Danielle Bradbery Wins the Fourth Season of "The Voice"

Posted less than an hour ago

Trae Patton/NBC(LOS ANGELES) -- Sixteen-year-old Danielle Bradbery was named the fourth-season winner of NBC's The Voice on Tuesday night.

Bradbery, who was coached by Blake Shelton, received more votes than runner-up Michelle Chamuel, a member of Team Usher.

The Swon Brothers, who were also members of Team Blake, finished in third place.

This marks the third consecutive season of The Voice in which Blake coached the winning artist.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Lil Wayne: "I Didn't Step on the Flag on Purpose"

Posted today at 4:06pm

Facebook.com/LilWayne(NEW YORK) -- Lil Wayne is responding to outrage over a behind-the-scenes clip that shows him stepping on the American flag, during the making of his "God Bless Amerika" music video.

"I didn't step on the flag on purpose!" Wayne says in a tweet, about a behind-the-scenes clip captured during the film shoot. "It's a scene in a video where the flag drops behind me and after it [drops] it's just there as I perform."

In a Facebook post, Wayne further explains, "It was never my intention to desecrate the flag of the United States of America... The clip that surfaced on the Internet was a camera trick clip that revealed behind the American Flag was the Hoods of America. In the final edit of the video you will see the flag fall to reveal whats behind it but will never see it on the ground," he wrote.

That footage has since been removed from the Young Money website, but the debate over Wayne's actions continue on his Facebook page. Many of the comments come from armed forces veterans, their families and friends, who say the rapper was disrespectful.

In his note, Wayne explains the message behind his song, which includes lyrics like "My country ‘tis of thee/sweet land of kill ‘em all and let ‘em die..." He writes that for many people who were raised in "the Hood," including himself, it's "the only America they know..."

Wayne adds that his talents allowed him to escape the environment that he grew up in, "and see the other beautiful places this country has to offer but most people who are born in that environment don't get that chance. That's their view of their America. That was Dwayne M Carter from Hollygrove New Orleans view of America. That's who I'm speaking for in this song," he says, referring to his given name.

The "God Bless Amerika" video was shot in Wayne's hometown neighborhood of Hollygrove, in New Orleans.

Brad Pitt Responds to Melissa Etheridge's Comments on Angelina

Posted today at 4:03pm

Paul Warner/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- Breast cancer survivor Melissa Etheridge raised some eyebrows with her recent interview in the Washington Blade, in which she stated that Angelina Jolie had made the "most fearful" choice, and not the "brave" choice, by having a double mastectomy. Now, Angelina's partner Brad Pitt has responded to Etheridge's comments. Sort of.

When asked by Us Weekly magazine what he thought about Melissa's comments, Pitt said, "I don't know. Somebody just said that." He added, "Melissa's an old friend of mine. I'm sure we'll talk on the phone. I don't know what it is."

When Pitt says he and Etheridge are old friends, he's not kidding: he invited Melissa to perform at his wedding to Jennifer Aniston, and for a while, he was even rumored to be the biological father of Etheridge's two oldest children with her ex-partner, Julie Cypher.

In the meantime, Etheridge has issued a statement clarifying her remarks. "I don't have any opinion of what she 'should have' done. All are free to choose," she said. "I only objected to the term 'brave' describing it."

Justin Bieber Cleared in Possible Hit-and-Run

Posted today at 10:30am

Kevin Mazur/WireImage via ABC(LOS ANGELES) -- Justin Bieber has been cleared in a possible hit-and-run accident involving a paparazzo Monday night.

Bieber is no longer under investigation for the late-night possible hit-and-run in Hollywood, ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV confirmed with the Los Angeles Police Department.

The incident happened near the Laugh Factory around 11:45 p.m. Monday, police told KABC.

One person was transported from that location to a local hospital, the Los Angeles City Fire Department told KABC. The person’s condition and injuries were unknown.

Bieber, 19, was leaving the Laugh Factory with his friend Lil Twist while several paparazzi photographed the pair, according to TMZ.

As Bieber drove off, one of the photographers was pinned between his Ferrari and a parked car, the website said.

This latest incident comes as Bieber is under fire for speeding through his gated California neighborhood. NFL star Keyshawn Johnson confronted him about that incident, but the Canadian singer has maintained that he was not behind the wheel.

The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has referred the case to the district attorney’s office and Bieber faces possible misdemeanor reckless driving charges.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Jay-Z & Beyonce Celebrate 10th Anniversary of 40/40 Club

Posted today at 7:53am

Johnny Nunez/WireImage(NEW YORK) -- Jay-Z and Beyonce held court Monday night at the 10th anniversary of Jay's 40/40 Club. It's the same club he rapped about on the Black Album's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," throwing in a line in the 2003 song that he was chilling "at the 40/40 Club, ESPN on the screen."

Little had changed Monday night in New York City. Taking a break from her Mrs. World Carter Tour, Beyonce -- wearing a white Roberto Cavalli dress and bone-straight hair -- sat next to her hubby while sipping champagne, laughing with friends and watching the oversized LED screens lighting the luxury sports bar.

Instead of being isolated in Jay's VIP room, the couple sat in the heart of 40/40 as onlookers snapped photos.

Celebs and athletes alike filled the VIP sections surrounding hip-hop's royalty, including T.I., who came with wife Tiny, New York Knicks star Amare Stoudemire, Kylie Minogue, New York Jet Geno Smith, Bethenny Frankel, Busta Rhymes and Fabolous.

“My passion for sports led me to create an environment that was not only conducive to my lifestyle but would appeal to every sports fan that walked through the door,” Jay-Z said in a statement marking the club's anniversary.

He is set to release his new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, on July 4.

"The X-Files" Returns in Comic Book Form

Posted today at 3:59am

Paul Morigi/WireImage(NEW YORK) -- Fans of The X-Files will be thrilled to hear the series is back -- this time, in comic book form.

The New York Post reports IDW Publishing is introducing a new X-Files comic series this week entitled The X-Files: Season 10. The newspaper says the venture has input from series creator Chris Carter and features former FBI agents Mulder and Scully living in anonymity under assumed identities.

The X-Files starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, and aired on Fox from 1993 to 2002. The TV series spawned two feature films.

More "Spider-Man" Films in the Works

Posted today at 3:56am

Columbia Pictures(LOS ANGELES) -- Spider-Man will be sticking around in Hollywood for a long while.

According to Deadline.com, Sony Pictures has announced that in addition to The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which will be released next May, it will develop a third and fourth film in the superhero series.

The third Spider-Man movie will debut on June 10, 2016, and the fourth Spidey flick will hit theaters on May 4, 2018.

Andrew Garfield is reprising his role of the Marvel superhero in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

"Monsters University" Premiere Held in Hollywood

Posted today at 3:49am

David Livingston/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- The world premiere of the Disney-Pixar film Monsters University was held Monday night in Hollywood.

The prequel tells the story of how Mike and Sulley met as college roommates. Billy Crystal, who voices Mike, was thrilled to reunite with his Monsters, Inc. co-star John Goodman, a.k.a. Sulley, for the project.

Crystal remarked at the premiere, "We worked together and we improvise and we laughed and we get teary-eyed together. You know, there's real emotional moments in this movie that are quite beautiful. And to really act with him is very special."

Noah Johnston voices a younger version of Mike in Monsters University. It was a role that was more challenging than he anticipated.

"I thought you would do the voices as you see the movie, but when I did it, I didn't actually get to see Mike. Yeah, it was pretty hard to actually get the voice without actually seeing the person," he said.

Monsters University opens Friday.

CBS Announces Fall Premiere Dates

Posted today at 3:44am

Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- The Emmy Awards will help CBS kick off its fall schedule this September.

Nearly all of CBS' most popular series will return in the days following its Sept. 22 telecast of the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards. The major exception is Survivor, which will begin its 27th season on Sept. 18.

Sept. 23 marks the start of the final season of How I Met Your Mother, plus the premiere of two new series: the Anna Faris comedy Mom, and the Toni Collette drama Hostages.

TV's top-rated scripted series, NCIS, returns on Sept. 24.

The Robin Williams-Sarah Michelle Gellar comedy The Crazy Ones, as well as the Will Arnett comedy The Millers, will debut on Sept. 26. That's the same day the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory opens its seventh season.

Another comedy, We Are Men, will premiere four days later.

The Josh Holloway-Marg Helgenberger super-agent thriller Intelligence won't make its way onto CBS' schedule until February.

Here are CBS' premiere dates:

Wednesday, Sept. 18
Survivor

Sunday, Sept. 22
The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards

Monday, Sept. 23
How I Met Your Mother
2 Broke Girls
Mom
Hostages

Tuesday, Sept. 24
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Person Of Interest

Wednesday, Sept. 25
Criminal Minds
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Thursday, Sept. 26
The Big Bang Theory
The Millers
The Crazy Ones
Two And A Half Men
Elementary

Friday, Sept. 27
Undercover Boss
Hawaii Five-0
Blue Bloods

Sunday, Sept. 29
60 Minutes
The Amazing Race
The Good Wife
The Mentalist

Monday, Sept. 30
We Are Men

Monday, Feb. 24
Intelligence

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Haven't Named Their Child Yet

Posted today at 3:41am

Eric Ryan/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- Which name will Kim Kardashian and Kanye West choose for their newborn daughter? Not even the couple knows for sure.

A source tells People magazine, "Kim is being very protective of the baby and she says there is no official name," though the couple is said to be close to a decision. The hot rumor is that the baby's name will begin with the letter "K," as is the tradition in the Kardashian family.

Kardashian and West welcomed their first child on Saturday. People magazine notes that a Cesarean section was not required, even though the baby was born a month earlier than scheduled.

The betting website paddypower.com is offering odds and taking bets on the names fans think are most likely to be selected for the baby. The website currently has "Kim" as the top pick at 7-1, with "Donda," the name of West’s late mother, in second with 8-1 odds. "Kelsey" and "Kara" are tied for third with 9-1 odds.

Report: Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne Living Together Again

Posted today at 3:39am

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic(LOS ANGELES) -- In April, Sharon Osbourne addressed rumors that she was splitting from her husband, Ozzy Osbourne. She told viewers of her daytime program, The Talk, that she and Ozzy were not divorcing, though she said she was "devastated" following Ozzy's admission that he'd relapsed by consuming alcohol and using drugs.

Sharon may be feeling more confident in her marriage these days. On Sunday, the Osbournes attended the Daytime Emmys together. Furthermore, TMZ.com reports, Ozzy and Sharon are currently living together after she reportedly left him and moved into a Beverly Hills, Calif., hotel.

However, TMZ notes, Sharon has hired a "sober team" to keep an eye on Ozzy and make sure he stays on the wagon.

Kim Kardashians Baby Is Beautiful,' Says Kris Jenner

Posted yesterday at 8:06pm

Gary Miller/FilmMagic(LOS ANGELES) -- Kim Kardashian gave birth to a baby girl on Saturday and, according to her mother, Kris Jenner, the baby is following in her mom’s footsteps.

“She’s doing great and she’s beautiful,” the Kardashian matriarch, 57, told HLN on Sunday night at the Daytime Emmys. “We’re all fine. We’re all good and extremely happy and thrilled for the new baby.”

Kardashian, 33, and her boyfriend of more than a year, rapper Kanye West, 36, celebrated the impending birth with family and friends at a garden party shower on June 2 – the same day the baby’s gender was revealed on an episode of the reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

“I’m so excited we’re having a girl. Who doesn’t want a girl?” Kardashian said on the show. “They are the best and I know that’s really what Kanye has always wanted. He wanted a little girl.”

Her family is equally excited.

“I can not even begin 2describe the miracle that is now apart of our family. Mommy/baby are healthy*resting. We appreciate all of the love,” Khloe Kardashian Odom tweeted on Sunday.

“More info will come when the time is right! Thank you all for understanding! We love you dearly! Overwhelmed with love right now ♥”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Nigella Lawson Photos 'Horrific' But a 'Playful Tiff,' Husband Saatchi Says

Posted yesterday at 5:59pm

Dave M. Benett/Getty Images(LONDON) -- The photographs of British television star and celebrity chef Nigella Lawson with what appears to be her husband, art and advertising magnate Charles Saatchi, clenching her throat in public were the result of a "playful tiff" between the couple, according to Saatchi.

"There was no grip, it was a playful tiff," Saatchi told London's Evening Standard newspaper, where he also works as a columnist, on Monday. "The pictures are horrific but give a far more drastic and violent impression of what took place. Nigella's tears were because we both hate arguing, not because she had been hurt."

The photos were taken Sunday, June 9, as Lawson, 53, and Saatchi, 70, dined at Scott's, a restaurant in London's affluent Mayfair district, according to U.K. newspaper The Mirror's Sunday paper, the Sunday People, which published the photos.

In the published photos, Lawson is seen at a table enshrouded in greenery outside a restaurant with a man who appears to be Saatchi. In the pictures, his hand is at her throat as she appears to be stunned by his grasp. In another picture, the man is grabbing at Lawson's nose as she shuts her eyes.

Other diners at Scott's who witnessed the couple's interaction told the Mirror it looked like a violent encounter and that the couple left separately.

"It was utterly shocking to watch," one onlooker told The Mirror. "I have no doubt she was scared. It was horrific, really. She was very tearful and was constantly dabbing her eyes."

Saatchi told the Evening Standard that he and Lawson, who has two children from a previous marriage, were discussing the children at the time.

"We were sitting outside a restaurant having an intense debate about the children, and I held Nigella's neck repeatedly while attempting to emphasize my point," he said, according to the paper.

He also sought to clarify British media reports that Lawson was seen leaving the couple's home with one of her children and a suitcase.

"We had made up by the time we were home. The paparazzi were congregated outside our house after the story broke yesterday morning, so I told Nigella to take the kids off till the dust settled," he told the paper.

Spokesmen for both Saatchi and Lawson declined to comment to ABC News.

Saatchi has been cautioned by police -- a formal warning that doesn't carry a penalty.

Lawson has built an empire reportedly worth more than $23 million as the author of nine cookbooks, host of the TV program Nigella Bites, and, most recently, as the star of ABC's cooking competition show, The Taste.

The celebrity chef gave a revealing interview to Britain's Financial Times last year in which she discussed growing up with her "funny but depressed" mom and gave a glimpse into her life with Saatchi.

"She'd shout at all of us and say, 'I'm going to hit you till you cry,' and so I never would cry. I still don't … She just didn't like me," Lawson said of her mom, Vanessa Salmon, an heiress to J. Lyons & Co., once a restaurant and food-manufacturing conglomerate.

As for her husband, Lawson expressed disbelief that he did not find the same joy in food as she did.

"I say to Charles every morning, so would you like this or that to eat tonight, and he says 'Oh whatever's easiest for you', and I don't understand why it wouldn't matter whether this or that gives you pleasure to eat," she told the Financial Times.

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WATCH: Miss Utahs Equal Pay Response Flub

Posted yesterday at 3:08pm

Ethan Miller/Getty Images(LAS VEGAS) -- A recent report shows that in 40 percent of families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men -- what does this say about society?

When the 21-year-old Miss Utah Marissa Powell was faced with this question Sunday night during the Miss USA pageant, she responded that it somehow says something about education and the need to make it better because men are leaders. But she did not seem to be sure exactly what.

“I think we can relate this back to education and how we are continuing to try to strive to … figure out how to create jobs right now and that is the biggest problem. Especially the men are um, seen as the leaders of this and so we need to figure out how to create education better so that we can solve this problem,” Powell said.

Powell’s response, particularly the part about “create education better” immediately went viral on social media for its incoherence.

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The multitude of responses on Twitter included The Atlantic Wire classifying her answer the “Worst You’ve Ever Seen;” Business Insider claiming that “Miss Utah Completely Falls Apart While Answering An Easy Question About Women Earning Less Than Men;” and The New York Post calling it a “painfully awful pageant answer.”

Her comments immediately drew comparisons to Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina Teen USA in 2007. When Upton was asked why a fifth of Americans cannot locate the United States on a world map, she gave a similarly rambling answer, including an explanation that “some people out there in our nation don’t have maps.”

According to her profile on the Miss USA website, Powell, a Salt Lake City native, is a singer, model and actress. She has appeared on ABC’s What Would you Do? and is the ambassador for “Healing Hands for Haiti,” which aims to bring rehabilitation medicine to the country. She has attended Westminster College and Brigham Young University. Her profile explains that she wants to be an advocate for adoption. Her parents adopted her little brother, who was subsequently diagnosed with several medical issues, including an inoperable brain tumor.

Powell finished third in the contest. Erin Brady, Miss Connecticut, took home the crown.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

"Girl Meets World" Picked Up by Disney Channel, Set for 2014

Posted yesterday at 12:18pm

Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage(NEW YORK) -- Cory and Topanga are headed back to television: the Boy Meets World spinoff series, Girl Meets World, has been picked up the by Disney Channel.

Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel will reprise their Boy Meets World roles for the highly anticipated series, which finds the childhood sweethearts grown up and raising their 12-year-old daughter, Riley. Rowan Blanchard, 11, of Spy Kids: All the Time in the World 4D and The Back-up Plan, has been cast to play Riley.

The new series, which is scheduled to premiere next year, will follow Riley and her best friend, Maya, played by Sofia the First actress Sabrina Carpenter, as they navigate middle school in New York City. They’ll do so under the watchful eyes of Riley’s parents: Cory is the girls’ new history teacher and Topanga owns an after-school hangout known for its pudding.

The popular coming-of-age sitcom Boy Meets World ran for seven seasons on ABC through 2000, showing the exploits of Cory, Topanga, Shawn and Will, and their families and friends, while helping countless teens deal with the awkwardness of their high school years.

“Boy Meets World and its story of adolescent self-discovery resonated with an entire generation of tweens,” Disney Channels Worldwide executive vice president Adam Bonnett said in a statement. “In the same way audiences fell in love with Cory Matthews and Topanga Lawrence, we look forward to introducing our viewers to their daughter, Riley Matthews...and building a memorable connection with a whole new generation of fans.”

Disney Channel is owned by the parent company of ABC News.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio