Month: January 2022

Categories
News Daypop

13 people, including 7 children, killed in fire at Philadelphia rowhouse

shutterstock_1673381209

13 people, including several children, were killed on Wednesday when fire broke out at a row house in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood. Firefighters arrived at the three-story property at about dawn and found heavy smoke coming from the second floor of the home, which is owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Officials said it took crews almost an hour to get the blaze under control.

Philadelphia Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy told reporters during a press conference:  “It’s a sad, sad day for the Philadelphia Fire Department and the city. I’ve been around for 35 years now and this is probably one of the worst firsts I’ve ever been to.”  Murphy added: “There were four smoke detectors in that building and none of them operated.  There was an inspection done by the PHA in 2019. When they went out in 2019, they installed four smoke detectors. And there was another inspection in 2020. When they went out that time, they installed two smoke detectors.”

The home was divided into separate living spaces and 26 people were living there at the time of the fire. The PHA is the nation’s fourth-largest public housing authority and owns more than 14,000 affordable housing units, according to its website. Officials said the fire doesn’t appear to be suspicious, but the cause is under investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is aiding in the inquiry.

Editorial credit: Ted Pendergast / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

Father arrested in 2019 disappearance of 7-year-old New Hampshire girl

shutterstock_405786913

Authorities in New Hampshire said Wednesday that the father of missing 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery has been arrested in connection with her disappearance in 2019, which remains unsolved. Adam Montgomery, a 31 year-old from Manchester, was arrested on a warrant charging him with felony second-degree assault arising from 2019 conduct against Harmony, as well as one misdemeanor charge of interference with custody and two misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child pertaining to Harmony, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said. Despite the arrest, the search for Harmony continues, authorities said. Montgomery was arraigned around noon in Hillsborough County Superior Court North Wednesday but did not appear in court after his arraignment and bail conditions were agreed to by lawyers.

According to court documents, Harmony’s mother first notified police in November that her daughter was missing, but police were unable to find Adam Montgomery, who had legal custody of the child. Last week, the state’s Division for Children, Youth and Families contacted police saying they couldn’t find the girl either. Harmony’s mother had lost custody to Adam Montgomery because of substance abuse issues, according to court documents, but upon regaining sobriety, she started looking for Harmony. After hearing from DCYF last week, Manchester police eventually found Adam Montgomery living in a car. He told police he gave Harmony to his mother around Thanksgiving 2019. However, police found his story inconsistent and Montgomery refused to cooperate.

Detectives have been investigating “non-stop” since becoming aware that Harmony was missing, the department added. They are working in conjunction with DCYF and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the FBI has also joined the investigation. Harmony is described as 4 feet tall, weighing about 50 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes and glasses. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Manchester police at (603) 668-8711. Anonymous tips can also be called in to the Manchester Crimeline (603) 624-4040. Manchester police said a reward is being offered in connection with the case, which was increased on Wednesday to $43,000.

Categories
Go Country 105

Reba returns to 'Young Sheldon,' as she dreams of a mini-reunion of her own beloved sitcom

abc-rss-feed-20220106030000

Reba McEntire‘s recurring role on Young Sheldon is going strong, as she returns tonight. And while a full-fledged reboot of her own eponymous sitcom has proven elusive, the CBS show could set the stage for a small one.

“Loved working with Annie Potts on Young Sheldon,” Reba told reporters in the fall. “We’ve just gotten through doing an episode and I’m going back in another month to do it again. Rex [Linn] is on his way soon to go back to shoot an episode.”

By all accounts, the Young Sheldon set is a veritable mutual admiration society. Of course, Linn is Reba’s real-life love, and while Potts plays the girlfriend of her ex-husband, Craig T. Nelson, on Young Sheldon, the Designing Women actress couldn’t be fonder of her.

“Hey y'all! Look who's back!” Potts shared on Instagram this week, along with a shot of the two laughing. “Tune in this Thurs to find out what's so darn funny. We just LOVE it when @Reba is here!”

Since the Ethel to her Lucy from the Reba sitcom is also on Young Sheldon in an almost-unrelated storyline, the country music superstar dreams of sitcom worlds colliding.

“Melissa Peterman‘s on it,” Reba explains, “so we’re all trying to find a way to get the writers to put Annie Potts, Craig T. Nelson, Melissa Peterman, Rex Linn and myself in one episode.”

“Wouldn’t that be fun?” she beams. “I love Young Sheldon!”

You can check out the episode titled “An Expensive Glitch and a Goof-Off Room” tonight at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Meanwhile, Reba reveals her potential NBC series, an extension of 1991’s Fried Green Tomatoes with the legendary Norman Lear, likely won’t happen.

“Fried Green Tomatoes,” unfortunately, kinda has gone away for right now,” she says.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Country Daypop

Garth Brooks announces San Diego ‘Stadium Tour’ stop

shutterstock_107103836

Garth Brooks ‘Stadium Tour’ will be making one West Coast stop, at San Diego’s Petco Park for the first time ever on Saturday, March 5th.  It will be Garth’s first performance in the city in nearly seven years.

Brooks canceled the remaining 2021 dates of his “Stadium Tour” due to the COVID resurgence towards the end of summer, and had been performing at smaller more intimate venues due to easier enforcement of vaccination status.  Brooks has previously announced 2022 Stadium Tour dates for Orlando, Fayetteville, AR and Baton Rouge, LA.   In total, 17 North American dates are scheduled for this year before wrapping with a five night sold out stand at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland in September.   Brooks will also head back to Las Vegas next month for a pair of solo acoustic shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM. Garth Brooks: The ONE Man Show is set for February 4th and 5th with a limited capacity.

Tickets will be on sale, Friday, January 14th at 10 am PT via Ticketmaster or through the Ticketmaster App on your mobile phone.  It will be in-the-round seating, and there will be an eight ticket limit per purchase. Tickets are $94.95 all-inclusive.

Editorial credit: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Maren Morris announces new song ‘Circles Around This Town’ to drop this Friday

shutterstock_1095352592

Maren Morris will release her new song, “Circles Around This Town,” on Friday, Jan. 7. The singer-songwriter revealed the tune and release date via social media with the caption “Get lost, get found.”

In December, Morris shared a snippet of new music in a video alongside imagery of the singer-songwriter walking behind a vintage car. The vehicle’s California license plate was emblazoned with the word “Go.” She captioned the video with the phrase “Pedal down, 2022,” alongside a ring emoji.

In 2021, Morris earned a No. 2 hit on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart with her duet alongside husband and fellow singer-songwriter, Ryan Hurd, “Chasing After You.” In 2019, Morris released her second album, Girl, which included the Billboard Country Airplay hits “The Bones” and “Girl.” In 2020, “The Bones” earned single of the year and song of the year honors at the Country Music Association awards, while Morris earned her first female vocalist of the year award.

Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Pop Daypop

2022 Grammy Awards postponed ‘indefinitely’ due to surge of COVID-19

shutterstock_341425286

As expected, the Grammy Awards have been postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for the second year in a row. No new date has been confirmed as of yet. The annual event will be pushed back as the Omicron variant of the virus continues spreading across America.

A joint statement from the Recording Academy and its television partner, CBS, issued on Wednesday reads: “After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th annual Grammy Awards show. The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority. Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31st simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.”

Last year’s Grammy Awards was originally scheduled for Jan. 31, 2021, but was pushed back to March 14. The event was stripped back and moved from Staples Center (now called Crypto.com Arena) to the nearby Los Angeles Convention Center.  The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah is set to host the 2022 Grammys, reprising his role from last year.

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Pop Daypop

BTS shares update on Suga, Jin and RM amid their recovery from COVID-19

shutterstock_1386434213-2

BTS members RM, Jin and Suga have all recovered from COVID-19.  Their management company Big Hit Music said in statements posted to Weverse that all three have made it through their respective quarantines and have made a full recovery.

Big Hit Music revealed that Suga was the first member to complete his quarantine as of noon on Jan. 3, and he had “made a full recovery.” The statement noted that Suga “did not exhibit any particular symptoms” amid his COVID-19 battle, and is now cleared to return to his daily activities.  RM and Jin were cleared shortly thereafter.  Neither RM nor Jin exhibited any particular symptoms during their quarantine, though Jin did have “a slight fever when he first began treatment.” Jin has since made a full recovery.

Big Hit Music’s statement added: “We would like to thank all fans who have shown concerns for the artist’s health as well as those in the medical field who are doing their best to overcome COVID-19. We will continue to place the health of the artists as our top priority, and to vigilantly follow the healthcare guidelines.”

The positive COVID tests came just weeks after the group announced that they would be taking a break. All seven members of the group, RM, Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, Jungkook, Suga and V, have since launched individual Instagram accounts.

Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Go Country 105

Nashville notes

abc-rss-feed-20220105140000

Rising act Conner Smith just announced that he’ll release his debut EP, a six-song collection titled Didn’t Go Too Far, on Friday, January 14. It’ll include his viral ode to college football season, “I Hate Alabama,” plus his current single, “Learn from It.”

Longtime music manager, agent and promoter Randy Jackson, who worked with artists like Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty and Charley Pride, died in late December 2021, according to a new announcement. He was 75 years old.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Go Country 105

Maren Morris teases more “Circles” with stills from her upcoming new music video

abc-rss-feed-20220105130000

Before she drops her new song, “Circles Around This Town,” on Friday, Maren Morris is continuing to tease the new material on social media.

“Thank God I was an optimist,” Maren writes on social media. “Circles Around This Town' music video out Friday.”

The singer then includes a series of shots which appear to be still images from the soon-to-be-released video. The first is a photo of her sunbathing on a car, wearing the same tassel crop top that she wore in the song's initial tease.

The next photos find Maren carrying a huge birthday cake. In another, she's sitting in front of an old-school, early 2000s-era desktop computer with a pop-up box on the screen reading “Are you sure you want to delete all feelings?” The final shot is of Maren in the driver's seat of a car, fuzzy dice hanging from the rear-view mirror.

Maren has been hinting at her next studio album — her third to date — for a while now. Her last album was 2019's Girl, which produced three singles, including the crossover mega-hit “The Bones.” Most recently, Maren topped country charts with her duet with her husband Ryan Hurd, “Chasing After You.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Go Country 105

2022 Grammy Awards are officially postponed because of COVID-19

abc-rss-feed-20220105120019

For a second year in a row, the Grammy Awards will not take place on January 31 as originally planned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC News confirms the Recording Academy has delayed this year’s ceremony, which was to be hosted again by Trevor Noah.

“After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards Show,” the organization announced in a statement on Wednesday. 

The Recording Academy continued, “The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority. Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks.”

At this time, the organization has not announced when the Grammys will be rescheduled, but promised the new date “will be announced soon.”

Currently, federal data reports that more than 100,000 people are hospitalized in the U.S. for COVID-19.  Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the weekend shows that the U.S. is now averaging nearly half a million new cases a day — averaging out to nearly six Americans testing positive every second.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.