Veteran federal prosecutors in Minnesota resign after pressure from Justice Department leaders to investigate the widow of Renee Macklin Good, the woman killed by an ICE agent, raising new questions about political interference. President Trump takes his economic message on the road, pitching affordability as voters remain frustrated by high prices. And while gas prices have dipped, rising heating costs, grocery prices, and stubborn inflation show why relief still feels out of reach for many families.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Gigi Douban, Krishnadev Calamur, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Supervising Producer is Michael Lipkin.
(0:00) Introduction (02:19) Minnesota Prosecutors Quit (06:10) Trump in Detroit (09:52) Inflation Report
Keith Urban undoubtedly had a difficult year, but he went out on a high note on New Year’s Eve.
The country singer, 58, performed upbeat renditions of his song “Straight Line” and New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give” during New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash on Wednesday, December 31. Urban sported a black shirt and dark jeans while he crooned lyrics from “Straight Line” such as, “I ain’t buyin’ this life’s gotta be such a mother / ‘Cause we kinda got it all when we got each other / You and me used to be like a year-round summer / Let’s go back / Oh, hit the gas.”
The live New Year’s Eve special — which aired on CBS and Paramount+ — was hosted by comedian Bert Kreischer and country music star Hardy and featured additional performances by Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson, Bailey Zimmerman, Brooks and Dunn, Dwight Yoakam and more.
Urban’s New Year’s Eve outing comes three months after his split from estranged wife Nicole Kidman made headlines in September. One day after the news broke, she filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their separation. The pair were married for nearly 20 years and share daughters Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith, 15.
“They had been quietly separated for a while now but needed time to figure out if they were going to actually divorce,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in October. “She had faith they could work it out.”
According to the insider, Urban was the one who pulled the plug on his marriage to Kidman, 58.
“This wasn’t Nicole’s decision, and she is devastated,” the source continued. “Her trust was lost, and it was too far gone. Nicole had been trying to get them to work on their marriage and did not want this to get out to the public. She didn’t tell many friends what was really going on with them and was holding this in for months.”
While Urban and Kidman once appeared to be the ideal A-list couple, they were actually spending “a lot of time apart due to work commitments” and living “separate lives” behind the scenes.
“Nicole and Keith were not on the same page,” the insider told Us. “Rumors around town have been circling that they were living apart, were focused on their own projects and that Keith had moved on. They are moving in two different directions, and their worlds are not overlapping as much as they once did. The distance between them had grown more obvious recently.”
Later in October, a source revealed that Kidman was in a “good headspace” amid her divorce from Urban, but “the hardest part” of the situation was “navigating the dynamic with their daughters.”
“The last thing Nicole wanted was a broken family,” the insider told Us, adding that Kidman “raised her daughters to be strong and is leading by example for them.”
As a new single mom, Kidman planned to “focus on creating new traditions with her daughters and keeping their home life as steady and loving as possible.”
Urban, for his part, “has moved on and has been open with Nicole about where he stands,” a source told Us in October, noting that their divorce was a “long time coming.”
Per the insider, “The two had grown apart quietly over time, and by the end, the decision to separate was more about acceptance than surprise.”
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Katy Perry is turning to music after upheaval in her personal life.
The pop star, 41, dropped her powerful new song, “Bandaids,” and its self-deprecating music video on Thursday, November 6, marking her first release since her split from ex-fiancé Orlando Bloom.
In the video, a down-on-her-luck Perry finds herself in a series of near-death situations. It begins with the singer washing dishes (a nod to her viral “Call Her Daddy” comment last year about Bloom getting his “d*** sucked” whenever he did chores) when her ring suddenly falls down the drain. As Perry sticks her hand in the sink to retrieve the gold band, she accidentally turns on the garbage disposal, leaving her bloodied and screaming.
As the visual progresses, Perry’s misfortune only gets worse: Her shoelace gets caught in the escalator at a shopping mall, causing her to face-plant; the lid comes off her coffee cup while she’s driving, spilling all over her lap and burning her; and she sinks into quicksand after narrowly avoiding an oncoming train.
The video is filled with Easter eggs, from a daisy growing in the middle of the train tracks (Perry and Bloom’s 5-year-old daughter is named Daisy) to the Grammy nominee’s 2024 single “Woman’s World” playing before a gas station explosion in the final scene, signaling the end of her 143 era and the beginning of another.
“Bandaids” features candid lyrics about Perry’s “broken heart” that offer a glimpse into her mindset after her breakup. She sings in the first verse, “Hand to God, I promise I tried / There’s no stone left unturned / It’s not what you did / It’s what you didn’t / You were there, but you weren’t.”
Later, Perry references Daisy as one of the positive things that came out of the relationship, singing, “If I had to do it all over again / I would still do it all over again / The love that we made was worth it in the end.”
The release comes after several major changes in Perry’s personal life. Us Weekly confirmed her separation from Bloom, 48, in June after nearly 10 years together. A source revealed at the time that it was “a long time coming,” as things between the now-exes had “been tense for months.”
Nonetheless, Perry and Bloom remain cordial as they moved forward with their focus on their daughter.
“They are still very much in touch and coparenting Daisy together,” an insider told Us in June. “It’s not messy between them.”
Katy PerryCynthia Parkhurst
The source noted that Perry and Bloom were “prioritizing stability and consistency for Daisy” as the family adapted to their new normal.
In the aftermath of the split, the Pirates of the Caribbean star emphasized his healthy coparenting dynamic with his ex.
“I’m so grateful. We have the most beautiful daughter,” he said on the Today show in September. “You know, when you leave everything on the field, like I did in [the movie The Cut], I feel grateful for all of it.”
He added, “We’re great. We’re going to be great. It’s nothing but love.”
After her breakup from Bloom, Perry moved on with former Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, to whom she has been linked since July. At the time, the pair — who “have a few mutuals in the music industry” — were spotted on a “casual” dinner date in Canada after being “in touch for the last month,” according to a source.
Although Perry does not “have a lot of extra time” at the moment due to her ongoing Lifetimes Tour, the insider told Us, “This is all new to her, as she hasn’t dated in so many years, and it’s been exciting to put herself out there again. … Katy is excited to move on but isn’t looking for anything serious.”
In October, a source revealed that Perry and Trudeau, 53, are staying under the radar while pursuing their connection.
“Katy is really into it. She’s very happy,” the insider told Us. “She’s trying to keep it low-key, and they’ve spent a lot of private time together. She’s not looking to publicize this relationship.”
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