The Country Music Association has announced Wynonna Judd as the fourth and final artist on the Artist of the Day lineup.
Wynonna will take the CMA Close Up Stage inside Fan Fair X on Sunday, June 11, for an up-close-and-personal conversation hosted by Trisha Yearwood. Wynonna joins previously announced Dierks Bentley (June 8), Reba McEntire (June 9) and Brothers Osborne (June 10) as part of the star-studded interview lineup.
The CMA Close Up Stage will also feature several exciting interviews, which include live tapings of Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast episodes featuring Tanya Tucker and Jelly Roll.
Additionally, the acoustic Spotlight Stage inside Fan Fair X will include performances from up-and-comers Nate Barnes, Laci Kaye Booth, Brennley Brown, Jillian Cardarelli, CB30, Karley Scott Collins, Keller Cox, Karissa Ella, HunterGirl, Dillon James, Robby Johnson, James Johnston, AJ Kross, Grace Leer, O.N.E The Duo, Landon Parker, Jenna Paulette, Jordan Rowe, SACHA, MaRynn Taylor, Track45 and Julie Williams, among many others.
The 2023 CMA Fest will take place in Nashville June 8 to June 11.
Mother and calf elephants inhabit a dry deciduous forests in Sri Lanka. — Shermin de Silva
(NEW YORK) — Habitats for Asian elephants have decreased by more than 64% across the continent, equating to about 3.3 million square kilometers — more than 850 million acres — since the year 1700, according to a new study published Thursday in Scientific Reports.
The timeframe coincides with colonial-era use of land in South Asia and the agricultural intensification that followed.
Biologically, elephants are important for their ecosystems and are nicknamed the “ecosystem engineers,” author Shermin de Silva, an assistant professor of ecology at the University of California, San Diego, and founder of elephant conservation nonprofit Trunks & Leaves, told ABC News.
The findings are significant because Asian elephants are extremely adaptable and able to live in a range of habitats, including open grasslands that are relatively dry and lush, dense rainforests, De Silva said.
“That makes them a really good indicator species or a proxy for lots of different types of ecosystems,” she said.
The study underscores how much the landscapes in Asia have changed over time, De Silva said.
In the late 1600s and early 1700s, a “massive change” began to take place for the elephants, researchers found. Land use practices that began in the colonial era gave way to the industrial revolution in Europe, leading to the exploitation of resources around the world, De Silva said.
“These landscapes that were previously appropriate for elephants … we lost nearly two thirds of them over this past 300-year period,” De Silva said. “And what we have today is highly fragmented.”
Researchers also believe the rise of industrial agriculture in the mid-20th century also contributed to the severe habitat loss, De Silva said.
Mainland China, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam and Sumatra have each lost more than half of their suitable elephant habitat range, the researchers said. The greatest declines occurred in China and India.
The only exception was in Borneo — which has actually gained suitable habitat for elephants because they are restricted to one part of the island, De Silva said.
The findings are helping scientists to prevent populations from dropping further, especially since elephants do not breed quickly, which could lead to a slow population collapse, De Silva said.
Asian elephants are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
In regions where Asian elephants exist today, only 50% of the land is suitable for them to live, De Silva said.
And an increase of elephant-human conflict has resulted from the loss of suitable habitat.
“As a result, elephants can be killed. People can also be injured or killed,” De Silva said.
A whole lot of people wanted to see Tones and I dance just one more time in the “Dance Monkey” video.
The clip, which features the Australian artist dressed as a senior citizen while wreaking havoc on a golf course, has hit 2 billion views on YouTube.
“Dance Monkey” was originally released in 2019 as a single off Tones and I’s debut EP, The Kids Are Coming. It became her breakout hit and climbed all the way to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. In her native Australia, “Dance Monkey” broke the record for most weeks spent at #1 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Tones and I released her debut album, Welcome to the Madhouse, in 2021. She’s since put out a number of one-off singles, the most recent of which being March’s “I Am Free.”
Mötley Crüe‘s Vince Neil and Kip Winger are among the rock stars taking part in AXS TV’s new music competition series Banded, which debuts May 13 at 9 p.m.
The show, hosted by Brandon Jenner, with American Idol finalist Didi Benami serving as co-host, will see 25 artists who can play, write and sing broken up into five new multiple-genre bands, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look into the art of creating music. The eight-episode show will see the bands guided by a group of Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated songwriters, producers and artists, culminating in a battle of the bands featuring newly created material.
The show will feature a host of well-known musicians and industry insiders each week, who’ll serve as mentors and guest judges: Neil and Winger, along with Vans Warped Tour creator Kevin Lyman, drummer Mark Schulman, country star Steve Azar and others.
More info on the show can be found at bandedtv.com.
A new documentary about Cyndi Lauper will premiere this June at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
The doc, Let The Canary Sing, is directed by Alison Ellwood, with the full participation of Lauper. It will give fans a peek inside the singer’s life and career, following her journey to become not only an iconic singer, but an activist and more.
Let the Canary Sing will premiere June 14 at the Beacon Theatre in New York, with Lauper set to perform some songs from her catalog following the screening. Tickets go on sale May 2 at tribecafilm.com.
(ATLANTA) — The number of teenage girls experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors increased during the second year of the pandemic, new federal data showed.
The percentage of high school female students who seriously considered attempting suicide rose from 24.1% to about one-third, or 30%, between 2019 and 2021, according to the latest results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The percentage of those who made a suicide plan increased from 19.9% to 23.6% and there was also an increase in suicide attempts from 11.0% to 13.3%, according to the CDC survey.
Differences were seen when it came to students’ ages, race/ethnicity or gender identity.
For example, 9th and 10th-grade girls were more likely to seriously consider attempting suicide than 12th-grade girls.
Ninth graders who were seriously considering suicide increased from 23.7% in 2019 to 30.7% in 2021 and 10th graders saw an increase from 23.6% to 33.6% over the same period. However, for 12th-grade girls, the risk went up from 24.0% in 2019 to 25.6% in 2021.
Freshman and sophomore high school girls were also more likely to make a suicide plan and attempt suicide compared to senior high school girls, according to the CDC.
“Because of the increased prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among female students, particularly for those in 9th- and 10th-grade, the importance of early prevention and intervention to prevent suicide is evident,” the authors wrote.
In 2021, Black students were nearly 1.5 times more likely than white female students to report having attempted suicide.
Compared to white female students, Hispanic female students had increased rates of suicide attempts requiring medical attention.
Additionally, LGBQ+ students had higher rates of reporting attempted suicide than heterosexual students, the CDC said.
Those identifying as lesbian or gay were found to have nearly 1.9 times higher rates, identifying as bisexual nearly 3.3 times higher rates, and identifying as questioning 1.5 times higher rates compared to heterosexual students.
Meanwhile, when it came to suicidal thoughts and behaviors among male students, percentages were relatively stable between 2019 and 2021.
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is conducted every other year and surveys thousands of high school-age children from public and private schools between grades 9 and 12 across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Although suicide is the 11th leading cause of death overall in the United States, it is the third among U.S. high school students between the ages 14 and 18, accounting for one-fifth of all deaths among this age group, the report said.
The authors said the findings in the report are consistent with trends before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the rising rates of suicide risk among teen girls may be linked to how measures, such as social distancing and remote learning, may have increased students’ social isolation and anxiety.
Common risk factors for suicide include a history of depression and other mental illness, bullying, loss of relationships, and social isolation, according to the CDC.
The CDC team added that understanding why rates were stable among male students, even during an event such as the pandemic, “could yield insights into protective factors.”
“A comprehensive approach to suicide prevention, which reduces risk and supports youths at increased risk, provides support to those at risk and can ultimately save lives,” they wrote.
It comes after a report released earlier this year from the CDC showed teen girls were experiencing record-high levels of feelings of sadness and acts of violence.
Nearly three in five — or 57% — of girls reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, up from 36% in 2011 and the highest levels seen in the past decade, the data found.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(NEW YORK) — More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the countries are fighting for control of areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops have liberated nearly 30,000 square miles of their territory from Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, but Putin appeared to be preparing for a long and bloody war.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
One person was killed and 23 people, including a child, were wounded in a Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv early Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The missile struck a block that had apartments, houses and a historic building, according to Zelenskyy.
“The terrorists will not get away with this yet another crime against humanity,” the president said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Apr 26, 12:50 PM EDT
Zelenskyy has 1st call with China’s Xi Jinping since war began
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in what was the two leaders’ first official contact since January 2022, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Xi announced that he will send a special envoy to visit Ukraine and “other countries” to work on a political solution.
“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on Twitter.
The Chinese government’s official position still refuses to call the war an “invasion.”
The call between the two leaders is said to have lasted an hour, according to Zelenskyy’s office.
“Before the full-scale Russian invasion, China was Ukraine’s number one trading partner. I believe that our conversation today will give a powerful impetus to the return, preservation and development of this dynamic at all levels,” Zelenskyy said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Karson Yiu, Cindy Smith and Will Gretsky
Apr 25, 1:03 PM EDT
At least 2 dead, 10 injured in strike that hit Ukrainian museum
At least two people were killed and 10 injured after a Russian missile hit a Ukrainian museum Tuesday, officials said.
The local history museum is located in the city center of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region.
“The terrorist country is doing everything to destroy us completely. Our history, our culture, our people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media while sharing a video that showed the damaged building. “Killing Ukrainians with absolutely barbaric methods.”
Apr 24, 5:48 AM EDT
Russian passports pushed on occupied Ukraine
Russian officials have warned Ukrainians in occupied Kherson that they may be “deported” if they don’t accept Russian passports, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said Monday.
“Russia is using passports as a tool in the ‘Russification’ of the occupied areas, as it did in Donetsk and Luhansk before the February 2022 invasion,” the ministry on Twitter.
Residents of Kherson have been warned of penalties for those who don’t accept Russian passports by June 1. Some may be removed from the territory or may have their property seized, according to the U.K.
Apr 23, 11:42 PM EDT
Russia says US has denied journalist visas, vows it ‘will not forgive’
Russia said Sunday that the U.S. has denied visas to Russian journalists who wanted to cover Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip to New York.
Lavrov promised that the decision will not be forgotten by their side.
“The country that calls itself the strongest, smartest, most free, fairest has chickened out, has done a silly thing and shown what its sworn assurances on protecting freedom of speech, access to information and so on are worth,” he told reporters at the airport before his flight to New York.
“Most importantly, you can be sure: we will not forget, we will not forgive this,” the minister told the pool of journalists who have not been granted U.S. visas.
The journalists had planned to cover Lavrov’s appearance at the United Nations to mark Russia’s chairmanship of the Security Council.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called the U.S.’s decision “outrageous” on Sunday, Interfax, a Russian news agency, reported.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva, Edward Szekeres, Natalia Shumskaia
Apr 21, 3:35 PM EDT Over 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained in the EU so far
Over 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers trained in the European Union, Josep Borrell, an EU representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said Friday.
The EU has delivered over $600 million of ammunition and missiles to Ukraine, according to Borrell.
-ABC News’ Oleksiy Pshemyskiy
Apr 20, 7:08 PM EDT
Russian warplane accidentally fires weapon into Russian city of Belgorod: Defense ministry
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that ammunition from a Russian Su-34 military aircraft fell in Belgorod, a city in the southern region of Russia.
“On the evening of April 20, during the flight of the Su-34 aircraft over the city of Belgorod, an abnormal descent of an aviation munition occurred,” the agency said.
The ministry claimed buildings were damaged but there were no immediate reports of victims. An investigation is underway, according to the agency.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Apr 20, 5:18 PM EDT
Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in NATO: Secretary-General
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg held a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, to highlight the more than €150 billion of support to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion.
“Allies are now delivering more jets, tanks, and armored vehicles, and NATO’s Ukraine fund is providing urgent support,” he said in a statement. “All of this is making a real difference on the battlefield today.”
While in Ukraine, the secretary-general visited Bucha and paid his respects to the victims of Russian atrocities.
He also laid a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine, paying tribute to all those who have lost lives or suffered wounds in defense of their homeland.
“Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. And over time, our support will help to make this possible,” Stoltenberg said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Apr 20, 4:13 PM EDT
Russian athletes will not be accepted in 2024 Olympics if war goes on: Paris mayor
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, which is hosting the 2024 summer Olympics, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russian athletes “cannot be accepted in Paris,” if the war with Ukraine is still ongoing when the games begin.
“Paris is the capital of human rights,” Hidalgo said in a statement. “We are trying to convince athletes, international federations and countries. We stand with you.”
Hidalgo and Vasco Cordeiro, the president of the European Committee of the Regions, met with Zelenskyy as part of the International Summit of Cities and Regions Thursday.
Zelenskyy thanked Hidalgo for her support and presented her with Ukraine’s “Rescuer City” honorary award.
-ABC News’ Max Uzol and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
t’s been over two years since Eddie Van Halen passed away, and his former bandmate Sammy Hagar is still missing him terribly.
“I cherish him more than ever,” Hagar tells USA Today. “I miss his unique creativity. He’d play something and I’d go what, where the hell did that come from? He was so out of left field, so original, that creativity always lifted me.”
Hagar had a successful solo career before joining Van Halen in 1985, but he admits being in the band was “the peak of my musical career.”
“My ego wants to say I was doing great as a solo artist. Well, yeah, I was doing fine,” he says, “but Van Halen was some other thing man. It was a four-headed monster, and I miss Ed dearly.”
Van Halen and Hagar had been estranged for several years before the guitarist’s October 2020 death, and Hagar says, “What happened with us at the end was such a shame.”
“It’s what happens when alcohol and drugs are involved, and I’m going through a divorce. It’s such a shame,” he says. “If Van Halen were still together today, we’d be headlining every one of these festivals all over the world.”
(QUINCY, Mass.) — Massachusetts man Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty on Thursday to killing his wife, mother of three Ana Walshe, who has been missing since New Year’s Day.
Brian Walshe was indicted by a grand jury last month for murder, misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body.
Prosecutors said in court on Thursday that Brian Walshe suspected his wife was having an affair in December 2022, and Brian Walshe’s mother, with her son’s “input and direction,” hired a private investigator to surveil Ana Walshe. Brian Walshe’s attorney, however, said in court that her client didn’t support his mother’s hiring of a private investigator.
On Dec. 28, 2022, Ana Walshe told a friend she believed Brian Walshe would be incarcerated as a result of the federal case he was facing for art fraud, and she was prepared to leave him, prosecutors said.
Ana Walshe hasn’t been seen since the early hours of Jan. 1. Brian Walshe told their babysitter that Ana Walshe had returned to Washington, D.C., for a work emergency, according to prosecutors.
On Jan. 1, Brian Walshe was seen on surveillance video at Lowe’s buying items including: five 5-gallon buckets, a hacksaw, towels, a framing hammer, a Tyvek full coverage suit, shoe guards, a mop, trash bags and other cleaning products, according to prosecutors. He was seen on surveillance video later that day buying hydrogen peroxide and jugs of ammonia, prosecutors said.
The next day, Brian Walshe was seen on surveillance video at Home Depot buying three more 5-gallon buckets, a hatchet, plastic sheeting, 24 pounds of baking soda, and another Tyvek suit, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors believe Brian Walshe made a series of Google searches including: “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to”; “how long before a body starts to smell”; “how to stop a body from decomposing”; “how to embalm a body”; and “what’s the best state to divorce.” He also allegedly Googled “dismemberment” and “what happens when you put body parts in ammonia,” according to prosecutors. There were more Google searches for “hacksaw best tool to dismember” and “can you be charged with murder without a body,” according to prosecutors.
Brian Walshe told police on Jan. 5 that the couple had no problems in their marriage other than his pending criminal case, according to prosecutors.
Brian Walshe told police his wife had left home with her Prada bag and Hunter boots, which authorities later recovered from a dumpster along with Ana Walshe’s COVID-19 vaccination card, prosecutors said. The dumpster also had several of the items Brian Walshe was seen on video buying, including a hatchet, a hacksaw, a hammer and a Tyvek suit, according to prosecutors.
Brian Walshe’s attorney said in court Thursday that he had agreed to give his phones and iPads to police and allowed his home to be searched, stressing, “He’s been nothing but cooperative in this.”
The defense asked for bail, arguing that Brian Walshe is his children’s primary caretaker, but he was ordered held without bail. Brian Walshe is set to return to court in August.
Swizz Beatz‘s career spans nearly three decades and includes collaborations with Jay-Z, Drake, DMXand more, but he isn’t yet satisfied with his music legacy.
“I just feel like my music is the only thing in my life that doesn’t represent where I am today,” Swizz tells Complex. “Everything else is the level of where I’m at or how I live, where I travel, and everything I’m doing is at the level of me in 2023. Music is probably the only thing that’s 2010. I’m not satisfied at all.”
Thus, Swizz has released Hip-Hop 50 Vol.2, his first album in five years. He credits Nas for getting him back into the studio for the project.
“One day me and him were kicking it, and he told me Mass Appeal was going to have a lot to do with HipHop50. He said, ‘We got this concept with all the producers, and you gotta be the producer that represents New York.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Premier is going to represent a different place, [along with] you, Hit-Boy and a couple other people.’ I said, ‘OK. Cool.'”
Swizz also plans to release a producer/artist album with Jadakiss, which he teased will come out this year. He says he’s ready to work Lil Wayne on a joint project and wants to put out 50 tracks for the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. “I want to use that as my goal to give back to 50 years of hip-hop,” he says.
