time, viewing himself as a stalwart of country music.
“To be a representative of the music that I love, to be someone to carry on a tradition and to be the the host and to conduct this show with elegance, class, humor, reverence,” he remarks of his approach to the gig. “To really make the show an example of country music and to represent the show to the best of my ability to the people watching at home is a big task and it’s something that I’m so honored to have the chance to do.”
Reflecting on some of his CMA highlights, Luke points to his rowdy performance of his hit “Country Girl, Shake It for Me” at the 2011 CMA Awards and taking home the night’s biggest honor, Entertainer of the Year, at the 2014 and 2015 ceremonies as personal milestones that validated all of his hard work over the years.
“When I look back on my experiences, when I did ‘Country Girl, Shake It for Me’ for the first time on the CMAs, I was about to literally have a full-on panic attack. I was so nervous about it,” he recalls. “Winning the Entertainer of the Year was the highlight of my musical achievements. To have won that really put a peace in my heart for everything, why I moved to Nashville, why I moved away from my family, why I gambled on so much. To win that award put my mind and my heart at peace.”
Luke hosts and performs at the CMA Awards live in Nashville on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Allan Clarke and Graham Nash in 2010; Kevin Kane/WireImage
As Graham Nash prepares for the November 16 release of his new photo book A Life in Focus, which offers a career-spanning look at his photography, the 79-year-old folk-rock legend also has some interesting music projects on the horizon.
Nash tells ABC Audio that one project reunites him with his childhood friend and Hollies co-founder Allan Clarke.
“I’m actually working on an album with Allan Clarke, my friend since I was six years old,” he reveals. “We’ve been remotely recording. We’ve got eight tracks, and it’ll be a really fun album.”
Clarke, who was The Hollies’ lead singer, retired from the group in 1999, partly due to vocal-cord issues, but he returned to the music in 2019 with a new solo album, Resurgence.
“[Allan’s] singing…really, really well,” Nash says. “He’s a very underrated singer. He’s one of the most underrated lead singers in a pop band ever…He’s got a great voice, and it’s back.”
Meanwhile, Graham also reports that he’s continuing to work on a follow-up to his most recent solo album, 2016’s This Path Tonight.
Nash already had reported that he had seven songs left over from writing sessions for This Path Tonight that he plans to include on his next album, and now he tells ABC Audio that he’s continued to write during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has recorded five tracks remotely with his touring musicians.
As Graham explains, he records acoustic guitar and vocal tracks, which he sends to Shane Fontayne, who adds guitar and bass. The recordings are then sent to drummer Toby Caldwell and then Toby’s brother, keyboardist Todd Caldwell. After Todd records keys, he sends all the tracks back to Nash for mixing.
Graham says the process is “an interesting sonic journey.”
The Dancing with the Stars competitors pushed themselves to new extremes on Monday night because, in order to make it to next week’s semifinals, they had to survive a dance off and a double-elimination.
Unfortunately, the journey came to an end for Olivia Jade and country singer Jimmie Allen. Jade was automatically eliminated for earning the lowest combined score of the night while Allen was sent to the bottom two alongside The Office actress Melora Hardin. The judges voted unanimously to save Hardin.
Monday night celebrated icon Janet Jackson, who amped up the pressure by tuning in from London to watch everyone dance to her music.
One of the competitors feeling the most pressure was The Talk co-host Amanda Kloots, who wanted to impress the judges with her jazz routine to Jackson’s “Miss You Much.” Kloots, who has prior dance experience, confessed to feeling frustrated that the judges have been so hard on her and hoped to turn her luck around.
Her dance partner, Alan Bersten, argued the judges “see something special with her” and that’s why they’ve been so unforgiving. That said, he pushed Amanda even harder during rehearsals so she could meet those high expectations. His tactic paid off because they not only collected their first perfect score of the season, they also won the dance off against Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby and earned two extra bonus points.
Also feeling the pressure was Olympian Suni Lee, who opened up about the bullying she’s received since joining DWTS. “I always see a lot of mean comments about me not being able to dance and I need to go home,” she shared. “I feel like they’re right. I let them get to me.”
She managed to shake off haters and also collected a perfect score for her samba to Jackson’s “All For You.” The gold medalist also triumphed in the dance off and added two bonus points to her score.
Dancing with the Stars returns Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Here are the current standings:
Suni Lee, Olympic Gold medalist, with Sasha Farber — 42/40
Amanda Kloots, The Talk co-host, with Alan Bersten — 42/40
Melora Hardin, The Office actress, with Artem Chivensky — 42/40 JoJo Siwa, Nickelodeon star, with Jenna Johnson — 41/40
Cody Rigsby, Peloton instructor, with Cheryl Burke — 38/40 Iman Shumpert, NBA player, with Daniella Karagach — 35/40
