Few details released surrounding shooting, stabbing incident at Pentagon

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(WASHINGTON) — A Pentagon police officer was attacked during a shooting and stabbing incident at the Pentagon Transit Center earlier Tuesday, Department of Defense officials have confirmed.

Chief Woodrow Kusse, who leads the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, joined Pentagon spokesman John Kirby at an afternoon press briefing to address the incident, but he would not provide details about casualties.

“This morning at about 10:37 a.m., a Pentagon police officer was attacked on the Metro Bus platform. Gunfire was exchanged. And there were — there were several casualties. The incident is over, the scene is secure and — most importantly — there’s no continuing threat to our community,” he said.

“The scene is safe and secure,” he added. “There were a number of people that fled and there were some erroneous reports.”

The FBI is leading the investigation into the attack.

Pressed on reports on whether an officer died, he said he couldn’t release those details as the investigation is ongoing.

“I don’t want to compromise the integrity of that process right now,” he said.

“I’m not confirming or denying those particular reports right now the investigation is ongoing. And I do promise to get back as soon as possible, with further details but I can’t release those right now,” he said, pressed also on details about the assailant.

“We are not actively looking for another suspect,” Kusse added.

The Pentagon was placed on lockdown Tuesday morning after the incident at the Pentagon Transit Center involving a stabbing and a shooting, according to a separate U.S. official.

The lockdown was later lifted and the Pentagon reopened, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency said shortly after noon.

The Pentagon had no details regarding the assailant’s motivation Tuesday afternoon, but Kusse said they will review the results of the investigation before making a determination on whether security measures should change.

“Every time an incident occurs, whether it’s here or anywhere else across the nation or in the world, we do after actions on those we examine them, we look for things that we can do to improve. But right now, again, it’s still pending, we will certainly, as this investigation concludes, take another look at any measures,” he said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley were not in the Pentagon at the time of the incident. They were both at the White House for their weekly meeting with President Joe Biden and they were all aware of the ongoing situation.

All of the circumstances of the shooting remain unclear while the investigation is ongoing. The Pentagon Force Protection Agency said the scene is secure but remains “an active crime scene.”

Kirby said Tuesday afternoon that Austin was back in the Pentagon and had a chance to visit the Pentagon police operations center to check in and express his gratitude for their work.

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Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood make history on country charts with “If I Didn’t Love You”

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Fans are clearly loving Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood‘s new duet. 

Since its release on July 23, “If I Didn’t Love You” has bounded to #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, setting a record as the highest debut for a duet featuring a solo male and female artist since the chart’s inception in 1958. 

It bests the previous record set by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani when their hit “Nobody but You” debuted at #9 in 2019. 

This marks Jason’s 35th top-10 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart and Carrie’s 30th. Her previous highest-charting debut on the chart was with Miranda Lambert on “Somethin’ Bad,” which bowed at #5 in 2014.  

“If I Didn’t Love You” also has launched into the top 30 of the Billboard Country Airplay chart with a debut at #28, and sits at #1 on the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales Songs chart and #4 on the Billboard Country Streaming Songs tally.

“If I Didn’t Love You” serves as the lead single off Jason’s forthcoming album.

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Love your child or new husband? Be like Joe Jonas and Gwen Stefani & say it with accessories

Joe: Raymond Hall/GC Images; Blake & Gwen: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

What’s the best way to tell everyone how you feel about a loved one? Joe Jonas and Gwen Stefani have both been spotted wearing their hearts — not on their sleeves, but around their necks and on their feet.

Joe was photographed out in New York City recently with brothers Nick and Kevin, where the middle Jonas Brother was seen wearing a silver locket around his neck.  The New York Post reports that the locket, which features a small diamond on the outside, is engraved “Willa,” which is the name of his and wife Sophie Turner‘s daughter.  Willa recently celebrated her first birthday.

Not to be outdone, Gwen Stefani was photographed walking around Los Angeles wearing a pair of custom Vans shoes decorated with the face of Blake Shelton, her new husband.  But then again, Gwen’s made an art out of wearing accessories paying tribute to her man. 

As the New York Post notes, in April, she wore a “Shelton” necklace, and in 2020, she wore a dress covered with white shells to the Grammys, as a tribute to the “shell” in “Shelton.” When she and Blake wed on July 3, her veil was embroidered with Blake’s name, and the names of her three sons.

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Lil Nas X talks about how his “purpose” as an artist has changed

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In a new cover story with Out magazine, Lil Nas X talks about how his career goals have evolved as he’s grown more into himself.

“I’m turning into Montero more and more, day by day,” he says, referencing his birth name, Montero Lamar Hill. He adds that the songs on his upcoming album, Montero, are some of his most personal.

“I named the album after myself because there are a lot of things I’ve been going through and dealing with and wanting to say,” he says. “I wanted to let sides of myself show that I’ve been afraid of people seeing for so long.”

Lil Nas, who is openly gay, says when he initially started out, all he wanted was just “to be this huge rapper.”

“I was looking to blend in when I first started, but now I genuinely don’t mind and wish to do my own thing and stand out,” he says. “I wanted to just be an artist at first. I wanted to just make music.”

He adds, “But now I have even more of a purpose: to continue to find myself and, by doing so, help others find themselves.”

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Collection of guitars owned by Journey’s Neal Schon auctioned for more than $4 million

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions

This past Saturday, the same day Journey rocked Chicago’s Lollapalooza festival, the band’s co-founder, Neal Schon, auctioned off a collection of his guitars, in the process bringing in a whopping $4.2 million.

More than 90 instruments were sold in total, among them the 1977 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Black Solid Body model that Schon used to record many songs on Journey’s chart-topping 1981 album, Escape, including “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

That guitar was purchased for $268,000, including fees, by Indianapolis Colts owner and renowned memorabilia collector Jim Irsay.

Irsay, who says he plans to include Schon’s guitar in a museum hopes to open in the future, previously has purchased historic instruments that have belonged to Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Elton John, Jerry Garcia, and David Gilmour.

“I look forward to sharing this and other pieces of the collection in the hopes that they may educate and inspire others to do great, meaningful things,” Irsay said.

The two guitars that brought the most money at Schon’s auction were a pair of 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Sunburst models that sold for $350,000 and $300,000, respectively.

Other high-priced instruments sold during the auction included a 1959 Gibson ES-335 Natural Semi-Hollow Body guitar that fetched $137,500, a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Solid Body that brought in $131,250, and a 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard Goldtop Solid Body that was purchased for $125,000.

Check out the full results of the auction at HA.com.

Journey’s next concert is scheduled for August 20 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Visit JourneyMusic.com for a complete list of the band’s shows.

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Jack Whitehall says character’s “coming out” scene in ‘Jungle Cruise’ was important “to get right”

Disney

In Disney’s new movie Jungle Cruise, actor Jack Whitehall plays McGregor, the brother to Emily Blunt‘s Dr. Lily Houghton, who joins her on a perilous journey into the Amazon.

When Whitehall got the part, he didn’t realize the character was gay, but in a scene at a bar, he all but “comes out” to Dwayne Johnson‘s Frank Wolff. 

For all involved, it was an important scene, said star and co-producer Johnson at a recent press event. “Really, I felt that the scene was really exactly what it was, which was two men talking about what they loved and who they loved, and it was as simple as that. And we were sharing a drink.”

Whitehall agreed, declaring, “I think it was a scene that we really wanted to get right.”

The actor explained further, “I think what’s so great about this movie is that all of the characters feel so fleshed out and all of them have…interesting backstories…”

He adds, “You know, in a lot of movies of this kind of genre, sometimes you’d have characters that are a little bit kind of two-dimensional. But I think it’s so great that we get to understand so much about each of these characters and it makes you invested in them, and it makes you care about them, and it makes you really on that journey with them.”

Jungle Cruise is currently the number-one movie in America. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Watch now: Teaser for Disney+’s reboot ‘Doogie Kamealoha M.D.’

Disney+

Disney+ has unveiled the first teaser for Doogie Kamealoha M.D., the reboot of the Neal Patrick Harris medical dramedy Doogie Howser, M.D.

For this version, the setting shifts to O’ahu, Hawaii, and Andi Mack veteran Peyton Elizabeth Lee plays the title role: a 16-year-old child prodigy who’s busy “juggling a budding medical career and life as a teenager.” 

The teaser shows the series’ title sequence: Lahela “Doogie” Kamealoha even gets her own Hawaiian-themed version of the original Doogie Howser theme song, composed by Wendy Wang and performed by famed ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro.

The series, which also stars a diverse cast including Kathleen Rose Perkins, Jason Scott LeeMatthew SatoWes Tian, Emma Meisel and Ronny Chieng, debuts on Disney+ on September 8. 

The original Doogie Howser, M.D. ran for four seasons on ABC, from September 19, 1989, to March 24, 1993.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

 

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Idaho police search for ‘endangered’ 5-year-old missing since last week

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(New York) — Police in Idaho are continuing to search for a 5-year-old boy who they say may be in danger after he went missing near his home.

Michael Joseph Vaughan was last seen near his home in Fruitland, Idaho, about 50 miles northwest of Boise, on the evening of July 27, according to the Fruitland Police Department.

Authorities described Michael as “missing and endangered” but did not provide any additional descriptions of his possible whereabouts. The boy’s family has been “fully cooperative” in the investigation, police said.

Last week, police asked any potential witnesses who may have been in the area of Southwest 9th Street and Arizona Avenue in Fruitland to come forward, even if they do not believe they saw anything.

Investigators also asked that people who live in the immediate area where Michael was last seen to “thoroughly search” their property.

The Fruitland Police Department assured the public Tuesday that the search for Michael was still ongoing.

“Our search efforts are still ongoing and extensive,” a post on the department’s Facebook page read. “Our main focus is to locate Michael.”

Police reminded volunteers engaged in their own personal searches to respect citizens’ right to deny entry to their property and to not walk through cultivated fields without the property owner’s permission.

The FBI, Idaho State Police and multiple Treasure Valley law enforcement agencies are all involved in the investigation.

Michael is described by authorities as being 3 feet, 7 inches tall, about 50 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a light blue shirt with a Minecraft graphic, dark blue boxer briefs and size 11 blue flip flops. He also answers to the nickname “Monkey,” police said.

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Mitchell Tenpenny sends “Truth About You” to country radio

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Mitchell Tenpenny is unveiling the “Truth About You” in his new single. 

The song went viral among Mitchell’s fanbase after he teased it on TikTok in early July, and he’s now officially releasing the track as his next single at country radio. It marks the largest streaming debut of the country star’s career: 2.5 million times in its first three days. 

The banjo-tinged song finds the Nashville native on the bitter end of a breakup, asking for compromise from his former partner. “If you quit telling lies about me/I won’t tell the truth about you,” he sings in the defining line. 

“I have the best and most reactive fans. Their instantaneous feedback is invaluable to me as an artist. There is nothing more gratifying than making music for them,” Mitchell says in a statement. 

“Truth About You” will be featured on a forthcoming EP, set for release later this year. Mitchell is also featured on Chris Young‘s new album, Famous Friends, and will open for Chris on the Famous Friends Tour, kicking off in October.

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Camila Cabello’s ‘Cinderella’ soundtrack features her singing hits by Janet, JLo, Ed Sheeran & more

Amazon Prime Studios

Camila Cabello will tackle some huge pop hits on the soundtrack of her upcoming musical film, Cinderella.

The soundtrack to the movie is due out digitally September 3, the same day the film hits Amazon Prime.  The track listing, which is already posted on Amazon, reveals that Camila and her co-stars, who include Idina Menzel and Billy Porter, will be singing their versions of songs made famous by everyone from Queen and Earth, Wind & Fire to Janet Jackson and Ed Sheeran.

Camila, Idina and the cast will sing a medley of Janet’s “Rhythm Nation” and “You Gotta Be,” the 1994 top-10 hit by Des’ree.  Camila will also sing Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” and Jennifer Lopez’s “Let’s Get Loud,” while Idina sings Madonna’s “Material Girl,” and Billy Porter sings “Shining Star” by Earth, Wind & Fire.

Other songs performed by the cast include a medley of Salt N Pepa‘s “Whatta Man” and The White Stripes‘ “Seven Nation Army” — yes, you heard that right — as well as Queen‘s “Somebody to Love,” and “Am I Wrong,” the 2014 top-five hit by Nico & Vinz.

A new trailer for Cinderella just dropped, and in it you can hear bits of some of these songs — and check out a lot of scenes of Camila as Cinderella, insisting that her future career as a fashion designer means more to her than marriage to any silly prince.  Oh, and she’d also like those glass slippers to be more comfortable, too.

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