Megan Thee Stallion delves into MEGAN the person on her brand-new album, released under Hot Girl Productions. The project boasts 18 tracks, including previously-released songs “Cobra,” “BOA” and “Hiss,” and featuresVictoria Monét, Big K.R.I.T., Kyle Richh and partner of her Hot Girl Summer Tour, GloRilla.
Meg also teamed with UGK on a song titled “Paper Together,” featuring a posthumous verse from one of her favorite rappers: Pimp C. Additionally, Yuki Chiba, who Meg worked with in Tokyo earlier this year, appears on the album in a track titled “Mamushi.”
MEGAN, now available on digital services, comes after the extension of her Hot Girl Summer Tour, which sees Meg’s return to Atlanta and Charlotte, as well as an appearance at Lollapalooza. She also announced a few dates in Europe and the U.K. in July.
According to Taraji P. Henson, who saw Meg perform in LA, the concert is “amazing.” “That was my first time seeing her perform live on her stage, headlining. She’s amazing,” Henson told People. “She has been able to withstand all of the adversity and rise above it. She’s incredible. I love you, Megan, and I’m so proud of you. That’s my baby girl, by the way.”
“I’m like auntie, you know? I’m a girl’s girl. Anything women are doing, I’m there,” she continued. “I’m the cheerleader. I’m the loudest one in the front cheering them on, and that’s what you should be as an elder.”
She added, “Be here for these babies! You know, it’s hard enough out here for women, and what I’m not gonna be is another obstacle for another woman. So, I’m a champion. I’m a team player. I’m a girl’s girl. Go Meg. Go Meg. I got you. I love you.”
Guests at the Old Town Pour House watch a debate between President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee former President Donald Trump on June 27, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — After President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump faced off during the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle, swing state voters were quick to weigh in on the candidates’ performances.
Dan Olszewski — a self-proclaimed socially liberal and fiscally conservative Republican entrepreneur from Wisconsin — said he was the kind of voter who helped secure a victory for Biden in his home state during the 2020 election.
Olszewski said he supported Nikki Haley in the GOP primary this election cycle and won’t support Trump after Jan. 6, however, he reached out to ABC News Thursday night to vent over Biden’s debate performance.
“This is an unmitigated disaster for Biden. Shockingly bad,” he wrote.
Olszewski said the debate didn’t change how he plans to vote, but he doesn’t think Biden has done himself any favors.
“Doesn’t change my perspective since inept is better than evil but not sure how it can help any undecided go toward Biden,” he told ABC News.
In the swing state of North Carolina, voters were sharply divided on the candidates’ debate performances.
At a watch party organized by the Biden campaign, some voters were adamant that Biden had a strong debate performance, while others expressed reservations to ABC News.
“It’s obvious he’s old. He’s over 80 and that’s obvious throughout the debate. However, he’s had several amazing moments,” said Garrett Warner.
When asked by ABC News which moments particularly stuck out to Warner, he said, “I can’t remember any in specific, but there were several moments where Donald Trump said an outrageous thing.”
At a GOP watch party in North Carolina, River Collins told ABC News that Trump won the debate: “You see how articulate he is. He’s very disciplined. President Biden is all over the place. He’s losing his words. He’s saying the wrong words. He’s confused.”
Shannon Flemming, a Biden supporter, told ABC News, “I can tell he’s being very careful with how he speaks and some people might interpret that as being feeble, but we have to remember he has a speech impediment, and therefore, take that into consideration.”
Speaking with ABC News’ White House correspondent MaryAlice Parks, a former Nikki Haley caucus leader in Iowa, who said she once laughed out loud at the idea of voting for Trump, thought Biden’s performance was a “disaster,” quipping, “I mean wow.”
Thaila Flores from New Hampshire walked away from watching the debate disappointed and confused, telling ABC News, “The RNC and DNC are to blame for this.”
“All they are doing is arguing over who was the worst president. Biden can’t process his thoughts and Trump has not answered a question,” Flores said.
With less than a five-month countdown to Election Day, and recent projections from 538 placing the candidates at a near-tie among polled voters, the presidential debates are poised to be make-or-break events for Biden or Trump.
The CNN debate marked the first of two debates in the general election season. The second will be hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump participate in the CNN Presidential Debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The nation watched as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump squared up Thursday evening in the first presidential debate of the 2024 general election.
While this debate wasn’t the first time the two candidates contended over issues ranging from immigration and the economy to abortion access — this presidential debate saw the two candidates forced to follow the rules.
Ahead of the debate, held in a studio at CNN’s Atlanta headquarters, both campaigns agreed to a set of guidelines established by CNN, which included muted microphones, no live studio audience and restricting the candidates from consulting with their teams during commercial breaks.
Biden and Trump were given two minutes to answer each question and one minute for rebuttal.
While the microphone muting kept the cross-fire between the candidates orderly, the debate’s strict time guidelines seemingly made for less pushback from the event’s moderators, CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
The debate saw Biden and Trump continuously calling each other a “liar,” but with little-to-no live fact-checking by the moderators.
“This debate is a master-class in what’s wrong with our media-saturated, horse-race obsessed politics,” Robert. E Kelly, a professor of political science, wrote on X Thursday.
“Trump is just lying and making stuff up but he says it ‘vigorously’ and doesn’t get fact-checked. Therefore he’s winning,” Kelly wrote, adding, “We’ll spend the next month debating Biden’s age rather than Trump’s staggering incompetence.”
Another viewer suggested the debate format should feature a “buzzer” that would go off every time the candidates said a false statement.
“We need a buzzer to go off every time a false statement is made by a candidate,” Amee Vanderpool, a political writer, wrote on X.
“Until then any debate in this format, with moderators who refuse to fact check statements in real time, is a waste of time,” Vanderpool said.
Other users took to social media to applaud the format, saying the microphones being cut brought order to the debate stage that wasn’t seen during the 2020 election cycle.
“I want to give CNN credit. The debate format is fantastic,” Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney, wrote on X.
“I’ve never seen fewer complaints about the debate format or moderators before,” Noam Blum said on X, adding, “Taking away the audience and preventing people from talking over each other just works.”
The first 2020 debate between Biden and Trump spiraled into near-constant interruptions and candidates speaking at the same time. At one point, Biden turned to Trump and told him, “Will you shut up, man?”
Ahead of Thursday’s debate, experts told ABC News the rules could make for a more substantive, issue-focused debate.
“Despite the fact that these rules are pretty strict, we’re going to see some fireworks,” Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, told ABC News last week.
The CNN debate marked the first of two debates in the general election season. The second will be hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10.
With less than a five-month countdown to Election Day, and recent projections from 538 placing the candidates at a near-tie among polled voters, the presidential debates are poised to be make-or-break events for Biden or Trump.
Former president Donald Trump and President Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Ga on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
(ATLANTA) — President Joe Biden delivered a halting performance in Thursday’s debate with former President Donald Trump — raising new questions about his future in an event largely viewed as a test of the two candidates’ fitness for office.
The two debated a slate of policies on stage in Atlanta, though little new ground was broken. Much of the focus was instead on how the 81-year-old president and his 78-year-old predecessor would handle another four years in the Oval Office — with Democrats left worrying about Biden’s performance.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday night’s clash:
Biden has slow start
Biden came on stage with a raspy voice and repeatedly stumbled through some of his answers early on.
When asked a question on the national debt, he said there are “thousands of trillionaires” before correcting himself, for instance.
But perhaps his biggest stumble came about 12 minutes into the debate, when he paused for six seconds after discussing ways the country could have spent money provided by taxes on wealthy Americans that would have been accrued were it not for tax cuts passed by Trump during his term.
“We’d be able to help make sure that all those things we need to do, child care, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our health care system. Making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the — with the COVID, excuse me — dealing with everything we have to do with, look … we finally beat Medicare,” Biden said, appearing to lose his train of thought at the end of his answer.
The moment precisely highlighted a major theme heading into the debate — Biden’s mental acuity and fitness for office — and sent Republicans celebrating.
“Game over!!!” Bryan Lanza, a former Trump campaign aide who remains in touch with the former president’s current team, texted ABC News.
Democrats, too, sounded a negative note.
“A few words the Biden team should look up: espresso; and honey and lemon for the throat,” said one high-level Democratic strategist.
Biden appeared to pick up steam as the debate dragged on, dubbing Trump a “convicted felon” and mixing it up over their records, but the president’s performance was less energetic than that of his opponent.
Biden team spins his performance
Biden’s team quickly worked to spin is performance, seemingly recognizing that he likely did not present himself a Democrats had hoped.
The campaign said the president had a cold, but tested negative for COVID-19, though it’s unclear why that news wasn’t announced beforehand. The campaign told ABC News’ Mary Bruce that they’re feeling fine but conceded he had a slow start.
“Tonight, President Biden presented a positive and winning vision for the future of America — one in which every American has a fair shot at the American dream, where every one of our rights are protected, and where our president fights to strengthen our democracy — not to tear it down,” said Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon.
Biden’s allies echoed past support for the president, allowing that the night likely did not go as planned but that the president will remain the nominee.
“I don’t care, I’m going to stick with Joe Biden,” former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile said on ABC News Live.
Trump (mostly) keeps his cool
Operatives were eyeing which version of Trump would appear on stage Thursday: the brawler who repeatedly interrupted Biden at their first 2020 debate? Or would he be a staid presence that would be interpreted as more presidential?
Largely, the latter ended up as a more apt description of Trump’s performance.
To be certain, Trump veered into some of his more bombastic rhetoric — exaggerating the state of the economy under his term and the number of border crossings and crimes taking place under Biden; saying Biden “could be a convicted felon”; and accusing the president of “going after his political opponent because he can’t win fair and square.”
But he did not center his arguments around unfounded claims of election fraud or repeated attacks on Hunter Biden, the president’s only surviving son who was recently convicted on felony gun charges. Oftentimes, he returned his answers to favorable topics for him like inflation and immigration, including on a question regarding the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill.
“Let me tell you about Jan. 6. On Jan. 6, we had a great border. Nobody coming through. Very few on Jan. 6. We were energy independent on Jan. 6, we had the lowest taxes ever. We had the lowest regulations ever,” he said.
Trump’s campaign swiftly declared victory.
“Tonight President Trump delivered the greatest debate performance and victory in history to the largest voter audience in history, making clear exactly how he will improve the lives of every American,” top Trump campaign hands Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
“Joe Biden on the other hand showed exactly why he deserves to be fired,” they said. “Despite taking a week-long vacation at Camp David to prepare for the debate, Biden was unable to defend his disastrous record on the economy and the border.”
New rules impose cleaner debate, but less pushback
Thursday’s debate had novel rules that were largely successful in imposing a cleaner debate than in the past.
No audience was in the studio to interrupt with applause or boos, and microphones were cut off when candidates were not recognized to speak.
The result was a debate with little crosstalk or disruptions, a stark departure from primary debates earlier this year and debates during 2020, when crosstalk made the candidates’ comments essentially illegible.
However, while the more rigid format helped move the conversation along, there was minimal pushback from moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who at times opted to move forward rather than correct falsehoods or push for a direct answer to their initial question if a candidate had already used up their time for a response.
And the conversation still veered into the outlandish at times, with both candidates sparring for a few minutes toward the end over their golfing abilities.
“Let’s not act like children,” Trump said.
Lots of policy talk, but little new ground
The structure also helped the moderators and candidates stick to policy, but little new ground was broken on the contenders’ stances on main issues.
Biden vowed to reinstate Roe v. Wade and protect abortion rights, raise taxes on wealthy Americans and support Ukraine.
Trump defended his tax cuts, said he would force European allies to boost their own efforts to back Ukraine in its fight against Russia and declared that Israel should be able to continue its military operations in Gaza.
However, voters will be left with little new information about what the two candidates believe on key issues that they haven’t heard on the campaign trail.
Lil Baby, Usher and Victoria Monét have brought home the gold from the 2024 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, which took place Thursday night in LA.
Lil Babyreceived the Songwriter of the Year Award for his work on It’s Only Me cuts “Forever,” “Freestyle” and “Heyy,” while Victoria’sASCAP Vanguard Award was given to her for “On My Mama” and the “innovative work that is helping to shape all of music,” a press release states.
Usher was awarded the ASCAP Voice of the Culture Award for his contributions to music and culture. He was also praised for his pen on “Glu” and “Good Good.”
Other winners of the night include SZA‘s “Snooze” as R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap Song of the Year, “ICU” by Coco Jones, “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert, Summer Walker‘s “Karma” and 21 Savage for “Spin Bout U.”
(UVALDE, Texas.) — Two people have been indicted in connection with the investigation into the 2022 mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, ABC Austin affiliate KVUE reported Thursday.
Former Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo has been indicted and booked into the Uvalde County jail, Sheriff Ruben Nolasco confirmed to ABC News.
Arredondo is facing 10 charges of child endangerment and being held on a $10,000 bond, an official briefed on the case told ABC News.
The second person indicted is former Uvalde School District police officer Adrian Gonzalez, the San Antonio Express-News and Uvalde Leader News. ABC News has not independently confirmed the second charging.
According to the sheriff, the second person has not surrendered to the jail and is not in custody.
Families of the victims have been notified, according to officials.
The charges were first reported by the San Antonio Express News.
ABC News has reached out to the district attorney for comment.
Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the massacre at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022, in the second-worst school shooting in American history.
The Justice Department released a scathing report earlier this year after it found “critical failures” before, during and after the shooting, and major departures from established active-shooter protocols.
Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell began her criminal investigation into the law enforcement failures shortly after the shooting and convened a grand jury to review evidence against hundreds of officers in January.
Mitchell initially said in May 2023 that she had been “optimistic” that the investigation would be completed by the one-year mark, but added that it was “not surprising” that it was still ongoing “given the magnitude of this investigation.”
Mitchell did not respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.
Anne Marie Espinoza, director of communications and marketing for Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, released a statement Thursday, saying, “As we have done and continue to do, we extend our sincerest sympathies to all who lost loved ones.”
“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this challenging situation,” Espinoza said.
Ana Rodriquez, mother of Maite Rodriquez, who was killed in the shooting, confirmed that the DA’s office had alerted her of the filing.
“My heart breaks for Maite. My heart breaks for her siblings,” Rodriquez told ABC News, adding, “The fact that these two people are being held accountable doesn’t change anything for me, it doesn’t bring her back.”
Rodriguez said the indictments Thursday do not equate to “complete justice,” saying, “Not everyone who … needs to be held accountable is going to be held accountable.”
Javier Cazares, the father of Jackie Cazares, who was also killed in the shooting, confirmed that he, too, spoke with the DA’s office ahead of the filing.
“It’s something. We were hoping more, but they are going to finally bring someone to justice,” Cazares said, echoing Rodriguez’s concerns.
“We feel there should be more facing charges,” he added.
ABC News’ Ismael Estrada, Bonnie McLean and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
