If you think the world couldn’t possibly need another version of the Irving Berlin classic “White Christmas,” Scotty McCreery humbly asks that you let him plead his case.
You see, Scotty’s take on the much-recorded tune takes inspiration from both The Drifters and Elvis Presley.
“I was almost nervous to record the song because I love it so much during Christmastime,” he tells ABC Audio. “And I had this version in my head that I’ll sing out loud in the shower, I’ll sing when I’m doing dishes, and I didn’t want to lose that version in my head in the recording process and not get it [recorded].”
“But I went in there and I just sang it for the band: ‘This is what’s in my head. Let’s make the music around this,'” he explains. “And the band crushed it.”
“And I know it’s another version of ‘White Christmas,’ but it’s my version,” he adds. “I hope you like it.”
The new recording joins 2023’s “Feel Like the Holidays” in Scotty’s collection of yuletide recordings that started with 2011’s Christmas with Scotty McCreery.
Charlie Puth to sing national anthem at Super Bowl LX (Courtesy NFL/(Lindsay Ellary)
Charlie Puth wants you to know that he’s well aware that his performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the upcoming Super Bowl LX won’t be as good as Whitney Houston‘s — but he’s going for it anyway.
When it was announced that Charlie would be singing the national anthem at this year’s big game, TikTok creator and self-described political commentator Link Laurentweeted, “Man we’ve fallen from when Whitney Houston sang at the Super Bowl. Charlie Puth? He’s not gonna give us vocals I’m afraid.”
Charlie responded, “I’ll never claim to be as good of a singer as Whitney Houston ever was. But I assure you we’re putting a really special arrangement together- in D major. It’ll be one of my best vocal performances.”
Fun fact: “The Star-Spangled Banner” was originally written in B-flat major; Whitney sang her version in A-flat major.
Whitney’s version of the anthem, which she performed in 1991 at Super Bowl XXV, is often cited as one of the best renditions ever. It was even released as a single amid the Gulf War and reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rereleased to capture the patriotic spirit after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it reached #6 and was RIAA-certified Platinum.
Pearl Jam has announced a new photo book chronicling the band’s Dark Matter tour.
Titled React/Respond, the book includes over 125 images taken by photographer Geoff Whitman, who joined Eddie Vedder and company on the road throughout the international trek.
“Whitman joined the band for this run, starting out by immersing himself in the crowd to capture the shows exactly as fans experienced them—energetic, and in the middle of it all!” Pearl Jam shares. “As the tour moved forward and his relationship with the band developed, he gained further access to backstage and behind-the-scenes moments. Even with that expanded access, Whitman kept the fan perspective at the center of his work, letting it guide how he documented each night.”
The “Even Flow” rockers add, “The photographs in this collection bring those viewpoints together, blending the immediacy of the crowd with a growing look behind the scenes to present a genuine, dynamic record of the Dark Matter tour.”
React/Respond is due out in April and is available to preorder now.
The Dark Matter tour supported Pearl Jam’s 2024 album of the same name. It launched in May 2024 and concluded in May 2025.
Nearly two months after the tour wrapped, longtime drummer Matt Cameron announced that he was leaving Pearl Jam.
Sombr performs on ABC’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ (Disney/Randy Holmes)
Sombr was thrilled to find out this fall that Taylor Swiftis a fan of his music. Now he’s hoping her love of his music will translate into an invitation to her wedding to Travis Kelce.
In an interview with Vulture about his favorite movies, music, concerts and other pop culture events of 2025, the “undressed” singer was asked to name the “cultural moment that fascinated you the most this year.” His answer was likely the same as millions of others: Taylor’s engagement.
“Man, I’m just happy for them,” he says. “I grew up with Taylor Swift, and seeing one of my favorite artists from my childhood getting engaged is really cool to see. I just hope they invite me to the wedding.”
Along the same lines, sombr chose Taylor’s album The Life of a Showgirl as one of his favorite albums or songs of 2025, along with Olivia Dean‘s The Art of Loving, Ravyn Lenae‘s Love Me Now and Audrey Hobert in general.
Asked to name his most memorable concert, sombr chose himself — with some help. “Bringing out Sam Smith, Laufey, Foster the People, Cigarettes After Sex, and Suki Waterhouse as guests at my own concerts,” he said.
: Jason Dirden attends ‘Skeleton Crew’ opening night at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on January 26, 2022, in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)
Six actors have been added to the cast of Power: Origins, the prequel to the original Starz series Power. According to Deadline, Jason Dirden, Jennifer Ferrin, Lizzy DeClement, Lenny Platt, Armani Gabriel and Everett Osborne round out the cast.
Jason will take on the role of Traymont Stinson, the associate-turned-betrayer he played in Raising Kanan. Ferrin will play Tommy’s mother, Kate Egan, and DeClement will portray Jill, a recovering addict and nurse who falls in love Tommy.
Platt has been tapped to play a finance bro-turned-fitness entrepreneur named Lenny, and Gabriel has been casted as J-Boogs, Ghost and Tommy’s trustworthy corner boy. Osborne will take on Omay Moreau, a New York Jets tight end known for hosting extravagant parties.
The six actors join Spence Moore, Charlie Mann and Mekai Curtis, who will star as Ghost, Tommy and Kanan in the series about their rise as young men determined to be successful in the New York City drug game.
It’s a story that will be told in more than 10 episodes, executive producer 50 Cent told Deadline.
“[Power: Legacy] is already shooting in New York, and it will have 18 episodes,” he revealed. “It’s like two seasons instead of the way we did it last time. So that’s gonna be cool. It’s exciting.”
Cover of Bernie Leadon’s ‘Too Late To Be Cool’/Courtesy of Straight Wire Records, Photo Credit: Henry Diltz
Former Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon has dropped a new video for “Too Late To Be Cool,” the title track of his latest solo album.
The video, which was shot in Nashville, has Leadon watching on as the young people around him appear to be moving in reverse. It also includes footage of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer driving a Ferrari around a race track.
“‘Too Late To Be Cool,’ is like lukewarm, indifferent, detached, uncaring, about what’s going on around us,” Leadon says. “Don’t take everything that we’re told as necessarily being true or accurate. Think for yourself, form your own opinion, and take no s***. But you can still be a nice guy.”
Leadon released Too Late To Be Cool in October. It was his first solo album in 21 years.
Next up, Leadon is set to ring in the new year onstage. The rocker will perform at the Keestone Resort Grand Theatre in Loretto, Tennessee, on Dec. 31.
Dominic McLaughlin on set of the upcoming ‘Harry Potter’ HBO TV series. (Aidan Monaghan/HBO)
The boy who lived, squared.
Dominic McLaughlin, the young actor who has taken over the role of Harry Potter in the upcoming HBO TV series based on the books by J.K. Rowling, is opening up about a personal letter he received from DanielRadcliffe, who originated the role in the popular film franchise.
McLaughlin shared what it was like to get a letter from Radcliffe in a recent interview with BBC’s Saturday Mash-Up! Live.
“I got a letter from the man himself, from Daniel Radcliffe,” McLaughlin said. “It was insane. I was on the train back up to Glasgow … and my dad tapped me on the train and just gave me this letter.”
The 11-year-old actor said he didn’t fully understand what he was reading until he reached the end of the page.
“I read it and then I got to the bottom, and it said ‘Dan R.,'” McLaughlin said. “I was going mad, but I had to [keep cool]. I was on the train.”
McLaughlin also shared an update on how the Harry Potter TV series is progressing.
The show has been “going amazing,” he said. “It’s going really well. I’ve made good friends with everyone, it’s great to be there.”
HBO shared first-look photos of McLaughlin in costume as Harry Potter and Nick Frost in costume as Hagrid in July. The photos were shared the same week cameras officially started rolling on the series as it began production at the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, England, the same location where all eight of the HarryPotter films were made.
McLaughlin leads the cast alongside Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton, who will play Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively.
The Harry Potter series will premiere on HBO and HBO Max in 2027.
(NEW YORK) — A social media commentator and blogger was found liable on Monday in a defamation lawsuit filed by hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion in October 2024.
Milagro Cooper was found liable for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and promotion of an altered sexual depiction, according to court documents obtained by ABC News.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, testified that Cooper, who is known on social media as blogger Milagro Gramz, participated in a targeted and coordinated social media campaign to harass, intimidate and defame her.
Pete alleged Cooper was a “paid surrogate” for rapper Tory Lanez and spread lies on his behalf. Lanez was convicted of shooting and injuring Pete in a July 2020 incident.
“We’re thankful for the jury’s commitment to reinforcing the importance of truth, accountability and responsible commentary on social media,” Megan’s attorney, Mari Henderson, said in a statement. “This verdict sends a clear message that spreading dangerous misinformation carries significant consequences.”
Cooper is required to pay $75,000 in damages to Pete.
“I am not ecstatic, of course, you want things to go your way, but like I said, I respect the jury and what they decided, and I think I made out pretty good,” Cooper told reporters outside the courthouse on Monday, according to ABC affiliate WSVN.
“I am just happy to be moving forward; things will be handled. It wasn’t a multimillion-dollar verdict and I think that’s a blessing. God is good through and through,” Cooper added.
The lawsuit alleges that Cooper spread lies about Pete to punish her and attempt to discredit her after she publicly named Lanez as her shooter.
“She’s created a space for a lot of people to come speak negatively about me,” Pete said in trial testimony last month of Cooper, referencing social media posts where the blogger attacked Pete’s character, casting her as a liar and mentally unstable.
Cooper, who took the stand earlier in November, testified that as a blogger, she discussed the shooting on her social media accounts without the influence of Tory Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson.
But Cooper did acknowledge that she spoke with Peterson and was hoping to have him as a guest on her channel. She also testified that she received payments from Peterson’s father, Sonstar Peterson, but claimed they were for “personal” reasons like her children’s birthdays and “promotional” work.
The jury was shown social media posts in which Cooper claimed that Pete was not shot.
When asked if she believed that Pete was shot, Cooper said, “I can’t say she lied about that because I wasn’t there,” but then Cooper said that she believed that Pete was not shot and had stepped on glass — a claim that Pete made in her initial statement to police.
Peterson is not named as a defendant in Pete’s defamation lawsuit but was asked to give a deposition ahead of the trial. ABC News has reached out to his attorneys, but requests for comment were not immediately returned.
Peterson, who chose not to take the witness stand during the 2022 trial, pleaded not guilty and his defense attorneys argued during the trial that he was not the shooter.
Peterson was sentenced to 10 years in prison without the possibility of parole on Aug. 8, 2023, after he was convicted in December 2022 of felony assault for shooting and injuring Pete in both of her feet in an incident that occurred in the Hollywood Hills on July 12, 2020.
His legal team appealed his conviction, but it was upheld on Nov. 12 by a federal court in Los Angeles.
(NEW YORK) — Former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey and the Trump administration have not talked about settling her civil lawsuit and do not believe alternatives to a trial “would be useful at this time,” the parties told the judge in a letter on Monday.
Comey is suing over her firing, arguing she was “abruptly and wrongfully terminated” because her father is former FBI director James Comey, or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs.
In the letter, her lawyers and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York, which is handling the case for the Justice Department, affirmed the need for a conference with the judge, which is currently scheduled for Thursday.
Comey wants the judge to order the government to begin producing evidence. Government lawyers are expected to ask the judge for time to file a motion to dismiss the case.
The defense said the proper place for Comey to argue is not in court, but before the Merit Systems Protection Board. Comey’s attorneys said her case presents “novel” issues about executive power that a judge must resolve.
“While there are cases that discuss a President’s authority under Article II to remove Principal Officers and Inferior Officers, we are unaware of any decision that discusses (let alone approves of) a President’s use of Article II authority to remove without cause a non-officer civil service employee such as a line-level Assistant United States Attorney, in direct violation of the CSRA and the Bill of Rights,” Comey’s attorneys, Nicole Gueron, Ellen Blain, Deepa Vanamali and Margaret Donovan wrote.
The defense characterized Comey’s case as routine.
“A federal employee’s claims that removal from federal service was arbitrary and capricious or conducted in a manner that did not provide the process to which they contend they were due is not a novel issue,” government attorneys said.
The letter said there are no meaningful settlement talks, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms would be unhelpful at the moment.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin speaks at the National Safer Communities Summit in 2023. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A group of anti-abortion pregnancy centers in New Jersey is asking the Supreme Court on Tuesday to let it challenge an investigative subpoena from the state’s Democratic attorney general in federal court on grounds it violates the First Amendment.
First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, a faith-based organization that operates five locations across the state, claims the subpoena is part of a “hostile” campaign by Attorney General Matthew Platkin to harass the group and discourage people from supporting it.
The subpoena seeks thousands of pages of documents to determine whether the group “engaged in deceptive or otherwise unlawful conduct,” including the names and contact information of donors who may have wished to remain private.
“His demand for donor disclosure objectively chills First Choice’s associational and speech rights, causing its donors to think twice before supporting the faith-based non-profit,” the group’s attorneys argue in court filings.
Platikin insists he is pursuing a legitimate law enforcement inquiry and that First Choice has not yet been ordered by a state court to comply with the subpoena. (It is not self-executing, meaning there are no penalties for failure to comply in the meantime.)
“Non-profits, including crisis pregnancy centers, may not deceive or defraud residents in our State, and we may exercise our traditional investigative authority to ensure that they are not doing so — as we do to protect New Jerseyans from a range of harms,” Platkin said in a statement.
“The question before the U.S. Supreme Court focuses on whether First Choice sued prematurely, not whether our subpoena was valid,” he added. “I am optimistic that we will prevail.”
The case has potentially sweeping stakes for nonprofits and advocacy groups nationwide. If First Choice wins the ability to preemptively challenge the subpoena in federal court, it could make it easier for organizations to resist state investigations and strengthen the privacy of donors.
The dispute arose in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade and as states started drawing new battle lines over abortion.
Platkin pledged in 2022 to pursue enforcement actions aimed at promoting abortion access, which remains legal in New Jersey, and launched an investigation into First Choice on the belief that it may have engaged in false advertising and misled donors.
The attorney general issued a consumer alert in 2023 warning people with unplanned pregnancies that crisis pregnancy centers like First Choice don’t offer abortion as an option and may try to prevent a client from seeking medical information about ways to terminate a pregnancy.
“New Jersey’s attorney general is targeting First Choice — a ministry that provides parenting classes, free ultrasounds, baby clothes, and more to its community — simply because of its pro-life views,” said Erin Hawley, the attorney representing the group before the Supreme Court, in a statement.
“The Constitution protects First Choice and its donors from demands by a hostile state official to disclose their identities,” Hawley argued, “and First Choice is entitled to vindicate those rights in federal court.”
In a 2021 decision, the Supreme Court divided 6-3 along ideological lines to strike down a California law that required charities to privately disclose the identities of major donors to the state attorney general.
State officials had argued that the identities, which not-for-profit charities are allowed to keep secret from the public, would help enforce rules around tax-exempt status and catch potential fraud.
The New Jersey case, while similar, focuses primarily on where and when a targeted group can challenge an attorney general’s request in court.
After oral arguments Tuesday, the justices will draft an opinion in the case and release it sometime before the end of June 2026.
