Month: December 2021

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News Daypop

Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell is convicted of federal sex trafficking charges

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Ghislaine Maxwell — British socialite and associate of wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein — was convicted of federal sex trafficking charges for her role in recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by her close confidant, Epstein. A jury of six men and six women reached a verdict in the New York City sex trafficking trial on Wednesday after six days of deliberations.

The jury weighed evidence and testimony from about 30 witnesses over three weeks that alleged Maxwell played a pivotal part in recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused Epstein. Maxwell faced six federal counts that together carry a maximum sentence of 70 years: sex trafficking of a minor, enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three related counts of conspiracy. Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas Day, has been jailed since her arrest in July 2020.

Maxwell’s defense team argued that it was the financier who pulled the strings and that federal prosecutors only sought to take her down because Epstein, a convicted sex abuser, committed suicide by hanging n a Manhattan jail cell two years ago as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors argued that Maxwell was not an unwilling participant, and was known at Epstein’s Florida estate as the “lady of the house.” Numerous women before Epstein’s death came forward with allegations that he sexually abused them, with some claiming Maxwell helped to traffic them to other powerful men, however prosecutors focused their case on the testimony of four accusers. Those women provided graphic accounts of how they say Maxwell “groomed” them as young girls to have sex with Epstein. Maxwell denied helping recruit and engage in the trafficking of young girls, mostly in the 1990s.

Maxwell was charged with six counts for alleged acts committed between 1994 and 1997, and then allegedly lying to investigators in 2016. She was also charged with perjury, although those counts will be tried separately.

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com

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Go Country 105

Walker Hayes has accomplished a whole lot in 2021, but he can't remember if he kept his New Year's resolution

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It's been a big year for Walker Hayes, who saw his song, “Fancy Like,” skyrocket his career into superstardom.

But as for New Year's resolutions, the singer says he's actually not sure whether he kept the goals he set for the year — or even if he made any resolutions to begin with.

“I was just talking about this with a buddy. I don't remember my New Year's resolutions from last year,” the singer admits. “I can't remember if I made them or not.”

And while 2022 is shaping up to be another big year for Walker career-wise, he hasn't quite settled on a personal resolution for this New Year's Eve — but he's got some ideas. The singer says he might borrow a New Year's resolution from a friend of his, whose goal was all about spreading love and support to those he cared about.

“I actually got a text from somebody a while back, and they said, Hey, my New Year's resolution was to text somebody encouragement every day. Everyone in my contacts. I just got to the Ws,'” he recounts. “I might make that my resolution. I think that's a great idea, to just go through the contacts, A through Z, and hit somebody with some encouragement.”

In the meantime, Walker's planning to bring joy to a nationwide crowd on New Year's Eve. He'll perform from the LA outpost of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest. The show airs tonight on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Pop Daypop

Morgan Wallen’s ‘Dangerous’ is the best selling album of 2021

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Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous” is the best-selling album of 2021, despite the controversy surrounding the country star over his use of a racial slur. The 28-year-old’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” sold more than 3 million copies. Wallen ended up beating out the likes of Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” that sold 1.85 million copies, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” with 2.69 and Pop Smoke’s “Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon” with more than 1.4 million copies.

Shortly after the album was released in January 2021, a video surfaced in February that showed Wallen telling his friends to “take care of this p–y-ass n—a” when he had returned home from a night of partying. Wallen admitted later that he was “clearly drunk” during the exchange. A backlash ensued against the singer, with country radio banning his music and many of Wallen’s appearances cancelled. Wallen later posted a video for fans apologizing for using the N-word and explained how he didn’t want fans to defend his “wrong” behavior.

“Dangerous” remained at the top of the charts for its first 10 weeks, with Billboard noting that it became the first album since Whitney Houston’s “Whitney” in 1987 to do so. It is also the most weeks an album has spent in the top spot since Drake’s “Views” scored 13 weeks in the number one spot in 2016.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

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Country Daypop

Kenny Chesney pays tribute to his ‘good friend’ John Madden who passed away at age 85

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Country star Kenny Chesney posted a tribute to NFL Hall of Fame member and football coach John Madden, who passed away yesterday at 85. Chesney wrote about the football legend on Instagram:  “So long to my good friend John Madden. He was such a big part of the ‘Boys of Fall’ film. We became friends after his interview, and he’ll be missed by everyone that loves the game of football. Thank you, John, for your time and for listening to my song and bringing so many people together on a Sunday afternoon. Rest In Peace, my friend.”

Chesney spent over a year working on the football documentary, “The Boys of Fall,” interviewing history-making players and coaches including John Madden, who Chesney said at the time he was both excited and nervous to speak with.  Said Chesney: “When I first met John Madden, I was so starstruck I could hardly interview him.” The idea to create a documentary was sparked when Chesney was filming the music video for his song “The Boys of Fall.”  You can watch the trailer for the documentary – here.

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

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Pop Daypop

Katy Perry and Alesso team up for new song, “When I’m Gone”

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Swedish DJ and producer Alesso has teamed up with Katy Perry for the new song “When I’m Gone.” The music video for the single will premiere during ESPN’s broadcast of the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 10.

Alesso produced “When I’m Gone” and also co-wrote the song with Katy, Alida Garpestad Peck, Rami Yacoub, Space Primates’ Nathan Cunningham and Marc Sibley, and Alma Goodman.

Perry released ‘Smile’ last year, and she just kicked-off her residency at Resorts World Las Vegas last night. Take a listen to “When I’m Gone” – here.

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Go Country 105

Carly Pearce is starting the new year off by making her 'Jimmy Fallon' debut

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A new year calls for fresh beginnings and brand-new experiences, and Carly Pearce is launching 2022 in style by making her first-ever appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

That's not the only first that's taking place with this performance: It'll also be Carly's television debut of “Diamondback,” one of the songs on her latest album, 29: Written in Stone.

“Diamondback” is the lead single off of Written in Stone, the full-length version of a project that started with her 29 EP. One of the co-writers on the song is Carly's fellow artist and longtime friend, Kelsea Ballerini.

The song tells a story of heartbreak and a marriage gone wrong — one that's deeply familiar to Carly, whose 2020 divorce from fellow artist Michael Ray is a major source of inspiration for her 29 project. Not only was Kelsea a writer on this song, but she helped Carly through that painful chapter in her life, the singer told People in early 2021.

During a time when Carly was overwhelmed by how public her divorce was, and worried that many people would judge her, Kelsea presented things from a different angle: “Do you know how many people you're going to help?” Kelsea pointed out to her friend at the time.

To watch Carly's TV debut of “Diamondback,” tune into her performance on Jimmy Fallon on January 3 at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Go Country 105

Walker Hayes will keep “riding that roller coaster” in 2022, with “big tours” and a new album in the works

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As he heads towards the finish line of a banner year, Walker Hayes says that 2022 is looking up.

“Next year, we've got a lot in store,” the singer says. A viral hitmaker who cruised into the country mainstream with the success of his massive 2021 hit, “Fancy Like,” he's now got plans to keep the momentum going in just about every way.

“We're going on tour, and we're taking MacKenzie Porter. She's incredible. I'm jacked about bringing her,” Walker continues. “And we got an album coming out. Honestly, can't pick a favorite song. It's just whichever one I listened to last, and that's good for an artist. That's a great feeling.”

That new project is Country Stuff the Album, a 13-song collection that'll flesh out his 2021 EP of the same title. When the full-length version comes out in January, it'll arrive to a fan base that's grown exponentially over the past year.

Walker — who spent years enjoying moderate country success before finding his breakout hit with “Fancy Like” — will continue to soak up every moment of stardom once the new year hits.

“Yeah, maybe [I'll] be out on some big tours this summer,” he hints. “Just feeding off Fancy Like,' you know? Riding that roller coaster, and [my next single] AA' following in its shoes. Let's go. Come on. It's gonna be a great year.”

Before he gets to 2022, though, Walker's closing this year out with a bang. He's headed to LA to perform on ABC's annual special, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest, which airs on December 31 beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Go Country 105

Even after getting tons of Christmas presents, Maren Morris' son's favorite toy is a dog crate

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Maren Morris just celebrated her second Christmas with her son, Hayes, who's old enough to enjoy gifts this year — but not necessarily the gifts his mom thought he'd like.

“Went to Texas for Christmas and my son got so many gifts I thought he'd love,” she wrote on Twitter this week. “[H]is preference?” Climbing in and out of a dog crate for 2 hours. I give up.”

The singer didn't share any photos or video of Hayes enjoying his “toy.” Since early on in his life, she's put a pretty strict limit on photos she posts of her son, after facing negativity from mommy-shamers who picked out criticisms of her parenting style whenever she shared snapshots of her family life.

But Maren does share little snippets of life with Hayes now and again: Back in October, the singer's Twitter followers got to see a glimpse of Hayes yelling “moo” at a procession of horses.

“ATTN: My son thinks horses say moo' and it's here to brighten up your doom scrolling,” the singer wrote in the caption of the post.

In recent weeks, Maren also teased exciting musical news on the horizon, hinting that she's got big plans for new releases in 2022. She's also nominated at January's Grammy Awards ceremony, thanks to “Chasing After You,” her duet with her singer-songwriter husband, Ryan Hurd.

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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News Daypop

NYC public schools to reopen January 3rd with increased in-school COVID-19 testing amid Omicron surge

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Upon reopening after the holiday break on January 3rd, New York City public schools will expand in-school coronavirus testing, but relax quarantine rules for students in a bid to keep them in class as much as possible amid skyrocketing infection and hospitalization rates.  NYC Mayor de Blasio announced Tuesday that roughly 80,000 students will be tested every week across the public school system once classes resume. de Blasio said in a virtual briefing at City Hall that while only unvaccinated students were eligible for the randomized in-school surveillance tests at the start of the school year, vaccinated kids will now also be able to get them. In another policy shift, de Blasio said students who are exposed to an infected classmate will receive an at-home rapid test kit that their parents should administer as soon as they’re home. Students who are negative on the at-home test can return to school the very next day as long as they’re asymptomatic — a marked shift from the previous mandatory 10-day quarantine rule for kids exposed to an infected classmate.

de Blasio, who leaves office on Saturday, was joined for his briefing by incoming Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Hochul. “We have a lot of evidence now that tells us this is going to be the approach that works in the future,” de Blasio said, citing data from the Health Department indicating 98% of kids who have a close interaction with an infected classmate do not contract the virus. Gov. Hochul added that her administration is setting aside 2 million at-home testing kits for city schools that can be distributed to students as needed in the event of a positive case.

Adams, who’s set to be sworn in as de Blasio’s successor on Saturday, noted that data indicates children are at a comparatively low risk of catching COVID-19 in school. “Your children are safer in school, the numbers speak for themselves,” said Adams.  However, he also suggested at a later press conference he may adjust the outgoing mayor’s school plan once he takes over. “We’re going to roll out our plan. It’s going to be a very clear plan,” Adams said at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com

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News Daypop

5 dead, including gunman, after shooting spree in Denver, Colorado area

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Authorities said that five people were killed (including a police officer) and three injured in a series of shootings that began in the Denver area and ended later in the suburb of Lakewood. Police said the shootings began when the gunman killed two women and injured a man just before 6 p.m. Monday in Denver. The gunman fatally shot another man a few blocks away, with police then killing the suspect.

Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said at a news conference: “There are four significant locations where gunfire took place in the City and County of Denver.” Denver Police officers identified a vehicle associated with the incident and a pursuit ensued. There was an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and officers, Pazen continued. No officers were injured as a result.

A motive for the shootings is unknown, and an investigation is ongoing. The deceased victims names were not released.

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