Ariana DeBose, star of Steven Spielberg‘s West Side Story, hosted this weekend’s Saturday Night Live, which opened with James Austin Johnson’s President Joe Biden blaming the COVID-19 surge on the movie Spider-Man: No Way Home.
“There’s one simple thing you can do to make this whole virus go away: Stop seeing Spider-Man,” Johnson’s Biden said at a press conference addressing the rise in COVID cases.
“Now think about it, when did Spider-Man come out? December 17. When did every single person get omicron? The week after December 17,” he explained, adding, “Stop seeing Spider-Man. That’s really all I have to say.”
During her opening monologue, DeBose shouted out Afro-Latinas and was joined by SNL‘s Kate McKinnon for a West Side Story medley featuring “Tonight,” “I Feel Pretty,” “Something’s Coming” and “America.”
Later DeBose showcased her song and dance skills in a spoof of another popular musical, The Sound of Music, featuring appearances from McKinnon, Bowen Yang, Chris Redd, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman and Kenan Thompson.
SNL also poked fun at Peacock’s dark reimagining of the 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with a parody that featured Redd as Jaleel White‘s Steve Urkell character from Family Matters given the same dark spin.
Musical guests Bleachers, subbing for scheduled Roddy Ricch, performed “How Dare You Want More” and “Chinatown,” from their 2021 album, Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night.
SNL alum Will Forte hosts January 22’s show with musical guest Måneskin.
Betty White is being honored today on what would have been her 100th birthday.
The Golden Girls TV icon passed away December 31, just a few weeks shy of the milestone birthday on January 17.
Over the weekend, her hometown of Oak Park, Illinois celebrated her life with various “Be Like Betty” festivities around town, according to ABC-TV affiliate WLS. There were some special guest speakers as well, including the singer of The Golden Girls theme song, Cindy Fee.
In honor of her official birthday, the Illinois Senate has announced that Monday will officially be known as Betty White Day in Illinois.
If you weren’t in Betty’s hometown over the weekend, there are still plenty of ways to pay tribute. A previously-planned documentary, Betty White: A Celebration, has been revamped to include Betty’s final video message to fans. The film will have a one-night showing at 1,500 theaters nationwide Monday.
The Hallmark Channel, meanwhile, is featuring a Golden Girls marathon, plus a special presentation of Betty’s 2011 Hallmark movie The Lost Valentine at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Meanwhile, NatGeo Wild is airing a special about the star’s animal advocacy work, called Betty White Goes Wild, at 9 p.m. ET. And speaking of her animal advocacy, the #BettyWhiteChallenge is encouraging people to donate $5 to animal rescue organizations in her name today. More than $550,000 has already been raised for the challenge since it was announced earlier this month.
More bad news for Celine Dion fans: Her North American tour dates for her Courage World Tour have been canceled.
Last year, Celine postponed the launch of her new residency show at Resorts World Las Vegas due to “severe and persistent muscle spasms.” That same issue is the reason why the tour dates — which were set to start March 9 in Denver and run through April 22 in Washington, D.C. — have now been scrapped.
“I was really hoping that I’d be good to go by now, but I suppose I just have to be more patient and follow the regimen that my doctors are prescribing,” the Canadian superstar said in a statement. “There’s a lot of organizing and preparation that goes into our shows, and so we have to make decisions today which will affect the plans two months down the road.”
She added, “I’ll be so glad to get back to full health, as well as all of us getting past this pandemic, and I can’t wait to be back on stage again. Meanwhile, I’ve been very touched by all the words of encouragement that everyone’s been sending to me on social media. I feel your love and support and it means the world to me.”
Fans who bought tickets with a credit card will get automatic refunds.
Celine still plans to complete the European leg of her tour, which is is set to start May 35 in Birmingham, England.
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — A woman died after she was pushed onto the New York City subway tracks and struck by an oncoming train, police said.
The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Times Square-42nd Street subway station while she was standing on the southbound R-Q train platform.
A man “suddenly pushed” the victim while she was waiting — an unprovoked attack — New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said during a press briefing Saturday, calling the attack an “absolute senseless act of violence.”
Police found the woman under the train with “severe trauma” to her body and she was pronounced dead at the scene, Sewell added.
Authorities identified the victim as a 40-year-old Asian woman and New York City resident. Her name is being withheld pending family notification.
The suspect, who is believed to be homeless and known to authorities, fled the scene but turned himself in a short while later, police said.
NYPD Assistant Chief Jason Wilcox said detectives are working with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to determine the charges.
Sewell said they are “investigating all avenues” when asked if hate crime charges were being considered amid increased violence against Asians and Pacific Islanders during the pandemic. Police believe the suspect may have approached another person on the platform who is not Asian right before attacking the victim, she noted.
John “Janno” Lieber, acting chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, called the incident “unacceptable.”
“This is a sad day,” he said at the briefing, held in the train station where the woman died. “A New Yorker was going about her business right in the heart of our city, in the heart of our subway system in Times Square, and she lost her life. This is unconscionable.”
“New Yorkers need a safe system,” he added.
Mayor Eric Adams said the attack highlights the importance of those in crisis receiving mental health services to ensure that the city’s streets “above ground and below ground” are safe.
“We’re going to continue to do everything that’s possible to make our subway system safe,” he said at the briefing, “but again, we’re calling on all of our partners, from lawmakers to law enforcement, VAs to judges, to ensure those who need mental health assistance receive that.”
(DALLAS) — A hostage situation is underway at a synagogue in the Dallas-Fort Worth area Saturday, a source on the scene told ABC News.
An armed suspect claiming to have bombs in unknown locations took a rabbi and three others hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel, the source said. It is unclear to what extent the hostage-taker is armed.
The suspect’s sister is a known terrorist who is incarcerated at Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth and he is demanding to have the sister freed, according to the source.
There is believed to be one suspect at this time, and the FBI is en route, the source said.
The Colleyville Police Department’s SWAT team responded to the area midday Saturday and evacuated residents in the immediate area.
As of 1:20 p.m. local time, the situation “remains ongoing,” the department said on social media. “We ask that you continue to avoid the area.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — The arrest of an Ecuadorian migrant under Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s initiative “Operation Lone Star” was ruled unconstitutional by a Texas county judge Thursday.
Some immigration advocates are hopeful the ruling by Travis County Judge Jan Soifer could potentially set a pathway for other migrants arrested under the controversial program.
Jesús Alberto Guzmán Curipoma, an engineer from Ecuador who hoped to submit a request for asylum, was arrested in September 2021 at a railroad switching yard in Kinney County on a criminal trespassing charge.
Guzmán Curipoma’s attorneys, Angelica Cogliano and Addy Miró, argued that Operation Lone Star violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution which establishes that federal law takes precedence over state laws and therefore prohibits state laws form interfering with immigration enforcement by the federal government. Cogliano told ABC News that her client should have been able to submit a claim for asylum, but was instead arrested and detained for weeks.
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office, which represented the state in the hearing, also agreed that Guzmán Curipoma’s arrest violated the Constitution.
“After careful consideration, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office agreed that Mr. Guzmán Curipoma’s prosecution for criminal trespass as part of Operation Lone Star violates the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and represents an impermissible attempt to intrude on federal immigration policy,” said Travis County District Attorney José Garza in a statement. “In addition, DA’s office concluded that based on the evidence, there were multiple ways in which the OLS program has failed to satisfy basic, fundamental, and procedural state and federal constitutional safeguards.”
Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021, deploying thousands of National Guardsmen, Texas Department of Public Safety officers, and other state resources to the border and giving them the authority to arrest migrants under suspicion of criminal trespassing on private and state property.
Human rights organizations and the ACLU of Texas have called on the Department of Justice to investigate the program which they say sets up an alternative immigration system, one where migrants are arrested for faulty charges and detained for months without being given the chance to apply for asylum or seek representation. In December 2021, the ACLU of Texas and other civil rights groups filed a complaint with the DOJ and cited cases where migrants were allegedly lured onto private property by law enforcement agents so they could be arrested on trespassing charges.
“Operation Lone Star is a policy whereby they pretextually arrest people that they suspect of being here illegally, which is a fancy legal way of saying people that are brown on the border because there’s no other way for anybody to try and determine if somebody looks like they could be illegal. That’s not a thing you look like,” Cogliano told ABC News “It’s authorizing people to use that as a reason to arrest those people for certain offenses and detain them far longer than any U.S. citizen would be detained for that offense in Texas.”
Kathryn Dyer, a clinical professor at the University of Texas School of Law, testified at the hearing on Thursday and spoke about her experience representing other clients arrested under the program.
“When you start taking away rights and building a separate legal system for people there’s kind of no limit to it. This is concerning for immigrants and non-immigrants alike,” Dyer told ABC News.
At a briefing in November, Texas DPS officials said there have been over 9,300 criminal arrests since Operation Lone Star’s launch.
“These very serious constitutional issues have finally been heard and there’s a judge that thinks that there were constitutional violations such that the case needed to be dismissed,” Dyer said. “I do think that those issues and that ruling could open the door to other challenges.”
A spokesperson for Gov. Abbott told ABC News in a statement that they expect the ruling will be overturned.
“The district court did not have legal authority to enter this flawed and collusive judgment without hearing from the Office of the Attorney General. There is no doubt that this will be overturned,” said Nan Tolson. “In the meantime, Texas will continue to do what the Biden admin refuses to do: stepping up to secure our border and protect Texans from the catastrophic open border policies allowed by President Biden.”
On Friday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a Tweet that he’d challenge the ruling.
“Lib Austin judge lets a Soros Travis County DA represent State of TX, then declares Op Lone Star unconstitutional. Ridiculous. Biden has FAILED to secure the border. Texas stepped in. We have the right to defend our border if the feds refuse. I’ll fight this nonsense on appeal,” he tweeted.
(NEW YORK) — Dogecoin rallied Friday after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted the carmaker would now accept the cryptocurrency as payment for merchandise.
Originally started as joke poking fun at exuberance in the crypto market, Dogecoin surged some 10% by Friday afternoon in the wake of Musk’s early morning tweet.
Musk’s five-word message — “Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin” — garnered more than 270,000 likes on the platform and sparked a spirited, meme-filled debate in the comments section.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s website for merchandise and accessories (which doesn’t sell its famous electric vehicles) on Friday showed updated checkout buttons next to some of its products for those wanting to pay with Dogecoin. Among products available for purchase with Dogecoin were Tesla’s “Giga Texas Belt Buckle” and its “S3XY Mug.”
For years, the so-called meme coin had been worth less than a penny. After the Musk’s tweet on Friday, it was trading at around 19 cents — a big leap compared with historical lows but still roughly one-third of its record value last May of over 60 cents.
It’s not the first time a Musk tweet has been linked to swings in the crypto market. The price of Bitcoin nosedived last May in the wake of Musk’s Twitter announcement that his company would no longer be accepting Bitcoin as payment due to its ties to fossil fuels — a steep fall that dragged down other popular cryptos at the time as well. This saga came just months after a separate announcement that Tesla would accept Bitcoin as payment was linked to a sharp rally.
He has also long embraced Dogecoin both on Twitter and beyond, appearing as the character of the “Dogefather” during his “Saturday Night Live” appearance last May. In the comedy skit, Musk’s character is repeatedly pressed with the question “What is Dogecoin?” before ultimately admitting it’s “a hustle.”
The billionaire has more than 70 million followers on Twitter and has been known to openly share his opinions in unfiltered ways that have sometimes landed him in court or in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Aaron C. Davis/The Washington Post via Getty Images/FILE
(WASHINGTON) — The leader of the Oath Keepers militia group, who was indicted Thursday on a series of charges including seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, made his first appearance before a judge Friday in a federal courtroom in Texas.
Stewart Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper and graduate of Yale Law School, could spend decades behind bars if convicted on all five federal counts he faces — including the most serious seditious conspiracy charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
A lawyer for Rhodes told ABC News Friday that the allegations against Rhodes were “lies,” and said that no members of the Oath Keepers ever “planned or conspired to attack the Capitol.”
In his Friday court appearance, Rhodes responded “Yes” when asked by Magistrate Judge Kimberly Priest Johnson if he understood the charges against him. He then waived his right to have the full indictment read aloud.
Prosecutors asked that Rhodes be detained while he is awaiting trial, and the judge set a detention hearing for Jan. 20. Rhodes will remain in custody until then.
The indictment of Rhodes, along with 10 other alleged members of the Oath Keepers, signals a significant escalation in the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and its prosecution of members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group, described by prosecutors as a “large but loosely organized collection of individuals” who “explicitly focus on recruiting current and former military, law enforcement, and first-responder personnel.”
Prosecutors allege Rhodes and other Oath Keepers began coordinating as early as just after Election Day “to oppose by force the execution of the laws governing the transfer of presidential power” between outgoing President Donald Trump and incoming President Joe Biden, according to court papers.
While Rhodes himself is not alleged to have entered the Capitol during the attack, prosecutors say he did enter the restricted area surrounding the building and coordinated with Oath Keepers who were part of a military-style “stack” formation seen walking into the building up the east side steps. Prosecutors said in their indictment Thursday that the members of the so-called “stack” were specifically searching for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but left after they couldn’t find her.
In their 48-page indictment, investigators chronicled in detail Rhodes’ alleged communications with members of the group over private and encrypted apps, and their alleged accumulation of heavy weaponry and tactical gear that the group is accused of storing just outside Washington at a hotel in Virginia, where on Jan. 6 prosecutors say a so-called “Quick Reaction Force” of militia members waited on standby in case they were called into the city.
Nine of those charged in Thursday’s indictment had been previously charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack as part of what was already the Justice Department’s largest and most complex conspiracy case tied to the insurrection.
In addition to Rhodes, 63-year-old Edward Vallejo of Arizona was arrested in Phoenix on Thursday and also charged with seditious conspiracy. Vallejo was allegedly part of the “Quick Reaction Force” that was lying in wait at the Virginia hotel.
After the riot, Rhodes and Vallejo allegedly met up at a restaurant where they “celebrated their attack” and discussed “next steps,” according to the indictment. Vallejo allegedly sent a message to a Signal chat group the morning after Jan. 6 where he discussed making a “recon” trip to the Capitol to probe the “defense line” put up by law enforcement in the wake of the attack, court papers said.
Vallejo also made his first appearance before a magistrate judge in Phoenix on Friday afternoon, where a public defender representing him said he plans to plead not guilty to all charges against him. The judge set a detention hearing for next Thursday as the Justice Department seeks to keep Vallejo behind bars pending further legal proceedings in his case.
The deployment of the rarely-used seditious conspiracy charge will pose a major test for the Justice Department in its investigation into the Capitol attack and the prosecution of Rhodes as the founder and self-described leader of the Oath Keepers.
Only days after the Jan. 6 attack, the then-acting U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Michael Sherwin, said prosecutors were considering the potential for seditious conspiracy charges against some of the most “heinous acts” that took place at the Capitol. But as the investigation crossed the one-year mark and the number of arrests stretched beyond 700, such charges had yet to materialize, with prosecutors instead opting to bring charges like conspiracy or obstruction of an official proceeding, which similarly carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appeared to foreshadow Thursday’s charges last week in a speech marking the one-year anniversary of Jan. 6, when he addressed criticism of the department’s handling of the investigation and the lack of charges to date against the more prominent figures believed to have coordinated the assault on Congress.
“The actions we have taken thus far will not be our last,” Garland said. “The Justice Department remains committed to holding all Jan. 6 perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law — whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy.”
John Sandweg, a former acting general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, told ABC News that Thursday’s indictment “confirms that the attack on the Capitol was not just an impulsive act, but was part of a premeditated conspiracy to forcibly steal the levers of power.”
“It also demonstrates that, while much of the focus has been on the prosecution of those on lesser charges related to storming the Capitol, DOJ has been actively investigating the root causes of the attack,” he said. “The question remains how far up the food chain will the rest of the investigation lead, but this indictment significantly ups the ante.”
ABC News’ Juan Renteria, James Scholz and Mireya Villarreal contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Some 75 million Americans in 33 states, from the Dakotas to Georgia to Maine, are under alert Saturday through Monday for a massive winter storm and chilling temperatures.
At least 11 winter weather alerts and advisories are in effect, including a wind chill advisory for much of the Northeast, where wind chills — what temperature it feels like — were as low as minus 40 degrees F early Saturday.
A winter storm watch also is in effect from Arkansas to Pennsylvania for a much-anticipated winter storm that’s already dumped more than a foot of snow across North Dakota and Iowa.
As the storm heads southeast toward the mid-Mississippi states Saturday into Sunday, and then toward the Northeast Sunday into Monday, more snow, ice and rain is expected.
Three to 6 inches of snow is possible in parts of the South, with Atlanta having the potential to see its first measurable snowfall in four years. Six to 18 inches of snow is possible in the mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
The interior Northeast up through New England is expected to get hit with 6 to 18 inches of snow. Coastal areas of the Northeast, including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston, could see up to 3 inches of snow, though that will likely get washed away as the snow changes to rain by early Monday.
Dangerous road conditions, as well as power outages, are expected throughout the holiday weekend. The Interstate 95 corridor will likely see a wintry mix of rain, snow and ice Sunday into Monday.
Four states — Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia — declared states of emergency Friday ahead of the storm, while West Virginia declared a statewide “state of preparedness.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper urged residents to gather essentials Saturday and stay off the roads Sunday and Monday as “significant impacts” are expected statewide.
“This storm’s a menace,” the governor said during a press briefing Saturday. “As much as a foot of snow’s expected to fall in the mountains and foothills. And in central North Carolina, freezing rain and sleet on top of some snow will fall. The eastern part of our state expects heavy rain and flash flooding, plus high winds and gust.”
In preparation, 10,000 workers from Duke Energy are being activated to help restore power. The state has also activated 200 National Guard members to assist with the transportation needs in western and central counties.
More than 1,200 state Department of Transportation employees and contractors have spread 2.5 million gallons of brine on roads since Thursday and prepared over 400 trucks ready to respond after the storm hits, North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette said.
Boyette warned of likely delays in response times due to the widespread impact of the storm across the state, as well as labor shortages due to COVID-19.
“Travel could be greatly impacted for several days after the storm,” he said, urging people to stay off the roads. “We will do everything we can to reopen roads as quickly as possible.”
In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp said agencies are preparing to mobilize and deploy resources as needed in the state, as well as to aid neighboring states if needed.
Atlanta also is preparing for snow, with Mayor Andre Dickens telling Ellen Lopez of “Good Morning America”: “We have 40 pieces of equipment that’s ready to go. We have 300 employees. Gallons and gallons of brine. So we’re trying to stay ahead of it.”
ABC News’ Hilda Estevez and Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House announced this week that Hamse Warfa will join the Biden administration, making him the first Somali American presidential appointee in U.S. history.
He is currently a deputy commissioner for workforce development in Minnesota but will come on at the end of January as a senior adviser to the State Department on civilian security, democracy and human rights. In that role, he will help develop strategies for protecting and promoting democracy at home and abroad.
“My acceptance of this role is in direct response to President Biden’s call to action to protect and promote democracy,” he told ABC News.
Warfa’s family fled Somalia after the country’s civil war started in 1991 and lived in various refugee camps across Kenya, he said. After arriving in the United States as a teenager in 1994 alongside his family, he received a bachelor’s degree in political science from San Diego State University and his master’s in organizational management and leadership from Springfield College in the same city. He moved to Minnesota in 2012 after he was recruited by the state’s largest philanthropic foundation, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, he explained.
The 2016 election season inspired Warfa to become more active in civic engagement.
“The strong anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim policy and actions, motivated me to organize and get more involved at the state level,” Warfa said. “Some of the Minnesota gubernatorial candidates talked about shutting down the refugee program, and in some cases, created fear about refugees in Minnesota, especially about Minnesota’s Muslim, Somali community.”
In 2019, the Minnesota governor’s office appointed Warfa as deputy commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, making him the highest-ranking Somali American official in the state’s executive branch, according to the department.
Warfa’s list of accomplishments also includes being the co-founder of BanQu, Inc., a blockchain service created to broaden economic opportunities for low-income people across the globe, as well as the recipient of a 2016 Bush Fellowship, which is granted to help develop leadership skills, and an Ashoka Fellowship for social entrepreneurs.
During his time in Minnesota government, he “successfully advocated for the largest job bill in state history, supplying workforce training to youth and adults,” according to his department.
He served as an economic adviser to the Biden campaign, helping develop the administration’s plans to reverse the Muslim ban and increase refugee admission numbers.
“When we talk about democracy, I want to make sure we talk about inclusive democracy,” he told ABC News. “I want to bring my both lived and professional experiences to help the administration expand access to those affected by government policies and actions.”
“I want to see America live through its ideals in building multiethnic and multiracial democracy that protects everyone,” he added. “I hope people see in my example — from the refugee camp to representing America — hope for democracy and value of everyone’s voice and vote.”
