Jason Aldean‘s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar is saying thank you to first responders as the holidays approach.
“To the brave men and women who show up for Nashville every day, let us serve you this Christmas,” the Music City restaurant said on its socials. “From Tuesday, Dec. 23 – Friday, Dec. 26, on-duty, uniformed first responders are invited to enjoy a complimentary meal on us at Aldean’s. We are truly thankful for all that you do.”
Jason’s Lower Broadway destination opened in Nashville in 2018. It now has locations in Gatlinburg, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas.
The country hitmaker’s new album, Songs About Us, is set to arrive April 26. It features his latest single, “How Far Does a Goodbye Go,” which has already cracked the top 10.
LONDON — U.S. Southern Command announced on Wednesday that American forces struck another alleged drug vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing four people the command described as “narco-terrorists.”
Wednesday’s strike was the 26th since such operations began on Sept. 2. The total death toll as reported by the Pentagon now stands at 99 people.
SOUTHCOM said the “lethal kinetic strike” was launched at the direction of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Joint Task Force Southern Spear.
“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the statement added. “A total of four male narco-terrorists were killed, and no U.S. military forces were harmed.”
A video posted alongside the statement showed a vessel in motion before it was hit by an explosion. The video then cut to show a stationary vessel on fire.
Cover of Rainbow’s ‘The Temple of the King 1975-1976’ (Edsel Records)
A new box set dedicated to the early years of Ritchie Blackmore’s band Rainbow is due out in March.
The Temple of the King 1975-1976, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band’s formation, is a nine-CD set that includes their debut album, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, and 1976’s Rising, as well as live recordings of concerts that took place in Germany in 1976.
The set also includes two discs of rare recordings, made up of band rehearsals, single edits and rough mixes. Many of these bonus tracks have never been released on CD before. There’s also a 24-page booklet that features rare photographs, memorabilia and liner notes.
The Temple of the King 1975-1976 will be released March 6 and is available for preorder now.
Blackmore formed Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple in 1975. The band also included Ronnie James Dio, who remained with the group until 1979, when he left to join Black Sabbath.
“Colorblind” cover single artwork. (Flower Moon Records)
Dashboard Confessional is featured on a new cover of the Counting Crows song “Colorblind” recorded by musician Maria Taylor of the duo Azure Ray.
“A couple of years ago, as a birthday present to [Counting Crows frontman] Adam Duritz, a group of friends decided to cover a few of his songs,” Taylor says. “[Dashboard frontman] Chris Carrabba and I met at Adam’s New York apartment years ago. We kept in touch and talked about collaborating someday.”
“I texted Chris and told him that I was going to cover my favorite Counting Crows song, ‘Colorblind,’ and asked if he would want to sing it with me,” Taylor continues. “He thought it was a great idea! That same night I went into my little home studio and recorded the dreamy guitars and vocals.”
The original “Colorblind” appears on the 1999 Counting Crows album This Desert Life and was also included on the soundtrack to the movie Cruel Intentions.
The cover arrives just before a new Counting Crows documentary, Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?, premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. The film will also be available to stream on HBO Max.
Matt Damon as Odysseus on the poster for Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey.’ (Universal Pictures)
This isn’t an enchantment from a siren: there is a new poster for Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey.
Universal Pictures shared the brand-new poster for the upcoming film on Thursday. The studio also announced that the prologue of The Odyssey will be available to watch in IMAX before screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash.
“A film by Christopher Nolan shot entirely with IMAX film cameras. Experience The Odyssey prologue in IMAX before Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the studio’s Instagram announcement reads.
Matt Damon stars as Odysseus in Nolan’s film adaptation of Homer‘s epic poem. The star-studded ensemble cast also includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya and Charlize Theron.
Universal describes the adaptation as “a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology,” which will bring the foundational, classic story to IMAX screens for the first time.
Homer’s The Odyssey, of course, tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus’ 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. He is filled with interruptions in his quest to return home to his wife, Penelope, and his grown son, Telemachus, who fights off suitors who are desperate to steal his father’s throne.
Nolan wrote and directed the film, his first since the best picture Oscar-winning blockbuster Oppenheimer. He also produced the movie with his wife, Emma Thomas.
The Odyssey opens in movie theaters on July 17, 2026.
A new short film about the making of The Beatles’ 1994 single “Free as a Bird” has just been released to YouTube.
Free As A Bird: A Song Reborn explores the making of the song that reunited Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr after 24 years. The trio used an unfinished John Lennon demo to create the tune.
The short film features never-before-seen footage from the studio sessions for the track, and sees the trio work on it with producer Jeff Lynne. They also talk about Lennon, and how they approached the song in his absence.
The making of “Free as a Bird” is also featured in the recently rereleased The Beatles Anthology, a restored and remastered version of ABC’s 1995 documentary that’s currently streaming on Disney+. The original series was made up of eight parts, but the new version has been expanded to include a ninth installment, which features more from the “Free as a Bird” sessions.
“Free as a Bird” went on to become a top-10 hit for The Beatles, their 34th in the U.S. The track also earned them a Grammy for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal.
In this handout, the mug shot of Jeffrey Epstein, 2019. Kypros/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — One day before the deadline for the Justice Department to release its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Thursday publicly disclosed another batch of photographs provided by the late financier’s estate in response to Congressional subpoenas.
The cache of about 70 photos includes include heavily redacted photos of women’s passports, images of famous men who associated with Epstein, and “concerning text messages about recruiting women for Jeffrey Epstein,” according to a statement from Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the ranking Democrat on the committee.
“Oversight Democrats will continue to release photographs and documents from the Epstein estate to provide transparency for the American people,” Garcia said in the statement. “As we approach the deadline for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, these new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession. We must end this White House cover-up, and the DOJ must release the Epstein files now.”
The photos released Thursday are from a larger batch of more than 95,000 images turned over last week by the Epstein estate. The photos were provided to Congress without context, timing, or locations. The images are therefore “presented as received,” the Democrats said.
One image shows billionaire Bill Gates standing with a woman — whose face is concealed — in what appears to be a hotel lobby. Another shows the philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky aboard an airplane chatting with Epstein.
The appearance of the men in the photos is not evidence of wrongdoing.
Another photo shows a woman’s lower leg and foot on what looks like a bed, with a paperback copy of Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita” in the background. On the woman’s foot is a handwritten quote from the controversial 1955 novel about a professor’s obsession with a young girl.
“She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock,” the quote reads.
Other images include a heavily redacted Ukrainian passport of a woman, with all the identifying information covered with black boxes to protect her identify. After Epstein’s 2006 arrest and jail sentence in Florida for solicitation of a minor, he was alleged to have turned his focus to recruiting young women from Eastern European countries.
A screenshot released Thursday of a text message chat — whose participants are not revealed — seems to involve a discussion about recruiting an 18-year-old woman to meet Epstein.
“I will send u girls now,” the message says. “Maybe someone will be good for J?”
A redacted description lists the woman’s name, age, height, weight and physical measurements. The message indicates the woman would be traveling from Russia.
The House Oversight Committee is conducting a broad inquiry into the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The committee’s efforts are separate from — though at times overlapping — the new law that requires the DOJ to make public its files on Epstein by Friday.
The poster for Tom Cruise’s upcoming film, ‘Digger.’ (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Tom Cruise‘s newest film has a title and release date.
The actor stars in the upcoming movie Digger. Warner Bros. Pictures is releasing the film, which is helmed by The Revenant director Alejandro González Iñárritu, in theaters on Oct. 2, 2026.
Cruise took to Instagram on Thursday to share the new comedy film’s poster.
“Introducing… DIGGER. A comedy of catastrophic proportions from director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Only in theaters October 2026,” Cruise’s caption reads.
The studio also released a title announcement teaser video. It finds Cruise wearing cowboy boots and holding a shovel. He pairs his boots with athletic shorts and is seemingly wearing some sort of wig, as his character appears to be losing his hair.
We don’t see Cruise’s face up close in the video, but we do see him dancing around a carpeted living room. He also walks along the railing of a pier as if it was a tightrope.
“In Digger we trust,” the description of the title announcement teaser reads.
Along with Cruise, the film’s ensemble cast includes Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde and Emma D’Arcy.
Iñárritu also produces the film, which he co-wrote with his Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) co-writers Nicolas Giacobone and Alexander Dinelaris, along with Sabina Berman. Cruise also serves as a producer.
Stevie Wonder performs on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on May 2, 2024. (Disney/Randy Holmes)
Stevie Wonder‘s plan to expand his House Full of Toys holiday benefit concert into a four-day event has fallen through due to time constraints. In a statement shared to his Facebook, he announced that he’s decided to cancel the shows.
“A week and a half ago I came up with the idea of doing 4 nights at the Fonda Theatre to raise money for House Full of Toys,” he began. “Big idea. Little time. So, because of that little time, I’ve decided to cancel all 4 shows.”
He added, “Yet still I will this year put my money where my heart is by giving a substantial donation for the children for House Full of Toys. And next year, we will again do House Full of Toys with the big idea and enough time to put it together.”
The 2026 edition of Stevie’s House Full of Toys celebration would have marked the event’s 26th year. Past performers have included Lionel Richie, Jazmine Sullivan, Anderson .Paak, Queen Latifah, Ella Mai, Jon Batiste, Lucky Daye and El DeBarge.
Jon Anderson reissues of ‘Earth Mother Earth’ and ‘Survival & Other Stories’ (Frontiers Music SRL)
Two of Yes singer Jon Anderson’s solo albums are set to be reissued.
The artist’s label will rerelease Anderson’s 1997 album Earth MotherEarth and 2011’s Survival & Other Stories digitally andon CD and vinyl on March 27. Earth Mother Earth will be released on green vinyl and Survival & Other Stories on gold marble vinyl.
To coincide with the announcement, Anderson has released a new visualizer video for the Earth Mother Earth song “Time Has Come.”
Anderson is set to hit the road in 2026 with The Band Geeks on the 10-show Yes Epics, Classics and More tour. The trek kicks off April 17 in Ridgefield, Connecticut, with stops in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It wraps on May 7 in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Anderson and The Band Geeks released their first album together, True, in August 2024; songs from the album will be included in the set, along with tracks from the Yes catalog.
