#FreeBritney is becoming closer to reality than you might think, the singer’s lawyer says.
According to documents obtained by ABC News,Mathew Rosengart told a judge on Wednesday that he expects that Britney’s conservatorship, which has been in place for 13 years, to be “completely and inevitably” ended by the fall. It’s something that the singer asked for earlier this year in comments in a Los Angeles court.
The lawyer made those statements in a court filing in which he also stated that his priority is having Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, removed as conservator. Rosengart has asked Judge Brenda Penny to replace him by September 29 with someone else on a “temporary” basis.
The urgency is apparently due to Britney’s recent engagement to her boyfriend, Sam Asghari. It seems that Britney needs a prenup before she and Sam can tie the knot, and that would require the involvement of her conservator. Rosengart argues that, given the fact that Britney and her dad aren’t exactly on good terms — she previously stated that he should be “in jail” — Mr. Spears’ involvement would be unhelpful in getting that done.
Earlier this month, Jamie himself asked the court to end the conservatorship, and on Wednesday, Rosengart said that since Mr. Spears “fully consents” to this step, he’s going to file a motion to terminate it once Britney’s dad is removed.
In addition, Rosengart said he wants to depose Jamie in connection with his accusations that the elder Spears had abused his position while in control over his daughter’s finances, and also wants an evidentiary hearing. Mr. Spears has denied any wrongdoing.
You might have missed it during his Emmy acceptance speech — seeing as much of it was censored — but Ted Lasso‘s heartthrob Brett Goldstein is spoken for.
The F-bomb-loving actor who plays, well, F-bomb-loving soccer star Roy Kent, sent love to his girlfriend Beth during the speech, and Page Six has figured out that Beth is British actress and comedienne Beth Rylance.
On Emmy night, Rylance — who isn’t related to award-winning actor Mark Rylance, for the record — posted Goldstein’s speech to Instagram, noting, “I wanna cry so bad, but I don’t think I can spare the moisture.”
Prior to his win, Beth tweeted that on Sunday, she was up to far more mundane tasks as Brett was preparing for his big night. “Today is the day that my boyfriend goes to the Emmy’s as a Best Supporting Actor nominee and I am at home on my second load of laundry,” she posted, before cheekily adding, “Just to confirm, my boyfriend is Kenan Thompson off of SNL.”
Rylance tweeted on Tuesday, “My godmother has just [texted] me to say congratulations on my boyfriend’s Grammy award and this is why I love her.” (VIDEO CONTAINS UNCENSORED PROFANITY)
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday worked to salvage his sweeping legislative agenda as Democratic infighting imperiled his ambitious goals on infrastructure, climate change, and Americans’ relationship with government into peril.
The president planned to host a series of Democratic congressional leaders and factions at the White House, with the goal of pushing two pieces of legislation to the finish line: the bipartisan $1.2 trillion physical infrastructure bill that already passed the Senate but faces challenges in the House, and a potentially much larger bill with hundreds of billions of dollars for “human infrastructure” — funding for child care, eldercare, universal preschool, free community college, combating climate change, and a host of other Democratic priorities.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters late Tuesday that she intends to put the bipartisan infrastructure bill on the floor next week — as early as Monday — for consideration, but it’s unclear if and when the lower chamber will vote on the bill.
Pelosi and Democratic leadership have urged their entire caucus to support the bill, despite the fact that the $3.5 trillion bill is still weeks away from completion and progressives have said they won’t support the bipartisan bill unless the larger social bill is passed. Historically, Pelosi is loath to put a bill on the floor that will fail, so leadership must decide soon how they intend to play this.
Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who met with Pelosi on Tuesday for 90 minutes in her office and is expected to meet with Biden later Wednesday — told ABC News that more than half of her caucus, which stands at nearly 100 members, is ready to tank the bipartisan infrastructure bill if the larger progressive bill isn’t ready by next week.
Meanwhile, moderate Democrats in both houses of Congress oppose some specific items in the larger bill — which Biden calls his “Build Back Better agenda” — as well as its overall price tag. They’ve threatened to tank that bill if significant changes aren’t made to it — changes the progressives adamantly oppose.
“Our belief is that it’s not, it’s not a random number, it’s about what we are putting into the bill and what we’re willing to take out. So if there are people who say they want a smaller bill, are they going to take out childcare or are they going to take out housing or are they going to take out climate change efforts? What is it that we’re going to take out? For us, it’s never been a $3.5 trillion bill. It’s a $0 bill, because there was plenty of money to pay for the entire thing,” Jayapal told ABC News.
With his agenda at risk, Biden planned to host Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at 2 p.m., followed by House Democratic moderates and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has been leading the charge against the larger spending bill, according to people familiar with the meetings. Later, at 5:30 p.m., he’ll meet with Jayapal of Washington, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
“I hope he is the secret sauce,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said of Biden late Tuesday night.
“The president of the United States is always a very influential figure, and I know he wants both bills passed,” Hoyer told reporters.
Biden senior adviser Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, will travel to the Hill to meet with House Democrats around 3 p.m., according to a person familiar with that meeting.
Manchin has said for months he believes there should be a “strategic pause” before Congress takes up the reconciliation bill, citing his concerns about spending. His opposition to the price tag runs in tandem with Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Either one of them could tank the progressive bill from becoming law.
Separately, progressives are insisting that a pathway to citizenship is included in the bill. The Senate parliamentarian dealt a blow to Democrats late Sunday after ruling that immigration reform does not have a direct budgetary impact and therefor could not be included in the reconciliation bill.
Schumer and other Democrats expressed deep disappointment and vowed to continue fighting for new pathways to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally.
The messy legislative fight carries high stakes with next year’s midterms looming and the president hoping to chalk up a major win Democrats can point to as his approval sags after a much criticized withdrawal from Afghanistan and amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
Biden must also contend with a looming possible government shutdown on Oct. 1. Democrats in the House passed a short-term spending bill late Tuesday that would punt the shutdown fight to Dec. 3. The legislation also provides billions in aid for emergency disaster relief and Afghan evacuees. It also suspends the debt limit to December 2022.
But Senate Republicans have vowed to block any legislation that would lift or suspend the debt limit.
Senate Republicans say they oppose suspending the debt limit because of additional spending measures Democrats are currently crafting — even though the debt limit does not authorize new spending and is instead paying off previous debt, much of it incurred during the Trump administration.
Senate Democrats have countered that they have lifted the debt limit with Republicans under the Trump administration on multiple occasions and say it’s a bipartisan responsibility.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said if Congress does not act to raise the debt limit, the U.S. could default on its debt sometime in October, potentially triggering an “economic catastrophe.”
Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have said for weeks they will oppose any measure that raises the debt ceiling, insisting that Democrats can do it alone given their control over all three branches of government.
“Since Democrats decided to go it alone, they will not get Senate Republicans’ help with raising the debt limit. I’ve explained this clearly and consistently for over two months,” McConnell said on the Senate floor earlier this week.
Biden has often touted the deal-making skills he honed over decades in the Senate, and the next few days will put his abilities to the test.
(NEW YORK) — A mom who is in the final stage in her fight against ovarian cancer is sharing the details of her “gritty story” to help educate and inform women.
Dr. Nadia Chaudhri, a 44-year-old neuroscientist and professor from Montreal, Canada, has been battling Stage 3 ovarian cancer for the past year, undergoing a hysterectomy and several rounds of chemotherapy.
In May, Chaudhri, the mom of a 6-year-old son, was hospitalized again and learned the cancer had returned, forcing her to tell her son that her cancer was now terminal.
She shared on Twitter this month that she is now receiving palliative care and preparing herself and her family for the reality that she will not be “coming home from this hospital visit.”
I am flooding my Sun with presents. Anything that will remind him of Mama. Today as he left the hospital he said ‘see you tomorrow, although you might also be dead.’ That hurt until I realized he knew I wasn’t coming home from this hospital visit. pic.twitter.com/jP4QKTN1vV
Chaudhri is using her time in the hospital to send a powerful message to women about ovarian cancer, which causes more deaths each year than any other gynecologic cancer in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Ovarian cancer comes in many forms & treatments are more advanced for some forms than others, but he bottom line is that ovarian cancer research is underfunded,” she wrote. “We also need more awareness of symptoms because early detection improves prognosis dramatically.”
Chaudhri’s six-month journey to an ovarian cancer diagnosis began in January 2020 when she started to feel symptoms like fatigue, abdominal pain, lower back pain and changes in urination.
After being treated with three courses of antibiotics for what was misdiagnosed as a urinary tract infection, Chaudhri said she continued to have symptoms like fatigue and abdominal pain.
The topic of cancer only came up once she underwent a second ultrasound.
She showed the results to her uncle, a gynecologist, who suggested a blood test for cancer markers, which led to further tests, according to Chaudhri.
“Two weeks later I had a laparotomy. They cut me open from sternum to pubic bone. Indeed, I had cancer,” she wrote. “They removed all of the visible disease in a four hour surgery. It happened on June 10 2020. About 6 months after I first started ‘feeling bad.’”
In January 2020 I started feeling unwell. I was tired, had vague abdominal pain, severe lower back pain & a mild increase in frequency to urinate.
Chaudhri went on to describe the details of her treatment for ovarian cancer, including multiple rounds of chemotherapy and several attempts at clinical trials.
“Know your bodies,” Chaudhri urged women. “Pay attention to fatigue and changes in bowel/urinary tract movements. Make sure you understand all the words on a medical report. Do not dismiss your pain or malaise. Find the expert doctors.”
What women should know about ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer originates in the ovaries, which make female hormones and produce eggs, or in the nearby areas of the fallopian tubes and the peritoneum, the tissue that lines your abdominal wall, according to the CDC.
A woman’s risk of getting ovarian cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 78, while her lifetime chance of dying from ovarian cancer is about 1 in 108, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
Ovarian cancer can affect females of all ages and races but is most common in women ages 63 and older and is more common in white women than Black women, according to the ACS.
While early signs of ovarian cancer can be vague, the main symptoms are abdominal pain or pelvic pain, bloating and an increase in urination, according to Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent and a board-certified OBGYN.
“If these symptoms or others last for more than half the month you want to alert a gynecologist and, again, talk about the fact that it could possibly be ovarian cancer,” Ashton said on “Good Morning America” in June, after Christiane Amanpour, chief international anchor for CNN, announced her own ovarian cancer diagnosis.
It is particularly important for women to pay attention to symptoms of ovarian cancer and speak openly with their doctor because there is currently no reliable way to screen for the disease, according to Ashton.
In some cases, targeted use of pelvic scans and sonograms or a CA-125 blood test may be used to detect ovarian cancer, but additional testing is “not one size fits all and it is not recommended for all women,” explained Ashton.
Treatment for ovarian cancer usually involves a combination of surgery and chemotherapy, according to the CDC.
While there is no known way to prevent ovarian cancer, there are things associated with lowering the risk of getting ovarian cancer, including using birth control for five or more years, having given birth, breastfeeding, having had a hysterectomy, having had your ovaries removed and having had a tubal litigation, according to the CDC.
The Rolling Stones have premiered an official music video for “Living in the Heart of Love,” a recently released archival track that also will appear on the upcoming deluxe 40th anniversary issue of the band’s 1981 album, Tattoo You.
The clip, which you can check out now at The Stones’ official YouTube channel, was shot in Paris and was directed by veteran video director Charles Mehling.
The video follows and young French woman and her friends as they enjoy an evening in Paris filled with partying, bar-hopping and romance. Scenes from an archival Rolling Stones music video pop up in the clip, as various people are shown watching the band on a laptop. The “Living in the Heart of Love” video ends with a brief tribute to late Stones drummer Charlie Watts, with a message reading “Charlie is my darling” appearing on screen during the final scene.
Charlie Is My Darling is the title of an unreleased 1966 documentary about The Stones, a restored version of which came out in 2012.
“Living in the Heart of Love” is one of nine previously unreleased bonus tracks originally recorded around the time of Tattoo You that will be featured on the expanded reissue, which is due out October 22. The rollicking rock tune currently is available as a digital single and via streaming services.
As previously reported, the Super Deluxe edition of the Tattoo You reissue will be available as either a four-CD or five-LP vinyl set. It includes a newly mastered version of the original album, the nine unreleased tracks, and a two-disc live collection dubbed Still Life: Wembley Stadium 1982, featuring a 26-song performance The Stones gave at the famed London venue in June ’82.
If Billy Porter ever had the chance to speak to the late Elizabeth Taylor, he knows exactly what he’d say to her: “Thank you.”
In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Porter reacted to being honored by the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation with their prestigious Commitment to End AIDS Award. Saying he was “humbled” by the honor, the Cinderella star couldn’t hold back the overwhelming appreciation he has for the late actress.
“You know, I have been gay a long time. I’ve been out since the ’80s, when it wasn’t so popular. HIV was around, Elizabeth Taylor was one of the first people in the public eye with celebrity to show the world how to love, to show the world what unconditional love looks like,” Porter said. “And all these years later to be honored in her name is… takes my breath away.”
And, although Taylor passed before the two could meet, Porter says that he would tell the actress, “Thank you,” if ever given the chance.
Porter, who revealed in May that he’s been HIV positive for 14 years, reflected on his advocacy work and what this award signifies in his journey.
“To be seen, inside of a space where I was not for a long time and not only not seen, but dismissed from the conversation… it is breathtaking to me that in the choosing of myself, in the choosing of my truth and my authenticity, my life has transformed and it’s magical,” he explained, noting that it also reflects a positive shift in public opinion.
Said Porter, “There is an evolution that’s going on. We’ve come a long way. And I know sometimes that’s hard to see because there’s so much negativity, but we also have to remember how far we’ve come.”
If you’ve watched Pink‘s documentary All I Know So Far, you know that her two kids, Willow and Jameson, can be a handful sometimes — especially Jameson. But now she claims she’s found a way to get them to take it down a notch.
Pink has partnered with the Calm app to promote its lineup of children’s bedtime stories, read by celebrities like Kate Winslet, Leona Lewis, Anna Kendrick, LeVar Burton and more. She’s done a one-minute voiceover for an ad, in which she says, “Hi, I’m Pink, and I’ve got a bedtime secret that’ll make you think/Once upon a #CalmKids in a land chockful of snooze/Sleep stories help gets your nights back/with calming tales kids get to choose.”
After describing some of the stories that are on offer on the app, Pink concludes, “Sleep stories that entertain, soothe and create laughter/and once the lights are all turned off/It’s sleepily ever after.” Pink’s voice is pretty calming, too, though it’s unclear whether she’ll be reading a book for the app in the future.
“I am SO proud to partner with @Calm to help parents and caregivers everywhere find their sleepily ever after with #CalmKids,” Pink writes on her socials. “Turns out…my kids now look forward to an early bedtime.”
Sabrina the Teenage Witch turns 25 next Monday. Ahead of the milestone anniversary, star Melissa Joan Hart is looking back at what made the show such a success.
“It brings you to this escapism that the world is always looking for… And you’re looking for a happy ending,” said Hart, 45, tells ABC Audio. “Are you looking for this escapism of this girl who can do anything at the point of a finger? We all want that. We all dream of that.”
Hart said that desire of wanting to use magic to “solve my problems” and make life easier is what “people are always looking for” — even today.
Beyond the “fun” and “adventure” the lighthearted sitcom offered, Hart says Sabrina was also enhanced by its “great guest stars [and] fun music.”
“So it’s starting to be nostalgic. But, I think it also still does hold up in a way,” she remarked.
Hart also said Sabrina‘s finale is also what made the show so special. The fantasy sitcom ended with Sabrina and her high school sweetheart, Harvey Kinkle — played by Nate Richert, riding away on a motorcycle while No Doubt‘s “Running” plays in the background.
“I think it was such a perfect ending. It was so perfect,” Hart declared, adding that she thinks the two would still be together after everything they went through: “They ran off, they had kids [and] the kids have magic powers.”
Because the show ended on such a high note, Hart revealed, “I would never want to reboot it because it just ended so perfectly. How are you going to improve on that?”
Sabrina ran between 1996 to 2003 for seven seasons. It also spawned an animated spinoff, two TV movies, and the Netflix reboot Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which aired for two seasons.
(SALT LAKE CITY) — A massive search is continuing in southern Florida for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old woman who went missing on a cross-country trip and who authorities confirmed Tuesday as the body discovered on Sunday in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.
The search for the 23-year-old Laundrie is centered around North Port, Florida, where investigators said Laundrie returned to his home on September 1 without Petito but driving her 2012 Ford Transit.
Laundrie has been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. Laundrie has refused to speak to the police and has not been seen since Tuesday, Sept. 14, according to law enforcement officials.
The search for Laundrie is the latest twist in the case that has grabbed national attention as he and Petito had been traveling across the country since June, documenting the trip on social media.
Petito’s parents, who live in Long Island, New York, reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not hearing from her for two weeks.
Sep 22, 12:44 pm
Underwater recovery team dispatched to Carlton Reserve
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Twitter Wednesday that its Underwater Recovery Force team has been dispatched to the Carlton Reserve near North Port, where the search for Laundrie is focused.
The sheriff’s office, one of multiple law enforcement agencies involved in the search, did not elaborate on why the team was needed at the search site.
We continue to respond to requests for mutual aid from neighboring law enforcement agencies & federal partners. To confirm, yes, members of our Sheriff’s Underwater Recovery Force have responded to Carlton Reserve. This in addition to our Emergency Response Team, Air-1 & patrol. pic.twitter.com/LcagDcofLL
“We continue to respond to requests for mutual aid from neighboring law enforcement agencies & federal partners. To confirm, yes, members of our Sheriff’s Underwater Recovery Force have responded to Carlton Reserve,” reads the agency’s tweet.
Sep 22, 12:42 pm
2nd witness corroborates domestic dispute between couple
The Moab, Utah, police department has released a report from a second witness claiming he saw Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie engaged in a domestic dispute in Moab on Aug. 12.
The witness told police he observed a man and a woman, later identified Petito and Laundrie, arguing over a cellphone about 4:30 in the afternoon outside a grocery store in Moab, according to a statement from police.
“They were talking aggressively @ each other & something seemed off. At one point they were sort of fighting over a phone — I think the male took the female’s phone. It appeared that he didn’t want her in the white van. He got into the driver’s seat & she followed him. At one point she was punching him in the arm and/or face & trying to get into the van,” the witness wrote in the police report.
The witness, according to the statement, said the woman eventually climbed over the driver to get into the passenger seat and that she was overheard saying, “Why do you have to be so mean”?
“I wasn’t sure how serious this was — it was hard to tell if it was sort of play fighting, but from my point of view something definitely didn’t seem right. It was as if this guy was trying to leave her, and maybe take her phone? Not sure but wanted to help out,” the witness wrote.
Around the same time, a 911 caller told a Grand County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office dispatcher that he witnessed Laundrie allegedly “slapping” Petito and chasing her up and down a sidewalk hitting her, according to a recording released by the sheriff’s office.
Sep 22, 10:54 am
Search for Brian Laundrie presses on as Petito family plans funeral
As a massive search continued Wednesday for Brian Laundrie in south Florida’s Carlton Reserve, the family of Gabby Petito was making arrangements to bring her remains home to her native New York for a funeral.
A large team of law enforcement officers and police K-9 units resumed their search of the roughly 25,000-acre preserve near North Port, Florida, where Laundrie’s relatives told police he claimed he was headed to when they last spoke to him on September 14.
Photos posted on Twitter Wednesday morning by the North Port Police Department showed officers from multiple agencies plotting areas to search, along with other images of high-water vehicles and search dogs.
Sep 21, 11:44 pm
Search ends for another day with ‘nothing of note’ found
The North Port Police Department said it had ended its search of the Carlton Reserve as darkness closed in with nothing found.
“Search of the Carlton & nearby lands concluded for the evening. Nothing of note,” the police department shared in a tweet. “The current plan is to return Wednesday with a similar operation.”
Search of the Carlton & nearby lands concluded for the evening. Nothing of note. The current plan is to return Wednesday with a similar operation. We join the FBI in asking for continued public assistance by sharing any info 1-800-CALL FBI or https://t.co/vlIagGIoHcpic.twitter.com/5DWopahBI8
Police shared a photo of the search operation’s base in the reserve as well as one of the bloodhounds being used to look for the missing person of interest in conjunction with the death of his girlfriend.
Gabby Petito’s body was officially identified on Tuesday evening after it was found near Grand Teton National Park on Sunday. The Teton County coroner said Petito died via homicide, but did not yet announce a cause of death.
Sarasota police also later debunked a rumor that Laundrie had been taken into custody. It said on Twitter that they had received several tips about him being seen, but none of them panned out.
50 Cent and Snoop Dogg are blasting the Emmy Awards after no Black actors won in the major categories.
Following Sunday night’s show, Variety‘s headline read: “#EmmysSoWhite: No Actors of Color Win Despite Record Nominee Lineup.”
Fiddy posted a screenshot of the Variety article and commented on Instagram, “Listen the Emmys still has a separate bathroom for colored folks. I’m gonna put the NAACP awards on the air at the same time and f**k up their numbers. No they really should be afraid of me I’m different.”
Snoop posted a collage of photos of 38 Black nominees, including Kevin Hart, Issa Rae, Don Cheadle and the late Michael K. Williams, and commented on Instagram, “Then U wonder why I say f**kall these bulls**t a** award shows. They not for us Emmy these nuts in ya mouth.”
In 2015, the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag became prominent after African-American stars were ignored at the Academy Awards. This year, Blacks were shut out as winners in all twelve of the lead and supporting actor and actress Emmy categories.
RuPaul did win for Outstanding Competition Program for RuPaul’s Drag Race, and became the most awarded person of color in the history of the Emmys, with 11 wins total.
