This year's climate was good news for parts of the country's environment, but for some wildlife the weather's effect was negative, the National Trust has said.
American Idol finalist Emmy Russell, who is the granddaughter of late country legend Loretta Lynn, is going to be a mom!
“Y’all, me and Tyler [Ward] are expecting a baby girl,” Russell, 25, said during a recent taping of the “Got it From My Momma” podcast. “I’m so excited.”
Ward, 40, immediately ran up on stage to rub Russell’s belly before taking his seat in the crowd.
“Right out of American Idol, I didn’t know,” Russell, who was a finalist on season 22, said. “So, that’s kind of been the journey. I’m so excited and looking forward to it.”
Russell was joined by her mother, Patsy, on the episode, who also teased her reaction to her daughter’s pregnancy news.
“I always said it’s ‘Emmy and Tyler that’s having a baby’ because they’re both having to go through [it],” Patsy said. “It’s so true. I keep sending Tyler the memes of these girls going, ‘I can’t wear anything, I’m fat.’”
While Russell and Ward have not publicized most of their relationship, he was instrumental in her Idol journey.
“I do feel that distinct voice of, ‘You do have a job to do,’ and I think it was also just so out there. I was so tired of listening to that inner voice critiquing ourselves all the time,” Russell, who tried out for the singing competition without informing her mother, explained. “I was just like, ‘I want to prove everyone wrong.’ … Everyone was like, ‘She’s probably not going to do it.”
She added, “I remember just even looking at Tyler and I was just, like, ‘I’m going to do this and I’m not going to hide anymore.’ I remember when MeeMaw passed away and we got to just be alone with her, I remember holding her hand, just like, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna do it, but I’m gonna do something with my gift.’ It was almost like a scary praise that I was making.”
Russell then remembered that Lynn used to tell her, “God, doesn’t give a plumber tools to not use them.” (Lynn died in 2022 at the age of 90.)
“She always used to say, ‘He gave you a gift. You gotta use it.’ And so, I’m navigating that and I’m still navigating it today, but I knew that might be the place to do it.”
Russell auditioned for Idolwith a piano rendition of an original song titled “Skinny,” which was a collaboration with Ward.
“I released that song with Song House, and Tyler actually runs Song House,” she said. He was like, ‘You gotta do it. We just got to release the song.’ Then, seeing all the feedback of it, I was like, ‘This is bigger than me. I need to get out of the way.’ … Releasing it [was] special.”
Bradley Cooper will be celebrating a milestone birthday in the next couple of weeks, but to him, age is just a number. “He doesn’t think too much about turning 50 other than how proud he is of his career trajectory and his most important job as a dad,” a source reveals in Us Weekly’s latest cover story, noting Cooper will likely celebrate his big day in NYC. “It won’t be a Leonardo DiCaprio–style party, as that’s not Bradley’s [vibe], but there is a celebration in the works.” The actor is also enjoying his romance with model Gigi Hadid, with the insider noting that the duo are “the real deal.” Read on for more exclusive updates and top stories:
Home Alone director Chris Columbus said he didn’t work on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation because a conversation with star Chevy Chase rubbed him the wrong way.
Jennifer Lopez shared photos of her family Christmas celebrations with 16-year-old twins Max and Emme, whom she shares with ex-husband Marc Anthony.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul and on-off partner Dakota Mortensensparked split rumors after they celebrated the holidays separately.
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Jason Kelce has a reputation for being charitable around the holidays — but this year he wanted to level up.
In accordance with the release of his holiday charity album, A Philly Special Christmas Party — which benefited local Philadelphia charities for the third year in a row — Kelce, 37, and musical collaborators Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson got in touch with their former Eagles teammate, Connor Barwin, with an unprecedented idea.
“This last year, Jason, Jordan and Lane came to me and said they wanted to do something really big,” Barwin, 38, said in a video posted to Kelce’s YouTube channel on Thursday, December 26. “They wanted to use the proceeds from the record to get a gift for every single kid in the Philadelphia public school district.”
Barwin added, “I initially thought it wasn’t possible. Jason pushed me.”
With the holiday season quickly approaching, the group got to work on what became known as Operation Snowball.
Two weeks before Christmas, Kelce showed off the impressive fruits of their labor. “We’ve got an entire warehouse being filled with toys,” Kelce said in the video. “I’ve never really seen anything quite like this, to be honest with you.”
Kelce added, “To pull something off like this? Between the toys, the logistics, the schools, the teachers, the faculty. This is a truly monumental lift for a lot of people. I don’t know that this would be achievable in many places other than Philadelphia.”
One week before Christmas, Kelce and the crew enlisted the help of another famous friend: comedian and Saturday Night Live alum Pete Davidson.
“Dude, thanks for coming,” Kelce told Davidson, 31. “Holy cow.”
Davidson helped hand out gifts at Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin High School, where he jokingly referred to himself as an “Eagles WAG.”
Meanwhile, across town at Kirkbride Elementary, Kelce was gifted multiple friendship bracelets by excited students, an obvious nod to Taylor Swift, the girlfriend of Jason’s younger brother, Travis.
Jason made another stop at Alliance for Progress Charter School, where he took the mic and addressed the students.
“To see the joy on all of your faces makes the whole thing worth it,” he told them. “I hope you enjoy the gifts. More importantly, I hope you have a happy holiday.”
When Jason was told by a local news reporter that some of the students had already said they planned on giving their gifts to their siblings, he joked, “If regifting isn’t in the spirit of Christmas, I don’t know what is.”
Ultimately, Operation Snowball handed out over 1 million gifts to more than 200,000 students across 338 different buildings.
“To let 200,000 kids know, even in the smallest way, that they’re important and people are thinking about them during the holidays. It’s hard to understate how powerful that is,” Barwin said, “I think Jason and the guys understood that. That’s what this was all about.”
We don’t know about you, but there’s something about New Year’s Eve that makes Us want to put a little extra effort into our outfits. There are so many festive occasions that call for fancy dresses. Whether you’re heading to a fancy dinner or hosting a New Year’s Eve celebration, why not show up and show out in a semi-formal holiday dress?
From velvety soft dresses to sassy styles with daring necklines and slits, there are so many chic styles to choose from. Best of all? You can snag semi-formal dresses on Amazon and get them delivered to your house in no time, courtesy of expedited Prime shipping. With that in mind, we compiled a fun list of stylish semi-formal New Year’s Eve dresses that you can snag on Amazon.
1. Our Absolute Favorite: This dreamy emerald green wrap dress has a ruched detail along the midsection for added tummy control — $58!
2. Olive It: This flowy maxi dress has a plunging V-neckline and a flattering waistband — $55!
3. Velvet Dream: Get ready to twirl the night away in this long-sleeve velvet maxi dress. It features a flowy hemline — was $65, now just $58!
4. Celestial Accents: Shine brighter than a star in the sky, courtesy of this sparkly blue midi dress. Along with dazzling sequin fabric, it comes with flowy mesh sleeves — $60!
5. Cocktail Cutie: Pull out this show-stopping one-shoulder dress the next time you’re headed to a formal occasion. It features flattering fabric that fits like a glove — $56!
6. Accents, Please: We love this neutral-colored dress because it features flattering bodycon fabric and slimming ruching along the midsection. Best of all? It features airy puff sleeves — $53!
7. LBD: Want to opt for a lengthy black dress instead of a chic mini? Snag this midi-length number. It features subtle puff details on the shoulder and slimming ruched details — $!
8. Mocha Madness: Rich chocolatey shades are all the rage. This long-sleeve dress features fun ruffle details along with an asymmetrical slit — $59!
9. Formal Style: Heading to a more conservative occasion? This velvet dress features a modest scoop neckline and comes below the knee — $30!
Justin Baldoni and his wife, Emily Baldoni, have welcomed two kids during their relationship.
The duo’s daughter, Maiya Baldoni, was born in June 2015, nearly two years after they tied the knot. Justin and Emily expanded their family in October 2017 by welcoming son Maxwell Baldoni.
“At the end of the day my goal is to raise good humans,” Justin said about being a father during a 2021 interview. “The only way I think we can do that is if we actively teach them the things the world is going to tell them they can’t be. And then they get to decide what qualities they want to have.”
The actor seems to have a supportive family. However, they did not publicly address any allegations when Justin was sued for sexual harassment in December 2024 by his It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively. Through his lawyer, Justin denied the claims made in the filing, calling them “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.” Lawyer Bryan Freedman said Lively filed the suit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” about what happened behind the scenes while filming the movie in a statement to Us Weekly at the time.
Keep scrolling to look back at Justin and Emily’s family photos:
“Maiya hasn’t seen her dada in two days because he’s been working so hard,” Emily captioned a February 2018 family photo.” So tonight, even for just 5 minutes in between takes and before we had to go home for bedtime, we had to make sure they got to squeeze each other. And they didn’t want to let go. It’s the SWEETEST love!!”
“There are days when this is the best. And there are days when this is really hard,” Emily wrote when celebrating Mother’s Day in May 2022. “It’s no doubt my most beautiful work of art and my greatest honor. And yes, I most definitely asked for some alone time today.”
To channel Adam Brody’s character in The O.C., this year was truly Chrismukkah, as the first night of Hanukkah fell on Christmas Day.
Gwyneth Paltrow kicked off the celebrations on Wednesday, December 25, by lighting a menorah with activist and fellow actress Noa Tishby.
“I think my most favorite [memory] is when I go back to being at my grandparents’ house getting the Hanukkah gelt,” Paltrow recalled in a social media video, referring to the traditional chocolate coins. “I have such a strong memory of the gold, round coins and my brother and I tearing into them.”
Paltrow grew up celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah as her mother, Blythe Danner, is Christian, while her father, the late Bruce Paltrow, was raised Jewish.
Now that Paltrow has grown up, she makes sure to bring Hanukkah traditions into her home with husband Brad Falchuk and their blended family. (They each share two children from past marriages.)
“We always light the menorah,” Paltrow said. “We always gather together and after we light the candles, it’s very sweet actually, we all hug and we bring in the light.”
Other stars including Karlie Kloss and Andy Cohen also celebrated the Festival of Lights this year. Scroll below to see their festive photos:
Tishby marked night 2 on Thursday, December 26, with Kunis.
“I never lit Hanukkah candles until I had kids,” Kunis, who immigrated to the United States from Ukraine as a child, said in a YouTube video. “I grew up doing nothing. I always knew I was Jewish, but I was told to never talk about it.”
Once Kunis married Ashton Kutcher and later welcomed two children, she started to see her Judaism as a point of pride. (According to Kunis, Kutcher identifies as Jewish “by choice.”)
“I fell in love with my religion because he explained it to me,” Kunis recalled. “There’s no right or wrong way to be Jewish.”
“Happy Christmas & Merry Hanukkah,” Chmerkovskiy wrote via Instagram, sharing dancing footage with wife Johnson.
The married Dancing With the Stars pros celebrate both holidays.
Bialik acknowledged via Instagram that she set her menorah atop a “cookie sheet” to avoid candle wax dripping on her table, a custom that is all too relatable to Us.
Gomez joined her fiancé, who identifies as Jewish, at a star-studded Hanukkah party that also hosted Debra Messing, Erin Lichy, Alex Edelman and Benj Pasek.
“I don’t need anything else,” the “Dancing With the Stars” pro wrote under a collection of pictures featuring the model and his eldest daughter, Olivia.
During his decade-long NFL career, Martin Gramatica kicked for four different teams.
Gramatica last appeared in an NFL game in 2008, the second year of his two-year stint with the New Orleans Saints.
Now 49, Gramatica opened up about his past during a sitdown with TMZ to discuss his memoir, "Beyond The Uprights: The Intimate Memoir Of Martin Gramatica."
Gramatica opened up about what he experienced during his childhood, particularly the tense relationship he had with his father.
But he stressed he didn't talk or write about his past, seeking sympathy.
"I want to make sure people don't read the book and say, ‘Feel sorry for me,’ because everything that I lived, it made me a better person and made me a better father," Gramatica said.
Gramatica said his father provided an example of the type of relationship he did not want to have with his own children.
"It made me know what not to do with my kids. I want to make sure that if somebody reads the book and realizes, 'I need to break this,' and I want somebody to realize it sooner than when I did. I didn't realize how bad it was until I had my first son when Nico was born."
Martin's challenging relationship with his father led to an agreement between Martin and his siblings.
"I love that kid so much that you're thinking, 'How can I ever do what my father did to me?' So, that's what I feel. I talked to my brothers, and we made a pact. We got to break this," Martin noted.
"We haven't spoken [to our dad] since because we just don't want that type of abuse around our families. I have three kids. My brother Santiago has two kids. So, we don't want that around our kids. That's what the book's about."
Gramatica kicked for Kansas State before making the leap to the NFL in 1999. He spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning the Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2002.
He ended his professional football career with a 76.4% career field goal percentage.
Ariana Biermann is feeling the loss of her family home intensely ... recognizing this is the last Christmas in the house -- and sharing a clip showing the property. The daughter of Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann shared a video to TikTok on Christmas…
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