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Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to be first Black woman to sit on Supreme Court

The Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson, making her the first Black woman to serve as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Senators voted 53-47 in favor of her confirmation. Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — voted with Democrats to approve President Biden’s first nomination to the country’s highest court.

Jackson was with President Biden in the Roosevelt Room of the White House to watch the historic Senate vote. The White House also said Biden, Jackson and Vice President Kamala Harris will speak about the confirmation on Friday. The 51-year-old Jackson, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was nominated in February; last month, she underwent questioning for two days before the Senate judiciary committee. While some Republicans grilled Jackson on her track record and accused her of being soft on crime as a judge, the committee ultimately passed Jackson’s nomination on to the full Senate.

Jackson’s confirmation maintains the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative edge. The last justice nominated and confirmed to the high court was Amy Coney Barrett in 2020. She was appointed by former President Donald Trump to succeed liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Editorial credit: Gary Blakeley / Shutterstock.com

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News Daypop

House passes bill to provide $55 billion in grants for restaurants and other small businesses impacted by COVID-19

On Thursday, the House passed a $55 billion bill to aid restaurants and small businesses impacted by COVID-19.
The bill includes $42 billion for restaurants and $13 billion for other small businesses. The Senate still must vote to pass the bill for it to become law.

The money in this bill replenishes the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, created by the Biden American Rescue Plan that became law in 2021, which provided $28.6 billion for restaurants hit by the pandemic.

In addition to the $42 billion for restaurants in the House bill, it provides another $13 billion for small businesses ineligible for other pandemic relief programs.

Editorial credit: David Pereiras / Shutterstock.com

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Go Country 105

Miranda Lambert is nervous, “in a good way,” to stretch beyond her comfort zone for her Vegas residency

Miranda Lambert typically prefers to keep things simple at her live shows, but, well — when in Rome, right?

That's the attitude she has going into her Velvet Rodeo residency in Las Vegas, where she's down to try new things, even if the prospect is a little nerve-wracking.

“I've never done a wardrobe change. I've never brought pyro. I've always just been like, Let's make it a big honky tonk,' you know?” Miranda tells ABC Audio, admitting that upping the production makes her nervous, “in a good way.”

“I've always wanted it to stay about the music instead of all this other stuff, but I always want to create a show. In Vegas, it's got to be taken up a notch or seven,” she adds. “So I'm very excited about that, and it's out of my comfort zone.”

Plus, even the most dazzling Vegas musical event can still showcase the songs. Miranda points out that she'll be highlighting some of the songs that provided standout moments and memories in her career, like her music video for “Mama's Broken Heart,” or the performance where she lit the Madison Square Garden stage on fire during “Kerosene.”

“There's things I want to incorporate that were moments for me, and I want to take the audience on a journey with me — because I've been on tour out there for almost two decades,” she points out.

“So I want to bring them something that they haven't seen before and really make this show one-of-a-kind, that's only for Vegas, that's special,” the singer adds.

Tickets for Miranda's Velvet Rodeo residency went on sale on Thursday. The shows launch in late September.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Country Daypop

Sam Hunt’s song “23” hits No. 1 on country airplay chart

Sam Hunt’s song “23” has officially hit No. 1 at country radio, marking Hunt’s ninth number one single of his career. “23” is the first new song Sam has released since his latest album, Southside, dropped in 2020. It features back-to-back hits “Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90s,” “Kinfolks,” “Hard to Forget” and the record-breaking smash, “Body Like a Back Road.”

To celebrate the success of ’23’, Sam shared a video on Instagram of him and friends skeet shooting in the woods of Tennessee.  Alongside the video that shows him successfully hitting the clay target, Sam says: “Thank you to everyone who helped make ’23’ a number one song this week!! We’re celebrating in TN!” 

You can follow Hunt on his InstagramTwitter, and Facebook pages.

“23” is available everywhere you buy or stream music; you can take a listen to the song – here.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

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Country Daypop

Carrie Underwood announces new album ‘Denim and Rhinestones’

Carrie Underwood surprised fans with the announcement of her much-anticipated new album, ‘Denim & Rhinestones,’ set to be released on June 10.  Underwood shared the news on social media alongside her new album cover:   “I can’t wait any longer!! I have a new album coming June 10! Get ready for #DenimAndRhinestones! Pre-order beginning at midnight ET! 💜💎

Denim & Rhinestones is the follow-up to Underwood’s 2018 album, Cry Pretty. She also released the Christmas album, My Gift, in 2020, and a Gospel album, My Savior, in 2021.

Underwood also recently wrapped another sold-out run of her REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency at the Resorts World Theatre. She’ll return to Vegas for her next run of shows from May 11-21.  Before them, she will be heading to Indio, California to headline the legendary Stagecoach Festival on On April 30.

Carrie Underwood Announces New Album ‘Denim and Rhinestones’

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

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Pop Daypop

The Weeknd drops the video for “Out of Time” featuring HoYeon Jung and Jim Carrey

The Weeknd has dropped the official music video for “Out of Time,” co-starring Squid Game’s HoYeon Jung and actor Jim Carrey.

The Weeknd’s album Dawn FM, released in January of this year, opened at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The LP is the follow-up to 2020’s After Hours and includes 16 tracks, featuring guest appearances from Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, Quincy Jones, Oneohtrix Point Never and Carrey.

Last month, The Weeknd announced the official dates for his North American After Hours Til Dawn Tour, which is set to kick off this summer featuring special guest Doja Cat.  His first-ever stadium tour will commence on July 8 with a hometown show at Toronto’s Rogers Centre before heading to 17 additional destinations including New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Boston, Las Vegas and San Francisco, with a final stop at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on September 2.

Watch The Weeknd’s “Out of Time” video featuring HoYeon Jung and Jim Carrey – here.

Editorial credit: Christian Bertrand / Shuttertock.com

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Pop Daypop

Avril Lavigne announces engagement to Mod Sun after one year together

Avril Lavigne announced she is engaged to fellow singer Mod Sun. Lavigne, 37, and Mod Sun, 35 (real name Derek Ryan Smith), met in 2020 while working on music together, and began dating that November. Mod Sun co-wrote and co-produced tracks for Avril’s new album, Love Sux, and she’s featured on his single “Flames”, as well as co-starring with him in its music video.

The couple confirmed the engagement news on social media, with Lavigne captioning her Instagram post: Oui! Je t’aime pour toujours 🤍💍🥂Dimanche. 27. Mars. 2022.” It appears the duo actually got engaged in late March during a trip to Paris.

Mod Sun wrote on his Instagram page, “The day we met I knew you were the one. Together forever til our days are done. I had a dream where I proposed in paris. I pulled out a ring + asked you to wear it. I was on one knee as I looked in your eyes. You’re too beautiful for my words to describe. I grabbed your hand + took one last breath…I said ‘will you marry me?’ + she said ‘yes’. I love you Avril.”

Prior to dating Mod Sun, Lavigne previously dated indie artist Pete Jonas, Brody Jenner and billionaire Phillip Sarofim, with whom she broke up in 2019 after more than a year. Lavigne was married to Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley and Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger.

Editorial credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com

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Go Country 105

Nashville notes

Tune in to The Kelly Clarkson Show tomorrow for an appearance by Blake Shelton. He's set to perform his current top-10 single, “Come Back as a Country Boy.”

Cole Swindell's fourth album, Stereotype, comes out tomorrow. To celebrate, he and Lainey Wilson are headed to Good Morning America to perform their hit duet, “Never Say Never,” on Friday morning.

In case you missed it, a cast of country artists including Cody Johnson and Lainey Wilson congregated at the Grand Ole Opry on Wednesday night for a celebration of Merle Haggard. April 6 marks the country legend's birthday, as well as the day of his death. The show, Opry Salutes Merle Haggard, was filmed to air as a special at a later date.

The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project is making a $25,000 donation to the Veterans Success Center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Late country rocker Charlie Daniels championed causes supporting veterans throughout his life.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Go Country 105

Runaway June names its newest member: “Y'all welcome Stevie”

After Runaway June's lead singer, Naomi Cooke, left the band to go solo back in February, remaining members Jennifer Wayne and Natalie Stovall encouraged fans to “stay tuned” and hinted that they planned to remain a trio.

Now, they're ready to spill the beans: The newest member of Runaway June is Stevie Woodward, a singer-songwriter and guitarist who has opened for acts like Scotty McCreery and Kip Moore as a solo performer.

“Y'all welcome Stevie,” Runaway June wrote on socials, alongside with an image of the newly-minted RJ lineup together. “We can't wait until y'all fall in love with her as much as we have! It's been so hard to keep it a secret, but we can't wait to share the music we've been working on!! Get ready for some harmonies and dueling solos!!!”

The band also hinted at tour plans, saying “We'll see you on the road soon!!!”

Naomi and Jennifer are founding members of Runaway June, along with Hannah Mulholland, who left the group in 2020 and was replaced by Natalie. The group's last album was their 2020 holiday project, When I Think About Christmas.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Go Country 105

Maren Morris thinks she might “cry through the entire first show” when her tour starts

Maren Morris is taking Humble Quest on the road beginning in June, and she's expecting it to be an emotional experience.

“I feel like I'm going to cry through the entire first show on the tour,” The singer tells Entertainment Weekly. That's because, with some notable exceptions such as a performance at the Houston Rodeo, the 2022 Humble Quest Tour is Maren's big return to live music after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The whole touring industry came to a screeching halt, and we were all cut down to size and realized maybe we took some of this for granted,” the singer admits. “And we never will again.”

Kicking off on June 9 in North Carolina and extending through a hometown Nashville arena show in December, the Humble Quest Tour features a lengthy list of Americana-leaning opening acts. Among those are Brent Cobb, Ruston Kelly, Brittney Spencer and Maren's fellow Highwomen band mate, Natalie Hemby.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.