Emmy nominee Carol Burnett is in contention to bring home the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series on Sunday night at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards.
The Emmy vet sat down with ABC News as part of a 20/20 special The 76th Emmys: A Night of Firsts with Robin Roberts, which airs on ABC Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
At 91, the nomination for her role as Norma Dellacorte on the Apple TV+ series Palm Royale is nothing new for the comedy legend. It is her 25th nod and would be her eighth win if she were to bring home the award — she would also make history as the oldest woman to take home an acting Emmy. The late Betty White currently holds the title for her win at age 88.
Burnett shared that despite her 25 nominations, she still enjoys seeing the biggest names in television at the show. When asked who she’s looking forward to seeing, she responded, “Everybody. Yeah, I’m a stargazer.”
The Palm Royale star also shared advice for first-time nominees — a list on which names like Ryan Gosling are included this year — when the big moment comes and their category is called.
“Well, of course, you’re happy. And when your name’s called, I’ve always been surprised,” she said with a laugh. “Rather than saying, ‘Oh, I think I’m gonna get it,’ and then be disappointed. It’s always a happy surprise.”
(GREENSBORO, N.C.) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said Thursday that Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances in the crucial battleground state of North Carolina are “excellent,” because of her momentum following the ABC News debate as well as the governor’s race.
“Her chances are excellent, and most people have North Carolina as a toss-up state,” Cooper said in an interview with ABC News at Harris’ rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday.
Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2020, and no Democrat has won the state in a presidential race since former President Barak Obama in 2008. Democrats now believe the state is back in play with Harris at the top of the ticket, as she generates more enthusiasm with young voters and voters of color.
Cooper also said that Harris’ performance at the ABC News debate earlier this week moved the needle with voters more than usual because she’s still introducing herself to the American people.
“We know that debates oftentimes don’t make that big a difference. I think it made a difference here because a lot of people didn’t really know Kamala Harris that well, and they got a chance to see her in action for an hour and a half,” he said.
A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found that 28% of likely voters said they feel they need to still learn more about Harris, while only 9% of likely voters felt that way about Trump.
Harris appears to be benefiting from some momentum after the debate, which could help her in some key battleground states like North Carolina.
538 has collected three national polls and one swing-state poll that were conducted since the debate. In all of them, more people who watched the debate said Harris won the debate than said Trump did. On average, 57% of debate watchers nationally said Harris turned in the better performance; only 34% said Trump did.
Cooper said another thing that helps Harris in the state is the governor’s race — presumably as people come out to vote against the controversial Republican candidate.
“I think this will be a bottom-up race. I think the governor’s race in North Carolina will help Kamala Harris,” he said.
The North Carolina gubernatorial race to take over for term-limited Cooper is a competitive and closely watched race. In it, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, is taking on Republican opponent Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
Cooper called Robinson — a controversial candidate with a record of attacking women, Muslims and the LGBTQ community as well as amplifying conspiracy theories and extreme views against abortion — an “extreme right-wing candidate” that he said will “drag Donald Trump down.”
(SPRINGFIELD, Ohio) — Two elementary schools were evacuated and a middle school was closed on Friday in the wake of a new threat sent via email in Springfield, Ohio, according to the school district and the mayor.
The elementary schools released students to their parents, officials said.
It’s unclear if the person who sent Friday’s threat is the same person who sent Thursday’s, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue told ABC News.
On Thursday morning, bomb threats were sent via email “to multiple agencies and media outlets” in the city, according to the city commission office.
Explosive-detecting K-9s helped police clear multiple facilities listed in the threat, including two elementary schools, City Hall and a few driver’s license bureaus, Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott told reporters. The county court facilities were also cleared “out of an abundance of caution,” she said.
The FBI is working with local police to help identify the source of the threat, Elliott said.
The mayor said there’s a lot of fear in Springfield in the wake of the threats.
“This is a very concerning time for our citizens, and frankly, a lot of people are tired of just, you know, the things that have been spread about our community that are just negative and not true. We need help, not hate,” Rue told ABC News on Friday.
The mayor said he believes these threats are directly connected to the baseless rumors spread online in the wake of viral social media posts claiming Haitian migrants were abducting people’s pets in Springfield order to eat them. The rumors were amplified by right-wing politicians, including former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump said at Tuesday night’s presidential debate. “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
A spokesperson for the city of Springfield told ABC News these claims are false, and that there have been “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community.”
“Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes,” the spokesperson said. “Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic.”
The mayor added, “Your pets are safe in Springfield.”
Springfield estimates there are around 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants living in the county; migrants have been drawn to the region because of low cost of living and work opportunities, according to the city. The rapid rise in population has strained housing, health care and school resources, according to the city. City officials also said the migrants are in the country legally and that many are recipients of Temporary Protected Status.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance condemned the “baseless and inflammatory” claims about Haitian migrants, arguing they “not only perpetuate harmful stereotypes but also contribute to the dangerous stigmatization of immigrant communities, particularly Black immigrants from the Republic of Haiti.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who dispelled the rumors this week, said the state would send more resources to Springfield.
The mayor stressed, “Anybody on the national stage that takes a microphone, needs to understand what they could do to communities like Springfield with their words. They’re not helping. They’re hurting communities like ours with their words.”
Ewan McGregor was honored Thursday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and his Star Wars prequels and Obi-Wan Kenobi co-star Hayden Christensen didn’t let a little dismembering stop him from praising his “dear friend.”
Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker, the student of McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, recalled first meeting the Scottish actor and “coolest person on the planet” on the set of 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.
“[H]e exclaims my name with more enthusiasm than I think I’d ever heard it spoken with before,” Christensen reminisced. “He just gives me the biggest hug. Like, just the most disarmingly warm embrace.”
He “immediately” knew he was “meeting someone truly special … and that I was meeting a friend.”
He deadpanned, “A friend who would later go on to chop off both my legs and leave me for dead on the side of a volcano, but I guess I kind of had that coming,” drawing a huge laugh from McGregor and the assembled crowd.
At the climax of 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Kenobi dismembered Anakin in a lightsaber duel after his student turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader.
Christensen closed by calling McGregor the “best Jedi Master ever,” saying, “It’s been an honor and a thrill to get to work with you, and swing a lightsaber with you, and … call you my friend. I love you, brother.”
The pair embraced after the tribute.
McGregor said he was touched that his star — the 2,789th such plaque — was mere feet from that of another Star Wars legend. “I’m so moved that I’m close to my old friend Carrie Fisher,” he said. “That means a great deal to me too.”
(WASHINGTON) — Federal prosecutors are expected to file criminal charges in connection with the alleged hack of emails from members of former President Donald Trump’s campaign, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The charges in connection with the hack, which the U.S. government has attributed to Iran, could be filed as soon as next week, the sources said.
The Iranians allegedly gained access to data and files taken from the email accounts of Trump advisers, which included internal documents used to vet Trump’s perspective running mate, the sources said.
The Trump campaign, as victims, would be notified of any criminal charges that happen, as is standard Department of Justice practice.
The Washington Post first reported charges were expected.
The Trump campaign did not immediately comment.
Last month, the Trump campaign cited a report published by Microsoft in claiming they were hacked. Though it did not specifically name Trump’s campaign, Microsoft’s statement said, “In June 2024, Mint Sandstorm — a group run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence unit — sent a spear-phishing email to a high-ranking official of a presidential campaign from a compromised email account of a former senior advisor. The phishing email contained a fake forward with a hyperlink that directs traffic through an actor-controlled domain before redirecting to the listed domain.”
The IRGC is a branch of the Iranian armed forces.
Federal officials have been dealing with increased hacking activity around the 2024 election. A week after Microsoft’s statement, Google said a hacking group associated with Iran targeted the personal email accounts of “roughly a dozen” people associated with the Trump and Joe Biden campaigns, including current and former U.S. government officials.
“In May and June, APT42 targets included the personal email accounts of roughly a dozen individuals affiliated with President Biden and with former President Trump, including current and former officials in the U.S. government and individuals associated with the respective campaigns. We blocked numerous APT42 attempts to log in to the personal email accounts of targeted individuals,” the report said.
The group, APT42, is also associated with the IRGC, according to Google.
Meta has also issued warnings about hacking and disinformation during the campaign, releasing a report last month that identified Russia and Iran has the top two threats.
Vice President and Presidential nominee Kamala Harris kicks off her New Way Forward Tour with her first rally after the debate in Charlotte, United States on September 12, 2024. (Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is releasing a new ad on Friday featuring her closing statement from the ABC News debate when she called for unity and committed to serving all Americans.
The campaign said its live focus group of undecided battleground voters during Tuesday’s debate found those moments to be some of Harris’ strongest.
The news of the ad was first shared with ABC News.
Since the debate, the Harris team says it has been strategizing ways to capitalize on her momentum. The campaign says it has aimed to highlight moments from the debate that underscore the contrast with former President Donald Trump, as well as his answers they found most concerning — including what he said on abortion and Jan. 6, 2021, when an angry mob of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol.
A Banksy painting, Girl With Balloon, on display at the Grove Gallery in London after it was stolen, then recovered and returned to the gallery. — (Photo by James Manning/PA Images via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Two men were charged with burglary after a Banksy artwork was stolen from a London gallery, the Metropolitan Police said Friday.
Police said the artwork, “Girl with Balloon,” was taken from a gallery on New Cavendish Street in London at about 11 p.m. on Sunday. The piece was later returned to the gallery, police said, adding that it appeared to have been the only item taken in Sunday’s burglary.
Larry Fraser, 47, and James Love, 53, were charged with non-residential burglary, the Met said. The pair appeared Thursday in Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court. They’re scheduled to next appear in Kingston Crown Court on Oct. 9.
The Met’s Flying Squad, which deals with robberies, led the investigation.
(NEW YORK) — On the night he was elected the 110th mayor of New York City, former police Capt. Eric Adams vowed to fight for those “this city has betrayed.”
“This city betrayed New Yorkers every day, especially the ones who rely on it the most. My fellow New Yorkers, that betrayal stops on January 1,” Adams said that night in November 2021.
For the past year, federal authorities have been investigating the possibility of corruption at City Hall, issuing subpoenas for Adams and members of his inner circle.
On Thursday, New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned a week after sources told ABC News the FBI seized his cell phone as part of the federal investigation.
Caban released a statement saying he was stepping down because the “noise around recent developments” had made his primary focus on the NYPD “impossible and has hindered the important work our city requires.” He said he will “continue to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.”
Caban’s family has connections to nightlife. Richard Caban, the brother of Edward Caban and a former NYPD lieutenant, owned a now-shuttered Bronx restaurant, Con Sofrito. Edward Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former NYPD sergeant, owned a Bronx apartment building that once had a bar on the first floor named Twins.
Meanwhile, Adams has denied any wrongdoing. The mayor has not been charged with any crimes stemming from the investigations.
Federal authorities have not commented on what they are specifically investigating. Sources have told ABC News that one of the probes concerns city contracts and a second involves the enforcement of regulations governing bars and clubs.
“I say over and over again, as a former member of law enforcement, I’m very clear. We follow the rules. We make sure that we cooperate and turn over any information that is needed and it just really would be inappropriate to get in the way of the review while it’s taking place,” Adams said in an interview with CBS New York on Sept. 5.
None of the mayor’s aides who have been subpoenaed, had their homes searched, or their electronic devices seized by investigators have been charged with any crimes.
Here is a timeline of the subpoenas, searches and seizures dogging Adams and his inner circle:
Nov. 2, 2023 – FBI agents search the Crown Heights, Brooklyn, home of Brianna Suggs, a campaign consultant and top fundraiser for Adams. Federal agents also search the New Jersey home of Rana Abbasova, the mayor’s international affairs aid. That same day, Adams unexpectedly returned to New York from Washington, D.C., to “address the matter,” despite planned meetings with White House officials and other big city mayors on immigration. The investigation involves a construction company, KSK Construction Group, based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, sources told ABC News. KSK donated about $14,000 to Adams’ 2021 campaign. Suggs has not been charged with any crimes connected to the probe.
Nov. 6, 2023 – The FBI seizes Mayor Adams’ electronic devices, including an iPad and a cell phone, as part of a federal probe. Sources told ABC News that the investigation was seeking to determine whether the mayor’s campaign received illegal foreign donations from Turkey with a Brooklyn construction company as a conduit.
Nov. 15, 2023 – Adams launches a legal defense fund intended to defray expenses in connection with inquiries by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York into his mayoral 2021 campaign committee.
Jan. 15, 2024 – Vito Pitta, Adam’s longtime campaign compliance lawyer, releases a statement saying the mayor’s legal defense fund had raised $650,000 in just two months.
Feb. 29, 2024 – The FBI, investigating Adam’s fundraising, searches the Bronx home of Winnie Greco, the director of Asian affairs for Adam’s administration. The probe also involves a construction company, KSK Construction Group, sources tell ABC News.
April 5, 2024 – ABC News reports that the FBI is investigating whether Adams received free upgrades on Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national carrier.
July 2024 – Federal prosecutors in New York serve Adams grand jury subpoenas as part of what sources tell ABC News is an ongoing corruption investigation involving whether his campaign sought illegal donations from Turkey in exchange for pressuring the fire department to rush an inspection of the new Turkish consulate in New York City. The subpoenas seek communications and documents from the mayor, according to sources. In an interview with ABC New York station WABC, Adams says, “Like previous administrations that have gone through subpoenas, you participate and cooperate. You see a subpoena, and you respond. At the end of the day, it will show there is no criminality here.”
Sept. 4, 2024 – The FBI conducts searches at the homes of two of Adams’ closest aids. Federal agents search the upper Manhattan home of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who is engaged to Schools Chancellor David Banks. Agents also search the Hollis, Queens, home of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks. The FBI seized evidence, including electronics, as part of the searches, sources told ABC News. David and Phil Banks are brothers and both have known Adams for years.
Sept. 5, 2024 – ABC News reports that federal investigators subpoenaed the cell phones of four high-ranking New York Police Department officials, including NYPD Commissioner Caban. The subpoenas are part of the same investigation that sent the FBI to search the homes of Deputy Mayors Wright and Banks, sources told ABC News. Tim Pearson, a close adviser to Adams, also receives a subpoena for his cell phone, sources said. The subpoenas, according to sources, are connected to an undisclosed investigation separate from one into whether Adams allegedly accepted illegal donations from Turkey in exchange for official favors.
Sept. 10, 2024 – Adams declines to say at a news conference if he remains confident in Police Commissioner Caban amid news reports claiming Caban is under pressure to resign. When asked if he was confident in Caban’s leadership, Adams says, “I have the utmost confidence in the New York City Police Department.”
Sept. 12, 2024 — Commissioner Caban resigns. His attorneys, Russell Capone and Rebekah Donaleski, release a statement saying they have been informed that Caban is “not a target of any investigation being conducted by the Southern District of New York” and that he “expects to cooperate fully with the government.” Caban says in a statement, “My complete focus must be on the NYPD — the Department I profoundly honor and have dedicated my career to serving. However, the noise around recent developments has made that impossible and has hindered the important work our city requires. I have therefore decided it is in the best interest of the Department that I resign as Commissioner.”
Adams confirms he accepts Caban’s resignation and announces he has appointed former FBI agent and former New York Homeland Security Director Tom Donlon as interim commissioner. “I respect his decision and I wish him well,” the mayor says of Caban. “Commissioner Caban dedicated his life to making our city safe, and we saw a drop in crime for the 13 of the 14 months that he served as commissioner.”
It’s Lego, it’s Star Wars, and it’s both combined, and scrambled and mixed up! The new Disney+ series Lego Star Wars: Rebuild The Galaxy debuts Friday, created by Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit.
Hernandez tells ABC Audio the animated series takes place in a kind of upside down Star Wars world.
“Good guys become bad guys, bad guys become good guys. Ships are different. Planets are different, creatures are different. Everything is a little bit different, but still identifiably Star Wars,” he says. “And it is our main character’s quest to try to put the Galaxy back to the way it used to be, but finding that that might be more difficult than he ever could have anticipated.”
Samit says the series is a lot like what would happen if any of us were to take a Legos bin and dump it out on the floor.
“No one plays with their Lego with just, you know, following the stories of the movies in chronological order, following the script. No, you start mixing and matching ships and characters and worlds, and we wanted to recreate that in this.”
Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo, who plays the scruffy nerf herder who has a role in accidentally altering the entire Star Wars galaxy, tells ABC Audio he’s a huge Star Wars fan and had all the toys as a kid, which makes being a part of the Star Wars world a dream come true.
“I will say that I played with more lightsabers than anything. I became kind of a collector in that department. And yeah, I had … the whole nine yards,” he shares. “I remember this one toy that was supposed to, like, make you use The Force, like, with a headset thing and, like, you would just raise a ball and the thing. Never worked. Hurt my feelings.”
Star Wars is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
George Lopez is readying his latest stand-up special, set to air on Prime Video, the streaming service has announced. The special, to be taped at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sept. 27 and Sept. 28 as part of Lopez’s ALLLRIIIIGHHTTT! Comedy tour, will be his ninth stand-up special and first since 2020’s We’ll Do It for Half, which aired on Netflix. A premiere date has yet to be announced …
A release date and an official trailer for Tyler Perry‘s Netflix drama Beauty in Black have been revealed. The plot follows a stripper — played by Taylor Polidore Williams — who becomes involved with “the wealthy family behind a cosmetics dynasty and a devious trafficking scheme.” The series will be released in two parts, with the first eight episodes launching Oct. 24. A release date for the second part has not yet been announced …
Sony Pictures has released the final trailer for Venom: The Last Dance, the final film in the Venom trilogy, starring Tom Hardy. This time out, Eddie and Venom “are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance,” per the studio. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans and Stephen Graham also star. The first two movies have grossed $1.36 billion. Venom: The Last Dance hits theaters Oct. 26 …
