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News Daypop

Elon Musk named Time Magazine’s 2021 Person of the Year

On Monday, Time Magazine announced Elon Musk as its 2021 ‘Person of the Year,’ citing his vast “influence on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too.” Musk, deemed the second-richest man in world by Forbes Magazine with an estimated net worth of $270 billion, is the founder and CEO of rocket producer SpaceX and CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla, among his many other enterprises.

Time Editor-in-Chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal said the choice of Musk for Person of the Year recognizes his emergence “not just as the world’s richest person but also as perhaps the richest example of a massive shift in our society” in which momentum to create progress is moving from “traditional institutions” such as governments to individuals. Felsenthal added that Musk’s “ambitions on the scale of interplanetary travel” marks him as someone whose influence goes beyond life on Earth to “potentially life off Earth too.”  He concluded: “For creating solutions to an existential crisis, for embodying the possibilities and the perils of the age of tech titans, for driving society’s most daring and disruptive transformations, Elon Musk is Time’s 2021 Person of the Year.”

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News Daypop

Vice President Kamala VP Harris announces $1.2B in private investments in Central America

On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris announced $1.2 billion in investments from private companies to address the root causes of immigration from Central America. Harris said the investments came from seven companies and will go toward boosting the economies and social infrastructure in countries where immigration is most pronounced.  The announcement comes one month after the United States recorded Southwest border land encounters with 164,303 migrants in October, more than double the 71,939 encounters from a year prior.  Harris has been put in charge of the White House’s strategy on migration, and said the Biden administration seeks to focus on addressing the root causes of migration to stem the flow of people crossing the southern border.

Harris issued a call to action in May to assist El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.  She said during a meeting on Monday with executives: “Six months ago, we had a commitment of $750 million. Today, we have a commitment of over $1.2 billion. This is not about us coming in and telling anyone what they should do. It is about being partners and assisting and helping to facilitate the natural desire of the people in these nations. This is important work. This is good work. I think it reflects the best of who we are as the United States recognizing our responsibility as neighbors to these countries in the Western Hemisphere.”

The seven companies include PepsiCo, Mastercard, Parkdale Mills and Cargill. PepsiCo said it plans to designate $190 million for investments in Central America, including improving manufacturing plants. Cargill, meanwhile, plans to invest $150 million in farming operations in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Parkdale Mills said it will build a $150 million yarn spinning site in Honduras, and Mastercard said it will invest $100 million to boost e-commerce in Central America.

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Sports Daypop

NBA postpones 2 Chicago Bulls games amid coronavirus outbreak

The NBA has postponed the next two Chicago Bulls games due to a COVID-19 outbreak which has sidelined 10 of its players. The league is hoping to allow the franchise to start getting healthy players back, and also to prevent further spread of the virus.  The postponed games are the first game casualties of the season.

Sources say that the Bulls were eager to have the league grant them relief with the postponements and get the support of the Chicago Department of Public Health, which impacted the league’s decision.  Forward Alize Johnson tested positive and entered protocols on Monday, sources said, and the Bulls were down to a league minimum of eight players Johnson joins a lengthy list of Bulls in the league’s health and safety protocols that includes Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Troy Brown Jr., Coby White, Javonte Green, Matt Thomas, Derrick Jones Jr., Ayo Dosunmu and Stanley Johnson. Once players enter the league’s protocols, they must quarantine for 10 days or until they return two negative PCR tests within a 24-hour window. The team did not hold an organized practice Monday.

The NBA will reschedule the Bulls-Pistons game on Tuesday in Chicago, and the Bulls-Raptors on Thursday in Toronto for future dates.

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Sports Daypop

MLB approves Justin Verlander’s 2-year, $50M deal with Houston Astros

On Monday, Major League Baseball approved Justin Verlander’s two-year, $50 million contract with the Houston Astros.

Despite being in the midst of a lockout that started last week, MLB approved this particular contract because Verlander signed it before the expiration of the previous collective bargaining agreement. The 38-year-old Verlander holds a player option for the second year of his new deal.

Verlander hasn’t pitched since July 24, 2020, when he picked up the win for Houston in the only game he pitched that season. He underwent Tommy John surgery on Sept. 30, 2020. In 2019 — his last full season — Verlander went 21-6 with a 2.58 ERA while striking out over 12 batters per nine innings and collected his second Cy Young Award.

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Country Daypop

Tim McGraw announces 2022 amphitheater tour

Tim McGraw has announced his McGraw Tour 2022, produced by Live Nation.

The 17-city amphitheater tour kicks off on April 29th at Walmart AMP in Rogers, AR making stops across the U.S. in Charlotte, Atlanta, Bristow, and more before wrapping up in Mansfield, MA at Xfinity Center on June 4.  Joining McGraw on the road is Russell Dickerson as direct support for the McGraw Tour 2022.

Tickets go on-sale to the general public starting Friday, December 17 at 10am local time on via Ticketmaster.  For more information, visit Tim McGraw’s official website.

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Country Daypop

Carly Pearce, Lady A and Ingrid Andress join the lineup for ‘New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash’

Carly Pearce, Lady A, and Ingrid Andress have joined the lineup for New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, a 5-hour CBS special to air Dec. 31.  Other performers just revealed include BRELAND, King Calaway, Riley Green, Sam Hunt, Chris Janson, Jon Pardi and Lainey Wilson.

The new group of country artists join previously announced performers including Jason Aldean, Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Elle King, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell and Zac Brown Band.

Country radio personality Bobby Bones and “Entertainment Tonight’s” Rachel Smith will co-host New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash on CBS and Paramount+. The show runs from 7 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. CST, with a pause between 10-10:30 p.m. for local news.

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Entertainment Daypop

Kim Kardashian reveals she passed California’s ‘baby bar’ exam

Kim Kardashian announced on Instagram that after two years of studying and three failed attempts, she has passed the California “baby bar” exam, also known as the ‘First-Year Law Students’ Examination,’ according to the California State Bar website.

Kardashian failed the exam three times during the two-year journey, saying in her post: “But I got back up each time and studied harder and tried again until I did it!! In California, the way I’m studying law you need to take 2 bar exams, this was just the first one but with the harder pass rate. I was told by top lawyers that this was a close to impossible journey and harder than the traditional law school route but it was my only option and it feels so so sooooo good to be here and on my way to achieving my goals.” The 41-year-old Kardashian did not complete college, and initially said she had plans to take the bar exam in 2022. Four states, including California, where she lives, offer an alternative path to passing the bar known as “reading the law,” or apprenticing with a practicing lawyer or judge.

Kardashian thanked her professors and others who have helped on her law school journey, and mentioned her late father, Robert Kardashian:  “I know my dad would be so proud and he would actually be so shocked to know that this is my path now but he would have been my best study partner. I am told he was notorious for making fun of people who didn’t pass on their first attempt like he did, but he would have been my biggest cheerleader!”

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Entertainment Daypop

Golden Globes 2022: See the complete list of nominees

The nominees for the 79th Golden Globe Awards were announced on Monday, December 13th. Hollywood Foreign Press Association President Helen Hoehne brought out Snoop Dogg to help announce the nominees during a live stream, saying: “For eight months, we have worked tirelessly to be better.” 

NBC previously announced that it will not air the show due to scandal surrounding the  Hollywood Foreign Press Association. In February, a Los Angeles Times exposé about the HFPA detailed alleged misconduct and diversity issues going on behind-the-scenes, which caused major backlash in the industry. NBC said in a statement in May:  “We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform. However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right. As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes. Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023.”

The HBO series Succession leads the field in television with five nominations, followed by the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show and Ted Lasso with four nominations each.  Other TV nominees include the hit Netflix series Squid Game and the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building. HBO was the most-nominated TV outlet with 12 nominations, followed by Netflix and Hulu with 10 each and Apple TV+ with eight.

Power of the Dog and Belfast topped the field in film with seven nominations each. Netflix leads the field in film with 17 nominations for movies including Power of the DogDon’t Look Up and Tick, Tick… Boom!

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Rock Daypop

Jack White announces North American tour

Jack White has announced dates for a 2022 North American tour dubbed “The Supply Chain Issues Tour”.   The tour is set to kick-off in April along with the April 8 release of White’s new album, “Fear Of The Dawn”, with the first leg wrapping up in Colorado in mid-June.  White will then release a second album, “Entering Heaven Alive”, in late July before returning to the road in August for a summer run of amphitheaters.

White will release both projects in a number of vinyl options, including five limited edition variants, alongside digital and CD editions. Third Man Records Vault Members will have access to first presale tickets, and Citi cardmembers presale will run from Tuesday, December 14 at 10am local time until Thursday, December 16 at 10pm local time; general public tickets will go on sale at 10am local time on Friday, December 17.

For more details, head to jackwhiteiii.com.

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Rock Daypop

The Darkness announce ‘Motorheart’ North American tour

The Darkness have announced dates for a 2022 North American tour in support of their latest album, “Motorheart.” The two-month series will kick-off in San Diego, CA on March 9, and is planned to wrap-up on April 24 in Boston, MA.

Said frontman Justin Hawkins: “You there, in the Americas – hear us, and hear us well: The Darkness know your pain, know that you have cried yourselves to sleep every night, bereft of quality English rock music. Well, desist from weeping and pull up your fully grown adult pants – salvation is upon you! We come to your shores in spring 2022 for a whopping 34 shows.”

Tickets and VIP upgrades are on sale now.  For more information, head to thedarknesslive.com.

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