(NEW YORK) — Evacuation orders have been issued in several regions in the West due to spreading wildfires.
Thousands of residents in Northern California and Montana were ordered to flee their homes as both new and existing wildfires neared neighborhoods.
Currently, about 90 large wildfires are burning in 12 states in the West — much of which is suffering from severe drought conditions.
The Dixie Fire, which has been burning near the Feather River Canyon in Northern California for weeks, prompted new evacuation orders in Greenville.
The Dixie Fire — the largest in the state — has been through more than 253,000 acres and is just 35% contained. The extreme fire behavior is being exacerbated by hot and dry conditions with gusty winds are persisting in the area, making it difficult for firefighters to battle the blaze.
The McFarland Fire in Wildwood, California, prompted evacuations in the area after it grew to more than 15,000 acres and remains just 5% contained. Critical fire weather is in effect in the region through Wednesday.
Evacuation warnings are in effect for the Monument Fire in Big Bar, California, after scorching through more than 6,000 acres. It is 0% contained.
The Boulder 2700 Fire near Polson, Montana, burned through nearly 1,500 acres by Tuesday afternoon and prompted evacuations over the weekend. Multiple structures have been destroyed by the fire, but cool, wet and humid weather will help to contain it.
The spread of the wildfires had slowed last week but picked back up as the moisture from the monsoons in the Southwest disappeared, with lightning strikes sparking more.
At least 35 new wildfires ignited over the weekend due to lightning strikes. Dozens of wildfires have sparked in Oregon alone over the last 48 hours, while 13 new fires have started in the last 24 hours in Montana.
Six states in the West, from Arizona to Washington, are currently under fire and heat alerts, while red flag warnings have been issued in Oregon and Northern California.
Excessive heat warnings are also in effect this week for the Southwest, including Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.
ABC News’ Melissa Griffin and Max Golembo contributed to this report.
L-R: Jim Jones, Cam’ron and Juelz Santana of Dipset in 2010; Johnny Nunez/WireImage
It’s about to go down tonight in New York City for the highly anticipated Verzuz battle between legendary rap groups The Lox and Dipset.
Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch of The Lox and Dipset members Cam’ron, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana will face off live from the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden.
Since the Verzuz battle was announced last month, The Lox and Dipset have kept fans entertained by engaging in a comical back-and-forth session on Instagram.
“The eagles basically are sitting ducks tomorrow. @jimjonescapo @mr_camron @thejuelzsantanta,” Styles P wrote on Monday, taunting the Harlem squad. “I ain’t plant based tomorrow. I’m eating birds with my brothers.” The Instagram post also features a video of Styles P feeding bread to a bunch of ducks whle mocking Dipset.
The Verzuz battle begins tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET. Viewers at home can still watch the battle on the @verzuztv IG account, the Triller app and on the FITE TV app.
Jenna Dewan is getting candid about her first time experiencing motherhood.
The 40-year-old actress, who welcomed daughter, Everly, with ex-husband Channing Tatum in 2013, opened up about the “difficult” time following the birth while on the Dear Gabbypodcast.
Revealing that she had to travel to Vancouver, Canada to return to workwhile Tatum remained in London, where she gave birth and where he was working on a project, she explained, “I had to travel with [Everly] and at the time, Chan wasn’t available to be with us for the most part. So, it was me, my doula and Evie all by ourselves traveling at six weeks.”
The Witches of the East End alum recalled that it was “really hard because that was long hours” and added that she kept her daughter on set with her “constantly.”
“I had a lot of postpartum anxiety, I would say,” she continued. “It was like, I just never stopped. You know, you’re up a couple times in the night and then you’re working all day. I was breastfeeding, I was pumping, I was without a partner, I mean, it was just craziness.”
When Dewan welcomed her second child, Callum, in 2020 with fiancé Steve Kazee, it was a much “different” story.
“This time around, I was so grounded,” she recalled. “Even though the world was crazy, I was home and in this love nest and it was different.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden and a growing number of New York lawmakers are calling for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign after the state’s attorney general said he was found to have sexually harassed multiple women.
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday announced the results of her office’s four-month probe into the allegations, saying current and former state employees were among the women Cuomo sexually harassed. In at least one instance, the governor is accused of seeking to retaliate against a woman who leveled accusations against him.
Cuomo has previously denied the sexual misconduct allegations, saying in March that he would not resign despite mounting calls and new accusations. He bashed politicians who were already calling for him to leave office at the time, accusing them of bowing to “cancel culture.”
In the wake of James’ investigation, a slew of state and local lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in New York are renewing their calls for the governor to step down.
Biden on Tuesday afternoon called on Cuomo to resign, but stopped short of calling for impeachment.
“I think he should resign,” the president said during unrelated remarks about COVID-19. “I understand that the state legislature may decide to impeach. I don’t know that for fact, I’ve not read all that data.”
The president said he had not spoken to the governor Tuesday, but he had previously told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that Cuomo should resign if the allegations were confirmed.
When asked if Cuomo should be impeached or removed from office if he does not resign, Biden said, “Let’s take one thing at a time.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., reiterated their past calls for Cuomo to resign in a new statement Tuesday.
“The New York State Attorney General has conducted an independent, thorough and professional investigation that found the Governor violated state and federal law, had a pattern of sexually harassing current and former employees, retaliated against at least one of the accusers and created a hostile work environment,” the senators said.
“No elected official is above the law,” Schumer and Gillibrand added. “The people of New York deserve better leadership in the governor’s office. We continue to believe that the Governor should resign.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said it is “beyond clear” that Cuomo can no longer serve as governor in a statement Tuesday.
“It is beyond clear that Andrew Cuomo is not fit to hold office and can no longer serve as Governor,” de Blasio said. “He must resign, and if he continues to resist and attack the investigators who did their jobs, he should be impeached immediately.”
The mayor also commended the women who came forward and lauded the attorney general’s report that he said substantiates these “disturbing instances of severe misconduct.”
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, also called for resignation or impeachment.
“Attorney General James conducted a thorough and revealing investigation that yielded disturbing conclusions about the conduct of Governor Cuomo,” Adams said. “It is now the duty of the New York State Assembly to take swift and appropriate action and move forward with impeachment proceedings if the Governor will not resign.”
In a joint statement Tuesday, Reps. Tom Suozzi, Hakeem Jeffries and Gregory Meeks — three Democratic New York lawmakers who had previously not called on Cuomo to resign — reversed course.
“The office of Attorney General Tish James conducted a complete, thorough and professional investigation of the disturbing allegations against Governor Andrew Cuomo. The investigation has found that the Governor engaged in abusive behavior toward women, including subordinates, created a hostile work environment and violated state and federal law,” the congressmen stated. “We commend the brave women who came forward and spoke truth to power. The time has come for Governor Andrew Cuomo to do the right thing for the people of New York State and resign.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., commended the women who came forward “to speak their truth” in a statement Tuesday.
“Recognizing his love of New York and the respect for the office he holds, I call upon the Governor to resign,” Pelosi added.
New York state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, similarly for Cuomo to be out in a statement Tuesday.
“This report highlights unacceptable behavior by Governor Cuomo and his administration. As I said, when these disturbing allegations first came to light, the Governor must resign for the good of the state,” Stewart-Cousins said. “Now that the investigation is complete and the allegations have been substantiated, it should be clear to everyone that he can no longer serve as Governor.”
State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, also a Democrat, said in a separate statement that the governor “must step aside or be removed.”
“These damning findings from Attorney General James, who has done a great job, show quite clearly that the governor must resign — and if he will not, that he should be impeached,” Kaminsky, a former federal prosecutor, added. “Not only has Gov. Cuomo broken the law by committing disturbing and dehumanizing acts against women, he has engaged in retaliation against his accusers, and also abused his power as an employer, boss, and the leader of New York and most powerful person in this state.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican representing New York’s 21st district, called on Cuomo to “resign and be arrested immediately” and urged President Joe Biden to “immediately call for Cuomo’s resignation.”
On the other side of the aisle, the progressive New York Working Families Party also called for Cuomo’s resignation, tweeting, “The facts are clear. Andrew Cuomo is unfit to lead and must resign or be removed from office.”
New York Assemblyman Ron Kim, a vocal critic of Cuomo’s pandemic nursing homes scandal, said the governor “must be removed from office immediately.”
“There are no platinum band-aids left to cover up the fact that this governor continues to abuse his office to benefit himself and those around him,” Kim stated. “New Yorkers have had enough. We must return to session immediately and begin the impeachment proceedings.”
Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York City comptroller and a city council member, said in a tweet that Cuomo “should have resigned in March.”
“He should resign now. If he does not, he should be impeached,” Lander added. “If he is not, he should be defeated at the polls.”
Finally, in a statement via Twitter, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said simply: “The Attorney General’s findings are clear. The Governor must resign immediately.”
Emmy winning veteran character actor Keith David is teaming up with Oscar nominee Bruce Davison, and The Craft‘s Rachel True, for the supernatural thriller The Last Call. The movie gets underway this upcoming Monday for director Mike Sargent.
In the film, True plays a documentary filmmaker whose deep dive into what was thought to be a mass cult suicide uncovers that those who survived the incident are being hunted.
David, a veteran of horror classics including They Live, and The Thing — and who currently can be heard as the President of the United States on Rick & Morty — plays a former colleague of the cult leader, played by X-Men series veteran Davison.
Luke Bryan and his wife Caroline look back fondly on the night they first met in a clip from the upcoming documentary, My Dirt Road Diary.
The couple met as college students at a local bar, Dingus, while attending Georgia Southern University. “I saw this character sitting across the bar. All I could see was white teeth,” Caroline remarks of her first reaction of Luke in a sit-down interview.
On the other end, Luke recalls seeing Caroline and her friends walk into the bar when his future wife immediately caught his eye. “I was just like, ‘who is that?’ I got to figure out a way to strike up a conversation, do something cheesy or whatever,” the country superstar says.
Too sheepish to approach her, Caroline says Luke sent one of his friends over to introduce them. “It was just like love at first sight, college magic. It was pretty awesome,” Luke says.
Luke and Caroline married in 2006 and share two sons, 13-year-old Bo and 10-year-old Tate.
My Dirt Road Diary is a five-part docuseries chronicling the American Idol judge’s life through interviews, home videos and other footage. It premieres on August 6 on IMDb TV.
Bazzi gets the world dancing along to his music in the new video for his single, “I Like That.“
Bazzi is shown performing the song on top of a roof beneath a radio towe with flowers blooming everywhere as he sings. We see multi-colored waves — representing the song’s feel-good vibes — spreading out all over the city and, eventually, the world. Bazzi then jumps in a multi-colored bus with a bunch of hippie girls and guys and drives out to a radio tower cluster in the desert, where he and hundreds of people all start grooving to the song
The clip features some of Bazzi’s friends, including influencers Charlotte D’Alessio, Luca Sabbat, Scarlett Rose Leithold, Chandler Lovelle and more.
“’I Like That’ is the start of a new era for me. I’m exploring new things sonically and just having more fun making music,” Bazzi explains. “This song signifies a feeling of gratitude coming back into a new world and atmosphere.”
(NOTE LANGUAGE) Following a headline-making interview with U.K. newspaper The Sunday Times, Matt Damon has issued a statement denying he ever used a gay slur.
In the article, Damon explained that he quoted a line from his film Stuck on You — itself derided at the time for poking fun of conjoined twins — which used the word “f**” — as “a joke.”
What resulted, Damon said, was a “long, beautiful treatise” from his daughter explaining how the word was hurtful.
In a statement to Variety, the Oscar winner explained, “During a recent interview, I recalled a discussion I had with my daughter where I attempted to contextualize for her the progress that has been made — though by no means completed — since I was growing up in Boston and, as a child, heard the word ‘f**’ used on the street before I knew what it even referred to.”
He continued, “I explained that that word was used constantly and casually and was even a line of dialogue in a movie of mine as recently as 2003.”
Damon said that his daughter, “in turn, expressed incredulity that there could ever have been a time where that word was used unthinkingly.” He added, “To my admiration and pride, she was extremely articulate about the extent to which that word would have been painful to someone in the LGBTQ+ community.”
To Variety, Damon clarified, “I not only agreed with her but thrilled at her passion, values and desire for social justice.” The Stillwater star then insisted, “I have never called anyone ‘f*****’ in my personal life and this conversation with my daughter was not a personal awakening. I do not use slurs of any kind.”
The Bordelon family officially returns to OWN next month.
In a season six trailer for Queen Sugar, the network revealed that the Bordelon family-drama will return on September 7 at 8 p.m. ET. As seen in the new promo, every member of the family will have new challenges to face that could change the course of their lives. In addition to series regulars Kofi Siriboe, Bianca Lawson, Rutina Wesley and Dawn-Lyen Gardner, the upcoming season will feature newcomers including Tammy Townsend, Paula Jai Parker, Marquis Rodriguez and McKinley Freeman, who will all appear in recurring roles.
In other news, Kerry Washington has been tapped to produce and star in a Netflix film adaptation of Diane Cardwell‘s memoir Rockaway, Deadline has learned. Washington will play Cardwell, a Manhattan journalist who “unexpectedly discovers the transcendent power of surfing, while working on a routine assignment.” Her new interest now makes her want to focus on a “life of romance and self-discovery in eclectic Rockaway Beach.” Other casting details have yet to be announced.
Finally, The Craft alum Rachel True has joined Bruce Davison and Emmy winner Keith David in the upcoming supernatural thriller The Last Call, Variety reports. She will play Dr. Amara Rowen, a documentary filmmaker who is contacted by the survivors of a cult after a mass suicide. During the investigation of the of the cult’s founder, “she and the surviving members are being hunted and killed, which could lead to a changing reality.” The Last Call begins production in Morristown, N.J. on August 9.
(WASHINGTON) — Customs and Border Protection encountered more than 200,000 individuals at the southern border in July, reaching a number not seen in two decades, according to preliminary figures reference by a senior Department of Homeland Security official in a court filing Monday.
In the first 29 days of July, CBP encountered an average of 6,779 individuals per day, including 616 unaccompanied children and 2,583 individuals in family units. Overall, the agency encountered a “record” 19,000 unaccompanied minors during that period and the second-highest number of family unit encounters, at around 80,000, Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy at the DHS David Shahoulian said in the filing.
The number of individuals encountered at the border is the highest since fiscal year 2000, according to CBP records. Unauthorized migrants encountered by CBP in the border region are arrested and detained for processing. So far this year, the majority have been expelled under Title 42, a decades-old section of the public health code implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, but more than 300,000 have been remanded to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody or released with future court dates.
Border crossings have been increasing, rising every month since October 2020. Last month, 188,829 migrants attempted to cross the border, according to CBP, reaching 210,000 encounters with individuals at the southern border in July. By comparison, in July 2019, CBP encountered 81,000 individuals attempting to cross the border, and in July 2020, the number was 40,000.
The filing came in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups seeking to overturn the Title 42 restrictions along the southern border. The Trump-era measure currently restricts anyone coming into the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The coalition of advocacy groups fighting Title 42 expulsions argue the measure illegally restricts access to asylum opportunities for those fleeing violence and persecution. Immigration officials have acknowledged the rapid nature of the expulsions — with some carried out in less than 24 hours.
While Shahoulian suggested the number of border crossers were unique individuals, typically when CBP reports encounters it includes those who have made multiple crossing attempts. In June, for example, about a third of migrants arrested at the border had attempted to cross at least once before in 2021.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday — the same day the ACLU renewed its lawsuit — that it would extend Title 42, continuing to cite concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CDC order, which does exempt unaccompanied minors, “temporarily suspends the introduction of certain noncitizens based on the Director’s determination that introduction of such noncitizens” through the Mexico or Canada border “creates a serious danger of the introduction of COVID-19 into the United States,” the agency said in a press release Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Aljeandro Mayorkas told reporters at a news conference in Mexico City in June that Title 42 is “not a tool of immigration policy.”
But Shahoulian, in the court filing, said that CBP has “limited capacity to hold and process families, and the current migrant surge and ongoing pandemic have only compounded these issues.”
He said the delta variant of COVID-19 has made the situation at the border more complicated because of the speed in which it spreads.
“The rates at which encountered noncitizens are testing positive for COVID-19 have increased significantly in recent weeks,” he said.
He added that lifting the Title 42 restrictions now would be a danger to not only migrants, but also to DHS employees.
“And although the rate of infection among CBP officers had been declining, this rate recently began increasing again, even though the percentage of officers and agents who have been fully vaccinated has grown significantly since January. This has led to increasing numbers of CBP personnel being isolated and hospitalized,” he said.
The extension of Title 42 was cheered by Republicans who have maintained there is a crisis along the southern border due to the influx of migrants coming into the country.
“Good news: Title 42 authority has been extended,” former Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf tweeted on Tuesday. “Absolutely needed to address COVID and the border crisis that is growing worse every month.”
The Biden administration has made other efforts to reduce the number of migrants under Homeland Security custody. Since the beginning of this year, it has worked to set up emergency shelters for unaccompanied minors, and employees from across the federal government have been sent on temporary assignments to staff immigration facilities.
Authorities at the border even started releasing a growing number of migrants into the interior of the U.S. without court dates, ABC News reported earlier this year.
