'We Are the World' to get an 'American Idol' alumni encore

LOS ANGELES - “We Are The World,” the celebrity-packed 1985 charity single, is getting an encore this weekend, courtesy of the stars of “American Idol.”

“Idol” judges Lionel Richie, who co-wrote the song with the late Michael Jackson, Katy Perry and country singer Luke Bryan will perform it on Sunday alongside former stars and winners of the television talent show, broadcaster ABC said on Friday.

ABC said it will be the first television performance in 35 years of the song, which originally was written to raise money for African famine relief and featured musicians including Jackson, Diana Ross, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and many others.

Sunday’s singers will include “Idol” alumni Fantasia, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery, as well as the top 11 finalists from the current season of the show.

The singing contest, which will crown this year’s winner during the broadcast, has been produced remotely since mid-March when the coronavirus shutdown movie and television sets throughout the United States.

Richie said he had been “asked a thousand and one times” whether he was going to write another song that captures the coronavirus era.

“My answer is, exactly the lyrics I would have written for the new song are in the old song,” he told television talk show host Jimmy Kimmel this week.

“The lyrics work perfectly,” he added, referring to lines such as “We’re saving our own lives.”

Asked why he wanted the song sung by the “American Idol” family, Richie told Billboard on Friday, “We’ve done the all-star cast and it was historic. These kids inspire me with their talent and they reflect the diversity of the world.”

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'Ugly Betty' creator dies aged 45

LOS ANGELES -- "Ugly Betty" creator Silvio Horta has been found dead in Miami, the show's actresses said Tuesday.

Horta's agent said a statement from the family was expected shortly. Although no cause of death was given, a report in Variety said Horta, 45, had died by suicide.

Horta developed the hit ABC show "Ugly Betty" based on a Colombian telenovela.

The series charted the progress of a geeky secretary attempting to forge a career at a New York fashion magazine.

Both the show -- executive produced by Salma Hayek -- and its breakout star America Ferrera won Golden Globes.

"I'm stunned and heartbroken to hear the devastating news of 'Ugly Betty' creator, Silvio Horta's death," Ferrera wrote on Instagram Tuesday.

"His talent and creativity brought me and so many others such joy & light."

"Ugly Betty" co-star Vanessa Williams added: "Still in shock after hearing the tragic news... His creativity and passion will be missed by so many of us that worked with him. May he Rest In Peace."

The show ran for four seasons from 2006, with Horta serving as showrunner and head writer.

Cuban-American Horta moved to Los Angeles in 1996, and sold his screenplay for slasher movie "Urban Legend" which became a hit film starring Jared Leto two years later.

Horta struggled to build on the success of "Ugly Betty," with no major projects aired since his breakout hit ended in 2010.


Editor's note:

A group in the Philippines is dedicated to addressing those who have suicidal tendencies.

The crisis hotlines of the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation aim to make these individuals feel that someone is ready to listen to them.

These are their hotline numbers:

Information and Crisis Intervention Center
(02) 804-HOPE (4673)
0917-558-HOPE (4673) or (632) 211-4550
0917-852-HOPE (4673) or (632) 964-6876
0917-842-HOPE (4673) or (632) 964-4084

In Touch Crisis Lines:
0917-572-HOPE or (632) 211-1305
(02) 893-7606 (24/7)
(02) 893-7603 (Mon-Fri, 9 am-5 pm)
Globe (63917) 800.1123 or (632) 506.7314
Sun (63922) 893.8944 or (632) 346.8776

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Former FBI director: Trump wanted FBI to disprove salacious dossier

WASHINGTON—Former FBI Director James Comey said he cautioned President Donald Trump against ordering an investigation into salacious allegations in an intelligence dossier about a Trump trip to Moscow in 2013, according to an ABC interview broadcast on Friday.

"I said to him, 'Sir that's up to you but you want to be careful about that because it might create a narrative that we're investigating you personally and, second, it's very difficult to prove something didn't happen," Comey said.

In the first excerpt of an interview with the fired Federal Bureau of Investigation director, broadcast on "Good Morning America," Comey talked about his initial encounters with the new president, whom he described as volatile, defensive and concerned more about how his own image than about Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Comey, who was fired by Trump in May, is doing a series of media interviews that coincide with the release next week of his book, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership."

Trump, who has criticized Comey repeatedly before and after he fired him, denounced him on Twitter on Friday: "James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR," he said.

In the book, Comey wrote that Trump raised the dossier with him at least four times during meetings, according to the Washington Post, which obtained a copy. The dossier was compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele about Trump’s ties to Russia and included an allegation that involved prostitutes.

Comey told ABC that Trump denied the allegations and said he may want the FBI to investigate allegations in the dossier to prove they were not true.

Trump was worried there was a chance his wife, Melania Trump, would believe the allegations.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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Chef Batali exits company, TV show amid sex harassment claim

Celebrity chef Mario Batali said on Monday that he has stepped away from his restaurant company and ABC said it asked him to step aside as co-host of a daytime food and talk show after he was accused of sexual harassment in a report by an online food trade publication.

Eater New York reported that four women, who were not identified, accused Batali of touching them inappropriately in a pattern of behavior that spanned at least two decades. Three worked for the chef during their careers, according to Eater New York.

Batali said in a statement emailed by his representative Risa Heller, "I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt. Although the identities of most of the individuals mentioned in these stories have not been revealed to me, much of the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted."

"That behavior was wrong and there are no excuses," he said. "I take full responsibility and am deeply sorry for any pain, humiliation or discomfort I have caused."

Reuters could not independently confirm the accusations.

Batali said in the statement that he was stepping away from day-to-day operations of his businesses as he works to regain people's trust and respect.

Batali's reputation as a master of seasonal Italian food turned him into a restaurant executive, television star, cookbook author and one of the world's most recognizable chefs. He premiered on Food Network in 1997 on the show "Molto Mario" and in 2011 helped launch "The Chew" on ABC.

B&B Hospitality Group, which services about 24 restaurants owned by Batali and other chefs, said in an emailed statement that it takes such accusations seriously.

"We have had systematic policies and training about sexual harassment for over 10 years, including a detailed procedure for employees to report complaints to senior management," B&B Hospitality Group said. "All members of management have participated in these trainings, including Mr. Batali."

"Mr. Batali and we have agreed that he will step away from the company's operations, including the restaurants, and he has already done so," the company said in the statement.

The ABC Television Network, a unit of Walt Disney Co , said in a statement, "We have asked Mario Batali to step away from The Chew while we review the allegations that have just recently come to our attention."

"ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment. While we are unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with the show, we will swiftly address any alleged violations of our standards of conduct.”

Food Network said in an emailed statement that it was suspending plans to relaunch "Molto Mario" in light of the accusations.

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Trump confers with Asia allies on North Korea nuclear threat

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump is stepping up outreach to allies in Asia to discuss the North Korean nuclear threat and make sure all are "on the same page" if action was needed, a top White House official said on Sunday.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Trump would speak to the leaders of Singapore and Thailand on Sunday, after North Korea test-launched another missile that Washington and Seoul said was unsuccessful but which drew widespread international condemnation.

The telephone calls follow Trump's conversation on Saturday night with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. A week ago, Trump spoke with the presidents of China and Japan on the North Korea issue.

"We need cooperation at some level with as many partners in the area as we can get to make sure that we have our ducks in a row," Priebus told ABC's "This Week."

"So if something does happen in North Korea, that we have everyone in line backing up a plan of action that may need to be put together with our partners in the area,” he said. "We have got to be on the same page."

Priebus said the planned conversations were prompted by the "potential for nuclear and massive destruction in Asia" and eventually in the United States.

The U.S. president, who warned a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible in an interview with Reuters, did not elaborate on any U.S. response to the test. "You'll soon find out," he said Saturday.

Trump has stressed he would not broadcast military options to preserve an element of surprise. His secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, said on Friday all options remained on the table with regard to North Korea.

Pyongyang's missile test came as the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group arrived in waters near the Korean peninsula, where it began exercises with the South Korean navy on Saturday about 12 hours after the failed launch, a South Korean navy official said.

Priebus said Trump was in regular contact with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and that the president had become "very close" to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump, for whom China was a virtual punching bag during the 2016 presidential campaign over trade, told CBS that any trade disputes with the Asian economic giant took a back seat to securing its cooperation on North Korea.

China, the only major ally of North Korea and its largest trading partner, has expressed increasing concern about Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. resolutions. However, it has warned against escalation.

"I think that, frankly, North Korea is maybe more important than trade," Trump said in the "Face the Nation" interview. "Trade is very important. But massive warfare with millions, potentially millions of people being killed? That, as we would say, trumps trade."

Similarly, concerns over human rights in the Philippines, where critics cite extrajudicial killings in Duterte's war on drugs, take a back seat to possible confrontation in Asia.

"There is nothing right now facing this country and facing the region that is a bigger threat than what is happening in North Korea," he said in the ABC interview.

Senator John McCain, a leading Republican on foreign policy, said he did not believe Trump was considering a pre-emptive strike on North Korea. That would put U.S. ally South Korea in immediate danger, he said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"But to say you absolutely rule out that option of course would be foolish. But it has to be the ultimate last option," McCain said.

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US billionaire Buffett challenges Trump to reveal tax returns

WASHINGTON - US billionaire Warren Buffett challenged Donald Trump Monday to release his tax returns, a feat which the Republican presidential candidate has so far resisted.

Trump has said he won't release the documents because he is under audit, which Buffett -- one of the world's richest men -- suggested is a weak excuse.

"Now I've got news for him, I'm under audit too," Buffett said, speaking at a Hillary Clinton rally in Nebraska. "You're only afraid if you got something to be afraid about."

"He's afraid because of you," Buffett told the attendees.

Buffett suggested he and Trump meet "any place, any time" before election day to publicly go over their tax records together.

The business magnate also sharply criticized Trump for a recent dispute with the parents of a slain Muslim American soldier.

Pakistani immigrant Khizr Khan galvanized the Democratic National Convention with a tribute to his dead son in which he rebuked the Republican nominee for having "sacrificed nothing" for the country.

In an interview aired on ABC Sunday, Trump insisted he had, in fact, made "a lot of sacrifices" for the United States.

Buffett declared otherwise: "Donald Trump and I haven't sacrificed anything," he said, referencing Trump's remark.

"How in the world can you stand up to a couple of parents who have lost a son and talk about sacrificing because you were building a bunch of buildings?"

Buffett is one of several extremely wealthy Americans to back Clinton for president, including billionaire and independent former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

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Swift, Azalea kick off American Music Awards

LOS ANGELES - Pop music's leading ladies Taylor Swift, Iggy Azalea and Ariana Grande gave high-octane performances, while British boy band One Direction won favorite pop/rock band at the American Music Awards on Sunday.

A sultry Swift kicked off the show with "Blank Space," performing against a backdrop of romantic images and accompanied by dancers dressed as rose-bearing suitors.

Newcomer and Australian rapper Azalea won best rap/hip-hop album for "The New Classic" and said it was the first award she has ever won. The prizes are awarded based on fan voting.

"It means so much to me that it is for best hip-hop because that's what inspired me to move to America," the 24-year-old rapper said. "It means so much that I can stand here against Eminem and Drake and come out with this."

She later performed a medley of her hits "I'm So Fancy" and the raunchy "Beg For It."

British soul singer Sam Smith, 22, capped a whirlwind year in which he skyrocketed to success in the United States and won favorite pop/rock male artist.

"Last year I wrote an album about being lonely and tonight, I couldn't feel further from being lonely," the newcomer said. He sang his ballad "I'm Not the Only One" accompanied by rapper A$AP Rocky and a string quartet.

Luke Bryan won favorite country male artist, while British boy band One Direction, which just released their album "Four," won favorite pop/rock band and favorite pop/rock album for "Midnight Memories."

Much of the three-hour awards show, aired on ABC, was dedicated to performances.

Pop star Grande performed "One Less Problem" and "Break Free" with a jazz twist, showcasing her vast vocal range.

New Zealand songstress Lorde performed "Yellow Flicker Beat," the theme for box office-topping "Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1," in an orange box before breaking out onto the stage.

British singer Charli XCX sang "Boom Clap" and "Break the Rules" against a prom backdrop, while Australian boy band 5SOS added some rock with a cover of The Romantics' "What I Like About You."

Wyclef Jean joined Canadian reggae-pop group MAGIC! to perform the group's single "Rude," getting the star-studded crowd dancing along.

Ahead of the awards show, Azalea had led the nominees with six nods, while pop star Katy Perry, soul singer John Legend and R&B singer Pharrell Williams followed with five nominations each.

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