US comedian Kimmel makes tearful plea for children's health care

LOS ANGELES - Choking back tears, the star comedian Jimmy Kimmel has recounted his newborn son's brush with death -- and waded into the raging debate on health care in America -- in an emotional speech that went viral on Tuesday.

One of the biggest names in American comedy and the host of last February's Oscars, Kimmel used the opening monologue of his "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show to announce the arrival last month of his son Billy, who appeared at first to be a healthy newborn.

But in the sequence Monday night, he went on to recount how, minutes after the birth, the infant began to turn blue and it became apparent that something was seriously wrong.

Doctors and medical staff quickly determined that Billy, Kimmel's second born child, had a serious birth defect requiring immediate open heart surgery followed by years of monitoring and future medical procedures.

None of that posed an insurmountable challenge to a multimillionaire performer like Kimmel.

But it led him to reflect during a tearful 13-minute-long speech on the plight of other families whose children face similar medical crises.

Without mentioning it by name, he plugged former president Barack Obama's health care law which has come under attack by his successor Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, who are currently pushing a second attempt to dismantle it.

"Until a few years ago, millions and millions of us had no access to health insurance at all," Kimmel told the audience.

"Before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease like my son was, there was a good chance you would never be able to get health insurance because you had a preexisting condition," he said.

"If your baby is going to die, and it doesn't have to, it shouldn't matter how much money you make," Kimmel said.

"I think that's something now, whether you're a Republican or Democrat, or something else, we all agree on that, right?" he added, to cheers and applause from the crowd.

As the broadcast went viral on Tuesday, the former Democratic president was among those who tweeted out his support -- and thanks -- to the comedian.

"Well said, Jimmy. That's exactly why we fought so hard for the ACA, and why we need to protect it for kids like Billy. And congratulations!" Obama wrote.

The requirement, under Obama's Affordable Care Act, for insurance providers to offer coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions, is a key sticking point in Trump's attempts to repeal the law -- with conservatives seeking to scrap the protection, but other Republicans unwilling to water down such a popular provision.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Stars shimmer on Oscar red carpet as diamonds and gold have their day

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood's A-list stars flaunted gold and silver gowns on the Oscar red carpet on Sunday, doused with a generous helping of diamonds, feathers, sequins and symbolic blue ribbons on the world's most cinematic runway.

Emma Stone, nominated for best actress in "La La Land" sparkled in a 1920s inspired gold fringed Givenchy gown, as "Hidden Figures" supporting actress contender Octavia Spencer opted for a silvery Marchesa adorned with a flounce of feathers.

Resembling a real-life - though much more chic - Oscar award, actress Jessica Biel sported a shimmering gold-copper Kaufman Franco beaded gown accessorized with a bold African-inspired necklace from Tiffany's.

"I call it perfection!" piped in husband Justin Timberlake, wearing Tom Ford.

"Lion" supporting actor nominee Dev Patel and television host Ryan Seacrest shared fashion warnings about the dangers of wearing white tuxedos jackets on a red carpet filled with women in red lipstick as Dakota Johnson floated by in a flowing gold Gucci.

Diamonds adorned the throat of "Hidden Figures" star Taraji P. Henson, poured into a cleavage-bearing midnight blue Alberta Ferretti gown with a daring split at the leg.

Isabelle Huppert, nominated for best actress for "Elle" showed her typically refined style in a long-sleeved silver Armani Prive gown, while Ruth Negga, also nominated in the same category for "Loving," chose a lacy Valentino in the fashion house's signature vibrant red.

Negga and other attendees like model Karlie Kloss added a blue ribbon to their gowns and tuxedos to show support for the American Civil Liberties Union, an organization that worked to get President Donald Trump's travel ban blocked in courts.

Also sporting a blue ribbon was Lin Manuel Miranda, best known for Broadway's "Hamilton." He had his mother on his arm as his date and noted proudly that he bought his tuxedo in Yonkers, New York, at the same shop where he bought his high school prom tux years ago.

"Chanel Pharrell!" proclaimed singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams, decked out in a fitted Chanel tux accessorized with a dramatic black bead necklace that fell down over the lapel.

Two stuffed pandas, meanwhile were the arm candy of Jackie Chan, stand-ins for the real pandas the action star adopted at a breeding facility in Chengdu, China.

"I am the panda ambassador! They go wherever I go, they take photos with famous people, Stallone, Clinton...," Chan said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Emmys red carpet: red, black, yellow and gorgeous

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood's A-list sparkled in the California sunlight on the red carpet Sunday for the Emmy Awards, television's top honors.

The following are briefs from the red carpet: top trends seen on the top actors and actresses in showbiz, a few pithy quotes and other Tinseltown tidbits.

Ladies in red

On the red carpet, red is always a standout -- and a statement.

Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra, a former Miss World now starring on ABC's conspiracy thriller "Quantico," bared some skin in a pleated one-shoulder Jason Wu goddess gown with a full skirt and train, her black hair perfectly slicked back.

Tatiana Maslany, a nominee for best actress in a drama for her demanding turn as multiple clones on sci-fi cult favorite "Orphan Black," sizzled in a sleek Alexander Wang column, a hint of midriff visible through the cut-outs.

All that glitters is gold (or yellow)

Beyonce may be nominated for her album-film "Lemonade," but the stars embraced the drink's bright yellow hue -- not always easy to wear -- for Emmys night.

Angela Bassett, who has starred in multiple seasons of the fright-show anthology "American Horror Story" on FX, earned instant praise in the Twitterverse for her Christian Siriano yellow kimono dress with a plunging neckline.

Best drama actress nominee Taraji P. Henson, who plays the fierce Cookie Lyon on Fox's hip-hop drama "Empire," smoldered in a body-hugging canary gown with spaghetti straps.

Ellie Kemper, the nominated star of "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," rocked a belted yellow Jenny Packham column dress, her red hair cut into a simple bob.

And British actress Minnie Driver, who will star in new ABC show "Speechless" this season, stunned in a yellow Versace gown with daring shoulder and waist cutouts and a deep slit up the side.

"#sunday #chilling not doing anything special, just laying around really. You?" she tweeted, with a picture of herself ahead of the glamourous ceremony.

Back in black

When in doubt, black is a winner.

"Game of Thrones" is the show with the most Emmy nominations this year, and star Sophie Turner sizzled on the carpet in a lacy black Valentino slip dress.

Turner, who plays Sansa Stark, teased that the upcoming season 7 would be "unbelievable" and would leave fans "really satisfied."

Maura Tierney, a nominee for best supporting actress in a drama for her heart-wrenching turn as a woman wronged on Showtime's "The Affair," wore a strapless gown from Siriano, who recently wowed New York Fashion week by putting several plus-size models on his catwalk.

Hollywood camels?
Felicity Huffman, a nominee for best actress in a limited series for ABC's searing anthology, "American Crime," is clearly a huge fan of show creator John Ridley.

"I'd follow John Ridley anywhere. If he said he was doing 'The Ten Commandments,' I'd say, 'Can I play a camel?'" Huffman said, her husband -- and fellow nominee -- William H. Macy by her side.

Huffman was embracing another red carpet trend: white and pale dresses. Huffman was in a Tony Ward

This past season, "American Crime" tackled the thorny issues of race, sports and sexual assault. Huffman played the headmistress of an elite high school rocked by the scandal.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Kimmel asks Pacquiao: Will you beat up Justin Bieber, too?

Check out this video where Manny Pacquiao pays a surprise visit to Jimmy Kimmel's show.

The eight-division champion has become a regular guest on ABC's late-night show, but this time, he just dropped by to say hi.

Kimmel and Pacquiao also talked about Justin Bieber posing with Floyd Mayweather Jr. during their press conference for the May 2 fight.

"I noticed that Floyd keeps bringing Justin Bieber out in the ring, did you see that?" asked Kimmel.

"Will you beat Justin Bieber up, too?"

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Thor' star Chris Hemsworth named world's sexiest man

WASHINGTON - Australian actor and "Thor" avenger Chris Hemsworth is the world's sexiest man, the US magazine People said Thursday.

The honor was announced on the late night US TV show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on ABC and in the magazine itself.

With his face at first masked and his voice digitally modified, Hemsworth, 31, speaking from Australia, toyed with playful yes-or-no questions from the American TV audience.

Kimmel's instructions and teasers to his crowd: "If you guess correctly, the sexiest man alive will make love to you, so this is big. I will give you three clues. He is sexy, he is a man, he is alive."

Is he in a band? No. Over age 35? Wrong, again.

"Are you hairy?" a bearded, balding man in the audience asked, smiling.

"Just up here," the still unknown masked person asked, gesturing to his head.

Fast forward: the audience zeroed in on the guy as a non-American, buffed dude who is an actor that has played a superhero in the movies, wielding a hammer: Thor in the Marvel Studios superhero movies? Bingo!

Hemsworth’s award was a small facial mirror.

"Anything you would like to say to the men who lost, specifically Matt Damon?" Kimmel asked, referring to the popular American actor.

"I like everything there is about being sexy, to pursing the lips the right way to squinting at the essential time. Thank you, Matt, and all the other previous intelligent men. This is based on an IQ test, not just the physical appearance," the actor said.

Asked if there was anyone he wanted to thank, Hemsworth said, "my parents, I guess, for putting this together."

In this week's People cover story, Hemsworth told People he thought it was "pretty funny" when he first heard word of his new status. He is married to Spanish actress Elsa Pataky and they have three children.

"I think you've bought me a couple of weeks of bragging rights around the house," he told the magazine.

"I can just say to her, 'Now, remember, this is what people think, so I don't need to do the dishes anymore, I don't need to change nappies. I'm above that. I've made it now.'"

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LOOK: Manny Pacquiao meets Bill Clinton

It was a political party backstage at "Jimmy Kimmel Live" when Filipino ring icon and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao met former United States President Bill Clinton.

Pacquiao has made it a tradition to appear on Kimmel’s show before his major fights, and he continued that tradition in the April 2 episode of the show, where he promoted his upcoming rematch against unbeaten American Timothy Bradley Jr.

It was Pacquiao's eighth appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" dating back to 2009. The only time he failed to make an appearance on the show prior to a major bout was last year, when he fought Brandon Rios.

Also making an appearance on the show was former President Clinton, who told Kimmel that he is hopeful of Pacquiao’s political future in the Philippines.

“I hope he goes right up on the ladder,” said Clinton, as quoted by the Washington Post. “He’s a great guy, and he’s a great role model in his country.”

“He’s very strong and honest,” he added.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

VIDEO: Kimmel spoofs KFC's special-to-Manila menu

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine fast food industry, revolutionized by the “suited-to-natives” menu that allowed homegrown Jollibee to be the first local brand in any country to beat the iconic McDonald’s, is doing even more experimenting these days --- bizarre experimenting, if one takes seriously top-rating US-based host Jimmy Kimmel.

Kimmel, who has guested Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao several times, has spoofed the effort of Kentucky Friend Chicken to come up with its own menu, only for the Philippines. The target: the “Cheese Top Burger” showing a huge slice of cheese draped atop a chicken-patty bun. In the original KFC commercial in manila, a voice-over explains that the cheese-atop-the-bun comes with a specially flavored chicken patty.

The yellow-orange cheese looks yummy, until one sees how messy it actually gets to eat it, as the Kimmel “ad” would try to show.

Kimmel opens his spiel with “some very strange fast food are coming out of the Philippines,” and explains that “their menu is different” from what US-based KFC patrons are used to.

As an “ad” of the Cheese Top Burger is flashed, he good-naturedly wonders aloud why the word “STREETWISE” is used as violator at the top of the ad, when he sees “nothing wise about this [idea of putting the cheese atop, instead of between, the bun] at all.”

He admits the “commercial” “actually makes me wanna eat it,” and then the yucky visuals begin: cheese like soft clay on a child’s hand, a drumstick — free in a promo — being plunked down inside a plastic cup of Coke, and ending with three actors making a “high 5” with their sticky-cheese covered hands.

source: interaksyon.com

Pacquiao ready to face Mayweather in winner-takes-all match

World boxing champ Manny Pacquiao is ready to face American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a winner-takes-all match.

The Filipino boxer made this statement during his pre-fight tradition of guesting on the American late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live" last week.

During the show, host Jimmy Kimmel proposed that Pacquiao and Mayweather face off in a boxing match where the winner will get all the money.

“Rather than any issue on financial considerations on who gets what, winner takes all, winner gets all the money. Would you sign up for a deal like that?" Kimmel told the Filipino boxing superstar on the show.

Pacquiao answered the television host’s question by saying, “Of course."

He however added that he does not think Mayweather will agree to such arrangement.

An article on ESPN.com earlier quoted Mayweather’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, as saying that Mayweather is planning a fight with Pacquiao in May next year.

Motivation vs. Marquez

During the same TV guesting, Pacquiao said that the claims of Mexican boxer Jose Manuel Marquez that he won their first two matches do not bother him. “I’m not angry, but I always ask myself… what I need to do to prove that I won the fight," he said.

Pacquiao is scheduled to face off with Marquez for the third time on November 13 (Manila time) in Las Vegas for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt.

Kimmel also said that he feels like he was part of Pacquiao’s previous victories, having guested the Filipino boxer in pre-fight interviews for five times already. “Each time you’ve been here, you win the fight. I feel like we’re a team," he said.

To which Pacquiao replied, “I feel like you’re lucky."

After the interview, Pacquiao and Kimmel did a duet rendition of the Bee Gees hit “How Deep Is Your Love?" — KBK, GMA News

Source: gmanews.tv