Jason Aldean, Morgan Wallen headlining Covenant School benefit concert

Jason Aldean, Morgan Wallen, Old Dominion, Lee Brice, Maddie & Tae, Jeffrey Steele, Needtobreathe, and Anne Wilson are among the artists who will appear this summer at A Covenant Knight at the Grand Ole Opry House  benefit concert, to assist The Nashville Covenant School – the victim of a school shooting in March 2023.

Hosted by Storme Warren, Opry Entertainment Group will produce the benefit convert alongside two Covenant School parents, school staff and industry music veterans, Houston Phillips and Chad Schultz. Phillips shares: “This event stands as a powerful testament to the unwavering strength of Nashville’s country music community, friends, neighbors, and especially parents. I was truly moved by the inherent goodness of those who offered support, no questions asked, as we worked to create an event that would lift up our community and contribute to Covenant School’s ongoing recovery efforts.”  In addition, Circle Network will air the event for six consecutive nights starting August 19th; the school will resume classes this fall.

A limited number of tickets ranging from $75-$200 are available starting Friday, June 30th at 10 am CT via www.opry.com. All proceeds from the benefit concert will go to The Covenant School Community Fund to continue mental health support for healing, ease the transition back into the building and equip the school for a safe, successful new year together.

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Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation award over $250K to 52 animal shelters

Country superstar Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation along with Tractor Supply Company have teamed up for the third consecutive year to donate more than $250k to 52 animal shelters across the U.S.. MuttNation’s Mutts Across America program awarded one outstanding shelter or foster-based rescue in every state (including Washington, DC and a “wildcard” pick) with a surprise $5k grant.

Bev Lambert, Miranda’s mother and co-founder of MuttNation, said: “Finding deserving shelters and rescue groups across the country is easy. It’s narrowing it down to just one in each state that’s really tough.” Added Miranda: “Mutts Across America is MuttNation’s cornerstone – it was our first signature program. These grants give us the chance to show our appreciation and spotlight shelters across the country for their hard work, year-round, to improve the lives of shelter pets. We’re so proud to partner with Tractor Supply on this and other programs, allowing us to elevate our goals and increase the number of animals’ lives we can change.”

MuttNation’s Mutts Across America has supported more than 450 shelters with over $1.75 million in grants since the initiative’s origin nine years ago; Tractor Supply began partnering with MuttNation in 2021. In addition, Tractor Supply is the exclusive retailer of ‘MuttNation’ pet products, with a percentage of all sales going to the MuttNation Foundation to promote and facilitate its mission. Finally, MuttNation and Tractor Supply also started the Relief For Rescues Fund earlier this year to help shelters and shelter pets recover from natural disasters. To date, the fund has generated over $357k to support shelter animals affected by disasters such as floods, fires, hurricanes and tornadoes.

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John Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen welcome baby No. 4 via surrogate

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend have welcomed baby No. 4 via surrogate. Teigen and Legend welcomed their third child, a daughter named Esti, in January. The couple also share daughter Luna, 7, and son Miles, 5.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Teigen revealed that she and Legend recently welcomed their fourth child together via surrogate on June 19, a baby boy named Wren Alexander Stephens. Teigen shared photos of Wren nuzzling against her chest and a photo with her surrogate, Alexandra, explaining that she has wanted to be a mom of four ever since she was a child: “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted four children. As a little girl, 2 glow worms and 2 cabbage patch dolls were perpetually in my arms, helping me stir in my kitchen, watching ‘Alf’ with me. We’d sleep together nightly, each getting the same amount of kisses as to not make the others jealous. My mom always searched for the Pound Puppy with 4 pups in her pouch, having no qualms about opening and peeking inside before purchasing.”  

Teigen also noted the loss she and Legend suffered in 2020 when they were expecting another son: “After losing Jack, I didn’t think I’d be able to carry any more babies on my own. To be honest, I’ve personally blocked out a lot of my mindset during that time, but one clear memory is being surrounded by people who wanted to make sure I wouldn’t go through that pain and loss again.”

Finally, Teigen went on to thank the couple’s surrogate, Alexandra: “We want to say thank you for this incredible gift you have given us, Alexandra. And we are so happy to tell the world he is here, with a name forever connected to you, Wren Alexander Stephens. Our hearts, and our home, are officially full. And to our Jack, we know both their angel kisses are from you.”

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HBO’s ‘The Idol’ ending one week earlier than planned

HBO’s controversial series ‘The Idol’, starring The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp, is coming to an end sooner than planned. The fifth episode of the series, co-created by The Weekend (Abel Tesfaye), Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, and Reza Fahim, will be the last of the season, concluding this Sunday (July 2).  TV Line shared that the series no longer needed six episodes after Levinson joined the team and the story changed drastically: “the season ended up being five episodes when it was all said and done after Sam [Levinson] took over and made significant changes. The story only ended up requiring 5.” Tesfaye also tweeted the news, writing that the show has “one more episode”. 

The Idol follows a Los Angeles club owner and cult leader, Tedros (The Weeknd), who enters a complicated relationship with a rising pop star, Jocelyn (Depp). The cast also includes Troye Sivan, Debby Ryan, and Rachel Sennott, with Elizabeth Berkley, Melanie Liburd and the late Anne Heche in recurring roles.

Meanwhile, The Weeknd has continued to share music from the series, recently dropping three more songs as episode four of the series dropped. “One of the Girls” features BLACKPINK’s Jennie & Lily-Rose Depp, while “Fill the Void” is from Lily-Rose Depp & Ramsey, and the third song is the solo track “Jealous Guy”. Mike Dean serves as producer on all three tracks.

Take a listen to ‘One of the Girls’ (here); ‘Fill the Void’ (here); and ‘Jealous Guy’ (here).

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Government watchdog report states more than $200 billion in pandemic relief was potentially squandered

According to a report published Tuesday by the inspector general of the Small Business Administration (SBA), the federal government squandered more than $200 billion in potential fraud to prop up small businesses as the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the U.S. economy.

The report from the inspector general of the SBA gives an estimate of how much of the $1.2 trillion disbursed by the SBA was stolen by fraudulent claims. At least 17% of all COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds were given away to potentially fraudulent actors, according to Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware.  The SBA said: “In the rush to swiftly disburse COVID-19 EIDL and PPP funds, SBA calibrated its internal controls. The agency weakened or removed the controls necessary to prevent fraudsters from easily gaining access to these programs and provide assurance that only eligible entities received funds. However, the allure of ‘easy money’ in this pay and chase environment attracted an overwhelming number of fraudsters to the programs.”

The report focuses on two programs created during the pandemic to support small businesses: the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). According to the report, there was a higher potential fraud in the EIDL program, which was a low-interest disaster loan that would later require repayment. For PPP, which gave money to businesses that would later be forgiven — similar to a grant — the estimate of potential fraud was lower: around $64 billion, representing 8% of the total funds sent out.

Officials said the government watchdog report represents the first comprehensive estimate of fraud to date; nearly $30 billion of those fraudulent funds — about 15% of the fraud that’s been calculated as of May — has been reclaimed through collaboration between the inspector general’s office, the SBA, the U.S. Secret Service and other federal agencies, the report said.

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Supreme Court overturns online stalker conviction over ‘true threats’

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado man convicted of making “true threats” who repeatedly sent abusive messages to a local musician. The high court said that Billy Counterman’s conviction — for sending Facebook messages to singer-songwriter Coles Whalen — was based on the wrong legal standard.

The justices ruled on a 7-2 vote that the jury should have been required to make a finding about whether he intended his comments to be genuine threats. If such messages are not true threats, they are deemed protected speech under the Constitution’s First Amendment. The case now returns to lower courts for further proceedings on whether the conviction should be thrown out.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the majority: “The state had to show only that a reasonable person would understand his statements as threats. It did not have to show any awareness on his part that the statements should be understood that way. For the reasons stated, that is a violation of the First Amendment.” Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Amy Coney Barrett dissented.

Prosecutors focused on messages Counterman sent to Whalen on Facebook for two years, beginning in 2014. Examples included “I’ve had tapped phone lines before, what do you fear?” and “You’re not being good for human relationships. Die. Don’t need you.”  Whalen did not respond to any of them and ultimately reported them to the police in 2016, according to court documents. Counterman was convicted of one count of stalking and sentenced to 4½ years in prison. The conviction was upheld on appeal, prompting him to ask the Supreme Court to intervene.

The case is similar to a 2015 ruling in which the court threw out the conviction of a Pennsylvania man who made threatening remarks on Facebook aimed at his ex-wife. That case was decided on relatively narrow grounds and did not reach the broader constitutional question raised by Counterman’s attorneys.

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NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson’s in-laws, nephew found dead in suspected murder-suicide

NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson’s in-laws, along with one of their grandchildren, were found dead in Muskogee, Oklahoma on Monday night in what police suspect was a murder-suicide.

The Muskogee Police Department said in a statement that three people were found dead inside a home on Monday night after receiving a 911 call at around 9:05 p.m. over reports of a disturbance and someone with a gun. Once on the scene, police saw a person “laying in the hallway inside the front door.” Soon after, they heard a gunshot from further inside the home. The deceased were identified as 69-year-old Jack Janway, his wife, Terry Janway, 68 — the parents of Johnson’s wife, Chandra — and their 11-year-old grandson, Dalton Janway (Chandra’s nephew). Law enforcement officials said that Terry Janway is a suspect, but the investigation is still ongoing, with no motive known yet. Johnson has been married to Chandra since 2004.

On Tuesday, Legacy Motor Club announced in a statement that Johnson’s No. 84 Carvana Chevrolet will withdraw from NASCAR’s Cup Series event in Chicago on Sunday: “LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has elected to withdraw the No. 84 Carvana Chevrolet from this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event in Chicago. The Johnson family has asked for privacy at this time and no further statements will be made.”

NASCAR retweeted the Legacy Motor Club statement, but has not released anything further.

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Avalanche deal forward Alex Newhook to Canadiens for two 2023 draft picks

The Montreal Canadiens announced on Tuesday that they have acquired Alex Newhook from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick, a 2023 second-round pick and defenseman Gianni Fairbrother.

The first-round selection that Montreal dealt to Colorado is the No. 31 overall pick, which was previously owned by the Florida Panthers. The second-round pick is the No. 37 overall selection in the 2023 draft. The Avalanche tweeted: “TRADE: We have acquired a first-round selection (31st overall, previously acquired) and a second-round pick (37th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft, along with defenseman Gianni Fairbrother, from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Alex Newhook. #GoAvsGo”

Newhook, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, just completed his second full season with the Avalanche. As a rookie in 2021-22, Newhook recorded 13 goals and 33 points. Last season, Newhook totaled 14 goals and 30 points in 82 games.

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Chris Stapleton, Kane Brown, HARDY, and more to receive 2023 ACM Honors

The Academy of Country Music announced the esteemed recipients of the Special Awards for the 58th Academy Of Country Music Awards.

Clint Black, BRELAND, Kane Brown, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Charlie Cook, Charlie Daniels, Mike Dungan, Ashley Gorley, HARDY, Bill Mayne, Tim McGraw, K.T. Oslin, Chris Stapleton, and Troy Vollhoffer are among the artists who will be honored at the 16th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors (ACM Honors) on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. Previously announced Artist-Songwriter of the Year winner Hardy, Songwriter of the Year Ashley Gorley as well as Studio Recording Award and Industry Award winners, will also be honored at the ACM Honors ceremony.

ACM Award winner Carly Pearce as serve as host for the third consecutive year, taking place at the historic Ryman Auditorium.  Said Pearce: “The Academy of Country Music has played such a crucial role in the rise of my career in the last several years, giving me opportunities to expand my artistry with hosting. To be able to come back as the host of the ACM Honors for the third year in a row, I feel so grateful and excited for what I know will be such a special night!”

Tickets for ACM Honors will be available to ACM A-List email newsletter subscribers via an exclusive pre-sale beginning Thursday, June 29. General on-sale begins Friday, June 30th through AXS.

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Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs earn first Nos. 1 and 2 country songs on Billboard Hot 100 in 42 Years

For the first time in more than four decades, country songs have hit the Nos. 1 and 2 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Morgan Wallen‘s “Last Night” lands at No. 1 while Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit “Fast Car” is at No. 2.

The achievement by Wallen and Combs marks the first time in 42 years that country songs have filled the top two slots on the Hot 100 chart. The last time this happened was March 7, 1981, when Eddie Rabbitt’s “I Love a Rainy Night” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” placed at No. 1 and 2, respectively.

Wallen has managed to chart all 36 songs from his latest album, One Thing at a Time; and the album has also topped Billboard‘s Top Country Albums and 200 charts. Combs’ 2023 album, Gettin’ Old, peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums, and reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart.

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