Reba McEntire and her boyfriend, Rex Linn, are Hollywood royalty, but that doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned their country roots.
The country superstar recently took to Instagram to share the reality of what life is like when the couple isn’t strolling down a red carpet. Reba posted a photo of the couple looking dapper as they pose hand in hand backstage at the Oscars, followed by a humorous snap of the two dressed up in their finest chili cook-off attire.
In the latter pic, Reba is seen wearing a pair of overalls over a cheetah-print shirt with a purple scarf and a bright yellow “Hillbilly Chili Cook Off” ball cap, while Rex, who’s an actor, looks equally as attention-grabbing in a chef’s shirt and cowboy boots, with a chili pepper hat on his head.
“Swipe right to see what a difference a week makes. From red carpets to red peppers, we have fun either way!!!” the country legend writes in the caption, along with the hashtags #Oscars #HillbillyChiliCookOff.
Reba and Rex began dating in 2020. They originally met in 1991 on the set of Kenny Rogers‘ made-for-TV film The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw.
(NEW YORK) — The world’s biodiversity is constantly being threatened by warming temperatures and extreme changes in climate and weather patterns.
And while that “doom and gloom” is the typical discourse surrounding how climate change is affecting biodiversity, another interesting aspect of the warming temperatures is how different species have been adapting over the decades, as the warming progresses, experts say.
Species typically adapt in one of three ways, Morgan Tingley, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California Los Angeles, told ABC News. They shift their distribution, change spaces or move from one place to another when the region gets too hot (either to a cooler region to higher altitudes). There are also shifts in phenology, or the seasonal timing of biological events, such as when deer are born or when birds return from migration. And finally, the species themselves change, either through evolution or natural selection, Tingley said.
How the species are changing is the least well-studied, but more and more research is emerging to pinpoint climate change’s role in adaption, Tingley said.
The loss of biodiversity is complex — and the most direct impact humans have on it is through habitat loss, rather than climate change, according to the experts. But as more research emerges, the role of climate change is being considered as well.
“Climate change is like this global killer,” Maria Paniw, an ecologist at the Doñana Biological Station, a public research institute in Seville, Spain, told ABC News. “In effect, it often makes all the other risks that animals face much worse.”
Here are some unusual ways climate change is affecting nature:
Invasive fire ants are thriving in warmer soil
Not all living species are suffering as a result of rising temperatures.
While climate change is one of the primary agents of the global decline in insect abundance, one species of fire ant, Wasmannia auropuctata, was found to thrive in warmer conditions, according to a study published Tuesday in Biology Letters.
Researchers heated up tropical forest soil in Panama to directly test how temperature increase affects ant communities and found that little fire ants were more abundant in warmed plots. After studying the insects over a two-year period, scientists determined that the increase in soil temperature can have a profound effect on ants, potentially favoring species with invasive traits and moderate heat tolerances.
Wasmannia auropuctata is native to the Panama region where it was studied, but it has been found to be an invasive species in other regions around the world, Jelena Bujan, an ecologist at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and author of the study, told ABC News.
“It seems like this increase was not detrimental for the community,” Bujan said.
Tuberculosis risks in meerkats increasing
Higher temperature extremes may increase the risk of outbreaks of tuberculosis in Kalahari meerkats by increasing physiological stress, as well as the movement of males between group, according to a study published in Nature in February.
As the Kalahari Desert in South Africa continues to warm, the meerkats become more physically stressed and therefore they have less time to forage during the day, for most of the year, Paniw said. The heat, combined with drought conditions from decreasing rainfall amounts, results in the decreasing availability of food as well.
That widespread physical stress can lead to endemic diseases such as tuberculosis to end up in outbreaks, exacerbated by the fact that meerkats are a social species that interact in groups.
“Because of the physical stress involved and less food availability, unhealthy conditions can turn endemic disease more frequently into severe outbreaks decreasing group sizes and putting groups at risk of extinction,” Paniw said.
Similar behavior has been seen in corals, which, when infected with a bacterial infection, can spread it “more widely” in warmer conditions, she added.
Rising ‘divorce’ rates among albatrosses
Albatrosses, a monogamous species famous for mating for life, are seeing higher “divorce” rates as temperatures warm, a study published in the Royal Society Journal in November found.
The rate of Black-browed albatross pairs that split up and and found new mates rose to 8% during years of unusually warm water temperatures, researchers who studied more than 15,000 albatross pairs in the Falkland Islands over 15 years found.
The previous rate of divorce, 1% to 3%, typically involved female albatrosses finding a new mate as a result of an unsuccessful breeding season, scientists said. But during the years of atypical warmth, breakups rose even among couples that successfully reproduced.
The research is the “first evidence of a significant influence of the prevailing environmental conditions on the prevalence of divorce in a long-lived socially monogamous population,” the authors concluded.
The findings will also provide “critical insight” into the role of the environment on divorce in other socially monogamous avian and mammalian populations, the researchers said.
Polar bears are inbreeding due to melting sea ice
Polar bear populations were found to have up to a 10% loss in genetic diversity over a 20-year period as a result of inbreeding due to habitat fragmentation, a recent study published in Royal Society Journals in September found.
Scientists studied in Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago on the Barents Sea, and found that the frequency in which the inbreeding occurred correlated with a “rapid disappearance of Arctic sea ice.”
Simo Maduna, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research and author of the study, described the results as “alarming” and “surprising” to ABC News.
The lack of genetic diversity could also eventually lead to the species’ inability to produce fertile offspring or withstand disease, Maduna said.
“With genetic diversity, when the population becomes so small, you’ll find that there will be a higher chance of closely related individuals mating and producing offspring,” he said. “But with that comes a risk in the sense that some of the traits … that are recessive, will now basically be unmasked in the population.”
When gray seals give birth is changing
Researchers who monitored gray seals in the U.K.’s Skomer Marine Conservation Zone for three decades found that climate change has caused older seal mothers to give birth to pups earlier. The observation favors the hypothesis that climate affects phenology, or the timing of biological events, by altering the age profile of the population, a study published November in the Royal Society Journals found.
In 1992, when the researchers first began surveying grey seal populations, the midpoint of the pupping season was the first week of October. By 2004, the pupping season had advanced three weeks earlier, to mid-September, according to the study.
Warmer years were also associated with an older average age of mothers, the scientists found. Gray seals typically start breeding around 5 years old and can continue for several decades after. But the older the seals got, the earlier they gave birth.
The changes were not isolated to the U.K., as there have been observable changes in the timing of seal life throughout the Atlantic and the world, according to the study.
Amazonian birds are shrinking
Birds in undisturbed areas of the Amazon rainforest, the largest in the world, are experiencing physical changes to dryer, hotter climates, according to research published in Science Advances in November.
Scientists who studied four decades of data on Amazonian bird species found that 36 species have lost substantial weight, some as much as 2% of their body weight every decade since 1980. In addition, all of the species showed a decrease in average body weight.
“Faced with a changing environment, biological responses of species are limited to extinction, distribution shifts, and adaptation,” the authors said. “For birds in lowland Amazonia, population trends for a subset of the community are not encouraging.”
Birds are considered by scientists to be a sentinel species, which indicate the overall health of an ecosystem. The precipitation in the region declined as average temperature rose — all during the study period.
Tingley, who studies birds, said a general hypothesis surrounding this phenomenon is that animals must shrink as temperatures rise to become more “thermo-efficient” and regulate body heat.
“Because as things get warmer, it’s basically more sort of thermo-efficient to have a smaller body size because you can dissipate heat more effectively,” he said.
Jack White has announced a series of listening parties to mark the release of his new solo album, Fear of he Dawn.
The events will take place in independent record stores across the country this Friday, April 8, the same day Fear of the Dawn drops. In addition to hearing the record, you’ll also be able to pick up various exclusive Fear of the Dawn-related items.
If you want and advanced listen of Fear of the Dawn, you can tune into White’s Twilight Receiver program. If you go to TwilightReceiver.com on your mobile device and bring it outside before sunrise each morning, you’ll be able to hear snippets of three previously unreleased tunes from the record.
White himself will be celebrating Fear of the Dawn‘s arrival with the launch of his Supply Issues tour, which kicks off Friday with a hometown show in Detroit.
Fear of the Dawn is one of two solo albums White will be releasing this year. The second, Entering Heaven Alive, is due out July 22.
Justin Bieber’s music may already be considered therapeutic to some, but the singer is taking things one step further to ensure fans prioritize their mental health.
Justin, who’s currently on his Justice world tour, is teaming with BetterHelp to provide free access to therapy to his fans and his touring crew.
With the partnership, his entire 250-plus-person tour family will receive 18 months of free access via BetterHelp’s online therapy platform. Justin and BetterHelp are also offering a free month of therapy to his millions of fans, which they can use or share with a friend or family member.
“The one thing I’ve learned over the years is that we all go through our ups and downs, and we all need help sometimes,” Justin says in a statement. “Being able to offer access to free therapy to my fans and tour family is a real blessing, and I’m humbled to be able to do it.”
Judas Priest canceled their concert on Monday, April 4, at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, because of a reported “non-[COVID] related illness,” and now comes word that the cancellation was due to frontman Rob Halford battling a cold.
Blabbermouth.net reports that in an interview Tuesday with East Coast Live, Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner explained that the band was “resting up,” and that “the reason for [the cancellation] is so that we can preserve our health and get better,” while noting, “Rob’s got a bit of a cold.”
Faulkner added that the band is now aiming to “get back on track and do the rest of the shows in Canada.”
The North American leg of Judas Priest’s 50 Heavy Metal Years tour has four more concerts scheduled, all in Canada — on April 7 in Halifax, Nova Scotia; April 10 in Quebec City; April 11 in Laval, Quebec; and April 13 in Hamilton, Ontario.
Faulkner also told East Coast Live, “[W]e all get sick from time to time. It’s gonna happen. When you’re on the road, it’s a rigorous schedule. And even pre-COVID, now post-COVID, so to speak, you’re gonna catch bugs and stuff like that; it’s just part of the life we lead.”
He continued, “[I]f it was me or [bassist] Ian [Hill] or [drummer] Scott [Travis] or [guitarist] Andy [Sneap], I think we could maybe just hammer through it, but obviously when your instrument’s your voice, it’s a bit harder to do. So [Rob is] resting up, he’s resting his voice, he’s on some meds, and he’s gonna get through it.”
Fans who had tickets to the Lowell, Massachusetts, concert can get refunds at the point of purchase. Judas Priest also says they’re “hooping to make this show up in the near future.”
Zac Brown has nothing but kind remarks for Luke Combs, with whom he co-wrote two songs for Zac Brown Band‘s latest album, The Comeback.
Zac shares that Luke traveled to his home in Georgia for a co-writing session that resulted in a pair of songs that made the album: the current radio single, “Out in the Middle,” and “Old Love Song.” It was the first time the two hitmakers spent time together, and Zac has fond memories of the experience.
“Luke is such a great singer and great artist, but he’s also a great writer,” the ZBB frontman praises. “I brought him down to Georgia and we sat in the kitchen while the kids were at school, and we hammered out a couple of songs in a few hours. I’m really proud of those songs. I love them. They’re two of my favorite ones on there.”
Part of what made the experience special was the fact that neither one of them brought any ego to the table, which Zac says is crucial to the songwriting process.
“When you’re writing something to serve the song, you want to have people that are there in service of it. And when there’s ego involved, it’s about your idea winning rather than listening and trusting the people in the group,” Zac explains. “When that right idea pops up where everyone agrees, that’s the positivity that you need when you’re collaborating.”
Last year, ZBB celebrated their 14th #1 hit with “Same Boat.”
Michael Bublé‘s video for “I’ll Never Not Love You” has Michael and his wife Luisana recreating scenes from romantic films like Casablanca, Titanic, Jerry Maguire, Love Actually and The Notebook. But Michael says he initially had some very different movies in mind.
“At first, the films I came up with were…like, Star Wars and Spider-Man and all these sort of sci-fi things,” he tells ABC Audio. But he was afraid that if he did that, people would think it was a satire.
“It’s just really a beautiful and, in ways, a sad, almost a morose song,” he explains. “So I wanted to make sure that I had these moments that could reflect that.”
After recruiting Luisana to co-star, Michael realized he could make the video a sequel to 2009’s “Haven’t Met You Yet,” because she was in that video, too.
“The second she said yes, I started to think about ‘Haven’t Met You Yet,’ and what we’d done,” he explains. “And…I thought, ‘Y’know what? Why can’t I go through these films and why can’t I get to the end and wake up, and realize this is all part of the cinematic universe of our love story?'”
That led to the idea of the couple using the clip to reveal that they’re expecting their fourth child.
Michael says, “We knew we were pregnant, so we said, ‘Why don’t we put that as the Easter egg in the video? We won’t even say anything. We’re just going to have it there, and people will either discover it or not.”
Unfortunately, TMZ “discovered” it first.
“Somehow, TMZ found out before we released the video,” Michael groans. “So at this point, I just check TMZ every day to see if I’m dead or not. ‘Cause I have a feeling they’re going to find out before I do!”
Guitarist Joe Messina, an original member of Motown’s famous collective of session musicians The Funk Brothers, died Monday, April 4, in Northville, Michigan, at age 93, the Detroit Free Press reports.
According to the newspaper, Messina passed away at his son Joel’s home after a 12-year battle with kidney disease.
Messina, who played with The Funk Brothers from 1959 until 1972, was featured on an impressive list of hits by artists including The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and many more.
During his Motown tenure, Messina was part of a three-guitar attack alongside Robert White and Eddie Willis at the Detroit record label’s Studio A.
A tribute posted on the Motown Museum’s Facebook page notes, “As he was a part of the label’s earliest days, Joe became one of the principal guitarists, whose talents helped to develop and shape the world-renowned Motown Sound.”
Messina decided to remain in the Detroit area when Motown relocated to Los Angles in 1972. He was featured prominently in the 2002 Funk Brothers documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown, and was one of 13 members of the collective to be honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.
The Funk Brothers also were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.
Joel Messina tells the Free Press that his father was proud but modest regarding his musical achievements with Motown.
“He never bragged about any of that,” says Joel.
Meanwhile, Motown arranger and Funk Brothers trombonist Paul Riser tells the newspaper, “[Joe] was the warmest human being — always a smile, always a good word, always a sunny disposition. He was anchored and assured, just a great spirit with music.”
FX has renewed its hit series Snowfall for a sixth and final season, Nick Grad, President, Original Programming announced Tuesday.
“FX first partnered with legendary writer/director John Singleton and the rest of the creative team six years ago to pursue their vision for an ambitious, powerful drama about the explosion of the crack epidemic of the early 80s,” said Grad in a press release. “Today, as the fifth season of Snowfall reaches new heights of acclaim and viewership, there is no question that this series has become an FX classic drama. We are thrilled to order a sixth season that will enable Dave Andron, Walter Mosley, and the rest of the producers to bring Snowfall to a climatic finale showcasing the brilliance of everyone involved, from the stellar cast led by Damson Idris, to the writers, directors, artists and crew.”
Idris, who plays drug kingpin Franklin Saint in the critically acclaimed drama expressed, “I’m incredibly proud of the history we have all made. Especially the impact Snowfall has had on the culture. Very rarely does a TV show get to the sixth season mark and saying goodbye to ‘Franklin Saint’ will be heartbreaking. But the family and relationships I’ve made on this journey will last a lifetime. I know John Singleton is looking down smiling proud.“
Snowfall is currently in its fifth season with episodes airing Wednesdays on FX and the next day on Hulu. The sixth season is set to premiere next year.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with troops crossing the border from Belarus and Russia. Moscow’s forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
Russian forces retreated last week from the Kyiv suburbs, leaving behind a trail of destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, U.S. and European officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 06, 5:49 am
EU proposes new sanctions, readies Russian coal ban
European Union leaders said on Wednesday they were preparing a new round of economic sanctions against Russia, as outrage grew over civilian deaths in Bucha.
“We have all seen the haunting images of Bucha. This is what is happening when Putin’s soldiers occupy Ukrainian territory,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday. “They call this liberation. I call this war crimes. The Russian authorities will have to answer for them.”
The sanctions to be proposed may include a ban on importing Russian coal, bans on transactions with four Russian banks, and a ban on Russian ships at EU ports, among other measures.
The fifth round of sanctions “will not be our last,” von der Leyen said. U.S. officials are also expected to announce new sanctions on Wednesday, sources told ABC News.
Apr 06, 4:47 am
Mariupol airstrikes continue, deepening humanitarian crisis
Russian forces are continuing their airstrikes in Mariupol, the besieged Ukrainian port city, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday.
“The humanitarian situation in the city is worsening,” the ministry said. “Most of the 160,000 remaining residents have no light, communication, medicine, heat or water.”
Russian troops have prevented humanitarian access to the southern city, a move the ministry said was a part of a strategy to pressure Ukraine to surrender.
Apr 06, 12:11 am
US concedes Russia won’t be expelled from Security Council
Speaking with MSNBC Tuesday night, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said the U.S. could not remove Russia from the United Nation’s most powerful body, the Security Council.
“They are a member of the Security Council. That’s a fact. We can’t change that fact, but we certainly can isolate them in the Security Council,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
That’s separate from the push to remove Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council, which Thomas-Greenfield said earlier they hope to bring to the U.N. General Assembly for a vote.
“I know we’re going to get” the necessary two-thirds majority, she told CNN.
Thomas-Greenfield also described what it was like in the room Tuesday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s graphic video finally played for the Security Council. She told MSNBC it was the first time she saw the uncensored video of the war’s victims.
“We were all speechless. We had all seen various videos showing atrocities. But they all covered up the real, you know, the real people that were there – they were all blurred,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “This was the first time I’ve seen that video without the bodies being blurred. And it was horrific. And there was silence in the room. I can tell you that people were horrified.”
Apr 05, 9:26 pm
US sending $100M in new anti-tank missiles
The U.S. will be sending an additional $100 million in Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, a White House official confirmed to ABC News. The weapons will be coming from existing military stockpiles.
The White House later released a memorandum from President Joe Biden saying he would be using drawdown powers to release “an aggregate value of $100 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Ukraine.”
Pentagon officials have said anti-tank weapons provided by the U.S. and other partner countries have been very successful in staving off Russian troops and bogging down vehicle movement.
