Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence and her husband of two years, Cooke Maroney, are expecting their first child, a rep for the couple tells Page Six.
Lawrence, 31, and her 37-year-old art gallery owner beau got engaged in 2019. They tied the knot in October of that year at Belcourt of Newport, a museum and historical site in Newport, Rhode Island, before family and a guest list that included famous friends like Adele, Emma Stone, and Cameron Diaz.
No due date for the baby was announced. This will be Lawrence’s first child.
Sony Pictures Television announced on Wednesday that it has inked a deal with Pat Sajak and Vanna White to host Wheel of Fortune through the 2023-2024 season, according to Deadline.
However, while the popular game show, which is heading into its 39th season, has locked in its longtime hosts, other features of the show are about to change.
Most notably, Sajak will no longer do the ‘final spin’ of the game. Instead, the contestant in control of the wheel at the time will spin to determine the amount each consonant is worth during the speed-up round.
“If you think about it, by doing the ‘final spin’ I, as host, had an impact on the outcome of the game and that has always bothered me because it just didn’t feel right,” said Sajak in a statement obtained by Deadline. “With this change, only the contestants determine the outcome of the game and the host does not impose themself in any way.”
Additionally, the show’s set will receive a facelift, and its theme song, “Changing Keys,” will get a modernized arrangement.
More money will also be up for grabs, too, with the “Free Play” wedge being removed from the Wheel and replaced by an $850 wedge. Also, a $4,000 bonus will be awarded to contestants who solve all three puzzles in the Triple Toss-Up Round, making the round worth $10,000.
Finally, the minimum amount that can be won on the Bonus Wheel has been upped to $39,000, in honor of the show’s 39th season in syndication.
Incidentally, Jason Alexander, wrestler and upcoming DWTS hoofer Michael “The Miz” Mizanin and Cheryl Burke will join Pat and Vanna when Celebrity Wheel of Fortune returns on its new night, Sunday, September 26 at 8 a.m. on ABC.
Meghan Trainor is the host of Peacock’s new Top Chef spinoff, Top Chef: Family Style, where talented kid chefs team up with a family member to compete. The show, whose first two episodes hit the streaming service today, features celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson as the judge, because, as Meghan admits, she knew nothing about food when she took the job.
“The first week, I would try to guess what Marcus would think. I would say, ‘Don’t tell me, don’t tell me! I’m going to try to guess,'” Meghan tells ABC Audio about offering comments on the contestants’ food. “And a lot of times I was right. So then I started trusting myself more and I would [give more] input, and Marcus would be so proud, because I was really learning!”
The Grammy-winner says by doing the show, she was introduced to many foods she’d never tasted before, like mole [MOE-lay] and sea urchin. “I learned about flavors, texture…every bite should be magical!” she explains. “I learned how to appreciate…I had no idea. I was just shovin’ it down!”
Meghan filmed the show when her baby son, Riley, was three months old, and he spent most of the time hanging out with her husband, Daryl Sabara. But Meghan reveals with a laugh, “Any time I had a break, I would tell the guest chefs, like, ‘Do you want to see a baby?’…[So Riley] had a lot of visitors.”
Between this program and her upcoming show Clash of the Cover Bands, some fans might feel that Meghan’s abandoned her music career — but don’t worry.
“I did those shows when I was recovering from the C-section and being a new mom,” she says. “And now I’m finally in my studio mode and I’m writing songs for my fourth album.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is set to speak to the nation Thursday at 5 p.m. to lay out what the White House said is a new six-part strategy to combat the delta variant, but it was unclear whether he would call for more vaccination mandates in the private sector and for the nation’s schools.
A source familiar with the president’s plans told ABC News that Biden will announce an executive order that will “require all federal executive branch workers to be vaccinated,” as well as a second order that will direct that that standard also be applied to employees of contractors working with the federal government.
As part of this effort, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Indian Health Service, and the National Institutes of Health will complete implementation of their previously announced vaccination requirements that cover 2.5 million people, the source said.
This is an escalation of the president’s action in July calling for federal workers to attest to their vaccination status and submit to mitigation efforts if they are not vaccinated, such as mask usage and regular testing.
Speaking at her daily briefing Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Biden would “outline the next phase in the fight against the virus and what that looks like, including measures to work with the public and private sector.”
She said he would be “building on the steps that we’ve already announced, the steps we’ve taken over the last few months, requiring more vaccinations, boosting important testing measures and more, making it safer for kids to go to school, all at a time when the American people are listening. Again, this will be six steps that we’ll work to be implementing over the months ahead.”
According to a White House official, the president’s plan will include six areas of focus: vaccinating the unvaccinated; furthering protection for the vaccinated; keeping schools safely open; increasing testing and requiring masking; protecting the economy’s recovery; and improving care for those with COVID-19.
Psaki confirmed there will be new components as part of the president’s announcement but wouldn’t go much beyond general comments about testing access, mandates and making sure kids are protected from the highly transmissible virus as they return to school and Americans return from summer vacations.
Psaki said plans were still being finalized as Biden met with with his COVID-19 response team Wednesday afternoon.
“Will any of those new steps influence the average American’s day-to-day life? Should we expect any new mitigation recommendations, as an example?” a reporter asked.
“It depends on if you’re vaccinated or not,” Psaki replied, but gave no further details.
She highlighted efforts the administration already has taken to try and get the delta variant under control.
“We’ve been at war with the delta variant over the course of the last couple of months. And just to remind you of some of the steps that we have announced, we have announced new government mandates on DOD, our military forces, NIH, other — the VA, the Veterans Affairs — Department of Veterans Affairs, folks who are serving on the front lines on the health — on health — in health roles in that department. We’ve also incentivized additional mandates, whether it is in home — in health care facilities, nursing homes, and others,” Psaki said.
“And we’ve also lifted up and — and incentivized private sector — private sector mandates, because we’ve seen that they have been effective. We’ve also deployed over 700 surge response teams across the country and work closely, again, with the private sector to institute more requirements on vaccinations,” she continued.
“We have more work to do, and we are still at war with the virus and with the delta variant,” she added. “So, we’re going to build on that work. And he’s speaking to it now, because this issue, of course, is on front of mind, top of mind to Americans across the country. People are returning to schools. Workplaces are either reopening, some brick and mortar, or some people are just returning to work after spending some time with family or loved ones over the summer.”
But besides ordering the nation’s 2.1 million federal employees and 1.3 million active duty service members get vaccinated, Biden has limited legal authority to institute a broad vaccine mandate for most Americans.
About 75% of the adult U.S. population has received at least one vaccine dose and 64.4% of the adult U.S. population is fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Tuesday, Psaki did seem to suggest that Biden will call on the private sector to institute more vaccine mandates. Major corporations such as Facebook, Google and Citigroup have already announced vaccination requirements.
“I will note that we’ve seen that there are a range of ways that we have increased vaccinations across the country, or vaccinations have increased, I should say. One of them is private sector companies mandating in different capacities that their employees get vaccinated. Or certain school districts mandate,” Psaki said.
Biden previewed some of what he planned to say when he spoke about the August jobs numbers, which were much lower than predicted.
“There’s no question the delta variant is why today’s jobs report isn’t stronger. I know people were looking, and I was hoping, for a higher number. But next week, I’ll lay out the next steps that are going to — we’re going to need to combat the delta variant, to address some of those fears and concerns,” Biden said Friday.
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll showed Americans in August souring on Biden’s handling of the pandemic, with his approval rating for his handling or the response dropping 10 points from June, down to 52%
Biden’s remarks are scheduled for just 11 days before the administration is set to begin widely rolling out booster shots of Pfizer on Sept. 20, a process mired by confusion as some public health experts say the data doesn’t yet support the need for boosters.
Reigning Entertainer of the Year Eric Church is tied for the most nominations at the upcoming 55th Annual CMA Awards, alongside Chris Stapleton, who’ll compete for the night’s biggest honor as well. Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood round out this year’s contenders for Entertainer.
Female Vocalist nominee Gabby Barrett grabs four nods, while Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris and Chris Young all nabbed three.
Miranda also maintains her impressive streak as the most-nominated female artist in CMA history, with 58 total. That puts her neck-in-neck with Brad Paisley for the third-most all-time nods overall.
Perhaps the most interesting nomination of 2021 comes with the return of Morgan Wallen, who’s nominated for Album of the Year, for Dangerous: The Double Album, which happens to be music’s best-selling project in any genre this year.
Though Morgan has been widely dropped from country radio and awards shows since being caught using a racial slur earlier this year, the CMA opted not to exclude him, which would’ve taken his collaborators out of the running as well. Producers Dave Cohen, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome and Joey Moi could therefore take home trophies as well.
The 55th Annual CMA Awards air Wednesday, November 10 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. So far, the Country Music Association hasn’t revealed who’ll host this year’s show.
Thursday morning, the Country Music Association revealed the nominees for the 55th Annual CMA Awards.
Chris Stapleton and Eric Church lead all nominees, with five nods each, including Entertainer of the Year. Gabby Barrett has the second-highest number of nominations, with four, including Female Vocalist of the Year and New Artist of the Year.
The CMA Awards will air Wednesday, November 10 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Here’s a complete rundown of the contenders:
Entertainer of the Year
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Single of the Year
“Famous Friends” — Chris Young with Kane Brown
“The Good Ones” — Gabby Barrett
“Hell of a View” — Eric Church
“One Night Standards” — Ashley McBryde
“Starting Over” — Chris Stapleton
Album of the Year 29 — Carly Pearce Dangerous: The Double Album — Morgan Wallen Heart — Eric Church Skeletons — Brothers Osborne Starting Over — Chris Stapleton
Song of the Year
“Forever After All” — Luke Combs, Drew Parker, Robert Williford
“The Good Ones” — Gabby Barrett, Zach Kale, Emily Landis, Jim McCormick
“Hell of a View” — Casey Beathard, Eric Church, Monty Criswell
“One Night Standards” — Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde
“Starting Over” — Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton
Female Vocalist of the Year
Gabby Barrett
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Maren Morris
Carly Pearce
Male Vocalist of the Year
Dierks Bentley
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Vocal Group of the Year
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
Zac Brown Band
Vocal Duo of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie & Tae
Musical Event of the Year
“Buy Dirt” — Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan
“Chasing After You” — Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris
“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” — Elle King & Miranda Lambert
“Famous Friends” — Chris Young with Kane Brown
“half of my hometown” — Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)
Music Video of the Year
“Chasing After You” — Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris
“Famous Friends” — Chris Young with Kane Brown
“Gone” — Dierks Bentley
“half of my hometown” — Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)
“Younger Me” — Brothers Osborne
New Artist of the Year
Jimmie Allen
Ingrid Andress
Gabby Barrett
Mickey Guyton
HARDY
The late Otis Redding was born 80 years ago today. The soul legend was just 26-years-old when he was killed in a plane crash on December 10, 1967.
Born in Dawson, Georgia, and raised in Macon, Redding sang gospel at an early age and was inspired by his love of Sam Cooke and Little Richard to become a soul singer.
Redding was signed to Stax Records in 1962. His first single for the famed Memphis, Tennessee, label was the original song “This Heart of Mine” that reached #20 on Billboard‘s R&B singles chart.
Over the next couple of years, Otis scored a series of big R&B hits.
Redding’s first hits on the Billboard Hot 100 came in 1965 with the ballad “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and the soul rave-up “Respect,” which peaked at #21 and #35, respectively. The latter tune later became Aretha Franklin‘s signature song after she covered it in 1967.
Otis continued to enjoy crossover success in 1966 and ’67 with hits that included “Try a Little Tenderness.”
Also in 1967, two duets that Redding recorded with Carla Thomas, “Tramp” and “Knock on Wood,” reached the Hot 100’s top 30.
Otis’ dynamic performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop festival would bring him more acclaim and attention.
On December 7, 1967, three days before his death, Redding finished recording “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” a song he’d co-written with his guitarist and frequent collaborator, Steve Cropper.
In March ’68, “The Dock of the Bay” became the first posthumous song to hit #1 on the Hot 100.
(NEW YORK) — Levi Quartucci, an 11-year-old from Wimberley, Texas, caught COVID-19 several days after starting back to school in person.
During his battle with the virus, the sixth-grade student, who is too young to be vaccinated, was hospitalized with a high-grade fever and then found to have pneumonia in his lungs, according to his parents, Katie and Joe Quartucci.
Levi, who recovered after four days in the hospital, is part of a spike in pediatric cases of COVID-19 that is happening as millions of students return to classrooms.
In the last week alone, nearly 252,000 children in the U.S. tested positive for COVID-19, marking the largest increase of pediatric cases in a week since the pandemic began, according to a newly released weekly report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
Describing his experience with COVID-19, Levi told Good Morning America, “I just felt horrible throughout the whole time.”
“I would say to take it seriously,” Levi’s dad, Joe Quartucci, said of COVID-19. “And to really protect yourselves from what can be a really, really dangerous and awful disease.”
In addition to the number of kids infected with COVID-19, the rate of pediatric hospital admissions per 100,000 people is also at one of its highest points of the pandemic, up by 600% since the Fourth of July, according to federal data.
Across the U.S., just under 2,400 children are hospitalized with a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection.
“The number of children who are hospitalized or who have severe outcomes from COVID-19 remains really small,” said Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, a pediatrician at Columbia University. “However, as more and more children get COVID-19, we are going to see more children being hospitalized and more children with severe outcomes.”
The rise in kids with COVID-19 has coincided with not only with the return to in-person learning in most schools, but also the easing of lockdown restrictions across the country, as well as stalled vaccination rates among eligible people.
The rise is also happening as the more infectious delta variant spreads across the U.S., and as COVID-19 vaccines remain unavailable for children under the age of 12.
“Until we have more specific data, there is no question that the delta variant is at a minimum more infectious and going for the people who are unvaccinated, which includes children,” Bracho-Sanchez said. “The timing of it all is so unfortunate.”
As parents worry about their kids’ health, they are again facing the same questions of how to best protect both their physical health and mental well-being, weighing everything from play dates to visits with grandparents.
Here are five tips for parents from Bracho-Sanchez:
1. Make sure everyone in your household who is eligible is vaccinated.
“With the rates of infections that we are seeing, if there are unvaccinated adults or teens in your household, go ahead and get that shot,” Bracho-Sanchez said.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was granted full FDA approval for people ages 16 and older in August. It was authorized for use in children ages 12 to 15 by the FDA in May.
The two other COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, are currently available for anyone 18 years and older in the U.S. Moderna filed for emergency use authorization with the FDA for its vaccine in adolescents in June but is still awaiting a decision.
2. Keep wearing face masks and following safety guidelines.
Kids ages 2 and older should always wear face masks in indoor public settings, according to Bracho-Sanchez.
She noted that parents and siblings who are vaccinated should also continue to wear face masks indoors because of the rates of breakthrough infections in the U.S.
“We know at this point that masks are an incredibly effective tool,” Bracho-Sanchez said. “I really think children older than 2 can learn how to wear masks if we model it for them, if we normalize it for them, if we help them through.”
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that schools embrace universal mask policies.
3. Prioritize what’s important to you and your kids.
Throughout the pandemic, families have been forced to make decisions about what activities are safe, from attending family events to joining after-school activities.
Bracho-Sanchez recommends parents reexamine what is important for their family and make decisions accordingly. For example, a priority may be that a child remain in school in-person, in which case all other decisions would be based on making sure it meant the child remains in school.
“It’s sort of prioritizing and ranking, knowing that the more contacts we have and the more we are indoors, the higher the risk is,” Bracho-Sanchez said. “And try to weigh that with the true benefit that kids could have from participating in some of these activities.”
4. Use pods to socialize again.
In the early days of the pandemic, “quarantine pods” became a way for families and friends to stay social while staying as safe as possible with people who were following similar COVID-19 protocols.
Bracho-Sanchez recommends taking a similar approach now given the high rates of COVID-19 cases among kids.
“The truth is right now I would probably not get together with a family who’s been indoor dining and going to large events,” she said. “Personally, I would get together outdoors with friends and neighbors who I know have been keeping similar measures in place and some restrictions in place.”
Bracho-Sanchez said it is also OK to ask the vaccination status of people who are around your child, whether it be a caregiver, a sports coach or the parents of a friend who have invited your child for a play date.
5. Make sure to get a flu shot.
After a summer that saw an unexpected surge in RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), a respiratory virus that can be dangerous to young children, Bracho-Sanchez said parents should pay attention to the upcoming flu season and make sure their child gets a flu shot.
“I’m concerned about the unpredictability of it all,” she said. “I just want every family to take the reasonable precautions that they are able to take, and that includes a flu shot.”
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 651,000 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 62.4% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Sep 09, 9:01 am
UK approves AstraZeneca, Pfizer boosters as ‘safe and effective’
The United Kingdom’s medicines regulator has declared both the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine as “safe and effective” booster doses.
Dr. June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said in a statement, “It will now be for the JVCI [Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation] to advise on whether booster jabs will be given and if so, which vaccines should be used.”
Sep 09, 8:37 am
Biden’s 6-pronged strategy to fight COVID
At 5 p.m. ET Thursday, President Joe Biden will unveil his six-pronged strategy to stop the spread of the delta variant and boost vaccinations..
A White House official said Biden’s plan will be centered around:
Vaccinating the Unvaccinated
Furthering Protection for the Vaccinated
Keeping Schools Safely Open
Increasing Testing and Requiring Masking
Protecting Our Economic Recovery
Improving Care for Those with COVID-19
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told MSNBC Thursday, “He wants to lay out the steps we’re taking to build on what we did over the summer: more requirements for federal workers, for private sector employees as well. More testing to ensure we know who has COVID and who might spread it. Making sure small businesses survive. That’s what you’ll hear the president talk about today.”
Sep 09, 12:20 am
LA schools to vote on vaccine mandate for students
The Los Angeles Board of Education will hold a special meeting on Thursday where they’re expected to enact a vaccine mandate for students.
In a meeting with members, the board will propose a resolution that would require all local students at LAUSD school facilities who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to become vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination in order to return to the classroom.
The school district — the second largest in the country, with almost 600,000 students — has recently welcomed some students back to in-person classes by following strict COVID-19 safety measures, such as constant testing, masking, sanitizing, screening and social distancing.
Schools in the area have also required all staff to be fully vaccinated.
Still, the board said in a statement Wednesday, “COVID-19 remains a material threat to the health and safety of all students within the LAUSD community, and is a further threat to continuous in-person instruction,” which is why they are hoping to mandate vaccination among students.
If the resolution is passes, all LA students who are 12 years of age or older, and are part of in-person extracurricular programs, must receive their first vaccine dose by no later than Oct. 3, and their second dose by no later than Oct. 31. Those 12 and older not participating in in-person programs must be vaccinated by November, and “all other students must receive their first vaccine dose by no later than 30 days after their 12th birthday, and their second dose by no later than 8 weeks after their 12th birthday,” the board’s statement reads.
Sep 08, 6:45 pm
Kentucky reaches record number of hospitalizations
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced new grim COVID-19 data and said the state has reached a record high positivity rate of 14.1%, and a hospitalization rate of 2,424.
There are 674 residents in ICUs, Beshear said.
In the last 24 hours, 4,468 newly coronavirus cases and 30 new deaths, including that of a young teen, were reported, according to the governor.
“No matter what age you are, this thing is deadly and it’s out there. You need to get vaccinated and you need to wear your mask,” he wrote on Twitter.
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 651,000 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 62.4% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Sep 09, 12:20 am
LA schools to vote on vaccine mandate for students
The Los Angeles Board of Education will hold a special meeting on Thursday where they’re expected to enact a vaccine mandate for students.
In a meeting with members, the board will propose a resolution that would require all local students at LAUSD school facilities who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to become vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination in order to return to the classroom.
The school district — the second largest in the country, with almost 600,000 students — has recently welcomed some students back to in-person classes by following strict COVID-19 safety measures, such as constant testing, masking, sanitizing, screening and social distancing.
Schools in the area have also required all staff to be fully vaccinated.
Still, the board said in a statement Wednesday, “COVID-19 remains a material threat to the health and safety of all students within the LAUSD community, and is a further threat to continuous in-person instruction,” which is why they are hoping to mandate vaccination among students.
If the resolution is passes, all LA students who are 12 years of age or older, and are part of in-person extracurricular programs, must receive their first vaccine dose by no later than Oct. 3, and their second dose by no later than Oct. 31. Those 12 and older not participating in in-person programs must be vaccinated by November, and “all other students must receive their first vaccine dose by no later than 30 days after their 12th birthday, and their second dose by no later than 8 weeks after their 12th birthday,” the board’s statement reads.
Sep 08, 6:45 pm
Kentucky reaches record number of hospitalizations
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced new grim COVID-19 data and said the state has reached a record high positivity rate of 14.1%, and a hospitalization rate of 2,424.
There are 674 residents in ICUs, Beshear said.
In the last 24 hours, 4,468 newly coronavirus cases and 30 new deaths, including that of a young teen, were reported, according to the governor.
“No matter what age you are, this thing is deadly and it’s out there. You need to get vaccinated and you need to wear your mask,” he wrote on Twitter.
