Rachael Ray escapes house fire and more ICYMI celeb news

By Mark Gray 6:52am PDT, Aug 14, 2020

Devastating fire

On Aug. 9, an inferno broke out at Rachael Ray's upstate New York mansion, causing extensive damage to the second floor and roof. The first floor — where her state-of-art kitchen is located — largely avoided the flames and mainly suffered water damage. The affable chef was able to escape the blaze along with her husband, mother and dog. "We're all okay," she said in a statement. "These are the days we all have to be grateful for what we have, not what we've lost." The home is located in a fairly remote area, so there are no nearby fire hydrants. Firefighters had to use pond water to douse the flames. Rachael had been filming her eponymous talk show and cooking segments at the home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Baby bliss

Bindi Irwin is gonna have a khaki kid. On Aug. 11, the beloved TV star and wildlife conservationist announced that she and Chandler Powell, her husband of four and a half months, are expecting their first baby. "Baby Wildlife Warrior due 2021," she captioned a photo on Instagram. Soon afterward, brother Robert Irwin celebrated on social media. "The most exciting news ever! I am so happy for Bindi and Chandler to be welcoming a new member of the family. I can't believe I'm going to be an uncle!!!" Mom Terri Irwin said she was "over the moon" about the pregnancy. Bindi is in her first trimester.

Awful injury

Simon Cowell is recovering from a broken back, an injury he suffered while riding his electric bike in Los Angeles. "Some good advice… If you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time," he tweeted on Aug. 9. "I have broken part of my back. Thank you to everyone for your kind messages." According to witnesses, speed was a factor, as the "America's Got Talent" judge was allegedly thrown in the air after the bike did a "giant wheelie." Page Six reported that Simon narrowly avoided paralyzation. "He did a turn in his courtyard, changed gear, and then the bike went into a wheelie and threw him off the back," a source said. "Simon was in complete agony and was stretchered out of his home and taken in an ambulance to hospital." The source continued, "Friends at the scene quickly checked that he could move fingers and toes… When he fell off the bike, he landed right on his back, which broke in a number of places. He had to have a metal rod inserted into his back."

Veepstakes

History was made on Aug. 11 when presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden picked Senator Kamala Harris to be his running mate. That makes her the first Black woman on a major party ticket, the first person of Indian descent to appear on a presidential ticket and only the third woman to ever be chosen as the running mate on a presidential ticket. By and large, Hollywood erupted with glee over the announcement. "What a historic moment for women of color, little girls with big dreams, and mothers everywhere," Jessica Biel tweeted. "We are cheering for you." Pink was so happy that she was crying "real actual tears." Elizabeth Banks called the former California attorney general a "powerhouse." John Legend said he was "very much looking forward to voting for the Biden-Harris ticket to begin the difficult work of recovering from this nightmare presidency and building an even better future."

Baby No. 3

Family of five! On April 13, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen revealed that they are expecting their third child. John dropped the news in the new music video for his song "Wild," which was inspired by Chrissy. At the end of the video, the model and cookbook author (who stars in the video) is seen cradling her tummy. The couple shares daughter Luna, 4, and son Miles, 2.

Reputation issues

If people continue to perceive Ellen DeGeneres as a mean girl, she might as well be one… at least that's what Howard Stern thinks. "You know what I'd do if I was Ellen? I would change my whole image," the "King of All Media" said. The radio host said he can oddly relate to Ellen, as so many guests over the years have come to his show expecting him to be terrible. At some point, he said he met their expectations. Ultimately, that allowed his personal reputation "as a great guy, for the most part," to stay intact, he said, despite his notoriously negative on-air persona. Still, despite Ellen's kind image being questioned, her wife says the talk show host isn't getting down. She's "doing great," Portia de Rossi told a videographer who approached her in Santa Barbara, California, according to Page Six. When directly asked whether Ellen is continuing on with her eponymous daytime talk show, Portia said, "Yes, she is."

Mom and dad

Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger are now the proud parents of a baby girl. On Aug. 10, the actor announced the news on social media, posting a picture of the couple holding their baby's tiny hand. "We are beyond thrilled to announce the birth of our daughter, Lyla Maria Schwarzenegger Pratt," he wrote. "We couldn't be happier. Both mom and baby are doing great. We are extremely blessed." Before the actor's announcement, Katherine's brother Patrick Schwarzenegger inadvertently confirmed the birth news to a paparazzi videographer who saw him outside a market with a pink-ribboned gift.

Split

Well, it was fun while it lasted. After 10 months of dating, music stars Miley Cyrus and Cody Simpson have called it quits. On Aug. 13, TMZ reported that the duo split "within the last few weeks." Miley took to her Instagram Live late on Aug. 13 to confirm the news. "Right now, two halves can't make a whole and we're individually just working on ourselves to become the people that we wanna be, like everybody else at this age," she explained. "We are just deciding who we wanna be in our lives, what we wanna do, and so, don't make it some drama story if next week we're hanging out, getting pizza. We've been friends for 10 years and we're going to continue to be friends, so just don't make it something that it is not."

Hold up, wait a minute…

Angelina Jolie is denying that she's trying to hold up her ongoing divorce case with Brad Pitt. On Aug. 10, Angelina filed to get Judge John W. Ouderkirk — the private judge she and Brad hired to oversee their legal split as well as child custody and money issues, in order to maintain more privacy regarding personal and financial information — taken off their case. Her logic? The judge has had too many undisclosed other dealings with one of Brad's lawyers, who has other clients who've hired the judge. A source told Page Six that Brad's team thinks this is a classic "delay tactic because she believed things weren't going in her favor" after nearly four years of battling over custody and finances. On Aug, 12, a source added that Angie is "concerned that something untoward was happening," but added that the actress wants the remaining details of the divorce case finalized as soon as possible.

New home

On Aug. 12, following reports that Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan had purchased a new home near Santa Barbara, California — which is about 100 miles north of Los Angeles — after months of temporarily living in pal Tyler Perry's Hollywood Hills mansion with son Archie, a spokesperson for the British royals confirmed the news. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved into their family home in July of this year. They have settled into the quiet privacy of their community since their arrival and hope that this will be respected for their neighbors, as well as for them as a family." Details about the sprawling property — which is located near homes owned by privacy-seeking stars like Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe, Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Barrymore and more — soon emerged. TMZ reported that the couple bought a five-acre estate in Montecito for $14.65 million. Reports indicate that Harry's father, Prince Charles, helped them fund the purchase.

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