On Sunday, the actress and activist took to Twitter to share her thoughts about the longtime television talk show host.
“I am glad more are seeing the ugly truth of @Oprah. I wish she were real, but she isn’t,” McGowan wrote, sharing an old photo Oprah kissing embattled producer Harvey Weinstein on the cheek. “From being pals with Weinstein to abandoning & destroying Russell [Simmons’] victims, she is about supporting a sick power structure for personal gain, she is as fake as they come. #lizard.”
McGowan’s tweet has also initiated a wider conversation surrounding Oprah’s ties toWeinstein and Simmons, both of whom have both been accused of sexual misconduct, with Weinstein criminally convicted of related crimes.
The derogatory tweet comes after an interview the TV icon did with Dolly Parton resurfaced, and social media users questioned the motive behind Oprah’s questions, which centered around the cosmetic procedures the country star had done and the depression she had faced.
One user commented, “i feel like oprah wanted her to be embarrassed but ms dolly said ‘nope.'”
Another added, “Oprah thought she was about to catch Dolly up with this one look at her looking into the camera,” making note of a moment in the clip that Oprah appeared to look at the camera while asking her questions.
On the other end, some users thought that people were reading too much into the snippet.
“I just can’t. People out here trying to cancel Oprah for a past Dolly interview Are we watching the same interview?” a third tweeted. “It was a great, fun interview. Also, these are things Dolly has openly talked about. I just can’t with all this. LOL.”
I am glad more are seeing the ugly truth of @Oprah. I wish she were real, but she isn’t. From being pals with Weinstein to abandoning & destroying Russell Simmon’s victims, she is about supporting a sick power structure for personal gain, she is as fake as they come. #lizardpic.twitter.com/RCuXNpWCU0
R. Kelly‘s sex trafficking trial continued Tuesday with Suzette Mayweather, former employee, taking the stand to testify against the singer, alleging he would force his live-in girlfriends to fight one another as a form of punishment.
New York Daily Newsreports that Mayweather, who is no longer employed by Kelly but worked for him for several years, claims women were forced to fight each other at Kelly’s 2016 birthday party.
“He didn’t like an incident where they were twerking for cake… He had to have them get on each other. I think they were fighting,” Mayweather recalled, but admitted she did not see the chaos and only heard the racket upstairs.
Mayweather also recalled another time when one of Kelly’s live in girlfriends allegedly came to her, revealing red marks where the singer allegedly spanked her. She also revealed Kelly became enraged when she broke one of his strict rules by speaking to one of his live-in girlfriends, noting, “It was the first time that I’d ever seen Rob really upset… It wasn’t the tone, it was the look in his eyes.”
She also backed up claims made by other witnesses that Kelly would withhold employees’ pay over small mistakes, saying he used to call it a “fine.” Mayweather also claimed Kelly would confine women to their rooms for days at a time.
Kelly, 54, whose birth name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, faces state and federal charges for sex trafficking, racketeering, coercion and other charges related to the alleged abuse and exploitation of six women — three of whom were underage at the time — over the course of 25 years. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
(NEW ORLEANS) — Ida, which downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical depression Tuesday, battered Louisiana as a fierce Category 4 storm Sunday, leaving whole towns flooded along the coast and New Orleans still entirely in the dark.
Over 884,000 customers remain without power in Louisiana and over 14,000 remain without power in Mississippi as of Wednesday morning, according to a report from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) obtained by ABC News. Entergy wrote on Twitter that it took the first step to restore power back to New Orleans East, and the first light shined. “Crews will have to methodically bring back additional transmission lines over time to provide additional pathways for progress,” they said.
FEMA reported four Louisiana hospitals were damaged due to the storm, 39 medical facilities had to start operating on generator power and many patients were evacuated. Also, several buildings in Port Fourchon — which is is responsible for 18% of the U.S. oil supply — sustained severe damage.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said during a news conference Tuesday evening that the city will see “some level of transmission” of power as early as Wednesday evening.
“The expectation should not be … that the entire city will be lit on tomorrow evening, but in stages,” she said.
As of Wednesday, the city’s Louis Armstrong International Airport is operating using generator power, and airlines have reported 197 cancellations for Wednesday, according to CISA’s report.
Cantrell said a curfew will go into effect at 8 p.m. local time and last until 6 a.m. Wednesday. Local and state police and the National Guard will patrol the streets, according to New Orleans Police Chief Shaun Ferguson.
The mayor called the curfew a “proactive” measure since there already have been arrests for looting.
Ferguson declined to give more details about those arrests to prevent “a false narrative about this city.”
Ida made landfall in Louisiana twice, first near Port Fourchon before noon local time and again two hours later in Lafourche Parish, obliterating neighborhoods and turning clear roads into rivers.
As of Wednesday morning, Washington, D.C., is under tornado watch and a flash flood warning has been issued for parts of Virginia.
Ida appears to be less lethal than Katrina, which hit as a Category 3, claimed more than 1,800 lives and caused more than $100 billion in damage.
So far, three deaths have been attributed to Ida: a 60-year-old man in Ascension Parish died Sunday when a tree fell on a home, a motorist drowned in New Orleans and a third person died in Jefferson Parish.
In Mississippi, two people died and at least 10 others were injured when a part of a highway near Lucedale gave out and sent vehicles plunging into a hole. Mississippi Highway Patrol Cp. Cal Robertson said the inundating rain may have caused the collapse.
The storm dumped up to 15 inches of rain in some places, like Rigolets-Slidell, Louisiana, and 13 inches in New Orleans. Ida also brought powerful winds gusts of over 100 mph in some regions.
Ida also knocked out power to more than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi — including all of New Orleans — and temporarily halted the city’s 911 emergency response system.
Officials in Jefferson Parish, home to 400,000 residents, warned it could be 21 days before power is restored.
Communities reeling from the destruction are now stranded without water. Some 18 water system outages have impacted over 312,000 customers and 14 boil water advisories are in place impacting over 329,000 people, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a press conference Monday evening.
Heat advisories are active in parts of Louisiana, threatening communities grappling with no electricity or access to air conditioning. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for southern Louisiana and Mississippi from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Another element Katrina didn’t have is the COVID-19 crisis. Some Louisiana hospitals pushed to the brink with an influx of coronavirus cases were forced to evacuate due to physical damage, water and electrical issues.
The Louisiana Department of Health told ABC News at least 11 hospitals had evacuations on some level and Terrebone General Health System’s evacuation is still underway.
The state fire marshal office’s leading task force of about 900 individuals from 15 different states is conducting search and rescue missions with local responders. Some 5,000 National Guard members are also on the ground.
Edwards said at least 671 were rescued by Monday afternoon, with some desperate locals fleeing to their attics or roofs to wait for help.
Over 2,200 evacuees are staying in 41 shelters, Edwards said.
Jaclyn Hotard, the president of St. John the Baptist Parish, called Ida, “one of the worst natural disasters I’ve ever seen in St. John,” noting that “almost 800 people” have been rescued due to extreme flooding.
Entergy New Orleans, a major electricity company in the region, said a storm team of more than 20,000 and growing is assessing the vast damage and destruction across New Orleans and southeast Louisiana that toppled power poles and other equipment.
Over 3,600 FEMA employees have been deployed to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to help with meals, water and generators for power, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.
Ida, now a tropical depression, is centered on the border of Missouri and Tennessee and threatens to bring deadly flash flooding to the Gulf coast overnight as it continues to move north and east. Almost 80 million in 17 states are on flash flood alert from Mississippi to Massachusetts.
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 639,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 61.3% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing Wednesday. All times Eastern:
Aug 31, 8:01 pm
Gene Simmons tests positive for COVID, KISS postpones shows
KISS co-lead singer Gene Simmons tested positive for COVID-19, the band shared on its Twitter page Tuesday evening.
In a statement, the band said the 72-year-old was experiencing “mild symptoms.”
His diagnoses comes less than a week after co-lead singer Paul Stanley, 69, tested positive for COVID-19 as well.
In a statement released on Aug. 26, the band said that, “everyone on the entire tour, both band and crew, are fully vaccinated.”
KISS has postponed four of its “End of the Road” tour shows from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5.
“The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next 10 days,” the band said in a statement.
Aug 31, 6:56 pm
2 officials working on COVID-19 vaccine review to leave FDA
Peter Marks, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), announced the upcoming departure of two top vaccine regulators to his staff in an internal memo, which was obtained by ABC News.
Dr. Marion Gruber, director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR) and her deputy, Dr. Phil Krause, are set to leave the agency in October and November respectively, according to the memo.
Krause, who’s been with the agency for over a decade, and Gruber, who has been with the FDA for over 30 years, were instrumental in the review and authorization of the three COVID-19 vaccines, the memo said.
The memo said that Gruber will be “retiring” and gave no other details about Krause’s departure.
ABC News has reached out to both Gruber and Krause for comment.
When reached for comment about their departure, an FDA spokesperson told ABC News the agency is “confident in the expertise and ability of our staff to continue our critical public health work, including evaluating COVID-19 vaccines.”
Their departures come at a critical time for the vaccine review team. After facing pressure to move as fast as possible to get vaccines’ full licensure done, the agency is now weighing booster shots for a wider pool of Americans.
The timing of the booster shot approval has been a bone of contention amongst federal agencies after the Biden administration announced the availability of booster shots would begin ahead of any ruling from the FDA or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory groups.
Aug 31, 4:57 pm
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s wife out of ICU
Jacqueline Jackson, the wife of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, is out of the ICU as both Jacksons continue to fight COVID-19, their family said.
“Our father remains at The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab where he is continuing to receive intensive occupational and physical therapy,” their son, Jonathan Jackson, said in a statement Tuesday.
Jesse Jackson, who is 79 and has Parkinson’s disease, was vaccinated, reported ABC Chicago station WLS.
“Our mother remains in the Northwestern Memorial Hospital and has been moved out of the ICU and back into her regular hospital room where she continues to receive oxygen,” the statement said. “Both of our parents are continuing to receive excellent medical care and we thank God for the progress that both seem to be making.”
Aug 31, 4:24 pm
Vaccination rate nearly double than it was in mid-July
The U.S. vaccination rate per day is now nearly double than it was in mid-July, according to the White House.
“Back in mid-July we were averaging 500,000 vaccinations per day. Today, we’re averaging 900,000,” White House COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters Tuesday. “Last week we got over 6 million shots, the biggest weekly total since July 5.”
The increase in vaccinations comes amid fear about the rapidly spreading delta variant.
The delta variant, which is more transmissible, has also been part of the conversation around booster shots of the mRNA and J&J vaccines. The Biden administration said Americans would need a third shot eight months after their second because of waning immunity.
The Biden administration is standing by its decision to call for vaccine boosters beginning Sept. 20 despite questions about whether there’s enough data and the unusual process of announcing a plan before the FDA has evaluated the data and made a recommendation.
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court will be moving forward with a controversial ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy that’s set to take effect on Sept. 1.
The American Civil Liberties Union confirmed the news late Tuesday night.
“The Supreme Court has not responded to our emergency request to block Texas’ radical new 6-week abortion ban, SB8. The law now takes effect. Access to almost all abortion has just been cut off for millions of people. The impact will be immediate and devastating,” ACLU tweeted. “The law bans abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy — before many people even know they’re pregnant. The result is that many Texans will be forced to carry pregnancies against their will.”
The law, Senate Bill 8, which would be among the strictest in the nation, also authorizes private citizens to sue anyone who helps a woman obtain abortion services and in turn receive at least $10,000 in damages per instance.
Abortion providers on Monday appealed to the court for an immediate emergency injunction blocking the law while legal challenges continue. They claim the Texas restrictions would “immediately and catastrophically” limit abortion access for 85% of patients and force many clinics to close across the state.
Justice Samuel Alito, who oversees matters coming out of federal courts for the 5th Circuit, which includes Texas, gave the state until 5 p.m. Tuesday to lay out its argument for rejecting the request. He could decide on his own or refer the matter to the full court for a vote.
“In less than two days, Texas politicians will have effectively overturned Roe v. Wade,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is leading the challenges to Texas’ law.
“Patients will have to travel out of state — in the middle of a pandemic — to receive constitutionally guaranteed healthcare. And many will not have the means to do so. It’s cruel, unconscionable, and unlawful,” she said.
ACLU said that by allowing anyone to sue a person they believe is providing abortion or assisting someone in accessing abortion after six weeks, the law “actively encourages private individuals to act as bounty hunters by awarding them at least $10,000 if they are successful.”
“This is a racial and economic justice catastrophe. Decades of racism and structural inequality within the health care system have left Black and Latinx people and anyone trying to make ends meet with few alternatives to the cruel reality that Texas politicians have created,” the organization added. “This is a full-scale assault on patients, our health care providers, and our support systems. This abortion ban is blatantly unconstitutional. We won’t stop fighting until it’s blocked.”
Attorneys for Texas have said the abortion providers lack legal standing to preemptively challenge the law since it has not yet taken effect or had any impact on their patients or services.
Texas is one of 13 states that have passed laws banning abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy; legal challenges have so far prevented all from taking effect.
S.B. 8 runs plainly counter to the Supreme Court’s precedent in 1973’s Roe v. Wade and affirmed in 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which established that state restrictions on abortion before a fetus can be viable outside the womb are unconstitutional.
“SCOTUS really might be on the verge of functionally ending legal abortion in TX and hoping no one notices,” said ABC News legal analyst and Cardozo law professor Kate Shaw in a post on Twitter.
The court is set to reconsider its precedents later this fall in the biggest abortion rights case to come before the justices in years. The case, which is out of Mississippi, will determine whether all pre-viability abortion bans are unconstitutional or whether a new standard should be applied.
In a statement Tuesday night, Texas advocates and health care providers condemned the abortion ban.
“The hypocrisy of Texas SB8 passing is that it was passed on the premise of saving or valuing life by a majority white men led legislative body that places no value on life,” Marsha Jones, the executive director of The Afiya Center, said.
“In the last decade, the Texas legislature has passed many racist, classist, and dangerous abortion restrictions that have made it very difficult to access care,” Kamyon Conner, the executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund, said. “SB 8 essentially bans abortions and codifies intimidation, which will have the most impact on communities that already struggle to access health care.”
“It’s a dark day in Texas. Politicians are supposed to put aside partisan differences for the common good, but Abbott has led Texas politicians into an extreme path for his personal gain,” Carisa Lopez, the political director of the Texas Freedom Network, said. “We know abortion is healthcare and education is power. It’s more important than ever for us to openly talk about abortion and the need to keep medical decisions between a person and their doctor.”
Addressing pregnant women in Texas and beyond, ACLU wrote on Twitter that they have a network of abortion funds and support networks that “will do everything in their power to help you get the information and care you need. Go to http://needabortion.org to find out more, including how to contact an abortion fund.”
(FILE photo) – U.S. Navy photo by Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Jonathon Miller
(SAN DIEGO) — A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed Tuesday afternoon off the coast of San Diego.
“An MH-60S helicopter embarked aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) crashed into the sea while conducting routine flight operations approximately 60 nautical miles off the coast of San Diego at 4:30 p.m. PST, Aug. 31,” the Navy’s 3rd Fleet said in a statement.
A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said that preliminary information indicates one person has been rescued and five people are unaccounted for. The Navy also confirmed one crew member has been rescued and search efforts continue for the other crew members.
The Coast Guard and Navy were conducting search and rescue operations by sea and air.
The accident comes just 12 days after Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt took over command of the Abraham Lincoln.
The Abraham Lincoln is homeported in San Diego, the Navy said in a statement Tuesday night.
Even though the Country Music Association was forced to cancel CMA Fest for the past two years because of COVID-19, they’ve found a way to keep its spirit alive. On Thursday night, the all-new CMA Summer Jampremieres at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Recorded in late July in Nashville, the three-hour special promises big names like Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley, as well as the superstar collaborations fans have come to expect from CMA Fest.
“I do have a special guest, Dwight Yoakam, who is gonna be joining me,” Carrie reveals. “And we get to sing a couple of his songs together, which I’m super excited about, ’cause he just oozes coolness.”
Miranda will be bringing on the boys during her set as well.
“I’m singing with two of my pals, John and TJ Osborne, and Dierks Bentley,” she teases. “So I get to hang out with my buddies and sing some country music and some rock ‘n’ roll.”
The foursome tackle an Allman Brothers Band classic.
“[We] came up with an idea to do ‘Midnight Rider,'” Dierks explains. “It’s been done before, but it’s a great song that has a spot for four harmonies. We all get a chance to sing together, which is my favorite part of music anyway.”
In keeping with the spirit of their latest hit, “I’m Not for Everyone,” Brothers Osborne says they’re just glad to be invited.
“At some point in time, we will be irrelevant,” TJ offers, “so the fact that we’re here right now…is really awesome. And what a cool way to kick the touring season back off.”
CMA Summer Jam takes over primetime Thursday starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Chicago White Sox 4, Pittsburgh 2
Texas 4, Colorado 3
Chicago Cubs 3, Minnesota 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 4, Toronto 2
Oakland 9, Detroit 3
Tampa Bay 8, Boston 5
Cleveland 7, Kansas City 2
L.A. Angels 6 N.Y. Yankees 4
Houston 0, Seattle 4
NATIONAL LEAGUE
N.Y. Mets 3, Miami 1
Philadelphia 12, Washington 6
San Diego 3, Arizona 0
Milwaukee 6, San Francisco 2
L.A. Dodgers 3, Atlanta 2
St. Louis at Cincinnati — (Postponed)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut 85, Washington 75
Indiana 74, Los Angeles 72
Minnesota 74, New York 66
Phoenix 103, Chicago 83
Pierce Brosnan isn’t bothered that he’s now playing the affable father figure in movies. The Irish actor, who gained acclaim for his portrayal of James Bond in the mid-90s and early aughts, stars as King Rowan in the upcoming fantasy romance, Cinderella.
Brosnan explained to ABC Audio, “You hope to stay at the table for as long as you can as an actor. And, of course, you get older and then you have to adjust and you have to hopefully find parts that will lead you into the next chapter of your career.”
Brosnan said he’s enjoying the ride, adding, “I’m in that time in that chapter of life now playing the fathers, the grandfathers, the wizards [and] the Kings!”
He certainly enjoyed playing King Rowan and revealed that he used his charm to convince writer/director Kay Cannon to make his part even more special — by giving him a solo.
“I forced my way onto the stage with a song,” the GoldenEye star confessed. “I said, ‘You know, don’t you realize that they gave me a platinum album for Mamma Mia! Don’t you realize that there’s an audience out there that needs to hear me sing once more?!'”
The Golden Globe-nominee, who declined to divulge more about his solo, also spoke about making peace with Cinderella skipping theaters because of COVID-19.
“You cannot have such petty concerns in a time of a pandemic,” said Brosnan. “You just wish for people to be embraced by the entertainment of it all and to be able to share it in their homes with their family and their children.”
While he admits seeing Cinderella on the big screen would’ve been “wonderful,” he notes “it’s not meant to be.”
Cinderella waltzes into your living room this Friday on Amazon Prime Video.
Former Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum counts himself among the many musicians who were influenced and inspired by late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who died a week ago today at age 80.
Sorum is known for his powerful, hard-hitting style, while Watts’ drumming had more of a jazz swing to it, but Matt tells ABC Audio that he aspired to the way Charlie and The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr played so well with their respective band mates.
“I looked up to Charlie and Ringo as band guys, song drummers, and I always wanted to place myself in there,” Sorum explains. “I just want to play what’s right for the song. You know, I got some chops and stuff, and I could do stuff, but the most important thing is figuring out what’s gonna make the song sound great. So, Charlie was a really huge influence in that.”
Reflecting on what Watts brought to The Stones, Matt notes, “[He was] such a pivotal guy, like a guy that’s so important in the foundation and the heartbeat.”
Sorum says fans can get an idea of what Watts contributed to The Stones by watching the 1968 film Sympathy for the Devil, which documents how the band’s famous song of the same name came together in the studio.
“[I]t takes him nine days to find the groove,” Matt points out. “And you watch that and you understand why The Stones’ groove and sound is so great.”
As previously reported, Sorum is preparing to release a candid memoir titled Double Talkin’ Jive: True Rock ‘n’ Roll Stories in the coming weeks. You can pre-order the book now at RareBirdLit.com.
