J.J. Abrams Shares Secrets of 'The Force Awakens'
The director of the latest "Star Wars" movie discusses the making of the much buzzed-about movie.
The director of the latest "Star Wars" movie discusses the making of the much buzzed-about movie.
In a sprawling hour and a half keynote address closing out the Conservative Political Action Conference Sunday night, former President Donald Trump delivered a speech filled with many of the same false election fraud claims that he has repeated since losing to the election to President Joe Biden in November. Trump, at his first speech since leaving office in January, also looked to reassert his grip on the Republican Party and portray of sense of unity—a message that was immediately muddied by the fact that he also repeatedly targeted members of his own party, including at one point listing every Republican who supported impeaching him for his role inciting the Capitol attack, which the former president did not address. Trump also painted a dire and fearful portrait of America under the Biden administration during his speech Sunday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the Johnson & Johnson one-shot COVID-19 vaccine for use in people 18 years of age and older Sunday -- the last regulatory step needed before a third COVID-19 vaccine could be made available to the public. The vote was later formalized by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky. In a press release, Walensky said the new vaccine would offer "more options and flexibility for the public, jurisdictions and vaccine providers."
"Soul" has won for best animated feature at the 2021 Golden Globes. "Being able to tell a universal tale that explored the meaning of life through the prism of a Black man's experiences was a special honor," co-director Kemp Powers said in an acceptance speech during the 78th annual Golden Globes. "So many friends and strangers from all walks of life wrote to tell us how this film resonated with them and how grateful they were to be reminded the seemingly simple everyday moments of life are often the most important."
Virginia Commonwealth University said it shut down a fraternity and the police are investigating after a freshman student was found dead this weekend. Adam Oakes, 19, was found dead at an off-campus residence early Saturday morning by authorities, the university and the Richmond Police Department said in statements. The medical examiner's office is working to determine the cause of death, according to Richmond Police.
A Connecticut ambulance company employee was arrested and charged in a string of Molotov cocktail attacks across the state that targeted two emergency medical services agencies, a volunteer fire department and a private residence on the same day, authorities said. Richard White, 37, of Torrington, Connecticut, was arrested around 10 p.m. on Saturday by Pennsylvania State Police troopers who stopped his car on Interstate 80 near Milton, Pennsylvania, officials said. “Our Officers have worked diligently all evening obtaining both search and arrest warrants in an effort to quickly stop these violent attacks against public safety and cause the suspect to be taken into custody."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has formally referred the case into allegations of sexual harassment against the governor to New York Attorney General Letitia James, the governor's office announced Sunday night. This decision enables an investigation with subpoena power for the attorney general's office.
An iceberg larger than New York City has broken off an ice shelf in Antarctica, scientists say. The 490-square mile glacier broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf, where the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley Research Station is located, the research organization announced. New York City is approximately 302 square miles.
The New York attorney general should launch an independent investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday. "The proper response for any of these kind of allegations of reprehensible, inexcusable behavior is to listen to the -- mainly women who come forward ... and then to do the appropriate investigation and corroboration of the allegations," the senator told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice voted on Sunday to recommend the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for persons 18 years of age and older in the United States under the Food and Drug Administration's Emergency Use Authorization. The recommendation will now go to the CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to sign off before doses are administered. The FDA announced the emergency authorization on Saturday.
Vanessa Bryant, the widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, is seeking to publicly name the Los Angeles County deputies who allegedly shared the photos of the helicopter crash site that killed her husband, daughter and seven others. In September, Vanessa Bryant sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department over the sharing of the "unauthorized" photos, seeking damages for negligence, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Vanessa Bryant's lawyers filed an amended complaint on Wednesday that added the deputies and the Los Angeles County Fire Department as defendants in the lawsuit.
A flight instructor and a student pilot were rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard crew Saturday night after their plane experienced engine trouble, forcing them to ditch the aircraft in the ocean off the coast of Hawaii, officials said. The two pilots were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Coast Guard officials. Makenzy Karnehm, watchstander of the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center, said a Coast Guard helicopter rescue crew from Air Station Barbers Point in Oahu managed to reach pilots about an hour after they ended up in the ocean about eight miles off the coast of Lanai, the sixth-largest Hawaiian island.
Two sheriff's deputies were shot and wounded, one critically, on a Georgia highway Saturday night when two brothers in a vehicle being chased allegedly opened fire with a rifle, authorities said. One of the brothers, Troy Arthur Phillips, 40, was captured on Sunday following a statewide search, Decatur County Sheriff Wiley Griffin announced on Facebook. Phillips' brother, Brad Phillips, 41, was arrested shortly after the shooting that left the Decatur County sheriff's deputy critically wounded, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Coronavirus relief would be easier to pass if it were truly bipartisan, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "There's an easy answer to this, let's make it bipartisan," Portman told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos. "We can continue to work together and in this case, very easy to get Republican support for a COVID relief package," he added.
Sweden’s novel approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic has drawn both praise and fierce criticism, not just inside the Scandinavian country, but across the Western world. The country has so far resisted going into lockdown, unlike the rest of Europe, even during the peak of its second wave over Christmas. In doing so, Sweden has become a lightning rod for those in favor and against stricter social distancing measures.
Three police officers have been injured in a possible explosion after being dispatched to a vacant home. The incident happened just after 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27, when Patrol South officers from the Wichita Police Department in Kansas received a call and were subsequently dispatched to check on a vacant home in the McAdams neighborhood of the city, according to the Wichita Police Department (WPD). Authorities have not yet issued a formal statement on why they were called to the home, who may have made the call or what had been reported to the police but, according to the Wichita Eagle, Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay told local media that the homeowners asked authorities to check the vacant home after they saw the several windows were open leading them to think that somebody could be inside and that officers were given a key to the home so they could access it.
Icy conditions on the Yellowstone River Bridge in Billings, Montana led to a 30 vehicle pile-up that resulted in the closure of I-90 for hours on Saturday as a quick band of snow moved through Billings creating slick conditions. Meanwhile, up to 20 inches of snow fell in parts of Wyoming and Idaho and now as the system moves east, winter weather alerts stretch from Nebraska to Michigan. Flood watches currently cover a large part of the Tennessee and Ohio river valleys from Arkansas to Pennsylvania.
Few shows from the Golden Age of television have lasted as long as "Grey's Anatomy," TV's longest-running primetime medical drama, or arguably, have had as much of a cultural impact as this Shonda Rhimes creation. Seventeen seasons in and the series is still going strong, tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in unique and powerful ways through emotional storytelling and the audience's relationship with the characters. For Black History Month, "Good Morning America" gathered stars Chandra Wilson (Dr. Miranda Bailey) and Kelly McCreary (Dr. Maggie Pierce) as well as Zoanne Clark -- a doctor, writer and executive producer who has been with "Grey's Anatomy" since the pilot -- for a wide-ranging chat conducted over Zoom.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized use of a third COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S., declaring the Johnson & Johnson vaccine safe and effective in adults 18 and older. "The authorization of this vaccine expands the availability of vaccines, the best medical prevention method for COVID-19, to help us in the fight against this pandemic, which has claimed over half a million lives in the United States," Janet Woodcock, acting FDA commissioner, said in a statement. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said a day earlier that the nation now has three "highly effective" vaccines.
Day Two of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference -- considered a barometer of the Republican Party's base -- is underway in Orlando, Florida. The conference -- called "TPAC" for Trump Political Action Conference on Friday by Donald Trump Jr. -- has so far been less about traditional conservative values and more centered around loyalty to Trump, allegiance to his discredited claims of election fraud and attacks on Democrats. "The least popular in our party are the ones who want to erase Donald Trump and Donald Trump's supporters from our party," Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, said.
A 23-year-old man has been charged with second-degree attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a stranger in the back in New York City's Chinatown "for no reason," prosecutors said. Salman Muflihi, of Brooklyn, allegedly pulled an 8-inch knife on the 36-year-old Asian man at about 6:20 p.m. Thursday, according to police sources. Prosecutors said they may bring additional charges if warranted.