Hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, the 56th annual CMA Awards aired live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday night.
The biggest night in country music kicked off with a heartwarming tribute to late legendary singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn, opening with a montage of throwback clips of Lynn at prior CMA Awards shows. After, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Reba McEntire each took a turn at one of Lynn’s songs before they joined forces for “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
That was just the beginning of the night’s performances, with stars like Ashley McBryde,Carly Pearce, Zac Brown Band, Morgan Wallen and Kelsea Ballerini taking the CMAs stage. Pop stars Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson also graced the stage as part of the big night.
One of the night’s surprises came from Jo Dee Messina, who returned to the CMAs for the first time in 20 years. She joined Cole Swindell as he performed his smash record “She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” which heavily references Messina’s 1996 debut hit “Heads Carolina, Tails California.”
When it came to big wins of the night, Lainey Wilson, who led the pack with six nominations, took home New Artist and Female Vocalist of the Year. Chris Stapleton won Male Vocalist of the Year, making it his sixth time winning the honor, while Luke Combs snagged Album of the Year for Growin’ Up. Combs also took home the coveted Entertainer of the Year award, which he said was a “dream come true.”
The Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement award went to Alan Jackson after a tribute performance by Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Underwood and Wilson.
(MEXICO CITY, Mexico) — Three American tourists died from carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at an Airbnb rental in Mexico City last month, officials said.
The three were staying at a rental in a residential complex in the La Rosita neighborhood when they were found dead on Oct. 30, according to the Attorney General’s Office of Mexico City, which investigated the deaths.
Security guards at the complex detected an intense gas smell in the apartment and poisoning by gas inhalation was initially suspected, the attorney general’s office said in a statement this week. Blood tests determined that the three Americans — two men and a woman — died of carbon monoxide poisoning, the office said.
Investigators discovered a failure in the apartment’s gas boiler, which released a gas smell as well as carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office told ABC News.
One of the victims was found dead in the bathroom and is believed to have been attempting to take a shower, which could have activated the boiler, the spokesperson said.
An Airbnb spokesperson confirmed that the three Americans were staying at a space listed on its platform.
“This is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones as they face this heavy loss,” an Airbnb spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. “Our priority now is to provide support to those affected while the authorities investigate what happened and we are available to cooperate with the investigation in any way we can.”
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said it was “closely monitoring” the investigation into the deaths of three U.S. citizens in the country.
“We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance,” it said in a statement earlier this week. “Out of respect for the privacy of the families, we have nothing further to add at this time.”
The victims have not been publicly identified by local authorities or the U.S. Embassy.
The three deaths come after another American died from carbon monoxide poisoning while staying in a vacation rental in Mexico City late last month, the victim’s family told ABC San Diego station KGTV. The woman’s two siblings were also hospitalized due to carbon monoxide poisoning, their family told the station.
Three American tourists who were found dead at a Bahamas resort in May also died of carbon monoxide poisoning, officials said.
(NEW YORK) — A New York appellate court has declined, at least for now, to stay a judge’s order appointing an independent monitor to oversee former President Donald Trump’s family real estate firm.
Trump and the New York Attorney General’s office were supposed to begin submitting candidates for the monitor job this week.
The decision, issued Wednesday, said the Appellate Division’s First Department would reconsider the matter at a later time.
“The application for an interim stay is denied pending determination of the motion by a full bench,” the decision said.
Judge Arthur Engoron of State Supreme Court in Manhattan said the attorney general’s investigators had made a “comprehensive demonstration of persistent fraud” within the Trump Organization in a $250 million civil lawsuit.
Trump’s attorneys said the monitor was the state’s attempt to “seize control” of his business but the judge said the monitor’s job is to be narrow, overseeing the production of Trump’s statements of financial condition and their dissemination to third parties.
As part of the lawsuit, the attorney general’s office said past statements were misleading, inflated Trump’s net worth and duped lenders and insurance companies into giving Trump better terms than he deserved.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and has called the lawsuit politically motivated.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, was reelected Tuesday for a second term.
(WASHINGTON) — Despite expectations that inflation and crime would be the foremost issues during the midterms, voters signaled support for protecting abortion rights in several states.
In California, Michigan and Vermont, voters overwhelmingly chose to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions, according to ABC News projections.
Meanwhile, in Kentucky, voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have stated there is no right to an abortion.
Results are still incoming for a proposal by the Montana legislature to change the state constitution to define all fetuses “born alive” as legal persons, including those born prematurely or who survive an abortion.
The results come more than four months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, giving states full power to regulate abortion.
Abortion rights advocates told ABC News the outcomes of the ballot initiatives show that when the question of abortion access is posed to voters, they are in favor of protecting rights.
In Kentucky, voters said “no” to an amendment to the state’s constitution that would have specified the right to abortion does not exist, nor is the government required to allocate funding for abortion.
Even though a trigger ban went into effect in the state immediately following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe, the amendment was defeated 51% to 49%, according to ABC News projections.
The result is similar to what happened in Kansas, where voters in a right-leaning state rejected removing the right to abortion from the state constitution in August despite polling suggesting the opposite would occur.
“I’m ecstatic, but I’m also not surprised,” Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, told ABC News. “I mean, this campaign has been working for 18 months, and we’ve been on the ground talking to voters, and we knew that Kentuckians did not support this ban.”
Abortion proponents said the amendment’s rejection was evidence that it’s not just Democratic voters who support protecting abortion access but Republican voters as well.
“This transcended political ideologies or religious identities,” Wieder said. “Most people knew somebody in Kentucky that this was directly impacting, and they showed up because they know that abortion is health care and Kentuckians deserve better.”
Samuel Crankshaw, communications associate of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky agreed and said voters may vote for a conservative candidate while still holding abortion rights views.
“Even in a state like Kentucky, the majority of people still support access to abortion care and the majority of the people here still believe that every person should be able to determine their own future and make their own decisions about their body,” he told ABC News. “That’s across party lines. We saw people who don’t support abortion access getting elected last night at the same time that Kentuckians still were voting ‘no’ on permanent abortion bans placed in the state constitution.”
Legal challenges continue against the trigger ban and oral arguments and begin next week in Kentucky’s Supreme Court, something the amendment would have prevented.
There is a pathway in our constitution that we believe allows abortion access through with strong privacy protections,” Wieder said. “And so, with our legal pathway, we’re able to move forward with the two cases next week.”
In Michigan, voters voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that would add protections for reproductive rights, ABC News projects.
The amendment defines reproductive freedom as “the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management and infertility care.”
The amendment’s passing represented success for Gretchen Whitmer, who won a second term as governor, according to ABC News projections. Whitmer campaigned on abortion rights and said the proposal restored protections that Roe provided when it was the law of the land.
“I think we are so overwhelmed and so grateful for the voters of Michigan,” Merissa Kovach, the legislative director of the ACLU of Michigan, told ABC News. “They did the work to get [the amendment] qualified for the ballot, they showed up and passed it and it’s such a historic victory that’s going to protect reproductive health care for generations in Michigan, and that our constitution is now going to clearly include the right to reproductive freedom for everyone.”
The recently passed amendment also prevents a 1931 abortion ban — which was declared unconstitutional by a judge — from being enforced. The law, which remained on the books even after it was invalidated by Roe in 1973, prohibited abortion except if the mother’s life is in danger.
According to the ACLU, a petition to get the proposed amendment qualified for the ballot received more than 750,000 signatures.
“It goes to show [voters care about] issues of bodily autonomy and the right of people to be able to make those personal and private health care decisions without political interference,” Kovach said. “It’s so personal and touches every facet of our life, that I think it would be foolish now for anyone to discount the importance of it.”
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Nicole is forecast to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches Florida’s east coast.
The storm is expected to make landfall in the Sunshine State between the southeastern cities of Fort Pierce and Melbourne late Wednesday or early Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Nicole formed as a subtropical storm in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean on Monday, becoming the 14th named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends later this month.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 09, 6:15 PM EST
Nicole strengthens into hurricane
Nicole has strengthened into a hurricane while making landfall on Grand Bahama Island, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The storm has estimated maximum wind speeds of 75 mph.
Nov 09, 1:21 PM EST
Latest forecast
Nicole may strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall overnight near Fort Pierce. Over the next 24 hours, the biggest threats for Florida will be damaging beach erosion, storm surge up to 5 feet, isolated tornadoes and wind gusts around 70 mph.
Hurricane warnings are in effect from West Palm Beach to Daytona Beach. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for much of Florida and extend up to coastal Georgia and South Carolina.
After landfall, Nicole will quickly weaken as it moves across central Florida and the Panhandle, but it’ll bring rain, powerful winds and storm surge.
Three feet to 5 feet of storm surge is expected from West Palm Beach to Jacksonville while Florida’s Big Bend area could see 2 to 4 feet of storm surge.
The heaviest rain — 8 inches — will hit central Florida. Flash flooding is also possible.
As Nicole moves north, the heavy rain will stretch into the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Pennsylvania to Vermont could see 2 to 4 inches of rain. Philadelphia, New York City and Boston could see 2 inches of rain and gusty winds.
-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin
Nov 09, 12:01 PM EST
Nicole makes landfall in Bahamas
Tropical Storm Nicole has made landfall on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas.
Nov 09, 11:47 AM EST
Disney World parks to close
Disney World parks will close early Wednesday evening and will remain closed through Thursday morning due to the storm.
Nov 09, 11:18 AM EST
Nicole could make landfall twice
Once Nicole makes landfall early Thursday in Martin County as a Category 1 hurricane, the storm is expected to cross the state of Florida, hit the Gulf of Mexico and possibly make landfall again along Florida’s Big Bend, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned.
The major concerns for Nicole are winds, flooding, beach erosion and possible tornadoes, DeSantis said.
He said 15 shelters are open for those urged to evacuate.
The governor said 16,000 linemen have been staged to immediately work on restoring power as soon as the storm passes.
Nov 09, 10:52 AM EST
Florida counties announce evacuation orders
Several of Florida’s 67 counties have announced evacuation orders in anticipation of Tropical Storm Nicole’s arrival.
Flagler County: Evacuation orders go into effect Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. local time for residents and visitors in Zone A, the barrier island from Flagler Beach to Marineland, as well as mobile homes and RVs countywide, according to the Flagler County Emergency Management.
Volusia County: Mandatory evacuations went into effect Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time for residents and visitors east of the Intercostal Waterway, all mobile homes east of Interstate 95, all low-lying areas and other areas prone to flooding as well as all campsites and RV recreational parks, according to the Volusia County Emergency Management.
Palm Beach County: Mandatory evacuations went into effect Tuesday at 7 a.m. local time for Zones A and B, including mobile homes, barrier islands and low-lying areas, according to Palm Beach Mayor Robert Weinroth.
Nov 09, 9:55 AM EST
Nicole close to hurricane strength as it heads for Florida
Tropical Storm Nicole barrelled toward the northwestern Bahamas and eastern Florida on Wednesday morning, with maximum sustained winds near 70 miles per hour — almost as a strong as a hurricane, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
To be classified as a hurricane, a tropical cyclone must have maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph.
The center of Nicole is forecast to approach the northwestern Bahamas on Wednesday morning, move near or over those islands by midday, then approach the east coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area on Wednesday night. The storm’s center is expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday, then across the Carolinas on Friday.
“Some strengthening is expected today, and Nicole is forecast to become a hurricane near the northwestern Bahamas and remain a hurricane when it reaches the east coast of Florida tonight,” the National Weather Service said in a public advisory on Wednesday morning. “Nicole is expected to weaken while moving across Florida and the southeastern United States Thursday through Friday, and it is likely to become a post-tropical cyclone by Friday night over the Mid-Atlantic states.”
As of early Wednesday, Nicole was already spreading gusty winds and rain showers into Florida, where it is later expected to make landfall between the southeastern cities of West Palm Beach and Melbourne as either a tropical storm or a Category 1 hurricane. Its tropical storm-force winds currently extend outward up to 460 miles, especially to the north of the center. In the early morning hours, a National Ocean Service station at the Lake Worth Pier, just south of West Palm Beach, reported sustained winds of 44 mph and a wind gust of 55 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Because Nicole is so close to hurricane strength, the National Weather Service has issued hurricane and storm surge warnings along Florida’s east coast from Daytona Beach to West Palm Beach. Meanwhile, Miami is under a tropical storm watch and tropical storm warnings have been issued for Florida’s west coast as well as from Jacksonville up through Savannah, Georgia, to Charleston, South Carolina.
Storm surge will be the highest on the eastern coastlines of Florida and Georgia, from the border down to West Palm Beach, where water could rise as much as 5 feet above normal tide levels. Some storm surge is also possible on Florida’s west coast from Sarasota to Tampa, where water could rise as much as 3 feet and up to 4 feet in the Big Bend area and Apalachicola. Storm surge will be felt all the way to Charleston, South Carolina, where water could rise up to 4 feet.
The areas that will see the heaviest rainfall will be right where the storm touches down on Florida’s east coast, with the potential for up to 8 inches of localized rain. Heavy rain will track north and inland, into Georgia, the Appalachian Mountains from Tennessee and North Carolina to Pennsylvania and into western New York where more than 4 inches of rain is possible.
Nov 09, 5:04 AM EST
Biden approves Florida emergency declaration
President Joe Biden on Tuesday night approved an emergency declaration for Florida due to conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Nicole, according to the White House.
In anticipation of the storm’s arrival, Biden ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts, the White House said.
The emergency declaration authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts. Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize and provide at its discretion equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency, according to the White House.
Taking Back Sunday has teamed up with superstar DJ Steve Aoki for a remix of the band’s classic track, “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team).”
“[Aoki] was kind enough to do a remix of a song we wrote in our parents’ basements,” TBS says. You can listen to the updated recording now via digital outlets.
The remix follows Taking Back Sunday’s performance with Aoki during the When We Were Young festival. They played their collaborative song “Just Us Two,” which appears on Aoki’s latest album, HiROQUEST: Genesis.
Footage from the When We Were Young set is featured in a video accompanying the “Cute” remix, which is streaming now on YouTube.
The original “Cute” appears on Taking Back Sunday’s 2002 debut album, Tell All Your Friends.
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. Ron Johnson will win reelection in Wisconsin, fending off a serious challenge from Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, ABC News projects.
Johnson was viewed by race observers and assessments like FiveThirtyEight as one of the most vulnerable GOP lawmakers on the ballot this cycle after the battleground state flipped for Joe Biden in 2020.
“Truth has prevailed over lies and the politics of personal destruction,” he said in a statement on Wednesday morning. “I want to thank my family and everyone who supported me and worked so hard to save this U.S. Senate seat. I will do everything I can to help make things better for Wisconsinites and to heal and unify our country.”
Johnson, like others in his party, focused heavily on crime and the economy while on the campaign trail, pushing to label Barnes as a far-left politician who was soft on public safety and wanted to “abolish” some federal law enforcement, charges which Barnes denied.
“Are you better off or worse off since Democrats took control?” Johnson asked during the last debate.
“The dispiriting nature of attempting to cut or use the code words of ‘reallocate,’ ‘over bloated budgets’ — my opponent says that it pains him to see a fully funded police budget. I mean, that type of rhetoric,” Johnson said. “Those types of policies are very dispiriting for police.”
Barnes, while supportive of redirecting police funding, has insisted that he doesn’t support defunding the police.
The Democrat also argued Johnson’s statements were hypocritical given Johnson’s reaction to the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. Johnson claimed he strongly denounced the violence, despite once saying “it didn’t seem like an insurrection to me.”
Also under scrutiny in the race were Johnson’s comments about Social Security. The senator’s proposed making funding for Social Security and Medicare discretionary, rather than mandatory.
Johnson said wanted to financially rescue the entitlement programs, while Democrats have argued that could lead to their elimination entirely. Biden repeatedly lambasted Johnson’s plan on the campaign trail as he pitched the election as a choice between Democrats and extremist “MAGA Republicans.”
“I never said I wanted to cut or put Social Security on the chopping block,” Johnson said during the final debate with Barnes.
The Senate is currently split 50-50, with Democrats in control because Vice President Kamala Harris cannot break ties. ABC News has not yet projected control of the upper chamber after Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Bad Bunny has been crowned Apple Music’s Artist of the Year for 2022. The streamer lauded his sixth album, Un Verano Sin Ti, for being the most streamed of the year; it is now the biggest Latin album of all time.
Jin is the fifth member of BTS to score a solo hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Astronaut.” The song bowed at number 51 after fans streamed the track 4.9 million times and snapped up 44,000 downloads.
Billboardreports Aaron Carter‘s memoir, An Incomplete Story of an Incomplete Life, comes out November 15. The book was put together by author Andy Symonds, who had interviewed the late singer over the course of three years.
Halsey signed a global publishing deal with BMG, which covers their newly released singles “So Good” and “Stay With Me” — as well as all other songs they release in the future, reports Billboard.
In more Billboard news, Sia‘s “Unstoppable” is number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number 28 on the Hot 100. The song was part of her 2016 album, This Is Acting, which produced “Cheap Thrills.”
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee‘s “Despacito” has been viewed 8 billion times on YouTube. It’s the most watched video on the platform. Ed Sheeran‘s “Shape Of You” is second, with 5.8 billion views.
Tate McRae covered Katy Perry‘s “The One That Got Away” for BBC Radio 1. Tate shared the video and tweeted, “One of my fav songs.”
Zelenskyy and Penn in a previous meeting – Ukranian Presidential Press Service
In a move that some critics groused as “Hollywood at its most tone-deaf,” Sean Penn has apparently lent one of his two Oscars to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to a video posted to Instagram by Zelenskyy’s office, the head of state seemed not to know what to make of the gesture, but eventually accepted it, with the T-shirt-wearing Mystic River and Milk Academy Award winner explaining the trophy could be something of a good luck charm in his fight against Russia.
“This is for you,” Penn said after retrieving the celebrity idol from a storage case in his backpack. “It’s just a symbolic silly thing, but if I know this is here with you then I’ll feel better and stronger for the fights,” Penn said in a video shared by Zelenskyy’s office. “When you win, bring it back to Malibu.”
