ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard Is Going to Be a Dad! Wife Hayley Hubbard Expecting First Child. H.O.L.Y cow! Tyler Hubbard is going to be a dad. The Florida Georgia Line singer and his wife Hayley Hubbard are expecting their first child together, the excited couple announced on social media Wednesday. "We've had such a hard time not telling everybody for the last few months because we are SO excited.... WE ARE PREGNANT," the musician captioned a photo of him and his wife holding a pregnancy test. "Holy cow we're going to be parents. God is so good and we can't wait for this next chapter of our life. #lilhubbard." As the couple told People, they're expecting their son or daughter right before the new year. "The due date is the end of December -- we're going to be off the road [and] be able to be home for the first few months. It's just crazy how it all worked out so perfectly." Hayley had a hunch she was expecting when she suddenly couldn't sleep. "We'd just gotten back from California and I wasn't sleeping when we got back and ... I woke up one night and I was like, 'Oh my gosh. I'm pregnant,'" she told the magazine. "So I took a test the next morning and I couldn't even contain myself I was so excited. I honestly didn't have time to think of how to surprise Tyler, so I just jumped back into bed and showed him the pregnancy stick." While they're thrilled to start a family, Hayley's pregnancy hasn't been entirely smooth. "Tons of morning sickness. Just nausea all day, but that's to be expected," she described. However, the mom-to-be opted to take a trip to Malawi, where the hospital conditions put everything in perspective. "We were in a lot of hospitals with women that just had babies and they were with their newborns in these dirty congested hospitals and no sheets on the bed -- you know, conditions you would never want to have your baby in -- so suddenly I didn't feel as sick or feel as sad," she explained to People. No matter where this next chapter of their life takes them, it sounds like they are ready to roll with the punches. "We haven't put a whole lot of pressure on ourselves to just try to have a baby or not try to have a baby," Tyler said. "We've just been going with it and seeing what happens, and it's been fun to live in that moment for a little while of, 'If it happens, great. If it doesn't, great as well.' So that's where we've been, and it's been fun to trust God and know that his timing is perfect. It really is so perfect." Congratulations to the future first-time parents! (Eonline)

Jaime Pressly is going to be a mom again -- times two! The Mom star, 39, is expecting twin boys this fall with longtime boyfriend Hamzi Hijazi, 38, she confirms exclusively to PEOPLE. "Twins don't run on either side of our families so we were completely shocked," says the actress, who discovered she was pregnant after taking a Clearblue pregnancy test. "This wasn't IVF or anything like that. It was just a shock, and I'm like, 'Doctor, that's impossible!' " Sharing that she and Hijazi have been trying "for quite a while" to get pregnant, Pressly jokes that expecting two babies is "God cutting me some slack." "I've always wanted three kids and the older I'm getting, I'm like, 'Okay, maybe just one more would be nice,' " she says. "I was getting a little sad, but it was like, 'We'll give you two in one. You don't have to do another pregnancy.' " Her 10-year-old son Dezi James (with her ex Eric Calvo) is "beside himself," adds Pressly. "He's been begging Hamzi and I to give him a sibling since he was in kindergarten. He's very patient and sweet and gentle and is going to be the best little babysitter ever. He's constantly kissing my belly." Now out of her first trimester, Pressly has been craving In-N-Out cheeseburgers and is adjusting to having two growing babies in her belly. (People)

The Chew's Daphne Oz Is Pregnant With Baby No. 3. Daphne Oz has a bun in the oven. On ABC's The Chew Tuesday, the co-hosts played a game in which they read a series of statements you might say at a summer party and then interpreted what they really mean. When it was Oz's turn, she said, "That sangria looks so good, but I'm on a cleanse this week." So, what did that mean? "Essentially, 'I'm pregnant,'" she revealed. "But really -- I'm pregnant!" Co-hosts Mario Batali, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly and Michael Symon congratulated the mom-to-be on the exciting news and gave her a few hugs. A thrilled Hall repeated, "I knew it! I knew it!" After making the announcement on live TV, Oz updated her Instagram with a photo of herself kissing husband John Jovanovic. "Party of 5!! John and I are overjoyed to be adding to our family with a baby girl later this winter," she wrote in the caption. "Philo and JJ will be the best big siblings!! I know lots of you guessed, and I could not wait to tell you!! Exciting times ahead!" The pair wed in 2010 and welcomed daughter Philomena "Philo" Bijou Jovanovic, four years later on Feb. 26, 2014. Their son, Jovan Jr. -- nicknamed "John-John" -- arrived on Oct. 21, 2015. As for the sex of Oz's third child, the TV star took to Instagram earlier to reveal that she is expecting a baby girl. (Eonline)

Mandy Moore Proclaims This Is Us Is "The Greatest Job" of Her "Entire Life." Don't mind Mandy Moore, she's just living her best life, working her best role yet. "This Is Us is the greatest job I've had in my entire life. I'm grateful every day I get to go to work," Moore told E! News' Zanna Roberts Rassi at the 2017 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City. Moore, who plays Rebecca Pearson on This Is Us opposite Milo Ventimiglia, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown and Justin Hartley, was on hand for the awards show honoring American designers. "Fashion is not a huge factor for Rebecca Pearson, that's why I feel lucky in my real life to get to have fun with it and sort of explore different facets of my personality through fashion," she explained. Playing a mom on TV has had some influence on the 33-year-old's biological clock. "Sure, but I think that's probably just in line with where I am in my life right now. The chapters have sort of lined up pretty perfectly," she said. Does she have any news? This Is Us returns for a second season this fall on NBC and viewers will finally find out how Jack (Ventimiglia) died. "I know we'll find out how Jack dies and I know we'll see it," Brown revealed to E! News at NBCUniversal's 2017 Upfront. "Don't cry yet! I can't tell you exactly when it will happen...it will happen this season." For more Mandy Moore goodness, check out the Billy on the Street segment she did with her castmates. It includes a man asking her out and Eichner asking a pedestrian: "How are you gearing up for Mandy Moore's Emmy campaign?" This Is Us airs Tuesdays, 9 p.m. on NBC this fall. (Eonline)

Twenty-five years after her initial diagnosis, Olivia Newton-John is facing cancer again. But she's staying optimistic-and inspiring others. Subscribe now for the exclusive story-only in PEOPLE. Olivia Newton-John danced and sang her way into hearts as sugary-sweet Sandy in Grease, and now as she faces cancer for the second time, the star is showing the same strength and determination that's carried her through many trying moments in her life. "I am really grateful for and touched by the worldwide outpouring of love and concern. Thank you. I am feeling good and enjoying total support from my family and friends, along with a team of wellness and medical practitioners both here in the US and at my Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia," she tells PEOPLE exclusively in a statement. "I'm totally confident that my new journey will have a positive success story to inspire others! Love and light, Olivia." While Newton-John -- who was recently diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer that's spread to her sacrum -- remains focused on her health, her loved ones opened up to PEOPLE in this week's cover story about how the beloved singer and actress is coping and inspiring them with her uplifting spirit. "We both have the same unshakable belief that she's going to have a wonderful success story," her husband, John Easterling, 65, tells PEOPLE exclusively. "We're not trying to be positive. We have an absolute knowingness that we can turn this around." The "Physical" singer is currently undergoing a short course of photon radiation therapy supplemented with other natural wellness therapies and taking life at a slower pace at home on their Southern California ranch. Her pain "has gone from [level] 8 to about a 2" already after just a week of treatment, adds Easterling. Before going public with the news, the entertainer privately shared her diagnosis with close friends and family who are all rallying around her. "She's not naive and doesn't get immobilized," says her longtime friend and talkshow host Leeza Gibbons. "She finds light in the darkest corners and just always has." (People)

Nicole Kidman: "I am changing my name." Yep, Nicole Kidman is changing her name and we're loving the one she's chosen... Nicole Kidman was an absolute babe at Monday night's GLAMOUR Awards. The 49 year-old actress, who received the Best Film Actress award, gave one of the most positive and inspiring speeches of the night. As she took to the stage, Nicole said: "I am so happy to be here in person, to be able to give love back to London because London has given me so much. So it is great to be standing here with you strong". As Nicole is turning 50 in two weeks she told the crowd that she has had one of the best years of her life, and would accept the GLAMOUR Award as a birthday gift. And is she going to slow down at 50? Hell no. And she let us know that even though her big birthday is around the corner she is not retiring any time soon: "I wanna tell all the women out there, it is not over at forty - it begins. And it even begins more at fifty". The actress thanked all the directors she got to work with throughout her career, but gave a special shoutout to Sofia Coppola who recently won a Palm D'Or in Cannes for her movie The Beguiled, in which Nicole stars. But in a night where we were celebrating amazing women and their unbelievable accomplishments, our favorite part of her speech was definitely when she said: "But I also wanna say, I am changing my name to Nicole Kid-WOMAN. I've realized, it's been wrong! I cannot be Kid-man. I'm Kid-woman. Thank you!" Hell yes girl! Even though she was KID-ding. (British Glamour)

Bill Maher's ex-girlfriend Coco Johnsen, is throwing shade on him ... strongly insinuating he hurled the n-word a number of times during their relationship. We got Coco Tuesday at Burbank Airport, and she told us she believes Bill simply thought it was no big deal and no one would care that he jokingly referred to himself as a "house n*****." Coco dated Maher for a year-and-a-half and subsequently sued him for $9 million for not following through on his alleged promise to marry her. She also claimed he verbally abused her with degrading racial comments. The case later was dismissed due to lack of evidence. She thinks Bill could use some sensitivity training courtesy of the NAACP. (TMZ)

Ryan Lochte NEVER thought about killing himself -- or hurting himself in any way -- after the 2016 Rio Olympics ... despite media reports suggesting otherwise, this according to Lochte himself. Earlier this week, Lochte told ESPN he "was about to hang up my entire life" after the Rio incident -- and when asked if that meant he considered suicide, nodded his head slowly. But Lochte tells TMZ Sports, "To be clear, yes I was in a very dark place after Rio, but I never thought about taking my own life." "That's the media twisting what I told ESPN. I would never do that. That's not me." Lochte goes on ... "I'm a fighter, always have been, and always will be. I knew that I would do whatever necessary to get through that horrible time, and most importantly to once again earn the trust of my friends, family, and the public, who have always been so supportive of me." Lochte says he's in a great place now -- both personally and professionally -- and he's excited for his fiancee, Kayla, to give birth to their son any minute now. (TMZ)

Road Rules Star Danny Dias Dead at 34. Former Road Rules star Danny Dias has died. The MTV cast member who rose to fame as a competitor on the 13th season of the reality show in 2004, passed away. As police told E! News, concerned friends called authorities after not hearing from him for a couple of days. After gaining entry into the apartment, authorities found a man identified as Daniel Dias dead. However, police could not confirm that it was the MTV star. He was 34 years old. According to a report from TMZ, Dias was allegedly at his Brooklyn apartment over the weekend with a friend. Per the outlet, his friend told law enforcement he saw Dias take what he believed was LSD and mushrooms and subsequently freaked out and ran into his room. The friend allegedly left the apartment and continued to call Dias over the weekend, but got no response. After starring on Road Rules, the New Jersey native also appeared on the 11th season of The Challenge in 2005. He graduated from Villanova University and later went on to work in finance. Our thoughts are with Dias' family and friends during this difficult time. (Eonline)

HE OTHER STUFF . . .

Black-ish's Yara Shahidi Is Headed to Harvard. Yara Shahidi is saying hello to Harvard. The 17-year-old Black-ish actress has officially picked the Ivy League university as her college destination. The SAG Award nominee revealed her final choice on social media with a shot of her brimming with Crimson pride in a Harvard sweatshirt. While she certainly earned her spot at the acclaimed school, we bet it didn't hurt her chances to have a letter of recommendation from former First Lady Michelle Obama, who is an alumna of Harvard Law School. "She is very amazing and such a supporter, which is something very surreal to say," Shahidi previously told W magazine of Obama. Meanwhile, it's likely Shahidi and Obama's first daughter, Malia Obama, will cross paths on campus as the 18-year-old is set to matriculate at the university in the fall. The future college student completed her Instagram announcement with a quote from acclaimed writer James Baldwin, "The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated." Months earlier, the actress revealed she had been accepted to every school she applied to. "That's really exciting," she told Seventeen in April. "My college plans are all up in the air, but I will choose within the next month." With the decision finally made, she just has to pick a minor since she's already set on double majoring in African American studies and sociology. "I don't know if I am going to go more creative and do something in the arts or if I am going to do a social justice minor, so that is still up for debate," she told the magazine. Whatever Shahidi decides, we're sure it will be stellar. Congratulations! (Eonline)

Cringe! Jerry Seinfeld Denies a Hug From Kesha Three Times (and It Was All Caught on Camera). Jerry Seinfeld may be one of the funniest men on TV, but he's not joking when he says he doesn't want a hug. Unfortunately, Kesha had to find out the hard way. The two celebs attended The David Lynch Foundation's National Night of Laughter and Song on Monday night and happened to cross paths on the red carpet. Host of 94.7 Fresh FM's The Tommy Show in Washington D.C., Tommy McFly was mid-interview with the Seinfeld star when Kesha ran up to him in an attempt to get some PDA. "I'm Kesha! I love you so much. Can I give you a hug?" she squealed upon meeting the actor. He looked taken back and responded quickly, "No thanks," to which Kesha begged, "Please?" Once again he answered, "No thanks," putting his hands up. The singer gave it one more try, pleading, "A little one?" as she took a step toward him. The actor immediately backed away and more sternly stated, "Yeah, no thanks." When he came back to his interview with McFly, he broke out in a fit of laughter. "I don't know who that was!" he told the host, who explained it was Kesha. "OK! Well, I wish her the best." Cringe. (Eonline)

Alex Rodriguez allegedly sexted with another woman during his romance with Jennifer Lopez -- and tried to arrange a date with his secret paramour, the National Enquirer reports. The weekly quotes extensively from what they say are racy text messages between the former slugger and buff fitness model Lauren Hunter, which included naked pictures of her. According to the magazine, Hunter claims she and the ex-Yankee began dating back in 2011, when he was still seeing actress Cameron Diaz and have been in touch ever since. After A-Rod began dating Lopez in March, he and Hunter allegedly "began FaceTiming again three or four times a day and [Hunter] was sending him explicit messages and photos." According to the mag, "On May 10 [Rodriguez] told [Hunter] he missed her, and May 11 he asked her to send a video of her [doing a sex act]." As Page Six first reported in March, Rodriguez and Lopez began seeing each other late in 2016. In mid-March, the new couple went on a romantic trip together to the Bahamas. They've been inseparable ever since. But the magazine alleges that on May 13, A-Rod -- who ended his playing career in 2016 -- asked Hunter to fly to Kansas City on May 17, where he was providing on-air commentary for Fox, while his former team faced the Royals and J.Lo was in New York filming. But Hunter -- who has three children, including one with NFL Hall of Famer Marcus Allen -- didn't make the trip because she couldn't arrange child care. Hunter also alleges that, in 2011, the third baseman offered her a $20,000 allowance in return for a threesome with another woman he was with. She said he was "very into threesomes," liked her to dress up as a schoolgirl and he was "good in bed" (but) "he's rough" and (ahem) "well endowed." A source close to Rodriguez scoffed at the claims, saying, "He and Jennifer are together all the time. Every week the magazines write something ridiculous about their relationship, last week they were getting married, she's pregnant. It's laughable." His rep declined to comment. (Page Six)

She got it from her mama. At just 5 years old, Arabella Kushner already has mom Ivanka Trump's defining characteristic, the former Trump Organization VP revealed in a September interview with Harper's Bazaar: "She knows exactly what to say to get what she wants." And what to do. Ivanka once told Us that her grade-schooler will withhold hugs and affection to get Mom to agree to her terms. Joked Ivanka, "She uses that against me like a weapon. She knows how to play me like a fiddle." While the manipulation can prove challenging, the 35-year-old -- also mom of Joseph, 3, and Theodore, 15 months, with husband Jared Kushner -- is well aware of how her executive-in-training picked up those skills. "She's like me," she told Harper's Bazaar. "Everything's a negotiation." Never has that been more true for Ivanka than now. Since accepting a role in dad Donald's presidential administration -- in March the onetime Seventeen cover model-turned-real estate executive took on an unpaid special assistant position -- she has battled the 70-year-old about everything from LGBT rights to the North American Free Trade Agreement. (According to reports, Kushner, a senior adviser for Trump, convinced him to remain in the 23-year-old pact.) While many assumed the polished business exec -- and her real estate investor husband, 36 -- would serves as a calming influence on Donald, Ivanka has struggled at times to get the short-fused tycoon on her side. The latest blow: his decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement, part of the global effort to fight climate change. Though leaving the accord, signed in 2015 by every country except Nicaragua and Syria, was one of Donald's campaign promises, Ivanka openly tried to sway him. She spoke with Leonardo DiCaprio about his 2016 documentary Before the Flood, met with Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt and even arranged a sit-down with environmental activist and former vice president Al Gore at Trump Tower. A source close to Ivanka says she was disappointed by his decision, but she's learned to take such defeats in stride. "Sometimes she and Jared are a big influence on Donald and sometimes he takes other opinions into account and does something they disagree with," another Ivanka insider says in the new issue of Us Weekly. "They win some and they lose some." But Ivanka is the best woman for the job. As Donald's beloved daughter, "she's the person he listens to more than anyone," says an Ivanka friend. And the skilled negotiator knows just how to work him -- stating her case calmly and directly. "Where I disagree with my father, he knows it," she told Gayle King in an April 5 interview. "And I express myself with total candor." And should she fail to bring him to her side, she doesn't wallow in defeat. "I go to the mat on certain issues and I may still lose those," she recently explained to The New York Times. "But maybe along the way I've modified a position just slightly. And that's just great." (US Weekly)

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's Bahamas Vacation Comes With a $440,000 Price Tag. Keeping Up with the Kardashians isn't cheap! On the heels of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's most recent family getaway to the Bahamas, we got to wondering -- what does it cost to vacay like Kim and 'Ye? In short: A lot. The duo spent four days at the exclusive, celebrity favorite Baker's Bay Golf and Ocean Club near Great Guana Cay. For the extended weekend, the famous family and their guests got to call a luxurious villa home, complete with separate floors for each family. While you have to be a member of Baker's Bay or be invited by a guest to stay, comparable mansions on a private island go for $44,000 a night. For four nights, that comes out to approximately $176,000. However, that's just the roof over your head. To get to the island like Mr. and Mrs. West, that involves four private planes for their posse to travel in. From Los Angeles to Marsh Harbour in the Abaco Islands, four roundtrip flights come with a total price tag of around $264,000. For a charter boat to Baker's Bay, tack on an extra $190 for up to four passengers. With the logistical costs out of the way, you can have some fun in the water on a jet ski for around $120 a person an hour. However, if lounging by the pool while sipping on Casamigos tequila is more your speed, a case of six bottles costs around $350. So, if you're looking to vacation like this A-list pair, get ready to cough up at least $440,000. They don't call it the good life for nothing! (Eonline)

There can't have been much of an appetite over lunch at swanky Sant Ambroeus in Soho on Tuesday. Fyre Festival organizer Billy McFarland, who is now subject to endless lawsuits over the failed music festival and a reported investigation by the FBI, was spotted dining with two friends, but seemed as if he didn't have a care in the world. "He seemed fine," says the witness. Although McFarland has yet to give refunds to those who shelled out thousands for the Bahamian fest (where food was scarce), entrees at the upscale spot go for up to $45, with appetizers like burrata on sale for $24. Also there was Mickey Drexler, who stepped down from J.Crew after 14 years on Monday, drinking a glass of wine. (Page Six)

Josh Duggar Seeks to Join Sisters' Privacy Lawsuit. Josh Duggar is seeking to join his sisters' newly filed lawsuit. Less than a month after Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy Duggar filed a lawsuit against Springdale, Ark. Washington County, Ark., police and county officials and InTouch publishers, their older brother has officially requested to be included. According to the court documents obtained by E! News, the lawsuit stems from the 2006 investigation into claims that Josh, at the time a minor, had inappropriate sexual contact with some of his sisters years earlier. As the suit details, InTouch allegedly submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act for copies of the offense report, incident report and other investigation documents and subsequently published articles about the investigation in 2015. The siblings have since issued this lawsuit, claiming that, as minors at the time, they were advised their statements would remain confidential and only available to law enforcement. The lawsuit also claims that releasing the records was in violation of Arkansas codes. Since requesting to join the lawsuit, his lawyers claim in the new documents that Josh, 29, suffered "humiliation and extreme mental anguish of being publicly identified nation and world-wide as the perpetrator of sexual contact as a minor and having the details of the most private and painful aspects of his life released and published to friends, associates and tens of millions of people through the United States and world." The documents also state he was "forced into seclusion for fear of his safety," and allegedly had to retain around-the-clock security as a result of threats. Upon trial, Duggar is seeking judgment against the defendants for compensatory damages, punitivate damages, attorneys' fees, costs and expenses. In a previous statement to E! News, the four sisters said, "This case is solely about protecting children who are victims of abuse. Revealing juvenile identities under these circumstances is unacceptable, and it's against the law. The media and custodians of public records who let these children down must be held accountable. This case has vast implications for all our children. We hope that by bringing this case to the public's attention, all children will be protected from reckless reporting." Meanwhile, a Duggar family spokesperson did not have a new statement at this time. (Eonline)

Music

Cher Announces Broadway Musical Based on Her Life Coming in 2018. Is there a Broadway musical about Cher's life in the works? You better "Believe" it! "Just got off phone [with] Writer & Director of musical," The Grammy award winner announced on Twitter. "There Will [be] performance in THEATRE WITH ACTORS, DANCERS, SINGERS!!" Cher has put her story into the hands of director Jason Moore, who directed the Broadway hit Avenue Q before breaking into movies with Pitch Perfect and Sisters. Moore has also directed several episodes of TV's biggest shows, including Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill and Everwood. The show will be put on by Tony-award winning producer Jeffrey Seller, who has worked on Broadway hits like Hamilton, Rent, Avenue Q and In the Heights, as well as his producing partner and former VP of development at NBC, Flody Suarez. The two recently signed a deal to produce new projects for Universal Television, but there is no confirmation whether this project will be part of that agreement. The 71-year-old singer has had a recent comeback stronger than ever starting with two legendary performances at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards back in May. The star who was receiving the Icon Award hit the award stage for the first time in over 15 years to serenade the crowd with her two iconic hits "Believe" and "If I Could Turn Back Time" (even donning some infamous costumes in the process!). The explosive numbers were so powerful, even the seven-time Grammy winner Celine Dion was dancing backstage to the performances. Cher, who is one of the few artists to have an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) under her belt, has been in the spotlight for more than six decades, which gives way for a plethora of personal life stories and performance material to pull from for her new project. The icon has had a total of 15 No. 1 hits over her career -- and is the only artist to have a No. 1 hit in the past six decades. While there are no current signs of Cher coming out with new music in the remaining years of the 2010-2020 decade, it is quite possible her musical will be the hit everyone has been waiting for since dropping her latest album, Closer to Truth, in 2013. Cher confirmed the biographical Broadway musical will debut in 2018. (Eonline)

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw Release Sexy, Intimate Music Video for ''Speak to a Girl.'' We didn't think it was possible, but Faith Hill and Tim McGraw just made us fall even more in love with them. The couple released the music video for their latest single, "Speak to a Girl," which they debuted in March ahead of performing it for the first time live at the 2017 ACM Awards. Despite the fact that they've been together for nearly 21 years, the video proves this country couple's love is just as strong as ever, taking us into the intimate moments of their romance and giving us a steamy glimpse at why they've lasted (and continued to last) so long. Opening with a kiss and moving on to making out on a turquoise couch and caressing each other in a barn, the pair certainly knows how to bring the sexy...Though we're not so sure how their three daughters -- Gracie Katherine, 20, Maggie Elizabeth, 18, and Audrey Caroline, 15 -- feel about it all! However, the message of the song overall is probably something the girls are proud of. Tim and Faith sing about the way a man should treat and speak to a woman, confirming that a relationship is not about money or pride -- and considering their run, we should probably listen. Meanwhile, although the couple have sung together since 1997, "Speak to a Girl" is just one of the hits coming from their first-ever duets album. The untitled project is due out later this year. Currently, the couple are on their conjoined Soul 2 Soul tour. (Eonline)

Ariana Grande closed out her One Love Manchester benefit show with an emotional performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and now that live recording from the concert has been released on multiple streaming platforms. All proceeds from the single will be going to the victims of the terrorist attack that killed 22 and injured over 100 people, Pitchfork reports. Grande, 23, premiered her cover as part of the 39 songs on the One Love Manchester album, now available on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and etc. Following the June 4 event, Grande previously re-released her 2014 hit "One Last Time" -- which she also performed live -- as a charity single. Also on Tuesday, Grande posted a video of a baby getting choked up with tears while watching her "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" performance from One Love Manchester. Along with Grande, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Take That, Coldplay, Niall Horan, Robbie Williams and Black Eyed Peas took the stage. The star-studded Manchester benefit concert raised more than $13 million for the victims of the May 22 attack. All proceeds from the concert, taking place at the Emirates Old Trafford stadium in the city, are going to the Red Cross's Manchester Emergency Fund to help victims and families impacted by the attack. Those who were at the original gig were offered free tickets, and additional tickets sold out in just six minutes. The mood at the benefit concert was especially somber after a terrorist attack in London -- which left seven dead and 48 injured after three men drove into a crowd and attacked with knives -- occurred less than 24 hours ahead of the concert. (People)

Sam Smith Posts Pics From Recording Sessions. Sam Smith is definitely back at it. After taking an extended Ed Sheeran-like year-plus break from the spotlight, the "Stay With Me" singer posted a series of pictures from the studio on Tuesday (June 6) in which he is toiling away with Jimmy Napes, the producer who co-wrote "Stay" and the Oscar-winning James Bond anthem "Writing's on the Wall" with Smith. The nine shots, tagged "Recording x," are the first clues that Smith is revving up to return to the airwaves two months after producer Timbaland posted a pic with Smith and Napes captioned "we're just getting started." (Billboard)

Little Mix' Perrie Edwards is Inspiring Fans With Scars. Perrie Edwards from Little Mix is inspiring young fans to wear their scars with pride. The British pop singer got the ball rolling when she shared a new snap in which a scar on her stomach is clearly visible. Though she didn't mention the injury, she has talked in the past about what she described as a source of insecurity. The "Shout Out To My Ex" singer explained it all to Now magazine last year: "When I was little, my esophagus was too small, so I had to get it operated on to help me eat properly," she said. "I had to have lots of operations, so that's why I don't want to show it." The Internet has responded. (Billboard)

Kodak Black Already Has New Music Coming, One Day After His Release. Kodak Black hasn't even been a free man for that long, but nearly hours after his release from jail, the rapper teased new music on Instagram on June 6. It's a little unclear whether the new sound was pre-recorded before his sentence or whether he went straight from jail to the booth. But even so, fans definitely have something to look forward to. In the short Insta-clip, Kodak is captured sitting at a conference room-style table as music plays form an open laptop. After rapping a couple of bars, he appears to get a little excited, rising out of his seat to finish the verse. While it's hard to make out the lyrics, the artist seems to be rapping about buying his mother some expensive gifts. There have been no updates regarding the song title or possible release date, but the beat was reportedly mastered by Dyryk, the co-producer who worked on a number of tracks from Kodak's Painting Pictures album, according to XXL. As previously reported, the Florida native was recently released from the Broward County jail after serving 97 days of a 364-day sentence. He was originally sentenced to the year-long term after violating the terms of his probation, but a judge cut his sentence tremendously, on the terms he complete a life skills program. Now that he's free, Kodak is clearly getting back to what's important: the music. The rapper will likely want to build on the momentum he originally started with the string of successful singles he dropped earlier in the year, including "SKRT" and "Tunnel Vision," which has maintained its position on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for the last 15 weeks. Let's just hope Kodak can keep himself out of lock up and in the booth from now on. (Billboard)

Eddie Vedder Gave an Emotional Speech About Chris Cornell in London. Eddie Vedder kicked off a solo tour in Europe last week, and he turned the first show into a subtle Chris Cornell tribute, honoring the Soundgarden frontman by slightly tweaking a few lyrics and covering Fugazi and Neil Young. But at his show at London's Hammersmith Apollo, Vedder spoke openly about the death of his friend for the first time, delivering a lengthy, emotional speech to the audience about his response to the tragedy: Sometimes it's hard to concentrate these days. I was thinking about the history of this building and the Bowie history. So I started to think about that and my mind began to wander. It's not a good... So I haven't really been talking about some things and I kind of... now it feels like it's conspicuous because I lost a really close friend of mine, somebody who... I'll say this too, I grew up as four boys, four brothers, and I lost my brother two years ago tragically like that in an accident. After that and losing a few other people, I'm not good at it, meaning I'm not... I have not been willing to accept the reality and that's just how I'm dealing with it. So I want to be there for the family, be there for the community, be there for my brothers in my band, certainly the brothers in his band. But these things will take time, but my friend is going to be gone forever and I will just have to... These things take time and I just want to send this out to everyone who was affected by it, and they all back home and here appreciate it so deeply, the support and the good thoughts of a man who was a ... he wasn't just a friend, he was someone I looked up to like my older brother. About two days after the news, I think it was the second night, we were sleeping in this little cabin near the water, a place he would've loved. And all these memories started coming in about 1:30AM, like woke me up. Like big memories, memories I would think about all the time. Like the memories were big muscles. And then I couldn't stop the memories. And trying to sleep, it was like if the neighbors had the music playing and you couldn't stop it. But then it was fine, because then it got into little memories. It just kept going and going and going. And I realized how lucky I was to have hours' worth of... you know, if each of these memories was quick, and I had hours of them. How fortunate was I? And I didn't want to be sad, I wanted to be grateful, not sad. I'm still thinking about those memories, and I will live with those memories in my heart and I will love him forever. The audience gave him standing ovation. (Billboard)

Missy Elliott Holding Open Casting Call for Dancers. Missy Elliott got the gossip folks talking after posting an open casting call for dancers on her Twitter page. According to the post, dancers age 16 and up who are looking to work with Misdemeanor will need to arrive at 8 p.m. sharp at Dance 411 in Atlanta. The auditions will be held on Friday, June 9, and those who are ready to "work it" for the superstar best come correct. That means they need to know how to pick up choreography and they need to have knowledge of Missy Elliott and her iconic career. Missy, who recently released a remix to her song "I'm Better," will be performing at FYF Festival in July. However, we have reason to believe she's got something bigger cooking. (Billboard)

Movies

Mary Poppins Returns: Behind the Scenes With Emily Blunt. She's baaaack! Disney's Mary Poppins Returns doesn't fly into movie theaters until Christmas 2018, but Entertainment Weekly's June 16 issue is taking fans behind the scenes 18 months in advance. "It's a very nostalgic couple of words, isn't it?" Emily Blunt says of playing the role originated by Oscar winner Julie Andrews in 1964. "I hope what we're doing, and it certainly feels this way to me, is beautiful and profound and will be able to stand alone from the original." When director Rob Marshall first spoke to Andrews, she "threw her hands up in the air and said 'yes,'" he says. Andrews said, "This is Emily's show. I want her to take this and run with it, because she will be brilliant." She will not appear onscreen, but Dick Van Dyke (who played Burt) has a cameo role. The sequel picks up 25 years after the events of the first film, during London's mid-1930s economic slump. Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is all grown up and living at his parents' old house on No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane with his wife and three children. After his wife's sudden death, the entire Banks family -- including aunt Jane (Emily Mortimer) and housemaid Ellen (Julie Walters) -- is devastated with grief. In with the wind comes Mary, who leads Michael's children on a series of adventures: to the top of Big Ben, the bottom of the ocean, and into magical encounters with animated dancing penguins and upside-down cousins (Meryl Streep). "The bar is so high for this," Marshall says of making the follow-up. "But to be able to walk in the footsteps of this beautiful story about a woman who brings magic to this family that's looking for wonder and hope and joy in their lives... I feel a great responsibility and reverence every day. We all feel it. We're just lifting it up to get there with the right intentions behind it." The star-studded cast also includes Colin Firth and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays Mary's friend Jack. According to Miranda, the soundtrack it's "a total love letter" to the original movie. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote a new score, while costume designer Sandy Powell outfitted the cast members. And at least one original cast member is already impressed. "Dick Van Dyke said that the thing he remembers the most about doing the original film was the spirit, and he said, 'It's exactly the same spirit here,'" Marshall tells Entertainment Weekly (on newsstands Friday). "He was right here on Cherry Tree Lane and he said, 'I feel like I'm home.'" (Eonline)

Tom Cruise's latest film, The Mummy, introduces the actor to a new side of humanity he never realized he'd like portraying. Cruise told PEOPLE on Tuesday night at the New York City premiere of The Mummy that what makes his character Nick interesting is his anti-hero status. "He's kind of naughty, Nick, a little bit," Cruise, 54, says. "He's somebody who's a thief, an interesting character. We follow him as he takes us through this new world of gods and monsters in the new Dark Universe world and with this Dark Universe, you have these gray area characters." The actor continues, saying Nick is "questionable, but he's very charming and funny." With 46 film credits under his belt, Cruise has definitely seen his fair share of action heroes. But, he insists, it hasn't gotten old. "I just love these characters because I want to entertain, that's what I do," he says. "I love movies, I'm a big fan of films, and I just love using all my abilities to entertain an audience." "And whatever kind of genre I'm in, I apply the same mentality to my dramas and comedies that I do to films on this scale," he continues. "I'm always thinking of, 'I want a great story.' I just want to be entertained!" Annabelle Wallis, Cruise's co-star in the flick, tells PEOPLE she was excited to play a heroine who wasn't your typical "damsel in distress." "I loved that she's feisty and she's reflective of the women that I know in my life and that women that we have in Hollywood and in all walks of life," Wallis says. "She's real and she's the truth about women. I wanted to make someone that was homage to the classic heroine, but also a modern one that could be brought forward into the future. And she's rough and tumble and just is who she is." Cruise's next starring role is in American Made, out in September. The crime thriller directed by Doug Liman tells the story about a pilot working for the CIA, as well as a drug runner in the South, during the 1980s. The Mummy lands in theaters June 9. (People)

Netflix's 'Okja' Hits More Big-Screen Obstacles After Cannes. After taking flak at the festival for eschewing exhibitors, the streamer's plans for major theatrical runs in South? Korea, and possibly even China, appear to be in trouble. From Cannes to Seoul to Silicon Valley, Netflix is known for sparking controversy with exhibitors and cinema purists over the existential threat its online service may pose to movie theaters. But in China, the streaming giant perhaps wants nothing more than a traditional theatrical release for its latest pricey original. Netflix's much anticipated sci-fi drama Okja, directed by South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho and starring Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal, received warm reviews after its premiere in Cannes last month, and it is set to go live on Netflix worldwide on June 28, the same day it was supposed to be getting a theatrical release in South Korea by leading local distributor Next Entertainment World. Given the strength of the Korean theatrical sector and Bong's star status in the country -- his previous film, 2014's Snowpiercer, earned $60 million in South Korea -- going big-screen in the country would seem an uncharacteristic but natural way for Netflix to recoup Okja's $50 million budget. But such plans now appear in jeopardy. In recent weeks, buzz in Korean film circles has it that CJ CGV, which accounts for 40 percent to 50 percent of all film admissions in South Korea, is considering boycotting the movie to protest the lack of an exclusive theatrical window. Insiders suspect other exhibitors, like the country's second largest, Lotte, might follow. Typically, a major Korean movie would look for help from the massive nearby China market, where Snowpiercer, for example, earned $11 million -- its biggest overseas performance by far. And since the Chinese government has rebuffed Netflix's various attempts to launch in the country, a theatrical release, ironically, would seem Netflix's best means of earning any real money from Okja in the world's most populous nation. Beijing-based streaming video service iQiyi -- with which Netflix inked a limited digital distribution agreement in March and whose general manager of film acquisitions recently was spotted meeting with Netflix in L.A. -- would be a ready partner. But online licensing deals are generally much less lucrative for foreign films in China. "In principle, it's unlikely that a licensing deal would match what a movie like Okja could conceivably make from theatrical, but it all depends on the terms," says Vivek Couto, executive director of Media Partners Asia. Buyers from several leading Chinese distributors told THR in Cannes that they were very interested in exploring the possibility of releasing Okja on the big screen in China. Sources in communication with Netflix leadership at Cannes also said the company was indeed entertaining moving in the somewhat surprising strategic direction of theatrical for China -- but a glaring issue of concern loomed over such ambitions: geopolitics. Since last year, China has maintained a de facto ban on the import of almost all Korean entertainment content -- a response to Seoul's decision to install a U.S.-made missile defense system, known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), on the Korean peninsula last July. South Korea argues that the system is necessary to its national security given the nuclear threat from North Korea, while Beijing views it as an encroachment on China's regional sovereignty. Securing a theatrical release for Okja in China in the current climate would require all of the usual censorship and distribution approvals -- normally, not difficult with the right local partner -- plus special high-level consideration from China's media regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), because of the ongoing backdrop of geopolitical strife. The consensus among the Chinese execs contacted by THR is that Okja's Chinese release prospects are challenging, but not impossible, thanks to Bong's international reputation and the fact that the movie was backed by U.S. companies (Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment is a co-producer) rather than a Korean one. If Netflix calls, each said they are ready to try, given the rich potential upside for all involved. "Korean content has a very strong following in China; there is tremendous pent-up demand for whenever [the Chinese government] decides to begin letting it back in," says Kuoto. "When that will be, we don't know -- it will depend on how these ongoing military and political tensions between China, Korea and the U.S. unfold." (Hollywood Reporter)

'Wonder Woman' Director Patty Jenkins Not Signed for Sequel. Sources say Warner Bros. will soon begin negotiations with Jenkins, who will have major leverage thanks to the movie's historic opening weekend. A $103.2 million domestic opening usually means a sequel is a no-brainer -- but director Patty Jenkins has yet to sign on the dotted line for a Wonder Woman follow-up. While star Gal Gadot has an option in place for Wonder Woman 2 as part of her overall deal to appear in several DC movies, Warner Bros. executives enlisted Jenkins for just one film, a decision that could end up costing the studio millions of dollars if Jenkins' reps drive a hard bargain for her to return. At the time she was hired, Jenkins had directed just one movie, her 2003 feature debut Monster, and she was taking over the long-gestating project from Michelle MacLaren, who left over creative differences. A one-picture-only deal is said to be standard practice at Warner Bros. for directors taking on a big-budget studio film for the first time. Warners execs also may have been a bit unprepared for the level of success and acclaim Wonder Woman has achieved; initial tracking reports predicted Jenkins' $150 million-budgeted film would open to about $65 million domestic, solid but hardly a reason to begin planning a long-range strategy. And the studio had been focusing on putting together Justice League Dark, a supernatural team-up project, and Batgirl, a Joss Whedon-helmed film (among other Bat-offerings), as the likely next movies to go into production in the DC Comics universe. Also a factor in not locking in Jenkins is the studio's more filmmaker-centric approach to its DC slate, where installments are not fait accompli; 2013's Man of Steel, for example, still doesn't have a direct sequel despite grossing more than $668 million worldwide. Some insiders say it was only in recent weeks that Wonder Woman buzz began to grow on the Warners lot in Burbank, so the studio wanted to wait for the opening weekend results before initiating any negotiations. This strategy is a shift from the tactic under previous regimes, which got to work on sequels early. Warners famously greenlighted a sequel to The Hangover two months before the first film was released. Sources say the studio intends to begin negotiations with Jenkins shortly (although the exact timing is unclear), and the filmmaker and her reps at CAA, Anonymous Content and Jackoway Tyerman will enjoy enormous leverage. Jenkins could not only return to the director's chair on Wonder Woman 2 but also could ink a more expansive deal that would allow her to work with DC Entertainment president and chief creative officer Geoff Johns on a script treatment for that movie and possibly others as well. (Hollywood Reporter)

Cannes: South Korean Time Travel Film 'A Day' Sells to Multiple Territories. Finecut expects a slew of European deals and possible remake rights for the time-loop mystery that premiered at the Cannes Film Market last month. South Korean mystery film A Day has sold to multiple territories following its market premiere at Cannes, Finecut announced on Wednesday. The time-loop mystery drama about a father's devastating and endless attempt to save his daughter has been acquired by key Asian buyers from China (BlueMedia Times); Japan (Klockworx); Malaysia and Brunei (GSC Movies Sdn BHD); the Philippines (Viva Communications); Singapore (mm2 Entertainmennt); Taiwan (Long Shong International); and Vietnam (Vietnam Media Corp./BHD). The film has also sold to Brazil via Fenix Distribuidora de Filmes while in-flight rights went Vitality International. "We received prompt reactions from the buyers after the market premiere of the picture," said Finecut in a statement. The feature debut by Cho Sun-ho stars esteemed actor Kim Myung-min (Deranged, Detective K 1 & 2) and indie film star Byun Yo-han (Will You Be There?, Madonna, Socialphobia). "[A Day's] strong point is the perfect balance between action and melodramatic scenes, with a rhythm that retains thrills for the audience along every minute of the film, from the beginning to the end," said Priscila Rosario of Fenix Distribuidora de Films. She added that the film is expected to be released in Brazil on over 100 screens in October this year. Finecut expects additional deals with European countries in the near future. There also have been "requests for numerous remake rights from several countries," said Finecut in a statement. Presented by CGV Arthouse and produced by Line Film, A Day's South Korean theatrical opening is set for June 15, and will be followed by its international releases in multiple territories. (Hollywood Reporter)

Child Actors Cried While Filming IT Because Of That Creepy Ass Clown! We think it's safe to say the new Pennywise is just as (if not MORE) terrifying than Tim Curry's original portrayal in the 1990 adaptation of It. But don't take our word -- or general internet consensus -- for it, just ask the actor who plays him in the upcoming big screen remake! Bill Skarsgård revealed that becoming Stephen King's creepy clown-demon was so unsettling, his mere presence made children crying during filming! Speaking with his brother Alexander Skarsgård during a chat with Interview, the 26-year-old remembered the horrified reactions of the child extras once he arrived on set in full wardrobe. He explained: "At one point, they set up this entire scene, and these kids come in, and none of them have seen me yet. Their parents have brought them in, these little extras, right? And then I come out as Pennywise, and these kids -- young, normal kids -- I saw the reaction that they had. Some of them were really intrigued, but some couldn't look at me, and some were shaking." We can only imagine seeing that clown in person! According to Skarsgård, things got worse once director Andy Muschietti called "action" -- because that's when he actually became Pennywise. Sadly, some of the child extras couldn't keep it together when the scene was being filmed. Bill continued: "This one kid started crying. He started to cry and the director yelled, 'Action!' And when they say 'action,' I am completely in character. So some of these kids got terrified and started to cry in the middle of the take, and then I realized, 'Holy shit. What am I doing? What is this? This is horrible." Horrible for those child actors, yes -- but AH-Mazing for those who want to get the shit scared out them in theaters! (Perez Hilton)

TV

Deaf Singer Mandy Harvey Wows America's Got Talent Judges With Original Song. America, remember this name: Mandy Harvey. The 29-year-old singer, who is deaf, took to the America's Got Talent stage with an original song, "Try." Harvey lost all of her hearing when she was 18 and was accompanied on America's Got Talent with her interpreter, Sarah. "I have a connective tissue disorder, so basically I got sick and my nerves deteriorated," she explained to Simon Cowell. Harvey has been singing since she was four, but left music after losing her hearing more than 10 years ago. However, she returned to her passion thanks to muscle memory, using visual tuners and trusting my pitch. Before she sang, she took her shoes off to feel the tempo and beat of the music through the floor of the stage. She penned "Try," which impressed the judges, because, "after I lost my hearing, I gave up. But I want to do more with my life than just give up," she said. "Good for you," Cowell said. He eventually used his Golden Buzzer on the singer from Florida after she wowed the judges. Just look at Mel B's shocked face the moment Harvey started singing. She received a standing ovation from Mel, Cowell, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel, as well as the entire audience. "Mandy, I don't think you're going to need a translator for this," Cowell said before hitting the Golden Buzzer. "That was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen and heard," Cowell told Harvey after he joined her on stage. "Honestly, I never think I'm going to be surprised or amazed by people and then you turn up. Just the fact that you are you, and it was your voice, your tone, the song was beautiful. Congratulations, you are straight through to the live shows." "Mandy, you know what? We found each other," Cowell said. America's Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC. (Eonline)

This Orange Is the New Black Recap of Seasons Past Is Beyond Cute. Orange Is the New Black returns for its fifth season on Friday, June 9. It's been a year since we last checked in on the prisoners of Litchfield and four since the show debuted on Netflix back in 2013, so it's understandable you may be foggy when it comes to events of the previous four seasons. Netflix is here to help with Orange Is the New Black: Unraveled. And to make it even better, it's cute as hell. In the video, get reacquainted with the events of seasons past. Who knew a bloody tampon sandwich could be made adorable? Well, it is when it's made of felt! Even Pornstache's (Pablo Schreiber) nefarious doings may make you say, "Awww!" Warning, there are major spoilers for seasons past. One thing that is not made easier in this cutesy little video is the death of Poussey (Samira Wiley), which happened at the end of season four. Her little doll eyes closing are too much! The new season picks up right where season four ended: the prison was in turmoil and a riot had erupted. Daya (Dascha Polanco) had a gun to a guard's head -- fade to black. Season five will take place over the course of three days and before you ask, "What can happen in three days?" A lot can happen during a prison riot over the course of three days. "The new season of Orange Is the New Black is lit," Laverne Cox previously told E! News. "There's prison riots, it's mayhem, it manages to be funny. We're mourning, it's deep and it's good -- and you're going to gag." Need we say more? Orange Is the New Black season five drops on Friday, June 9 on Netflix. (Eonline)

Gucci Mane and his fiancee, Keyshia Ka'oir, are about to get what every soon-to-be married couple wants -- a whole lotta cash for their wedding. The rapper and his longtime girl landed a $650k contract with BET for a reality show leading up to their nuptials -- $400k for him and $250k for her ... according to sources close to the deal. We're told the network will also cover the cost of their wedding ... which will be around $1 million! The TV series will document the lives of Gucci and Keyshia leading up to the nuptials October 17. It's slated for 8 episodes and will feature bachelor and bachelorette parties. Filming begins in a few weeks. Our sources say VH1 was the front-runner to nab the show, but BET swooped in with a much better offer. We're told the plan is for the wedding to go down in Miami ... with around 200 guests. You may recall ... Mane proposed to Ka'oir on the kiss cam at an Atlanta Hawks game, so it's clear they don't mind the public attention. (TMZ)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: No, Bill Maher Shouldn't Be Fired For Using the N-Word. "Intent is important," writes the NBA great and THR columnist, and the HBO host's use of the word merely shows poor taste -- and it could even raise awareness of today's race issues. Political comedian Lenny Bruce, who was often arrested for the provocative material in his act, once theorized that if everyone used the N-word matter-of-factly in daily life, it would be robbed of its power to "make a 6-year-old black kid cry" when someone at school used it on him. In a way, that's exactly what some in the African-American community have done by using the word freely among themselves when addressing each other. But in times when hate crimes are on the rise, when we have an administration actively and gleefully dismantling civil rights gains, and when the word is being scrawled on LeBron James' home, Lenny Bruce's dream that we could defuse the word-bomb is still far from a reality. Which is why Bill Maher's joking use of it on the June 2 edition of Real Time has caused such a backlash. There are plenty of contexts in which a white person using the N-word would be appropriate and inoffensive. Maher used the word once before while appearing on Larry King's CNN show when commenting on Newt Gingrich's accusation that then-President Obama held a "Kenyan anti-colonial worldview." Maher responded that "Kenyan, of course, was code for n -- er." In that situation, he was condemning Gingrich's coy racism with a harshness that was justified and incisive. This time, however, was not the same. No social commentary or political insight. Just bumbling shock in pursuit of a lame joke. The reason the N-word is so volatile is that it carries hundreds of years of poisonous baggage. It is associated with how African-Americans were perceived as less human than whites, and it represents the atrocities committed as a result. The word evokes kidnapping, rape, mutilation, humiliation, forced poverty and murder. Even now, it implies a physical threat. We are sensitive to its use -- and have a right to be -- because the effects of that word and all it represents remain a part of our daily lives. But we also have the responsibility not to punish every time it is used in poor taste rather than maliciously, because that muddies the waters regarding the reason for our outrage. Intent is important. Clearly, Maher's intention was not to demean blacks. To put it in perspective, compare Maher with Phil Stair, the public official from Flint, Michigan, who was recently recorded using the N-word while blaming black people who "don't pay their bills" for the water crisis facing the city. He has since resigned. A major difference between people like Maher and people like Stair is that the public official's bias has a direct and practical effect of the people he represents. His is a betrayal of the principles the country stands for. Was Maher insensitive? Absolutely. Inappropriate? Definitely. Smug in appropriating the word for cheap humor? Check. Yet, there was no malevolent intent. Maher is a worthy and incisive voice in political humor who made a mistake and apologized. Inadvertently, he caused the issue to be debated, raising awareness and hopefully sensitizing people. I just wish it was for an insight rather than an insult. (Hollywood Reporter)

Scott Pelley's CBS Shake-Up Exposes Broadcast News' Existential Crisis. Correspondent Anthony Mason could earn the permanent job while Jeff Glor, a frequent fill-in on 'CBS This Morning,' and CBSN anchor Elaine Quijano, who moderated 2016's vp debate, also are being considered. Scott Pelley's removal from the CBS Evening News anchor chair, a shift in the works for months and confirmed May 31, reveals not only frustration at the perpetual third-place broadcast news division but also questions facing the continued viability of nightly half-hour newscasts. ABC World News Tonight, anchored by David Muir, is the most watched broadcast but was down 2 percent in viewers and 7 percent in the critical 25- to-54 demographic during the first quarter of 2017. Meanwhile, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt was off 4 percent in overall viewers and 6 percent in the demo (but still leads it). Pelley's Evening News, which remains stalled at third by both measures, had the largest declines: 6 percent in overall viewers and 13 percent in the demo. The evening news programs still are valuable franchises, reaching nearly 25 million viewers each night, an enormous number by today's fractured media standards. But unlike cable news channels, which are booming thanks to Donald Trump, the half-hour broadcasts have experienced no Trump bump. And CBS, which for years had been a laggard in the morning daypart as well, finally has mounted a successful alternative with CBS This Morning. Anchored by Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell, the broadcast marked its five-year anniversary in January and has given the network its biggest morning audience in more than 20 years, its total viewership coming extremely close to NBC's second-place Today in recent weeks. It also has notched significant ad revenue increases: $127 million in 2016, according to ad tracking firm Standard Media Index. O'Donnell, who has served as fill-in anchor on the CBS Evening News, was floated as Pelley's replacement when rumors of his ouster first surfaced in December. But CBS News executives have been outspoken about the priority to keep the 7 to 9 a.m. crew together. "We're not making any changes to a really successful team in the morning," CBS News president David Rhodes told THR in January. CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason, 60, has been named interim anchor, while Pelley, 59, moves full-time to 60 Minutes, where he will be a much-needed asset to its thinned correspondent corps as the Sunday newsmagazine enters its 50th season in September with fresh competition from Megyn Kelly. (His last scheduled day as anchor is June 16.) Mason, a 31-year veteran of CBS News, could earn the permanent job, while Jeff Glor, a frequent fill-in on CBS This Morning, and CBSN anchor Elaine Quijano, who moderated 2016's vice presidential debate, also could be considered. Execs will look outside the news division as well, though a splashy, expensive hire from a competitor is not in the CBS News DNA (Katie Couric notwithstanding). Who will ultimately replace Pelley hinges as much on the pool of talent available and the requirements of the job (gravitas, hard-news bona fides) as it does on the future of the evening national newscast, once an American institution. As one insider puts it: "Ten years ago, we would have cared a lot more who was getting Walter Cronkite's seat." (Hollywood Reporter)

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