After four seasons on The View, Meghan McCainannounced Thursday that she’s leaving at the end of the season.
“It is a privilege to work alongside such strong, brilliant, intelligent, incredible broadcasters like the four of you. You are the most talented women on all of television hands down and it has been so incredible,” McCain said to her co-hosts in announcing her departure.
Declaring “This was not an easy decision,” McCain added, “I’m just eternally grateful to have had this opportunity here so, seriously, thank you from the absolute bottom of my heart.” She also implied that COVID-19 had something to do with her decision, sharing in part that the pandemic has “changed the way I’m looking at my life, the way I’m living my life, the way I want my life to look like.”
McCain, 36, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain. joined as a co-host of the Emmy Award-winning daytime talk show in October 2017, and as the lone conservative voice on the show would often spar with co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar. On Thursday’s show, Behar called McCain a “formidable opponent,” adding, “You’re no snowflake, missy!”
“It’s such a privilege to be on the show. It’s such an iconic show. It’s so iconic to be in this chair that [Elisabeth Hasselbeck] made so great,” McCain said at the top of her first show on Oct. 9, 2017. “I watched Elisabeth in college, and to be the conservative on this show is something I take very seriously, and I’m excited to bring a different perspective to the show.”
So far, there’s no public indication of what McCain may do next.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has confirmed the news reported Wednesday by Page Six, that Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Jennifer Hudson will be among the headliners of a huge concert held August 21 in the city’s Central Park to celebrate the post-COVID-19 reopening of the Big Apple.
Speaking about the event, apparently called the Central Park Homecoming Concert, at a press conference Thursday, de Blasio declared, “[I]t’s gonna be a great moment for the city marking our rebirth, marking our comeback, and it’s gonna be one of the greatest Central Park concerts in history.”
In revealing Springsteen’s participation in the show, the mayor noted, “He just did something amazing by bringing back his show on Broadway, and starting the Broadway rebirth. He is beloved in New York City in an extraordinary way, even though he happens to come from New Jersey — no one’s perfect — he is amazing, and I’ve loved his music from the first moment I heard it, and I know so many others have as well.”
Regarding Simon, de Blasio mentioned that the folk-rock legend played two previous historic concerts in Central Park, in 1981 — with Art Garfunkel — and 1991.
De Blasio promised that a full lineup and a lot more details about the show will be announced soon, adding “get ready for a concert for the ages and a big part of the rebirth of New York City and the summer of New York City.”
As previously reported, the massive concert is being organized by famed music mogul Clive Davis.
4th of July in New York City is BACK! Join me at City Hall as we get ready for this weekend’s celebrations.
(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced Republican Rep. Liz Cheney will serve on the House select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
“We are very honored and proud she has agreed to serve on the committee,” Pelosi said Thursday.
At her press conference on Capitol Hill, Pelosi also announced House Homeland Security Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., will serve as the chair of the committee, which was widely expected.
The other Democrats tapped by Pelosi to serve on the committee are Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Adam Schiff, Pete Aguilar, Stephanie Murphy, Jamie Raskin and Elaine Luria.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, in a press conference following Pelosi, downplayed reports that he’s threatened GOP members with taking away committee assignments if they were to accept a select committee position and questioned Cheney’s place in the Republican Party when given the chance.
“I was shocked that she would accept something from Speaker Pelosi. It would seem to me, since I didn’t hear from her, maybe she’s closer to her than us,” McCarthy said.
Cheney, who has been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump in the wake of the attack and stripped of her No. 3 GOP leadership role earlier this year, said in a statement she was “honored” to be named though she did not appear with Democrats on Thursday.
“Those who are responsible for the attack need to be held accountable and this select committee will fulfill that responsibility in a professional, expeditious, and non-partisan manner,” she said. “Our oath to the Constitution, our commitment to the rule of law, and the preservation of the peaceful transfer of power must always be above partisan politics.”
Later, appearing informally with the other members chosen by Pelosi, Cheney was asked if she would lose her committee assignments. She said she has not been told that at this time.
“We have an obligation to have a sober investigation of what happened leading up to the attack on the Capitol on that day,” she said.
The House approved a resolution Wednesday to green-light the creation of a select committee after a vote for a bipartisan, independent commission — similar to one formed after the Sept. 11 attacks — failed to pass the Senate earlier the month.
The resolution required a majority vote in the House for the committee to be formed and it passed mostly along party lines — other than Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., breaking from Republicans.
Pelosi introduced the measure earlier in the week, which states the committee will include 13 members. Eight of those members will be selected by Pelosi, while the five others will be selected by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, in consultation with Pelosi.
“As we enter the Fourth of July weekend to observe the birth of our nation, we do so with increased responsibility to honor the vision of our Founders and to defend our American Democracy,” Pelosi said in a statement announcing her committee choices.
As for whether McCarthy will cooperate and to which members he would select to the committee, he told reporters Thursday, “When I have news on that, I’ll give it to you.”
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson says he hopes “to correct history” with his directorial debut Summer of Soul.
The documentary, which chronicles the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, follows the series of concerts that took place at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem over the course of several weekends. Questlove tells ABC Audio that Summer of Soul actually “found [him].”
“I was approached thinking that I was this like wise music savant, who just so happened to write four books, made 17 albums, won five Grammys and had my hand in all things creative,” Thompson says. “And these guys are telling me that back in ’69 300,000 people saw Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Sly and the Family Stone, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, Ray Barretto and [Babatunde] Olatunji. And I’m sitting there… embarrassed like ‘How do I not know about this?'”
Questlove says it was that ignorance that motivated him to put on his filmmaker hat.
“To be told that this footage sat in a basement for 50 years… let me know how dangerous… the idea of Black erasure is,” he says. “Be it something as historical as this particular concert, or even something as minuscule [as] [Black TikTok] content creators… not getting proper credit.”
“I felt like this wasn’t about me,” Questlove continues. “This wasn’t about my directorial debut more than it was about my chance to correct history.”
And it’s safe to say Thompson accomplished his goal with his nearly two-hour film which includes never-before-seen concert performances and commentary from those who attended.
“[Because] if you don’t correct history, you’re going to repeat it again,” Questlove notes. “So… I hope that this film is… a paradigm shift to let artists know that they have a responsibility to use their voice in their activism.”
Summer of Soul is available in theaters and on Hulu July 2.
Former Yes frontman Jon Anderson will return to touring for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started last year, with a brief U.S. summer trek featuring the students of the Paul Green Rock Academy.
The 11-date outing will visit venues in the Northeast and Midwest, starting July 30 in Patchogue, New York, and winding down August 28 with a show in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
The tour marks the relaunch of a tradition Anderson began in 2005, when he first hit the road with the young “all stars” of Green’s School of Rock.
The new tour will feature the 76-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer performing with a backing band made up of 25 young musicians from the Paul Green Rock Academy. The concerts will feature Yes classics and deep cuts, songs from Anderson’s solo catalog, mash-ups and more, with lush arrangements including choral vocals, horns and other musical elements.
“I sang and toured with the Paul Green School of Rock many years ago,” says Anderson. “It was a miracle for me to join in with their young energy…and learn from them…Now here we are with the Paul Green Rock Academy…And again, their excitement and joy for making music really makes it all worthwhile…Plus they are a really talented bunch.”
He adds, “There is a future in music, and these young souls prove it every time I hear them sing and play…I know you will have a wonderful evening spending time with the future of rock ‘n’ roll.”
Here are all of Anderson’s upcoming dates with the Paul Green Rock Academy:
7/30 — Patchogue, NY, Patchogue Theater
8/1 — Salisbury, MA, Blue Ocean Music Hall
8/3 — Annapolis, MD, Rams Head on Stage
8/5 — Ridgefield, CT, Ridgefield Playhouse
8/7 — Phoenixville, PA, Colonial Theatre
8/9 — Ocean City, NJ, Ocean City Music Pier
8/19 — Des Plaines, IL, Des Plaines Theatre
8/21 — St. Charles, IL, Arcada Theatre
8/24 — Canton, OH, Palace Theatre
8/27 — Huntington, NY, Paramount Theatre
8/28 — Woonsocket, RI, Stadium Theater
(NEW YORK) — Wally Funk, a pioneering female pilot who dreamed of being an astronaut in the 1960s, will fly to space later this month with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the first crewed flight for his space-faring firm Blue Origin.
The flight will fulfill a lifelong dream for Funk, 82, and make her the oldest person ever to fly to space.
Funk’s dreams of becoming an astronaut date back to the original U.S.-Soviet Space Race era, when she was the youngest graduate of the privately-funded Woman in Space Program that later became known as the “Mercury 13” due to its 13 women participants. Female pilots went through the same physiological and psychological tests as the astronauts selected by NASA for Project Mercury. The women, however, never ended up flying to space.
In an Instagram video shared by Bezos revealing the news Thursday, Funk said she already knows the first thing she will say upon landing back on Earth: “Honey, that was the best thing that ever happened to me!”
“Back in the 60s, I was in the Mercury 13 program. They asked me, ‘Do you want to be an astronaut?’ I said, ‘Yes,'” Funk said in the video. “They told me that I had done better and completed the work faster than any of the guys. So, I got a hold of NASA — four times — I said, ‘I want to become an astronaut,’ but nobody would take me.”
“I didn’t think that I would ever get to go up,” she added. “They said, ‘Wally, you’re a girl, you can’t do that!’ I said, ‘Guess what, doesn’t matter what you are, you can still do it if you want to do it, and I like to do things that nobody has ever done.'”
Despite not becoming a NASA astronaut, Funk still blazed trails for women in flight. She was the first female Federal Aviation Administration inspector and later the first woman National Transportation Safety Board investigator. She has amassed some 19,600 flying hours and taught more than 3,000 people how to fly.
The crew for the New Shepard spacecraft’s first flight consists of Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos (Jeff’s brother), Funk, and one unnamed private citizen who paid $28 million in an auction for Blue Origin’s final seat. Blue Origin has perviously said the name of the auction winner will be released in the coming weeks.
The inaugural crewed flight for Blue Origin is scheduled for July 20. In total, the flight is only about 11 minutes and approximately four minutes will be spent above the so-called Karman line that is defined as the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
(LONDON) — Princes William and Harry, who have reportedly been estranged for over a year, made a rare appearance together Thursday to honor their mother, the late Princess Diana.
William and Harry, the only children of Diana and Prince Charles, were both present as a much-anticipated statue of Princess Diana was installed in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace on July 1, which would have been Diana’s 60th birthday.
“Today, on what would have been our Mother’s 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength and character — qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better,” the brothers shared in a joint statement. “Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy.”
The princes also thanked the statue’s sculptor, Ian Rank-Broadley, and the garden designer, Pip Morrison, for their “outstanding work” as well as shouted out “all those around the world who keep our mother’s memory alive.”
Also in attendance at the event were Diana’s siblings: The Earl Spencer, The Lady Sarah McCorquodale and The Lady Jane Fellowes.
Not in attendance were the brothers’ wives as well as their father, Prince Charles, and their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
The statue itself, which is 1.25 times life size and bronze, aims to “reflect the warmth, elegance and energy” of the late Princess of Wales and shows her surrounded by three children meant to represent “the universality and generational impact” of her work, according to Kensington Palace.
“The portrait and style of dress was based on the final period of her life as she gained confidence in her role as an ambassador for humanitarian causes and aims to convey her character and compassion,” the palace continued.
The base of the statue features Diana’s name and the date of its unveiling. In front of it is a paving stone engraved with an extract from the poem “The Measure of a Man.”
The statue was commissioned by William, 39, and Harry, 36, in 2017 to mark the 20th anniversary of their mother’s death.
Diana died in August 1997 after a car crash in the Pont D’Alma Bridge in Paris. William and Harry were 15 and 12, respectively, at the time.
“It has been 20 years since our mother’s death and the time is right to recognize her positive impact in the UK and around the world with a permanent statue,” the brothers said in a joint statement in 2017. “Our mother touched so many lives. We hope the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on her life and legacy.”
Just one year after the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death, in 2018, Prince Harry wed his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
The couple, who now live in California, stepped down from their roles as senior, working members of the royal family last year amid family tensions that they went on to reveal in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March.
In the interview, Harry described himself and William as being on “different paths.”
“The relationship is space at the moment, and, you know, time heals all things, hopefully,” Harry said. “I love William to bits. He’s my brother. We’ve been through hell together, and we have a shared experience, but we were on different paths.”
William and Harry grew up at Kensington Palace and Diana lived there until her death.
Harry and Meghan, who just welcomed their second child, a daughter named Lilibet Diana, at one point also lived in Kensington Palace near William and Kate, who still have their main residence there with their three children.
In 2019, Harry and Meghan moved from the palace to a new home in Windsor and also left the household they shared with William and Kate, a split that author Robert Lacey said was due to an “explosive argument” between the brothers.
Citing palace insiders, Lacey wrote in his new book, “Battle of Brothers,” that Harry reportedly hung up the phone on William, who then went to address him in-person about the way Meghan was reportedly treating palace staff.
After the argument, William reportedly instructed a royal aide to “start the process of dividing their two households immediately,” according to the book.
William and Harry’s first in-person reunion in over a year happened in April, when the royal family came together for the funeral of the brothers’ grandfather, Prince Philip.
Their wives, Kate and Meghan, have not seen each other in person in over a year.
Many see today’s event as a chance for the brothers to bridge the gap between them.
“I think there’s been a lot of hope that an event like this would bring the brothers back together, and it’s certainly true that their mother’s memory and honoring her memory is pretty much one of the only things that really unites them right now,” Victoria Murphy, ABC News royal contributor, said.
Robert Jobson, another ABC News royal contributor, said he hopes William and Harry will be able to reconnect, adding that the presence of Diana’s sisters and close members of the family might help.
“Just standing there and looking at that statue … in the Sunken Gardens where they used to play as kids with her looking over them, maybe that just might be the catalyst to start the end to this rift,” Jobson added.
While he said the relationship between the brothers is still “extremely complicated,” ABC News royal contributor Omid Scobie said he understands “it is still a case of distance” and “they’re simply not talking at the moment.”
“This is really going to be the first time where they have a proper opportunity to chat to each other,” Scobie said. “And maybe being here in the presence of the memory of their mother will be a reminder of the importance of love and family.”
Rumer Wills took a stand against body shaming after fans criticized her appearance in her latest Instagram post.
The actress, who is the daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, had shared a playful photo of her posing in bright clothing on Tuesday, which drew sharp commentary from critics who claimed Willis looked too skinny and needed to eat something.
In a Wednesday Instagram story, Rumer shared an alternative photo from the shoot, saying it reflects “what I actually look like” and called out the harmful comments.
“After the barrage of some really inappropriate comments left on my pic I posted yesterday I was left really bummed cause I was really enjoying the silly pics I took,” said Rumer, 32. “It was a weird angle that even made me feel like I looked smaller than I do in real life.”
“Even though you may think it’s your job or even your right to leave your unfiltered thoughts or judgements about my body for me and others to read… it’s not,” the Masked Singer alum continued, adding she will not tolerate such negativity.
“If I was really struggling with any kind of food issues (which I’m gratefully not) coming for me in my comments and telling me how I’m too skinny or I need to eat is absolutely not helpful and extremely body shaming,” said Rumer, who laid out the appropriate way for concerned fans to reach out and offer help.
“If you were actually concerned for my health and welfare or anyone you think may be actually struggling send them a dm and have a private conversation and really ask how they are doing and if they would like support,” she continued, closing her statement with, “Body shaming of any kind is something I will not stand for.”
After finding a size 30A bra she wore while modeling for the lingerie brand’s 2016 fashion show, she tried it on for a TikTok video. She also shared that she is now a size 34B, which she said is “healthy for me.”
Once Malcolm puts her past runway bra on, she shows how ill-fitted it is now and discusses how she was rejected from a 2017 show by Victoria’s Secret former Chief Marketing Officer Edward Razek.
“He said my body did not look good enough,” she captioned the clip. Malcolm also mentioned that at that point she wore a size 30B bra.
Later in the now-viral video that’s been viewed more than 2.5 million times, the model and mental health advocate included a photo of herself from the past show saying “the sadness behind my eyes from the 2016 show breaks my heart.”
Malcolm concluded the video calling Victoria’s Secret out for “performative allyship” and how she views the brand’s recent efforts for inclusive change as “too little, too late.”
The post has been liked more than 307,000 times, with many TikTok users sharing their thoughts. “I don’t get why models ‘have’ to be like this or like that,” said thetinglez.
“Models are supposed to show stuff for the human and every human is different,” she continued.
In response to Malcolm’s displeasing experience with Victoria’s Secret, a brand spokesperson told GMA, “There is a new leadership team at Victoria’s Secret who is fully committed to the continued transformation of the brand with a focus on creating an inclusive environment for our associates, customers and partners to celebrate, uplift and champion all women,” in a statement.
This statement also follows the company’s major brand revamp announced in June.
The retailer’s new direction includes a new diverse VS Collective with ambassadors such as actress and entrepreneur Priyanka Chopra Jonas, transgender Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio, LGBTQIA+ activist and professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe, and several others.
Through this new platform, the brand plans to create new associate programs, evolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, and rally support for causes vital to women.
In addition to a more diverse collective of ambassadors, Victoria’s Secret told Good Morning America the company’s storefronts will take a new direction and mannequins will be displayed with diverse body types.
After 23 years, the lingerie retailer recently canceled its annual fashion show and has moved forward in a new direction without its infamous “Angels.”
(PARIS) — After a four-day search, a woman was arrested Wednesday as part of the investigation into a large crash at the Tour de France earlier last week, according to local prosecutors.
The 30-year-old suspect turned herself into police and expressed feelings “of shame, of fear, in the face of the consequences of her act,” public prosecutor Camille Miansoni said Thursday. She is “distressed by the media coverage of what she calls ‘her blunder,'” added Miansoni.
Prosecutors said police would take measures “proportionate to the seriousness of the facts and to the personality of the author.”
The woman is accused of causing a large crash by holding a sign in front of cyclists in the opening stage of the competition on Saturday. She had allegedly left the scene before authorities arrived. Her cardboard sign read “allez opi-omi,” meaning “go grandma-grandpa” in German.
After the crash, three riders withdrew from the race due to their injuries, according to the Tour’s organizers, including German cyclist Jasha Sütterlin of Team DSM.
“Following the crash, he was taken to hospital for examinations which revealed no broken bones, but a severe contusion to his right wrist that will require further examinations back at home,” Team DSM said in a statement about Sütterlin, who admitted he was “so disappointed.”
Tony Martin, a member of top Tour contender Primoz Roglic’s Jumbo Visma squad, hit the woman on the right side of the road, causing a domino effect for riders inside the peloton.
The first fall was followed by another, which injured four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome.
Riders briefly halted the race on Tuesday to protest against the danger caused by spectators who were too close to the road.
“Following the crashes during the third stage of the Tour de France, the riders have been discussing how they wish to proceed to show their dissatisfaction with safety measures in place and demand their concerns are taken seriously,” the riders’ union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés, said in a statement. “Their frustration about foreseeable and preventable action is enormous.”
The local chief of police Nicolas Duvinage on Thursday called for calm in a press conference, saying the suspect was trying to send a message on TV to her grandparents and that it is “wise not to carry out a media lynching.”
Fearing a backlash, Tour de France organizers decided to drop their suit against the fan in question and withdrew their complaint “for the sake of appeasement … in the face of the excitement on social media,” said Tour director Pierre-Yves Thouault. “We don’t want to look like we are flogging a dead horse. But we remind you of the safety rules.”
