Month: July 2021

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Pop Daypop

Olivia Rodrigo visits White House to promote COVID-19 vaccines

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Olivia Rodrigo visited the White House on Wednesday to promote the COVID-19 vaccine for young Americans, giving a press conference during her visit and touring the West Wing before meeting with President Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Rodrigo said: “It’s important to have conversations with friends and family members, encouraging all communities to get vaccinated and actually get to a vaccination site, which you can do more easily than ever before given how many sites we have and how easy it is to find them at vaccines.gov.” 

Videos urging young people to get vaccinated will be uploaded to both Rodrigo’s and the White House’s social media channels in the future.

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

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Pop Daypop

BTS, The Weeknd, Ed Sheeran to headline ‘Global Citizen Live’ concert

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BTS, The Weeknd, Ed Sheeran and Lorde will headline this year’s Global Citizen concert, to be held on Sept. 25. The event’s Twitter feed read: “Live across 6 continents, this 24-hour, once-in-a-generation broadcast + livestream event will bring the world together to defend the planet & defeat poverty.” 

Other artists in the lineup include Coldplay, Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes, Lizzo, Andrea Bocelli, Metallica, Lorde, Doja Cat, Keith Urban, Usher, H.E.R., Duran Duran, Femi Kuti, Lang Lang, Demi Lovato and Ricky Martin. The concert will air on ABC, ABC News Live, BBC, FX, iHeartRadio, Hulu, YouTube and Twitter.

The CEO of Global Citizen, Hugh Evans, said in a statement: “COVID-19 has drastically reversed the progress toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals pushing upwards of 160 million people back into extreme poverty. There are now more than 40 million people on the brink of famine.” 

For more information about Global Citizen Live, visit www.globalcitizen.org, and follow @glblctzn on Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter, and YouTube.

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Categories
News Daypop

Justice Department criticizes FBI handling of allegations against USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar

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In a scathing report Wednesday, the Justice Department’s inspector general said FBI officials investigating allegations of sexual abuse by disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar violated the agency’s policies by making false statements and failing to properly document complaints by the accusers.

The inspector general opened an investigation in 2018; in June 2020, more than 120 of the survivors asked DOJ to release the inspector general’s findings. In a statement, the FBI said in a statement that the “actions and inactions of certain FBI employees described in the report are inexcusable and a discredit to this organization,” adding that it has taken action to “ensure and has confirmed that those responsible for the misconduct and breach of trust no longer work FBI matters.”

The 57-year-old Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor, pleaded guilty in November 2017 to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct for using his profession as a cover to sexually abuse his patients. He also pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges and separate state criminal sexual conduct charges.  Nassar is serving a 40-to-174-year state prison sentence after 156 women and girls said he sexually abused them over a course of 20 years; he is currently housed at the high security United States Penitentiary Coleman II in Sumterville, Florida.

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News Daypop

Over 60 wildfires continue to burn across Western U.S., with Oregon’s Bootleg Fire remaining the nation’s largest and still spreading

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Increasingly steady, dry winds on Wednesday contributed to the over 60 wildfires in the Western United States, still burning across several states and crews continue to fight and contain them. Gusts of up to 35 mph and extreme temperatures near 105 degrees, with only 7% humidity in the forecast, is causing concern for more than 16,000 firefighters in Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho who are fighting to control the flames.

The National Interagency Fire Center said Wednesday that “more than one million acres have burned in 68 large fires and complexes across 12 states” with the largest blaze in the United States, the ‘Bootleg Fire’ in Oregon, destroying more than 200,000 acres. The fire has destroyed more than 50 structures and almost two dozen homes. Residents have evacuated in many areas, and Madera County, Calif. declared a state of emergency as a result of the River Fire, which has burned 9,500 acres, while still being less than 20% contained.

Drought conditions have contributed to the spread of the fires, as well as record-breaking heat in recent weeks. Poor air quality alerts have been issued from Colorado to Minnesota from the extreme smoke sweeping across those regions.

 

 

Categories
Sports Daypop

NFL free-agent Richard Sherman arrested on suspicion of burglary, domestic violence

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NFL free-agent cornerback Richard Sherman has been arrested for burglary domestic violence. The former Seahawks and 49ers cornerback played only five games for San Francisco in 2020 due to a calf strain. He is unsigned ahead of the ’21 season.

Sherman was denied bail, but a spokesperson for the Redmond, Washington Police Department told ESPN this is standard procedure for those suspected of domestic violence until they appear before a judge. which will occur Thursday afternoon. The alleged crime is being investigated as a felony.

A spokesperson from Redmond PD said a 911 call was placed from a residence at 2 a.m. PT, and the individual said an adult male family member who did not live there was trying to get into the home. who police discovered was Sherman, who reportedly fought with the police but was eventually apprehended. Sherman was booked into the King County Correctional Facility once he was medically cleared. Sherman is also being investigated “in connection to a hit and run, and damage to state Department of Transportation property.” The alleged incident occurred when a car struck a concrete barrier.

NFLPA released a statement on the matter Wednesday:  “We were made aware of an arrest last night of one of our player leaders for an alleged domestic violence incident and have activated our domestic violence crisis protocol for the protection and support of everyone involved. We will continue to monitor events closely as more facts are made available to us.”

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Sports Daypop

Boston Bruins sign Brandon Carlo to 6-year, $24M contract extension after Kevan Miller announces retirement

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Coming off the announcement of defenseman Kevan Miller’s retirement earlier on Wednesday, the Boston Bruins signed defenseman Brandon Carlo to a six-year contract extension on Wednesday.

Miller, 33, played seven seasons in the NHL, all with Boston. He posted his retirement announcement on Instagram, saying in part: “There are so many people that have had a profound impact on my career, there is no way I would have realized this dream of mine without all the support. I want to start by thanking the Bruins organization, The Jacobs Family, Cam Neely, Don Sweeney, Peter Chiarelli. It’s hard to put into words what it means to wear the spoked be, it was an honor to put that jersey on each night.”

The deal with Carlo comes with an annual NHL cap hit of $4.1 million. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said in a statement: “Brandon is a player who has grown into a foundational defenseman with our team while also emerging as an important leader on and off the ice.”  The 24-year-old Carlo played only 27 games this season due to injury, recording three goals and one assist. He appeared in eight playoff games. The 6-foot-4, 227-pound defenseman was a second-round pick by Boston in 2015.

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Categories
Country Daypop

Staind frontman Aaron Lewis earns his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country chart with ‘Am I The Only One’

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Aaron Lewis, frontman for the hard rock band Staind, earned his first solo No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with the single “Am I The Only One.” Am I The Only One was streamed four million times in the US in its first week, and the track also entered Country Digital Song Sales at No.1, achieving the biggest week on that list since Jason Aldean did so in February 2018 with “You Make It Easy.”

The 49-year-old Lewis has achieved huge success with Staind, who have topped the Billboard 200 with three of their albums. Lewis’ first achieved solo success in the country genre with his No. 1s on the Top Country Albums chart: 2011’s Town Line, and 2016’s Sinner.

Check out the lyric video for Am I The Only One – here.

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Country Daypop

Zac Brown Band releases new songs ‘Old Love Song’ and ‘Out in the Middle’

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Zac Brown Band is back with new music, releasing their latest songs “Old Love Song (listen here)” and “Out in the Middle (listen here)” co-written with Luke Combs, Ben Simonetti and Jonathan Singleton.

Zac Brown Band wrote on Instagram:  Out in the Middle & Old Love Song are out now! It’s been awesome to have the band back together in the studio and we hope you’re loving the new tunes.”

Zac Brown Band will also be launching a new tour, The Comeback Tour, in August.

Zac Brown Band Celebrate Living ‘Out in the Middle’ With Swampy New Song

Editorial credit: Brian Friedman / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Jerry O’Connell officially joins CBS’s ‘The Talk’ as new co-host

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Jerry O’Connell is joining CBS’s ‘The Talk’ as a permanent co-host, replacing Sharon Osbourne who left earlier this year. The 47-year-old O’Connell has guest-hosted the show for the past few months; he joins co-hosts Sheryl Underwood, Amanda Kloots and Elaine Welteroth and Carrie Ann Inaba (who is currently on a leave of absence from the series.)

Jerry said during Wednesday’s show after the announcement: “It’s really exciting. First of all I want to say, you ladies have been so welcoming to me, I mean, I came here as a guest, months ago, and just from the moment I walked in, you’re just gracious, you’re kind, you’re fun, and it worked.  And here we are and we’re gonna have a lot of fun, we really are.”

O’Connell is the first male co-host to ever be instituted on The Talk.  Osbourne exited the show after getting in an on-air argument with co-host Underwood. The two were discussing Piers Morgan’s comments regarding Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. The debate between Osbourne and Underwood would lead to an investigation after Welteroth complained of “a racially insensitive and hostile environment” o the show.

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Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Nicolas Cage says planned ‘Tiger King’ series for Amazon has been scrapped

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Nicolas Cage revealed in an interview that his plans to star as the “Tiger King” Joe Exotic in an Amazon series have been scrapped, because producers felt that interest in the true-crime case had “faded.” Cage told Variety:  “We should clear the record. I read two excellent scripts, which I did think were excellent, but I think Amazon ultimately felt that it was material that had become past tense because it took so long for it come together. They felt at one point that it was lightning in a bottle, but that point has since faded into the distance and it’s no longer relevant.”

An Amazon representative confirmed that the project is no longer in development.  The Amazon project was supposed to have been an eight-episode series written by Dan Lagana, based on a 2019 Texas Monthly article, “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild,” rather than a direct adaptation of the Netflix series.  Cage’s casting was announced in May 2020.

Joe Exotic — real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — is serving a 22-year prison sentence after being convicted of plotting to murder longtime rival and animal rights activist Carole Baskin, as well as violating federal wildlife laws. The story became publicized last year following the release of the Netflix documentary series, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.”

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