Wide receiver Calvin Ridley steps away from Atlanta Falcons to focus on mental health

Atlanta Falcons star wide receiver Calvin Ridley announced in a statement on Twitter that he is stepping away from football to focus on his “mental wellbeing.”

Ridley’s statement read: “These past few weeks have been very challenging and as much as I’d like to be on the field competing with my teammates, I need to step away from football at this time and focus on my mental wellbeing. This will help me be the best version of myself now and in the future. I want to thank my teammates, the entire Atlanta Falcons organization, our great fans, my friends, and my family for all of their support during this time.”

The 26-year-old Ridley was inactive for Sunday’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers due to a personal matter. Ridley also didn’t travel with the team to London for their Week 5 game against the New York Jets due to a personal matter. Following a bye week, Ridley returned against the Miami Dolphins in Week 7. In his fourth NFL season, Ridley has recorded 31 receptions for 281 yards and two touchdowns over five games.

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Scotty McCreery’s “Five More Minutes” inspires a new Hallmark Christmas film

Scotty McCreery’s hit single from 2017, “Five More Minutes,” will lend its name to a Hallmark Christmas movie. “Five More Minutes” comes off the track list of McCreery’s 2018 album, Seasons Change, and the song was his first-ever No. 1 hit single

The film, which was inspired by the song, will air on Hallmark’s Movies & Mysteries channel on Nov. 20 at 10PM ET. “Five More Minutes” isn’t a Christmas song, but contains themes such as gratitude and the importance of quality time with family. McCreery, who co-wrote the song with Frank Rogers and Monty Criswell, drew inspiration for the song from his relationship with his grandfather. At the time he tweeted to his followers, “I think I just wrote my favorite song I’ve ever written.”

McCreery will not appear in the Hallmark movie Five More Minutes but will be listed as an executive producer on the project. Though it’s inspired by his song, the new movie isn’t a direct adaption; rather, it “centers around a woman who discovers her late grandfather’s journal during the holiday season, and learns new and surprising things about his life.”

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Randy Houser to hit the road on his 2022 headlining concert tour

After co-headlining an acoustic tour with Jamey Johnson earlier this year, Randy Houser will kick off 2022 with a brand new 26-city tour, beginning Jan. 21 and wrapping at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium in mid-March. Rising singer-songwriter Ella Langley will be joining Houser on the road; she has previously opened for Johnson as well as country artists like Riley Green, Montgomery Gentry and Parker McCollum. In a statement, Houser said about the tour: “I’ve been spending a lot of time in the studio recording some songs and it’s time we play some of these live.”

Houser’s last album, Magnolia, arrived in January 2019; it was originally scheduled for release the prior year, but Houser delayed putting it out in order to finish the short film he created to go along with his project. Magnolia contains the singles “What Whiskey Does,” a duet with Hillary Lindsey, and “No Stone Unturned.”

Tickets for Houser’s headlining tour are on sale now via Ticketmaster.

Randy Houser Is Gearing Up For 2022 ‘Randy Houser: Live In Concert’ Tour

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Zayn Malik pleads no contest to charges of harassment against ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid and her mother Yolanda

Singer Zayn Malik pleaded no contest to charges of harassment against his ex-girlfriend, model Gigi Hadid, and her mother, Yolanda Hadid.  Earlier this week it was reported that Gigi Hadid, 26, and Malik, 28, had ended their on-again-off-again relationship.

Citing legal documents, the charges stem from a Sept. 29 incident at the couple’s Pennsylvania home where he allegedly shoved Yolanda Hadid into a dresser and screamed profanity at her before trying to fight a security guard.  Malik, a former member of One Direction, took to Twitter to deny allegations he struck Yolanda Hadid. He said he was working toward “a safe and private space” for Khai, the 13-month-old daughter he shares with Gigi. Malik said in the statement: “I am hopeful though for healing for all involved with the harsh words shared and more importantly I remain vigilant to protect Khai and give her the privacy she deserves.” 

Malik entered the no contest plea on Wednesday, meaning Malik does not admit guilt but will allow the charges to stick. He’s agreed to serve 360 days of probation in addition to completing anger management and domestic violence programs. A representative for Gigi Hadid said in a statement “Gigi is solely focused on the best for Khai. She asks for privacy during this time.”

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Watch the new trailer for the film ‘House of Gucci’ starring Lady Gaga

MGM studios has released the new trailer for House of Gucci, the new movie starring Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci, who was the grandson of founder Guccio Gucci. The movie is directed and co-produced by Ridley Scott.

House of Gucci, based on Sara Gay Forden’s book ‘The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed,’ surrounds the 1995 murder of Maurizio Gucci. Patrizia Reggiani was convicted of ordering his murder in 1998; she was released from prison in 2014. In addition to Lady Gaga and Driver, the movie stars Jared Leto (as Paolo Gucci), Jeremy Irons (as Rodolfo Gucci), Jack Huston (as Domenico De Sole), Salma Hayek (as Giuseppina “Pina” Auriemma), and Al Pacino (as Aldo Gucci).

House of Gucci opens in theaters Nov. 24. Watch the trailer for House of Gucci – here.

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Justice Department reaches settlement to pay $88M to families and survivors of Charleston church shooting

According to agency officials and a news release on Thursday, the Justice Department has agreed to pay $88 million to families and survivors of the 2015 deadly church shooting in Charleston, S.C., due to a failure in its gun background check system. A federal jury sentenced White supremacist Dylann Roof to death in January 2017 after he openly admitted to killing nine people at the historic Black church Mother Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a bible study. A month before the sentencing, the jury convicted him on 33 federal charges, including hate crimes.

The 21-year-old Roof was arrested for a felony drug offense in Lexington County, S.C., a few months before he purchased the Glock 41 semi-automatic pistol used to kill nine people on June 17, 2015. Court records show that an examiner for the FBI’s background check system failed to contact the arresting agency for an incident report, which would have blocked him from purchasing the gun from Shooter’s Choice in West Columbia, S.C.  About a year ago, a federal judge ruled that a federal agent failed to follow the FBI’s system for conducting background check ruled under the Brady Act, which denies gun purchases to someone with a felony allowing lawsuits by family members and survivors to proceed.

The settlement in the lawsuit against the illegal gun purchase will provide $63 million for family members of the victims and $23 million for survivors. South Carolina state Sen. Clementa Pickney, 41, who was also a church pastor, Cynthia Hurd, 54; Tywanza Sanders, 26, Myra Thompson, 59; Ethel Lance, 70; Susie Jackson, 87; DePayne Middleton Doctor, 49; Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45; and Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., 74, all died in the 2015 shooting.

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Facebook rebrands company to ‘Meta’ emphasizing ‘Metaverse’ vision

Facebook on Thursday announced that it has changed its company name to Meta. The name change, which was announced at the Facebook Connect augmented and virtual reality conference, reflects the company’s growing ambitions beyond social media with the metaverse, a classic sci-fi term Facebook has adopted to describe its vision for working and playing in a virtual world. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company is rebranding itself as Meta in an effort to encompass its virtual-reality vision for the future.

Zuckerberg says he expects the metaverse to reach a billion people within the next decade. The metaverse, he says, will be a place people will be able to interact, work and create products and content in what he hopes will be a new ecosystem that creates “millions” of jobs for creators. In explaining the rebrand, Zuckerberg said the name “Facebook” just doesn’t encompass “everything we do” any more. In addition to its primary social network, that now includes Instagram, Messenger, its Quest VR headset, its Horizon VR platform and more.

Facebook, now known as Meta, will also change its stock ticker from FB to MVRS, effective Dec. 1, the company said in the announcement of its name change.

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Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Kyle Beach comes forward as the person who accused former coach Brad Aldrich of sexual assault

Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Kyle Beach identified himself Thursday as “John Doe” in a sexual assault allegation against former coach Brad Aldrich. Beach was with the Blackhawks organization during the club’s 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs when he said former video coach Brad Aldrich assaulted him. According to an internal probe that was made public Tuesday, Beach told the team but senior Blackhawks staff did not take immediate action against Aldrich. The internal report found that Blackhawks management didn’t want to take any immediate action against Aldrich because the team was in the midst of their playoff run, which ended with the club winning the Stanley Cup. According to the internal probe, Aldrich did not deny that a sexual encounter with the player occurred, but he contended that it was consensual. The report didn’t name Beach and called him “John Doe” throughout the 107-page finding. The report led to the resignation of general manager Stan Bowman and a $2 million fine against the club.

Beach said: “So for me right now, it’s important to come forward to share my story because this is so much bigger than Kyle Beach. Yes, I’m a survivor, but there’s millions of people in this world that have been affected by sexual abuse or sexual assault, and I’m speaking out now to hopefully give them a voice, to give them the power to come forward so that we can make a change in this world and hopefully make this a safer place in sports but also in work and life and every day.”

The Blackhawks organization said after Beach went public: “First, we would like to acknowledge and commend Kyle Beach’s courage in coming forward. It was inexcusable for the then-executives of the Blackhawks organization to delay taking action regarding the reported sexual misconduct. No playoff game or championship is more important than protecting our players and staff from predatory behavior.” In addition, National Hockey League Players’ Association Executive Director Don Fehr said: “Kyle Beach has been through a horrific experience and has shown true courage in telling his story. There is no doubt that the system failed to support him in his time of need, and we are part of that system.”

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Arizona Cardinals’ J.J. Watts expected to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery

Arizona Cardinals’ J.J. Watt is expected to undergo shoulder surgery that is likely to be season-ending, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Watt injured his shoulder against his former team the Houston Texans on Sunday, but still managed to play the rest of the game with the injury. The former All-Pro has 16 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble this season.

On Wednesday, the Cardinals ruled Watt out for Thursday night’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers due to his shoulder injury and he did not practice all week. While Watt was able to play through the injury on Sunday, it appears the issue was more serious than anticipated. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the recovery timetable for this procedure is likely at least three months.

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Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert and more added as performers at the 55th Annual CMA Awards

The 55th Annual CMA Awards announced on social media the first round of performers for this year’s show.

This year’s performances will include Jimmie Allen, Brothers Osborne, Eric Church, Dan + Shay, Mickey Guyton featuring Brittney Spencer and Madeline Edwards, Carly Pearce together with Ashley McBryde, and Blake Shelton. Other artists scheduled to perform are Jason Aldean with Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Old Dominion, Chris Stapleton, and Chris Young with Kane Brown.

Luke Bryan will serve as host LIVE from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Wednesday, Nov. 10 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on ABC.

Additional performers and presenters for the 55th Annual CMA Awards will be revealed in the coming weeks. You ca n check out the full list of nominees here – CMA Award Nominations 2021.

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