The late Robbie Robertson is known for his legendary musical career, but this fall he’ll also be remembered for his whiskey.
One of Robertson’s last projects before his death in August was to team with WhistlePig Whiskey for a new spirit in honor of The Band’s legendary concert film and album The Last Waltz, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
WhistlePig 12 Rye Whiskey – Robbie’s Blend, which was crafted with Robertson’s input, features a blend of flavors including ripe citrus, cedar, walnut and crushed white pepper. And as a bonus for Last Waltz fans, each bottle has been dipped in wax made with melted vinyl from The Last Waltz album.
“We’re humbled to give fans another way to celebrate The Last Waltz’s legacy this season with a new whiskey created in collaboration with Robbie himself,” says Mitch Mahar, WhistlePig distiller. “With his personal touches, Robbie’s Blend offers a bespoke whiskey that gives you a symphony of flavor in every sip.”
WhistlePig 12 Rye Whiskey – Robbie’s Blend is available to order online starting Friday, October 6, and will also be available this fall in select stores in Tennessee.
The release coincides with several planned celebrations of The Last Waltz’s 45th anniversary, including the October 6 release of a three-LP audiophile pressing of the soundtrack and a record release party taking place the same night at Analog inside the Hutton Hotel in Nashville. The film is also set to return to theaters nationwide for one night only on November 5.
(NEW YORK) — An estimated $1.4 billion jackpot is up for grabs in the next Powerball drawing on Saturday night.
It’s the third-largest purse in the American lottery game’s history. It’s also the fifth-largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever, according to a press release from Powerball.
The grand prize, which has an estimated cash value of $643.7 million, ballooned even further above the $1 billion mark after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday night.
However, seven tickets — two purchased in California, one in Colorado, one in New York, one in Pennsylvania and two in Texas — matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes. Three other tickets — sold in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Texas — matched all five white balls and won $2 million prizes by including Power Play, a feature that allows a winner to multiply the original amount of non-jackpot prizes for an additional $1 per play, according to Powerball.
The jackpot was previously won on July 19, when a ticket purchased in California matched all five white balls and the red Powerball to claim $1.08 billion. Since then, there have been 33 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner.
Jackpot winners can either take the money as an immediate cash lump sum or in 30 annual payments over 29 years. Both advertised prize options do not include federal and jurisdictional taxes.
The jackpot grows based on game sales and interest, but the odds of winning the big prize stays the same — 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.
Powerball tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. The drawings are also livestreamed online at Powerball.com.
(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans are rudderless in Washington as they search for a new leader — leaving one half of Congress in the lurch and freezing key legislative business — but the political ripple effects of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster this week could stretch far beyond Capitol Hill.
By shunting McCarthy, eight GOP lawmakers led by hard-liner Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida demoted one of the party’s most dogged fundraisers just as Republicans are preparing to protect their five-seat majority next year — including several swing-seat incumbents in places like California and New York, where McCarthy was credited by Republicans with beefing up donations and recruitment.
“We won in places no one thought we could win,” McCarthy said on Tuesday night, in remarks to reporters shortly after losing his speakership.
The role won’t be filled on a permanent basis until next week at the earliest, but Republicans who spoke with ABC News are already scratching their heads as to whether McCarthy’s shoes can be filled and how long it’ll be before they even have someone who can try.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, a member of Republican House leadership, said in a speech on Tuesday defending McCarthy ahead of the motion to remove him that he had developed deep ties to his conference: “He’s been to our districts, toasted at our weddings, celebrated the birth of our children and has cheered us when we haven’t believed in ourselves.”
Rob Stutzman, a California GOP strategist who has known McCarthy for years, spoke bluntly of the former speaker’s campaign prowess, telling ABC News: “McCarthy’s without peer … especially in California and New York.”
“I don’t know who else can step into that role. Kevin has been the preeminent fundraiser and strategist in that conference,” Stutzman said. “What is for certain is that Gaetz and the rest of the crew have handed a huge political benefit to the Democrats and have significantly imperiled the odds of the Republicans maintaining a majority by displacing McCarthy.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., McCarthy’s No. 2, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the firebrand chair of the Judiciary Committee and a McCarthy ally, have launched speakership campaigns, while Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., chair of the conservative Republican Study Committee, is also thought to be a potential contender.
Sources who spoke for this story said that all three — while notable in the conference — would have their own hills to climb to match McCarthy’s reputation for grueling fundraising schedules.
McCarthy in total helped raise $645 million for his aligned Congressional Leadership Fund and its associated nonprofits, including $215 million for the 2020 election, about $350 million for 2022’s midterm races and roughly $80 million so far this cycle, the group confirmed. The Californian also helped the National Republican Congressional Committee raise tens of millions of dollars for the 2022 midterms which saw the GOP retake the House.
“I don’t think there is somebody who’s his equal. And there is a learning curve. The learning curve is the 13 months until the next election. That’s not enough time,” said California GOP strategist Sal Russo. “We’re definitely handicapped.”
“That’s the foolhardiest thing. The eight didn’t seem to realize that if it wasn’t for Kevin’s extraordinary efforts in fundraising and skills in campaigning and dedication to electing a Republican House, they wouldn’t be in the position they are now,” Russo said. “And they probably won’t be in this position in the next cycle, all things being equal.”
The Republicans sources speculated that Scalise would more easily slide into McCarthy’s shoes, given his public support for his erstwhile boss and reputation as someone who can appeal across the GOP spectrum, versus Jordan.
One Scalise campaign official confirmed that the Louisianan has raised almost $170 million for Republicans over the past decade and that his digital fundraising program worked with almost 80 Republican members, candidates and figures in the 2022 cycle.
Still, Jordan has proven to be a muscular fundraiser in his own right, leaning on his good standing with the GOP grassroots to fuel a small-dollar donor machine. A source familiar with the matter told ABC News that Jordan has already traveled to eight states this year to fundraise for more than a dozen lawmakers and that Scalise’s team has asked Jordan to sign on to fundraising mailers, including as recently as in the past few weeks.
“The type of donors that Kevin has cultivated for over 20 years that trust him, that participate in his programs, someone like Jordan is completely incapable of stepping into that type of role,” Stutzman argued. “If Scalise goes, I think he’s the most likely to be able to maintain some institutional progress in terms of the political operation and fundraising.”
Regardless of who takes the reins, though, some Republicans fear a general sense of chaos could at least curtail the money faucet from the rush it was under McCarthy to more of a drip — an issue that one former House Republican said could be ameliorated if McCarthy, who remains in the House, were to remain involved and “be front and center in handing the baton.”
“I think they’re turned off immensely by the chaos of it all,” said the former lawmaker, who served with McCarthy and asked not to be quoted by name to speak about private conversations. “I’ve heard from some of the donors that they’re like, ‘You know what, they’re gonna have to prove to me that they’re going to stop this circular firing squad before I give to them again.’ So the new speaker’s got his work cut out for him or her. They’re gonna have to convince the donors that it’s not going to be the inmates running the asylum.”
All the while, Republican front-liners have expressed fury.
Rep. Mike Lawler, who flipped a Biden district in New York last year, has floated trying to expel Gaetz from the conference — as Gaetz has defended his campaign against McCarthy — and California Rep. Michelle Steel called McCarthy’s removal “a reckless and unnecessary distraction.”
“I think they’re really, really nervous,” the former House member said of the most endangered incumbents, many of whom represent Biden-friendly parts of the country.
Some GOP strategists downplayed concerns over the void created by McCarthy’s toppling, maintaining that battleground incumbents will still get the resources they need even if there is some shakeup in the party fundraising infrastructure.
“If you’re a top-level target, you’re gonna get funded one way or the other. So the immediate impact, it’s going to cause some angst and some concern, but I’ve yet to be on a top-tier congressional race that didn’t get all the funding that it needed,” said California operative Mike Madrid.
But even these voices believe Republicans will be at a knowledge and fundraising deficit without McCarthy.
“I don’t think anybody can out-California Kevin,” said Doug Heye, a former House leadership aide, who added that he expects the next speaker to be a “strong fundraiser.”
“I think it’s a wait and see,” added a senior New York GOP official. McCarthy “was willing to invest in hardworking candidates … and he’s continued that. He’s been here, he’s done individual fundraisers, he was all in on New York.”
And strategists warned that even once a new speaker is elected and the current disarray ends, donor trust may not be restored without fundamental changes to how House Republicans operate.
Several Republicans have insisted that the next speaker raise the current one-member threshold needed to trigger a vote on a motion to vacate — the procedural tool Gaetz used to boot McCarthy — warning that until that happens, chaos could reign in the House and repel those with money to give.
“There’s no confidence that anybody is in control of this thing,” Madrid said. “Donors want to have a high degree of confidence that if they’re going to make significant investments in your operation, that the operation is going to be there, even just be there in a few months. No one knows who the speaker is going to be, and no one knows how long the next speakership will last. So it does not inspire any confidence in the donor community. How can it?”
(MALIBU, Calif.) — Dick Butkus, the legendary Chicago Bears linebacker, has died, his family said. He was 80.
Butkus “died peacefully” in his sleep overnight at his home in Malibu, California, his family said in a statement Thursday.
“The Butkus family is gathering with Dick’s wife Helen,” the statement continued. “They appreciate your prayers and support.”
Bears chairman George McCaskey said Butkus was “one of the greatest players in NFL history” and exuded “toughness, smarts, instincts, passion and leadership.”
“His legacy of philanthropy included a mission of ridding performance enhancing drugs from sports and promoting heart health,” McCaskey said in a statement. “His contributions to the game he loved will live forever and we are grateful he was able to be at our home opener this year to be celebrated one last time by his many fans.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Butkus was a “fierce and passionate competitor who helped define the linebacker position as one of the NFL’s all-time greats.”
“Dick’s intuition, toughness and athleticism made him the model linebacker whose name will forever be linked to the position and the Chicago Bears,” Goodell said in a statement.
Goodell also recognized Butkus’ work to advance health and wellness through his foundation.
“The Dick Butkus Award and his foundation honored achievement on the field and service to the community among high school, college and NFL linebackers,” Goodell said. “Dick was a champion of clean sports as his ‘I Play Clean’ campaign helped raise awareness about the dangers of steroid use among high school athletes.”
The Chicago native played for the Bears starting in 1965 until his retirement in 1973. He was named first-team All-NFL six times and played in eight consecutive Pro Bowls.
He was also recognized as the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year twice.
His career totals included 1,020 tackles and 489 assists.
Butkus was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility.
The University of Illinois graduate was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
Following his retirement from football, Butkus also had a career in the entertainment industry, appearing in films including Any Given Sunday and Necessary Roughness and the television shows My Two Dads and Hang Time.
Butkus is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Helen, who was his high school sweetheart, three children and five grandchildren.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Michael Cohen on “GMA” on Friday, March 17, 2023 — (ABC/Paula Lobo)
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump has dropped a $500 million lawsuit he had filed against his former attorney Michael Cohen that alleged Cohen breached his fiduciary duty to keep Trump’s confidences.
Trump had been scheduled to sit for a deposition in the case, but delayed it until next week because, he told the judge, he would be attending his civil fraud trial in New York.
Trump announced he was dismissing the suit in a one-page court filing Thursday.
The lawsuit had taken aim at Cohen’s book, his podcast and other statements he had made that were critical of Trump and that described the unraveling of a long relationship.
“Defendant chose to capitalize on his confidential relationship with Plaintiff to pursue financial gain,” the suit said. “His actions constitute grave violations of his contractual and fiduciary duties to the Plaintiff, and Defendant must be held accountable.”
Cohen, responding to Trump’s dropping the suit, said in a statement Thursday, “This case was nothing more than a retaliatory intimidation tactic, and his attempt to hide from routine discovery procedures confirms as much.”
Trump filed the suit last April, a week after the former president pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, which involved reimbursements to Cohen for hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels in the closing weeks of the 2016 campaign.
Cohen had told ABC’s Good Morning America in March that he would be willing to testify should Trump be charged in the case.
“The facts are the facts. The truth is the truth and the truth will always rise so I’m not worried about anything that they want to come at me with,” he said.
Cohen previously served prison time after he pleaded guilty to federal charges that included campaign finance violations related to the hush payment. He was sentenced to three years but received early release in November 2021.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Minnesota 111, Dallas 99
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON
Los Angeles 4, San Jose 3 (OT)
Washington 4, Columbus 2
Toronto 4, Detroit 3 (OT)
Philadelphia 5, NY Islanders 2
Florida 6, Tampa Bay 3
Boston 3, NY Rangers 1
St. Louis 4, Dallas 0
Ottawa 3, Winnipeg 0
Nashville 5, Carolina 1
Minnesota 3 Chicago 2 (SO)
Arizona 4, Anaheim 2
Vegas 4, Colorado 3
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Chicago 40, Washington 20
It’s only week two of The Golden Bachelor and Gerry Turner is already making strong connections with the women competing for his heart.
Theresa, 70, from Shrewsbury, New Jersey, went on the first one-on-one date with Gerry.
Before the date, the financial services professional opened up about her first love, her late husband Billy, whom she married when she was 18. Like Gerry’s first love Toni, Billy was Theresa’s high school sweetheart. They were married for 42 years. Theresa said that before her husband died eight years ago, he told her he hoped she would find someone and get married again.
While on their date at a 1950s-themed diner, Theresa’s story about Billy touched Gerry, who told her that he understood what losing a spouse feels like. At the end of the date, Gerry told Theresa that he has hope he’ll find someone he can “enjoy the rest of my life with” and gave her a rose.
Several women in the mansion went on the first group date of the season where they got to live out the fantasy of being on the cover of a romance novel. Gerry surprised them with a photoshoot where they were able to dress up and pose for a photo with him.
While it was a fun activity for the women on the date, it was an emotional one for Nancy, a 60-year-old retired interior designer from Alexandria, Virginia, who opted to wear a wedding dress for the photoshoot. She broke down in tears after the dress brought up the memory of her wedding to her late husband Mark, who died 12 years ago.
Nancy told Gerry that while she felt sad, “there’s joy in remembering” and that she “still has hope moving forward.” Their connection earned her the group date rose.
Later, at the rose ceremony, Gerry was in tears after giving out the last rose and said goodbye to Peggy, Natascha and Jeanie.
The women who remain include Leslie, Joan, Edith, Ellen, Sandra, Susan, Kristina, Faith, April and Kathy.
Snoop Dogg will take the stage at the Baby2Baby Gala this fall as the fundraising event’s celebrity performer.
Taking place in Snoop’s hometown of Los Angeles on Saturday, November 11, the annual charity event aims to raise money to support Baby2Baby’s mission to help children living in poverty.
This year, the nonprofit will provide nearly 300,000 essential items to support the children who participate in the Snoop Youth football and basketball Leagues, as well as the Snoop Special Stars; both organizations help inner-city children across Los Angeles take part in sports.
Snoop founded his Youth Football League in 2005 in an effort to keep kids out of street life and to offer resources that teach the values of teamwork, good sportsmanship, discipline, and self-respect and academics.
In 2017, the SYFL added The Snoop Special Stars Football and Cheer Division to serve “all Special Needs children and young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities.”
“Two years and ’23’ has finally made its way to country radio,” Chayce Beckham notes with a laugh.
His self-penned “23” helped catapult him to being crowned the winner of American Idol’s 19th season. Beyond that, the reflective, autobiographical track is rooted in real-life events he had faced.
“It’s a song about my life and it’s just something that I wrote just trying to talk about what I had been through up until that point and some of the hard lessons I’d learned,” Chayce tells ABC Audio.
“It just made me feel better to write it and that’s why I did it,” he says. “So I never in a million years would have thought that we’d be sitting here right now talking about it.”
The journey “23” has taken since American Idol is something Chayce doesn’t take for granted.
“It’s just really been such a big deal for everything that I’ve done at shows, radio [and] live concerts,” he shares.
Chayce is currently out on the road with Luke Bryan on the Country On Tour. For a full list of dates and tickets, visit Chayce’s website.
“23” is currently approaching the top 20 on the country charts.
Death Cab for Cutie‘s 2003 album Transatlanticism turns 20 on Saturday, October 7. The record was a staple of the 2000s indie rock scene and had a big influence on guitarist Dave Depper, who had no idea he’d be playing those songs as a member of Death Cab in a decade’s time.
“There’s points each night where I’m playing songs like the song ‘Transatlanticism’ where I’m playing that riff,” Depper tells ABC Audio. “It takes me right back to 2014 and being like, ‘I can’t believe I’m playing this guitar riff, this is crazy.'”
Depper joined Death Cab following the 2014 departure of original guitarist and producer Chris Walla, whose tone and style helped define the band’s early sound.
“Just stepping into Chris Walla’s shoes was very intimidating,” Depper says. “These are songs that not only meant a lot to me but obviously mean a lot to millions of people around the world.”
“I just wanted to not screw up at first, and so I worked really hard to play these songs accurately,” he continues. “That went well, and as the years have gone on, I’ve kinda added a bit of my own spin to them.”
You can hear that during Death Cab’s current 20th anniversary Transatlanticism tour, during which they’re playing the album in full.
“I obviously don’t wanna change what people love about [Transatlanticism‘s songs], but I do think that we’re playing them in a way that kinda fits the lineup of the band now in a very copacetic way,” Depper shares.
Death Cab’s tour continues Friday, October 6, in Seattle. The run is co-headlined by frontman Ben Gibbard‘s other band, The Postal Service, which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 2003 album, Give Up.
