Nine artists will make their debut at RodeoHouston in 2026, including Russell Dickerson, Megan Moroney, Shaboozey, Koe Wetzel and the Red Clay Strays.
Non-country acts Lizzo, Forrest Frank, Creed and Pepe Aguilar are set to play the annual event for the first time, as well.
Luke Bryan will be back to play the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo for the 13th time, while Tim McGraw returns for his 11th show. Dwight Yoakam, Kelly Clarkson and Cross Canadian Ragweed will all be back for the first time in two decades.
Riley Green will take the stage at NRG Stadium for the second year in a row, with Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, Parker McCollum and Rascal Flatts also returning.
The nearly monthlong extravaganza kicks off March 2 and closes March 22 with a show featuring Cody Johnson, Jon Pardi and Randy Houser.
Paul Mescal attends the 37th annual Palm Springs International Film Awards at Palm Springs Convention Center on Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Springs, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Society)
Paul Mescal is set to follow in the footsteps of Timothée Chalamet and Jeremy Allen White by doing his own singing on the big screen.
The actor is the subject of a new article in British GQ, where it’s confirmed that Mescal will be doing his own singing when he plays Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles project, The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event.
“I’ve learned so much. It’s really inspired a love,” Mescal tells the magazine. “I’ve always loved music, but getting to play one of the great songwriters and great frontmen has really lit a fire in terms of personally writing music and engaging and hearing music in a different way.”
Mescal, who has met with McCartney a couple of times, calls the rock legend “the most brilliant man.”
“I feel emotionally attached to him,” he says. “He received me with great kindness and warmth.”
As for the story of The Beatles, he notes, “[T]hey had the most fascinating lives, and the interpersonal politics between them all, the love and the frustration, it’s such rich territory.”
The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event is scheduled to hit theaters in April 2028. In addition to Mescal, it stars Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. Each film will be told from the point of view of one of the band members.
The Sony films will mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the life stories of the band members and their legendary catalog of music.
A sign advertising flu testing is seen in front of a pharmacy in Orlando. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(ATLANTA) — Flu activity continues to remain elevated throughout the United States, according to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC on Friday estimated there have been at least 15 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations and 7,400 deaths from flu so far this season.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
‘Yo Gabba GabbaLand!’ season 2 soundtrack artwork. (BMG)
Silversun Pickups have released a new version of the song “Party in My Tummy” for the soundtrack to the second season of Yo Gabba GabbaLand!, Apple TV’s revival of the beloved Yo Gabba Gabba! children’s show.
“Party in My Tummy” is a song from the original Yo Gabba Gabba! run.
“What a thrill to be asked to be a part of this special show. A show that means a lot to people,” says SSPU frontman Brian Aubert. “And we were given the keys to a track that also means a lot to people. We did not take this task lightly.”
“We tried our best not to mess with it too much, but still, hopefully adding something fresh,” he adds. “This whole thing was such a pleasure. So yummy. So yummy.”
Yo Gabba GabbaLand! season 2 will premiere on Apple TV Jan. 30. Its soundtrack, which also features Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers and CHVRCHES, drops that same day.
Meanwhile, Silversun Pickups will release a new album, Tenterhooks, on Feb. 6. It includes the lead single “The Wreckage.”
‘Weapons of Beauty’ album artwork. (Sacred Tongue Records/Thirty Tigers)
Rival Sons frontman Jay Buchanan has released a new solo song called “True Black.”
The track will appear on Buchanan’s debut solo album, Weapons of Beauty, due out Feb. 6. The record also includes the previously released single “Caroline.”
“‘True Black’ is such a contrast to ‘Caroline,’ it’s a burner for sure,” Buchanan says. “Time to get up!”
You can also see and hear Buchanan perform in the Bruce Springsteen biopic, Deliver Me from Nowhere, and its soundtrack.
Rival Sons’ most recent album is 2023’s LIGHTBRINGER, a companion to their record DARKFIGHTER, released earlier that year.
In related, more somber news, Buchanan reveals in an interview with TalkShopLive that his wife is currently battling breast cancer.
“I appreciate everyone’s well wishes and she’s gonna be OK,” Buchanan says. “I just really wanna focus on doing everything I can to make sure that she gets back to health.”
“Rival Sons, the whole band, they’re behind me,” he continues. “We’re a family, and so everyone understands. But I’m going to take some downtime and make sure that she’s OK, which she will be.”
David Bowie performing on the Thin White Duke tour at Wembley, London, 1976. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
David Bowie fans will soon be able to visit his childhood home.
The Heritage of London Trust has acquired the south London home at 4 Plaistow Grove in Bromley, where Bowie lived from ages 8 to 20. A press release notes that the house is “where Bowie’s musical journey began” and where he wrote his iconic song “Space Oddity.”
The trust plans to restore the railway cottage to replicate what it would have looked like in the 1960s when Bowie lived there, with a goal to be open by late 2027.
Geoffrey Marsh, the co-curator of the Victoria and Albert museum’s David Bowie Is exhibition, will work alongside the organization to faithfully recreate the home’s interior layout, specifically focusing on Bowie’s bedroom.
“It was in this small house, particularly in his tiny bedroom, that Bowie evolved from an ordinary suburban schoolboy to the beginnings of an extraordinary international stardom,” Marsh said in a statement.
The plan is for the home to be open to visitors, as well as to host workshops for young people.
“David Bowie was a proud Londoner. Even though his career took him all over the world, he always remembered where he came from and the community that supported him as he grew up,” Dr. Nicola Stacey, director of Heritage of London Trust, said. “It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to tell his story and inspire a new generation of young people and it’s really important for the heritage of London to preserve this site.”
A general view of Le Constellation wine bar after a memorial ceremony in tribute to victims of the Crans-Montana bar fire on January 09, 2026 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Harold Cunningham/Getty Images
(LONDON) — Prosecutors on Friday detained the owner of a Swiss bar where a deadly New Year’s Day fire killed 40 people and injured 116 others, according to officials.
Jacques Moretti was placed in pre-trial detention after a meeting with prosecutors in Sion, the prosecutor’s office for Switzerland’s Valais region said.
The blaze ripped through Le Constellation, a popular bar in the resort town of Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps, early on Jan. 1.
Moretti’s wife and business partner Jessica Moretti also attended the meeting but was not detained, according to the office. She was present at the bar during the fire and was burned on her arm.
“My constant thoughts are with the victims and those who are fighting today. This is an unimaginable tragedy,” Moretti told reporters outside the prosecutor’s office.
The bar had not had any inspections in the last five years, Swiss officials said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“There was a culture of reckless risk-taking”, Nicolas Féraud, the municipal chief of Crans-Montana, said at a press conference earlier this week. “This endangered customers and staff,” he said.
Féraud said that the municipal government had “never received any alerts” about problems in the bar. He also confirmed that there was an emergency exit in the basement, but could not say whether it was open, closed or blocked.
The blaze of “undetermined origin” broke out at the bar at about 1:30 a.m. local time on Jan. 1, the Cantonal Police of Valais said in a statement at the time of the fire.
On Jan. 2, the Valais attorney general told reporters that investigators are “pursuing several hypotheses” based on evidence they’ve gathered.
“We currently assume that the fire was caused by sparklers attached to champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling,” she said at a news conference.
(PORTLAND, Ore.) — A Customs and Border Protection Agent shot and injured two people in Portland, Oregon, Thursday, who federal authorities said “weaponized” their vehicle against law enforcement.
The incident came after an ICE officer on Wednesday allegedly shot and killed a woman in her car in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sparking outrage and backlash against the presence of federal agents there. Similarly, the mayor of Portland called for immigration enforcement operations to halt while the investigation is ongoing.
In the Minneapolis case as well, federal officials alleged the motorists tried to ram agents, who fired defensive shots.
The Department of Homeland Security alleged the shooting in Portland occurred while Border Patrol agents were conducting a “targeted” stop on a vehicle carrying two people allegedly affiliated with the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang. The passenger, who was identified Friday as Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, was the target of the investigation, DHS said.
The agents on the stop were part of a CBP operation dubbed “Operation Oregon,” according to multiple law enforcement sources.
“When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents,” DHS said in a statement.
The driver, who was identified by DHS as Luis David Nico Moncada, was not the target of the operation, according to sources. He was stopped driving a red Toyota, before he and Zambrano-Contreras attempted to flee, according to sources.
The agent, as DHS said in their statement, feared for their safety and fired at the vehicle.
Homeland Security alleged Friday that both victims were believed to have been undocumented Venezuelan nationals with ties to TdA.
Sources stressed the investigation is in the preliminary stages and the information could change.
The two people who were shot Thursday were treated at a hospital for their injuries and their conditions are unknown, according to law enforcement sources.
During the press conference Thursday, Portland Police Chief Bob Day said local officials “do not know the facts of this case,” but an investigation is ongoing.
Asked whether the passenger, Zambrano-Contreras, is linked to a previous shooting, the police chief said, “I can’t comment on whether or not that’s the case. We don’t know who these individuals are.”
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson told reporters, “We know what the federal government says happened here. There was a time when we could take them at their word. That time is long past.”
“We are calling on ICE to halt all operations in Portland until a full and independent investigation can take place,” he said. “Our community deserves answers.”
Later Thursday evening, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said he was opening an investigation into the shooting.
In a social media post, Rayfield said the Oregon Department of Justice investigation will examine whether any federal officers acted outside the scope of their lawful authority during the encounter. The post said the investigation would include witness interviews and video evidence.
The shooting incident occurred around 2:18 p.m. local time on Thursday, officials said. Portland police said officers responded to the 10200 block of Southeast Main Street near Adventist Health, a medical office, for the report of a shooting.
Several minutes later, Portland police officers responding to a call for help at an apartment complex some three miles away from the shooting scene found a man and woman with “apparent gunshot wounds,” according to the police department.
The victims then drove themselves to an apartment complex in the area of Northeast 146th Avenue and East Burnside Street, where the man who had been shot called for help, according to police.
“Officers confirmed that federal agents had been involved in a shooting,” the Portland Police Department said in an earlier statement, adding, “Portland Police were not involved in the incident.”
Police Chief Day urged calm amid “heightened emotion” following the deadly ICE officer-involved shooting in Minneapolis.
“We are still in the early stages of this incident,” Day said in a statement. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more.”
During the press conference, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek called for transparency from the federal government in the investigation.
“The priority right now is a full, completed investigation, not more detentions. My message to the federal government is this: We demand transparency. We demand your cooperation with Portland Police and the Multnomah County DA, because we need to investigate this incident efficiently and effectively so we can rebuild trust with our nation’s government,” Kotek said.
Earlier, Mayor Wilson called the incident “deeply troubling” while also calling on residents to “show up with calm and purpose during this difficult time.”
“Portland does not respond to violence with violence,” he said in a statement. “We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice. We must stand together to protect Portland.”
Early Friday, Portland police confirmed that at least six people were arrested during protests as crowds gathered outside an ICE facility.
“At about 9 p.m., officers requested that people move to the sidewalk, as traffic remained open in the area. An officer in the PPB Sound Truck, a loudspeaker-equipped police vehicle, broadcast that request repeatedly to the group,” the Portland Police bureau said in their statement. “PPB moved in and made targeted arrests resulting in five custodies,” while another arrest was made later on.
Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez told reporters at the scene of the shooting that he is “very concerned.”
“We are here from this attorney’s office to monitor, to assist and to make sure that there’s a thorough and complete investigation, that evidence is fully preserved, and that we’re certainly hoping that we can get all of the facts about what transpired,” he said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York John A. Sarcone III at a news conference on Monday, April 28, 2025, in the U.S. Attorney’s Office at the James T. Foley Federal Courthouse in Albany, N.Y. Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — A day after ruling that Trump-appointed U.S. attorney John Sarcone is not lawfully serving in his position, a federal judge has denied Sarcone’s application to release tax information for an investigation his office is conducting.
U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield on Thursday disqualified Sarcone from serving as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, and quashed subpoenas he had issued as part of an investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James.
On Friday, Schofield ruled that Sarcone lacks the authority to request a court order directing the Internal Revenue Service to disclose tax return information for a criminal probe.
“The Application is denied because Mr. Sarcone was not lawfully serving as Acting United States Attorney and therefore lacked authority to authorize the Application,” Schofield wrote. “Because Mr. Sarcone was not lawfully serving as Acting U.S. Attorney for NDNY, the Application fails to satisfy statutory requirements and provides no basis to permit disclosure of federal tax return information.”
In disqualifying Sarcone, Schofield joined several other judges across the country who have similarly disqualified federal prosecutors after maneuvers by the Trump administration to bypass the usual way they’re installed into office.
Last month The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a lower court judge’s ruling disqualifying President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Alina Habba from serving as U.S. attorney in New Jersey, and in November a federal judge in Virginia dismissed criminal cases against James and former FBI Director James Comey after concluding the prosecutor who brought them, former White House aide Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed.
Neither Sarcone, Habba or Halligan were either confirmed by the U.S. Senate or appointed by the federal judiciary.
It is not clear whose tax return information Sarcone was seeking in his application to the court, only that it is “a limited liability company.”
The October application claimed there was reasonable cause to believe that certain criminal acts have been committed, that the tax return information may be relevant to those crimes, and that the information cannot reasonably be obtained from any other source.
Britney Spears performing on the 29th Annual American Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Ca., Jan. 9, 2002. (Frank Micelotta/ABC/ImageDirect)
Is Britney Spears about to return to the stage?
In an Instagram post on Thursday night, Britney shared a photo of herself sitting on a piano bench at the 2002 American Music Awards after performing “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman.” She captioned it, “Sending this piano to my son this year!!!”
She went on to write, “I will never perform in the U.S. again because of extremely sensitive reasons but I hope to be sitting on a stool with a red rose in my hair, in a bun, performing with my son… in the UK and AUSTRALIA very soon. He’s a huge star and I’m so humbled to be in his presence!!! God speed, little man!!!”
Britney didn’t specify which son she was referring to, but it’s likely her younger son, Jayden James Federline, whom she has previously shared videos of playing the piano.
In the same post, Britney addressed the many videos of herself dancing on social media.
“Interestingly enough, I dance on IG to heal things in my body that people have no idea about,” she wrote. “Yup and it’s embarrassing sometimes… but I walked through the fire to save my life.”
