It looks promising that Keith Urban will, in fact, be returning to the judge's table at American Idol. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Keith "looks set to return" for Season 13.
Other names being bandied about by the publication include Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Hudson and Black Eyed Peas member Will.i.am.
Auditions are currently underway for the new season of Idol, which will begin airing this fall.
Newcomer Brett Eldredge
is getting very close to the Number One spot on the country charts -- a
little too close for Brett's comfort, actually -- with his second
single, "Don't Ya." Brett made a friendly bet with some folks in his
camp that might just force him to face his biggest fear if, ironically,
he meets his biggest career goal so far.
Brett tells us exclusively: "When
I first put out 'Don't Ya,' before it even hit Number 50 on the charts,
I had a bet with some of my friends and radio team and management and
everything that if it goes to Number One, if we're fortunate enough to
get there, we're going skydiving, and I'm freaked of heights. I mean,
I'm absolutely petrified of heights. I don't like 'em, but it's actually
a possibility. That possibility is kind of freaking me out, but I want
to go skydiving. I mean, I think it's worth having that shot. I'll go.
Why not? I mean, it usually goes pretty well for people (laughs)
so I think it's worth giving it a shot. Just as long as somebody pushes
me out of the plane and I don't have to pull the parachute, somebody
else does it, let's go get a Number One. That would be cool!"
"Don't Ya" sits at Number Four on the charts.
Brett's debut album, Bring You Back, will be released on Tuesday (August 6th). CHECK IT OUT All eyes are on Chris Young
when he's performing, but things get a little weird when Chris locks
eyes on concert-goers. He gets a kick out of zoning in on a fan who is
singing all the words along with him because it has an inevitable
effect.
Chris tells us: "My favorite thing is when I look
down, and I see somebody singin', and you make eye contact with 'em, and
it's like it messes up their entire world, and they just start, like,
mouthing gibberish. They were singing the lyrics to the song like five
seconds before that, and now you're lookin' at 'em, and you have no . . .
they're like. 'yellow cats and purple bunnies.' They have no idea what
they're sayin', and it's hilarious 'cause then they get really
embarrassed. And it's totally happened to me a lot, yeah."
Chris continues on Brad Paisley's Beat This Summer tour, with shows on Thursday (August 1st) and Friday (August 2nd) in Englewood, CO and Salt Lake City, UT, respectively.
He is climbing the charts with his latest single, "Aw Naw," the debut release from his upcoming CD, A.M., which will be in stores on September 17th.
Vince Gill and his good friend and famed pedal steel player, Paul Franklin, released their new collaborative album, called Bakersfield, this week. The project pays homage to two of Bakersfield's sons -- Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.
Vince and Paul co-produced the album and recorded it in two days at
Vince's home studio with Vince playing all the acoustic and electric
guitar fills and solos.
This certainly isn't Vince's first
musical pairing, but he tells us it made perfect sense to team up with
Paul for his first-ever duet album. "Paul and I have been friends
since the early '80s. I'd never done a duet record before. The hundreds
and hundreds and hundreds of people I'd sung with and played with all
these years, I'd never made a real duet record. It just made sense for
me to reach out to a fellow musician - that's where I started; that's
where I really cut my teeth. I was a musician long before I had the guts
to open my mouth and sing. I think doing this with Paul honors what I
was first and foremost was a musician."
Vince's last solo album, Guitar Slinger, was released in 2011. FAST FACTS
Here is the Bakersfield track listing: 1. Foolin' Around/Buck Owens (Written by Harlan Howard and Buck Owens) 2. Branded Man/Merle Haggard (Written by Merle Haggard) 3. Together Again/Buck Owens (Written by Buck Owens) 4. The Bottle Let Me Down/Merle Haggard (Written by Merle Haggard) 5. He Don't Deserve You Anymore/Buck Owens (Written by Arty Lange and Buck Owens) 6. I Can't Be Myself/Merle Haggard (Written by Merle Haggard) 7. Nobody's Fool But Yours/Buck Owens (Written by Buck Owens) 8. Holding Things Together/Merle Haggard (Written by Bob Trotten and Merle Haggard) 9. But I Do/Buck Owens (Written by Tommy Collins) 10. The Fightin' Side Of Me/Merle Haggard (Written by Merle Haggard)
Brad Paisley will make the broadcast network debut of his new single, "I Can't Change the World," on NBC's hit series, America's Got Talent, airing tonight (Wednesday, July 31st) at 9 p.m. ET. Brad co-wrote the song, which is the third single from his Wheelhouse CD. The Mavericks will play a special concert for PBS called In Time Live.
The show will take place on Tuesday (August 6th) at Marathon Village in
Nashville. The taping is open to the public and will air in December
across PBS platforms. Tickets are $20-$25 and available for purchase at
ticketfly.com.
COUNTRY TRIVIA
Q. In what city and state is Garth Brooks Boulevard located? A. Yukon, Oklahoma
ON THE TUBE
THE TALK/CBS 2:00PM (ET) Lionel Richie
ORIGINS: ERIC CHURCH/GAC 6:00PM, 10:00PM (ET)
ORIGINS: RODNEY ATKINS/GAC 7:00PM (ET)
CELEBRITY MOTOR HOMES/GAC 9:00PM (ET) Craig Morgan
Dean Cain (actor, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Las Vegas) (47)
J. K. Rowling (British writer, author of the Harry Potter books) (48)
Wesley Snipes (actor, Major League, New Jack City, White Men Can't Jump, Demolition Man, Murder At 1600, the Blade movies) (51)
Bill Berry (former drummer, R.E.M.) (55)
Hugh McDowell (cellist, the Electric Light Orchestra) (60)
Pat Cooper (actor-comedian, Analyze This, Analyze That, The Aristocrats) (84)
Leaveil Degree (sometimes DeGruy) (singer of the Whispers) (65)
Shawn Michael Howard (actor, NYPD Blue, Extreme Dating) (44)
Gary Lewis (singer-drummer, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, "This Diamond Ring"; son of Jerry Lewis) (67, disputed)
Geraldine Chaplin (actress, Doctor Zhivago, Nashville, A Wedding, daughter of Charlie Chaplin) (69)
Will Champion (drummer, Coldplay) (35)
B.J. Novak (actor, Ryan on The Office, Inglourious Basterds) (34)
ON THIS DAY
Jason Aldean's "Why" earned a gold single from the Recording Industry Association of America in 2006.
Faith Hill recorded "Mississippi Girl" at Emerald Entertainment in Nashville in 2004.
The Dixie Chicks recorded an episode of CMT Crossroads with James Taylor in Nashville in 2002.
Blake Shelton's self-titled debut album was released in 2001.
Elvis Presley
began a historic four-week run at Las Vegas' International Hotel in
1969 in his first live show since 1961. In the audience were Liberace, Herb Alpert, Dick Clark, Cary Grant, Fats Domino, Burt Bacharach, Pat Boone and Paul Anka.
Jim Reeves died in 1964 at the age of 39 in an airplane crash near Nashville, Tennessee.
JUSTIN LONG TO APPEAR ON ANNA FARRIS CBS SITCOM:Justin Long has signed on to play a love interest for Anna Farris on her new CBS sitcom Mom debuting this fall. Oscar winner Octavia Spencer has also been cast in a guest-starring role in the series' fifth episode. Mom premieres Monday, September 23rd. CELEBRATED ACTRESS EILEEN BRENNAN HAS DIED:Eileen Brennan, best supporting actress nominee for Private Benjamin and star of The Last Picture Show,
died on Sunday (July 28th) at the age of 80 inside her home in Burbank,
California. She had been suffering from bladder cancer. Eileen also
appeared alongside Paul Newman in The Sting and as Mrs. Peacock in the movie adaptation of Clue in 1985. CW TO ADAPT 'THE FLASH' INTO A NEW TV SERIES: Hoping to bank off of the success of their popular super hero shows, The CW is planning to bring DC hero The Flash back to the small screen from the same team behind their freshman hit Arrow.
CBS previously attempted a TV series about the guy with superspeed and
superhuman reflexes which only lasted for one season back in 1990. ABC FAMILY RENEWS THREE SHOWS: ABC Family has announced that Switched at Birth has been renewed for a third season and freshman series' The Fosters and Twisted
will return with an extended first season in January 2014. The network
president explained, "ABC Family has always been a home for
groundbreaking storytelling with iconic characters and families and
we're thrilled to have The Fosters and Twisted join our
line-up as breakout summer hits. We are very proud of the original
series we continue to foster, bringing real and relatable characters to
life for our viewers and know they are destined to become part of the
zeitgeist alongside Switched at Birth and Pretty Little Liars." 'OLDBOY' RELEASE DATE PUSHED BY A MONTH: FilmDistrict has moved the release date of Spike Lee'sOldboy from October 25th to November 27th so that it will no longer compete with Ridley Scott'sThe Counselor. Oldboy will now go up against Disney's Frozen and Homefront starring Jason Statham
TERESA AND JOE GIUDICE HAVE THEIR DAY IN COURT:Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice and her husband Joe
were each released on $500,000 bail on Tuesday (July 30th) after
appearing in court in New Jersey. Following the hearing, Teresa's
attorney told E! News, "It's been a difficult few days but she's
been resolute. She's tending to her kids and dealing with this like a
grownup." He added, "It's almost invariably true that in federal
criminal cases such as this one, the judge requires each defendant to
have their own attorney. It reflects the ethical rules so the lawyers
avoid conflicts of interest. Even if people are on the same page like a
husband and wife, they could theoretically go in different directions at
some point in the future." TAYLOR LAUTNER DEBUTS NEW RELATIONSHIP:Twilight star Taylor Lautner
hit the streets of NYC's Soho neighborhood on Monday (July 29th)
holding hands and appearing to confirm the rumors of a budding romance
with his Tracers co-star Marie Avgeropoulous. Stories of
their relationship began to surface on July 4th after Taylor was
photographed kissing a mystery girl believed to be Marie. 'TODAY' SHOW EMPLOYEES UPSET MATT LAUER WON'T TAKE A PAY CUT: Staffers at the Today show are reportedly pissed that Matt Lauer won't take a pay cut to keep NBC from having to lay off people who work on the program. According to Radar Online,
nine people at the show were given pink slips last week with more
expected to be axed in the coming months and Matt could have saved the
positions if he were willing to take a 1% decrease in his salary. KRISTEN BELL ISN'T KILLING HERSELF TO LOSE HER BABY WEIGHT:House of Lies star Kristen Bell appears on the cover of the September issue of Redbook
discussing how she isn't going crazy trying to lose all of her baby
weight since the birth of her daughter Lincoln in March. She tells the
magazine, "I'm going to continue working out and see where it goes. I'd
like to get back down to where I was before the baby...But if this is
where my body wants to be, so be it. I'm not going to make myself
miserable for the rest of my life trying to get back to where I was
before."
KRISTEN STEWART GOT A TEXT FROM KATY PERRY AFTER ROB PATTINSON RUMORS
Katy Perry reveals in the September issue of ELLE UK that she actually reached out to Kristen Stewart after false rumors of her romance with Robert Pattinson began to spread a few months back. The pop star wanted to make sure that Kristen knew she was a better person than that.
She
tells the magazine, "I sent her Stewart a text message saying, 'I know
you've seen all this stuff, but you know I would never disrespect you.
I'm not that person." She added, "I'm just trying to be a friend to him
but it is unfortunate that I do have a set of tits."
Aside from Katy, Rob was also rumored to be getting cozy with Kristen's friend Riley Keough and most recently with a mystery brunette who some believe is Caitlin Cronenberg -- daughter of director David Cronenberg.
Bruce Willis
is building a reputation for himself over in the UK as being a bit of a
loon after giving a string of wacky interviews to various media outlets
while promoting his latest films. Most recently, the 58-year-old sat
down with Kate Garraway from the morning show Daybreak while wearing a robe over his clothing.
Although Bruce was definitely more coherent in this chat than he was last week with an interviewer from British radio station Magic FM, the Red 2
star seemed bored and a bit sedated. One viewer wrote, "Omg watching
bruce willis on daybreak is mental torture." Other spectators just
focused on his wardrobe choice and called him "odd" and "a bit nuts."
Last week, Willis interrupted his interview with Magic FM'sJamie Edwards
and asked, "Has any actor ever told you this Jamie? This part is not
acting. The fun part is over. We're just selling the film now. Sales"
When asked how he would sell the movie, Bruce responded, "I wouldn't. I
would slash my hooves. You have some great questions here Jamie. Great
chat."
Back in February, Bruce was promoting A Good Day To Die Hard on BBC 1'sThe One Show
where viewers felt he came off possibly drunk and sort of ignorant --
some even branded it one of the most cringe-making TV moments. The
veteran actor later apologized for his behavior and blamed it on
jet-lag.
SHARON OSBOURNE TALKS SMACK ABOUT JUSTIN BIEBER AND KANYE WEST
STATIONS: Please note the following story contains language that could be considered offensive to your audience.
The Osbourne family has never been shy about speaking their minds about other entertainers and now Justin Bieber and Kanye West can be added to the list of celebrities who have felt their wrath. In a new interview with The Daily Beast, former America's Got Talent judge Sharon Osbourne weighs in on the talent of Yeezy and the Biebs as well as a few other industry heavyweights.
Sharon on Kanye:
"I
have no time for him. He bores me. I said it on the show, he's an
average-looking man with an average talent, but he's a great salesman.
He should sell cars because they would fu**in' fly out the door. He's
his No. 1 fan."
Sharon on Bieber:
"I feel really bad
for him. There's this little kid with a huge dream, he's cute, girls
love him, and he wants to be a mean boy, and he's about as mean as a
fu**in' kitten, and he's trying to act out. It's like pissing in a
bucket. It's like, "Oh, we're the bad boys!" F**k off! You don't know
what bad is. And I think that he's lost, I really do. I think he doesn't
realize he's white and not black, that's a huge problem. And, at the
point he's at in his career, it's so dangerous because we've seen it all
before a million times. Where do you go when you're a child entertainer
and then you want to transition to be a man? Very few make it."
Mrs. Osbourne is not a total hater. She also told the website that she is a fan of Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, and Mariah Carey.
Now that Jennifer Aniston has found happiness with Justin Theroux, the 44-year-old actress can look back on her younger years and recognize where mistakes were made. The We're the Millers star sat down with her co-star Jason Sudeikis and Glamour magazine to discuss how they both found their happiness and what advice Jenn would give herself when she was in her 30's.
Jenn
revealed, "Thirties. Go to therapy. Clean up all of the s--t. Clean up
all of the toxins and the noise. Understand who you are. Educate
yourself on the self. You can undo a lot of things. If you're not happy,
you can become happy. Happiness is a choice. That's the thing I really
feel. Like with friends who refuse to get happy, who refuse to rise
above the discomfort of where they're at." CHECK IT OUT:
Opening today (July 31st) is the sequel to the hybrid live action/animated movie, The Smurfs 2, starring Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Katy Perry and Jayma Mays. The film follows the Smurfs as they head to Paris to resuce Smurfette, who has been kidnapped by Gargamel.
The Smurfs 2 is rated PG and has a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes.
BRADLEY MANNING COULD GET 136 YEARS: U.S. Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning
was acquitted of the most serious charge against him, that is "aiding
the enemy." But he was found guilty of 19 other charges, including six
counts of espionage, for giving a vast trove of government documents to
the WikiLeaks website. The documents revealed secret information about
the U.S. conduct of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Manning could face
a prison term of up to 136 years on those convictions. The former
private first class was tried in a military court martial in Maryland. THE PRESIDENT'S BARGAINING CHIP: In a new attempt to get a budget through the Congress, President Barack Obama
has offered Republicans a new deal: A cut in the corporate tax rate in
return for spending that will create jobs. The president outlined his
idea yesterday during a visit to a factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
"Here's the bottom line," he told his audience. "I'm willing to work
with Republicans on reforming our corporate tax code, as long as we use
the money from transitioning to a simpler tax system for a significant
investment in creating middle-class jobs."
The lack of
action in Washington is gain in urgency soon. If Congress does not vote
to extend spending past the end of September, the government might shut
down. Yet another showdown on the debt ceiling looms, too.
DRIVER WAS ON PHONE AND SPEEDING:
The train driver was on the phone, and was driving almost double the
speed limit, at the time that his train derailed in an accident that
killed 79 passengers in northern Spain last Wednesday. That was the
finding of a Spanish court, released yesterday. Data collected in the
investigation indicates that the train had slowed from 119 miles per
hour to 95 miles per hour only seconds before it hit a sharp curve,
derailed and smashed into a concrete wall. The driver has been
provisionally charged with 72 counts of reckless homicide. MORE CHARGES IN PENN STATE ABUSE CASE:
A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that the former president of Penn State
University and two university administrators must face trial on
obstruction of justice and other charges related to the Jerry Sandusky
child sex abuse scandal. Prosecutors allege that the three lied to a
grand jury when they said they did not know about allegations of abuse
against Sandusky that had been made as early as 1998. Sandusky was
convicted and imprisoned in June 2012. TODAY'S FYI: WE HAVE A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO SUGAR:
We, the people of the United States, have an inalienable right to drink
as much sugary soda as we want. That's the ruling of a New York appeals
court. The ruling upholds a lower court decision that declared that New
York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg cannot ban sugary drinks in
serving sizes larger than 16 ounces. The mayor argues that jumbo
portions contribute to obesity and are a threat to public health. In a
statement, he said he'd appeal the ruling. IF McDONALD'S PAID DOUBLE:
If McDonald's paid every one of its workers twice the hourly wage they
now get, the price of a Big Mac would increase just 68 cents, to $4.67.
And that includes double the pay for the top boss, CEO Donald Thompson,
whose pay last year was $8.75 million. That's according to a researcher
at the University of Kansas, who provided the results to The Huffington
Post website. Researcher Arnobio Morelix also estimates that
every item on the Dollar Menu would go up by 17 cents. The fast food
chain's workers are striking in seven cities this week, demanding a
doubling of their wages from the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour to $15
an hour. IT'S NICE TO GET PRESENTS: Virginia's governor is
working on returning all of the gifts he received from a businessman,
in response to public criticism. But, he told an interviewer on WTOP
radio in Washington yesterday, "It's hard... not to accept gifts."
Governor Bob McDonnell said last week that he has already repaid all "loans" from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams.
In addition to being a major campaign contributor, Williams gave
McDonnell thousands of dollars for his daughters' weddings, took
Virginia's first lady on a $15,000 shopping spree, and loaned the family
a Ferrari. McDonnell is under investigation by the FBI.
The
governor apologized again yesterday, saying: "I am deeply sorry for
things that I have done or choices that perhaps members of my family
have made that have hurt that trust."
EVEN FRENCH PEOPLE DON'T LIKE THIS:
French people may be known for their love of beauty, but even they may
be offended by the Abercrombie & Fitch policy of hiring only
beautiful people. A French human rights group is investigating the
retailer's practices. Lawyers tell CNBC that A&F had better be
worried. "The reason the company's recruitment attracts so much interest
is for moral reasons rather than legal ones. But if a company says it
only wants to hire good-looking people, they are in dangerous water,"
said British barrister Leon Glenister. It isn't illegal to hire
people for their looks, but it may focus attention on its willingness to
hire based on age, race or disability.
In a 2006 interview, a
company executive said Abercrombie hires cool, good-looking people
because that's the kind of customer it wants.
SPORTS: HARVIN SCHEDULES SURGERY: Seahawks receiver Percy Harvin is scheduled to have surgery for a hip injury on Thursday. He is expected back late in the season, according to NBC Sports. JENNINGS GETS A NEW HOME: The Detroit Pistons have agreed to a deal that will net Brandon Jennings a new three-year contract worth more than $25 million, ESPN.com reported last night. The Bucks reportedly will get guard Brandon Knight, forward Khris Middleton and center Viacheslav Kravtsov.
THE BRIDGE - Maria's broadcast continues; Sonya searches for the girl's location.
DAY TIME TALK SHOW THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW - (repeat) THE VIEW - Teri Hatcher, Dean Norris, Michael Franti, guest co-host Lara Spencer LATE NIGHT TALK SHOWS THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (CBS) - Matt Damon, Hanni El Khatib THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO (NBC) - Kate Hudson, Bob Costas, Kopecky Family Band JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE (ABC) - Johnny Knoxville, Logan Lerman, Queens of the Stone Age THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON (CBS) - Jane Leeves, Ahna O'Reilly, Backstreet Boys LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON (NBC) - Tyra Banks, Simon Pegg, Dominique Ansel LAST CALL WITH CARSON DALY (NBC) - (repeat) THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART (COMEDY CENTRAL) - Hank Azaria THE COLBERT REPORT (COMEDY CENTRAL) - Emily Matchar CONAN - Kevin Nealon, Christmas Abbott, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
KFC 7-FOOT BUCKET MYSTERIOUSLY APPEARS: A Georgia woman
thought she was hallucinating when she saw a 7-foot KFC bucket in her
yard. The bucket mysteriously appeared in Aleena Headrick's yard on
Thursday (July 25th) afternoon. Neighbors and strangers have started to
stop by the home to take pictures. It turns out that the culprit is her
landlord Freddie Taylor, who collects old signs. Taylor reportedly
bought the bucket and dropped it off on the property. (UPI) FIFTY SHADES OF GREY IS MOST REQUESTED BOOK AT GUANTANAMO BAY:
Fifty Shades of Grey is the most requested book at Guantanamo Bay. U.S.
Congressman Jim Moran made the revelation while touring Camp 7, which
holds five men charged with plotting the September 11th attacks. Moran
was quoted as saying, "Rather than the Koran, the book that is requested
most by the (detainees) is "Fifty Shades of Gray." The detention camp
library also has Star Trek novels, the Odyssey, and the Hunger Games books. (Dailymail) RUBIK'S CUBE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:
An Australian 17-year-old was crowned the Rubik's Cube World Champion.
Feliks Zemdegs won the championship by solving the cube in 7.36 seconds.
Over 500 competitors from 37 countries took part at the event which was
held in Las Vegas. (Telegraph) MAN PEES ON COP AND X-RAY MACHINE:
A Florida man, who was arrested for driving without a license, wound up
peeing on a cop and an x-ray machine. Raymond Lawhorn was pulled over
at 10:30 pm on Saturday (July 27th) after he hit a police car. The
office brought him to Alachua County Jail, where began urinating on the
floor, an x-ray machine, and a detention officer. (Huffington Post) SCIENTISTS GROW TOOTH FROM STEM CELLS IN URINE:
Scientists in China say they have successfully grown a human tooth
using stem cells taken from urine. The team at the Guangzhou Institute
of Biomedicine and Health extracted cells from urine and managed to turn
them into stem cells. Then they used the cells to implant teeth-like
structures in mice. There has been some criticism of the research,
though. Professor Chris Mason, a stem cell scientist at University
College London, says that urine was "probably one of the worst sources
of stem cells." (The Independent)
SLEEP DEPRIVED PEOPLE MAY BE MORE LIKELY TO STEREOTYPE OTHERS:
New research finds that if you're sleep deprived you may benefit from
keeping your mouth closed. Researchers from the University of Hawaii at
Mamoa found that sleep deprived participants had less control, and
therefore became worse at regulating the prejudices they know are wrong.
The study also found that people are cranky when they are tired because
"without adequate sleep, your thought processes, memory, and learning
are all impaired, which forces you to confront the demands of your day
with constrained resources," says Dr. Christopher Winter, a sleep
specialist. Winter also says that lack of sleep creates more activity in
the amygdala area of the brain, which regulated emotions such as anger
and rage. (Men's Health) WHAT WIFI WOULD LOOK LIKE IF WE COULD SEE IT: http://tinyurl.com/n5ccpcf MANY EMPLOYERS MONITORING USE OF COMPANY ELECTRONICS:
A study finds that many employers are watching exactly what their
employees are doing on company computers and cell phones. Researchers
from the National Workrights Institute say that two-thirds of employers
are using some type of electronic monitoring. In 2010 the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled that employers could monitor text messages of employees as
long as there was a "legitimate work-related purpose." However,
companies are required to get the consent of workers before they monitor
their electronic information, and researchers say that often time
employers trick employees by placing the consent form in a manual that
employees don't realize contains the agreement. Employees can take
heart, though, as they are protected by the Computer Fraud and Abuse
Act, which bans intentional access to a computer without authorization. (Daily Mail) DOCTOR CLAIMS MEDICINE IS SO ADVANCED THAT DOCTORS MAY BE ABLE TO BRING THE DEAD BACK TO LIFE:
An American doctor says that modern medicine may soon have the
capability of resurrecting people up to a full day after death. Dr. Sam
Parina is a critical care physician who teaches at Stony Brook
University of Medicine in New York, and says, "With today's medicine, we
can bring people back to life up to one, maybe two hours, sometimes
even longer, after their heart stopped beating and they have thus died
by circulatory failure. In the future, we will likely get better at
reversing death." The average resuscitation rate for cardiac arrest
patients in U.S. hospitals is 18-percent, and at Stony Brook University
School of Medicine it is 33-percent. Parina says that it's a
misconception that the brain suffers massive damage after three-to-five
minutes of oxygen deprivation, and that most patients who get
resusitated get discharged with no nerological damage at all. (Daily Mail) PEOPLE MAY MOVE OUIJA BOARD PLANCHETTES WITHOUT KNOWNING IT:
Researchers say they've found that people who play with ouija boards
may move the game's planchette without even knowing they're doing so.
The B-B-C reports that when a person experiences the ideomotor effect,
muscles movements can happen without a person being aware that it's
happening. The Ouija board was first invented by Parker Bros. in the
1890s as a parlor game in which users placed their finger tips on the
planchette and waited for spirits to spell out messages using numbers
and letters on the board. Scientists say that you can recreate the
ideomotor effect by hanging an object from a foot long piece of string
and holding it at arm's length. The object will swing in small circles,
even if the arm is held still. (Daily Mail) APPLE HINTS AT TRIPLE LENS IPHONE CAMERA: http://tinyurl.com/lwquo3w NIGHT OWLS FOUND TO BE MORE SELF-INVOLVED THAN EARLY RISERS:
Australian researchers claim that people who like to stay up late at
night tend to have a set of traits known as the Dark Triad traits. To
find this, researchers surveyed 263 students online. Participants were
asked about how their energy levels felt at various times of day, known
as their chronotype, and they were also given a test that measured their
personality traits. Researchers found that people who identified
themselves as night owls tested stronger for narcissistic, psychopathic,
and Machiavellian personality traits than those who were early risers.
Researchers say people may have evolved this way because the darkness
would hide sketchy behavior these types of personalities are more likely
to engage in such as casual sex, mate-poaching and risk-taking. (Daily Mail) WHY 29-YEAR-OLDS GET THE WORST HANGOVERS:
A new study finds that 29-year-olds get the worst hangovers. The U.K.
study surveyed two-thousand British people over the age of 18, and found
that 29-year-olds suffered the worst hangovers because they try to
party hard, thinking they still have the stamina they had when they were
younger, when in reality they don't. The study also found that the
average British person takes six-sick days each year due to hangovers
and that many admitted to going to work still drunk on Monday mornings.
The research also found that the average hangover lasts nine-hours and
45-minutes, but for a 29-year-old that time increases to ten-hours and
24-minutes. (Daily Mail) WHAT HAPPENS IN 60 SECONDS ON THE INTERNET: http://tinyurl.com/m2u5cva PROTESTANTS FOUND TO BE MORE CREATIVE THAN CATHOLICS OR JEWS:
New research from the University of Illinois finds that Protestants are
more creative than Catholics or Jews. Researchers say their research
showed that Protestants were better at channeling suppressed emotions
into creations than Catholics or Jews who tended to turn suppressed
feelings into guilt. To find this, researchers questioned 127 religious
men-- 60 were white Protestants, 40 were white Jews, and 27 were Latino
Catholics. Researchers asked the men to do various things designed to
make them uncomfortable, such as imagining a sexy, bikini-clad figure in
a book was a relative. Next the participants were asked to write about
their family before being told to create a clay sculpture and then write
a poem. Researchers found that Protestants "produced more creative
artwork when they were primed with damnation-related words, induced to
feel unacceptable sexual desires, or forced to suppress their anger." (Daily Mail)
Hero or Villain?
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is outraged over the conviction of former U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning
on most of the charges he faced at his court-martial. It was Assange's
site that published the huge trove of U.S. documents that Manning
purloined during his work as an intelligence analyst. He called
Manning's conviction a "dangerous precedent" for America.
Beautiful People
A
French human rights group is investigating the hiring policy of the
American retail store chain Abercrombie & Fitch. The stores hire
only beautiful people as sales clerks. Lawyers tell CNBC that the
American retailer had better be worried. It isn't illegal to hire people
for their looks, but it may focus attention on its willingness to hire
based on age, race or disability. "The reason the company's recruitment
attracts so much interest is for moral reasons rather than legal ones.
But if a company says it only wants to hire good-looking people, they
are in dangerous water," said British barrister Leon Glenister.
In a 2006 interview, a company executive said Abercrombie hires cool,
good-looking people because that's the kind of customer it wants.
Twitter's Problem
A
committee of the British Parliament is calling executives of the web
messaging service Twitter on the carpet. The Parliamentary Culture,
Media and Sport committee wants to know how Twitter intends to protect
its users from harassment, abuse and even threats of violence by other
Twitter users. All of those have been reported by British users of the
micro-blogging service.
Kip Moore's latest single, "Hey Pretty Girl," takes the top spot this week on the Mediabase
country singles chart, marking his third consecutive chart-topper. "Hey
Pretty Girl" follows the two-week Number One hit, "Somethin' 'Bout A
Truck" and "Beer Money" off Kip's debut album, Up All Night.
Kip
said, "It's wild to me that it's just been over a year since we put out
my first album and we have three Number One songs. Writing all of these
songs and seeing them come to life through the fans' eyes is humbling
to say the least. The support from them and all the great people at
radio has left me speechless. I'm almost done with the next album and I
can't wait to let everyone hear some of these new tunes."
Later this year, Kip will join Lady Antebellum on their Take Me Downtown tour, kicking off on November 8th in Southaven, Mississippi. FAST FACTS
Since the release of Up All Night
last year, Kip has been touring the country opening for Eric Church,
Brantley Gilbert and Toby Keith in addition to headlining his own shows.
Up All Night
is the best selling debut album from any country artist released last
year and the first country album released since 2008 to spawn three back
to back Number Ones, making him only the third artist to do so in the
chart's history.
Lady Antebellum will return to the road on their new Take Me Downtown
tour beginning on November 8th in Southaven, Mississippi. The 2013 leg
will wrap on December 14th in Peoria, Illinois. Special guests on the
tour are Kip Moore and Kacey Musgraves. Fans can purchase tickets and special VIP experiences beginning on September 13th.
Lady A's Charles Kelley said, "We spent almost every day last year backstage writing for our album Golden,
so we were really focused on writing songs that would connect with the
fans in these arenas. We definitely learned a lot about ourselves as
live performers and the type of catalog we wanted to have so that we
could go out and try to give the fans the best show they've ever
experienced. All of that was the jumping off point for this tour, and
now it's time to take it to the next level." Dave Haywood tells us that Golden was recorded with the trio's live show very much in mind. "I
think coming into the studio after being on the road subconsciously had
a big impact on the record. Looking back, coming off the road it's
like, 'Man, we need this to translate live.' I mean, there's a part on
'Goodbye Town' that has this big chanting part at the end of the song,
and those kind of moments where it's like, 'Gosh, that's gonna be so
much fun to play in a big amphitheater or a big arena,' and I think that
really had a big affect, and even the ballads. I mean, 'It Ain't
Pretty' I think is one that I always heard in a big place (with) people's hands up in the air kind of song, too. (Hillary) Where you can hear a pin drop. (Dave) Yeah, so I think things that translate live had a big, big impact for this record."
Here are the Take Me Downtown tour 2013 dates: 11/8 Southaven, MS Landers Center 11/9 St. Louis, MO Chaifetz Arena 11/10 Evansville, IN Ford Center 11/12 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena 11/15 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena 11/16 Toledo, OH Huntington Center 11/17 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena 11/19 Fargo, ND Fargodome 11/21 Rapid City, SD Rusmore Plaza Civic Center 11/22 Denver, CO Pepsi Center 11/23 Salt Lake City, UT EnergySolutions Arena 12/3 Springfield, MO JQH Arena 12/5 Minneapolis, MN Target Center 12/6 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center 12/7 Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center 12/12 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena 12/14 Peoria, IL Peoria Civic Center FAST FACTS
Last
year, Lady A hosted over one million fans across the globe in 11
countries on their first headlining world tour, which earned them Billboard
Touring's "Breakthrough Award," CMA's "International Artists
Achievement Award" and the upcoming "Jim Reeves International Award" at
this fall's ACM Honors.
Dierks Bentley will return to host the 7th Annual ACM Honors, an evening dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
The event will take place on Tuesday, September 10th at the historic
Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Tickets priced at $40.00 will go on sale
to the public at Ticketmaster.com and the Ryman box office at 8 a.m. PT
on Friday (August 2nd).
This is Dierks' second consecutive time to host the ACM Honors.
He said, "I really didn't know what to expect last year when they asked
me to host, but it was a total blast. There are no cameras like there
are at a regular award show, so anything goes. The ACM put together a
really special show honoring some important people in our business, and
I'm just glad I earned an invitation back . . . despite some of my
off-script jokes!"
Those being honored include Special Award recipients Jason Aldean, Guy Clark, Blake Shelton, Tommy Wiggins, Lady Antebellum and The Judds. Keith Whitley and Hank Williams
will also be honored posthumously. The evening also recognizes winners
of the MBI (musician, bandleader, instrumentalist) and Industry
categories, which are not presented during the live telecast of the
Academy of Country Music Awards. In addition, Dallas Davidson will be recognized as the winner of Songwriter of the Year.
Honorees include: Jason Aldean - Crystal Milestone Award Guy Clark - Poet's Award Blake Shelton - Gene Weed Special Achievement Award Keith Whitley (posthumously) - Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award Tommy Wiggins - Mae Boren Axton Award Hank Williams (posthumously) - Poet's Award Lady Antebellum - Jim Reeves International Award The Judds - Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award CHECK IT OUT
Dierks' Luke Bryan joke while hosting last year's ACM Honors:
Loretta Lynn is mourning the death of her oldest daughter, Betty Sue Lynn,
who passed away yesterday (Monday, July 29th) morning in Waverly,
Tennessee from complications of emphysema. She was 64. Betty Sue is
survived by two daughters and five grandchildren. A spokesperson for the
legendary singer says Loretta and her family thank friends and fans for
their thoughts and prayers during this time of great loss. Shania Twain will be returning to the stage at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace for the continuation of her Shania: Still The One
show in October. After a four-month hiatus, Shania will begin her next
run of 22 performances starting on October 15th and running through
December 14th. Shania has released an exclusive behind-the-scenes video
giving fans an inside look of her journey from backstage into the
spotlight. CHECK IT OUT
Kristian Bush of Sugarland
helped create a new character as part of the game My Singing Monsters,
which is available on various forms of media. Kristian contributed
vocals and mandolin for "Shugabush," which was designed and animated by
the artists at Big Blue Bubble.
Kristian was made aware of the game by his 11-year-old son. He tweeted about the game, drawing the attention of creator Dave Kerr, who responded and has since been in talks with Kristian about this new character.
Much
like Kristian, Shugabush wears a fedora and plays a mandolin. He
officially made his My Singing Monsters debut in the game yesterday
(Monday, July 29th).
Kristian said, "This whole experience has
been a blast. First of all, the music in My Singing Monsters is
irresistible -- that's what drew me to the game. And since I love to
dream big via social media, I'm so glad that Dave Kerr and his team at
My Singing Monsters dreamed back. I've always wanted to let my inner
monster out . . . and I think I'm finally about to impress my son."
To meet Shugabush, download the game for free at iTunes, Google Play and Amazon. CHECK IT OUT: http://www.mysingingmonsters.com/home/
Sixteen-year-old Danielle Bradbery is juggling being a high school student and a recording artist. As the winner of this season of The Voice, Danielle is trying to figure out the best way to get her education and pursue her dream at the same time. She tells us: "I started off high school in my huge, regular high school with
everybody else but as this whole Voice thing started, I got an online
schooling and it's for students who travel, so that was a big help for
that. But now that this is continuing, it's kind of up in the air right
now. But we're definitely trying to figure out if I should go back to
school or keep online schooling. It depends on my schedule. We're
thinking if I went back to my regular school, it'd be kinda crazy. We're
still trying to figure that out."
Danielle just released her debut single, "Heart of Dixie." CHECK IT OUT George Jones is being remembered with the re-release of God's Country: George Jones And Friends.
The 10-song CD was originally released on a limited basis in 2006, but
is now back in stores to honor the late legend. The project is George's
classic hits sung by "the possum's" friends and fellow entertainers like
Garth Brooks, Joe Diffie, Vince Gill, Tracy Lawrence, Pam Tillis, Tanya Tucker and George himself.
In addition to the music, there is also a behind-the-scenes DVD of the making of the album available.
Here is the God's Country: George Jones and Friends track listing: 1. 'God's Country' - George Jones 2. 'She Thinks I Still Care' - Vince Gill 3. 'Walk Through This World With Me' - Mark Chesnutt 4. 'Window Up Above' - Tanya Tucker 5. 'Take Me' - Pam Tillis 6. 'White Lightning' - Joe Diffie 7. 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' - Sammy Kershaw 8. 'Beer Run' - Garth Brooks/George Jones 9. 'Golden Rings'/'We're Gonna Hold On' Medley - Joe Diffie/Donna Faegan 10. 'The One I Loved Back Then (Corvette Song)' - Tracy Lawrence FAST FACTS
George died in April at the age of 81.
A movie about his life is in the works.
COUNTRY TRIVIA
Q. What superstar's real last name is Covel? A. Toby Keith
Arnold Schwarzenegger (former Governor of California; actor, the Terminator movies, Predator, Twins, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop, True Lies, Batman & Robin, Collateral Damage) (66)
Delta Burke (actress, starred in TV's Designing Women) (57)
Lisa Kudrow (Actress, Friends, The Comeback, The Opposite of Sex) (50)
Laurence Fishburne (actor, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Apocalypse Now, Boyz N The Hood, What's Love Got To Do With It, The Matrix movies, Mystic River) (52)
Vivica A. Fox (actress, Independence Day, Soul Food, Why Do Fools Fall In Love, the Kill Bill movies) (49)
Anita Hill
(Law professor, accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his
1991 Senate confirmation hearing for the U.S. Supreme Court (57)
Hillary Swank (actress, won Oscars for Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby) (39)
Buddy Guy (blues legend) (77)
Paul Anka (singer-songwriter) (72)
Tom Green (actor-comedian-talk show host; former husband of Drew Barrymore) (42)
Christine Taylor (actress, the Brady Bunch movies, The Wedding Singer, Zoolander, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story; wife of Ben Stiller) (42)
Sid Krofft (children's TV creator, H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund And The Sea Monsters, Land Of The Lost) (84)
David Sanborn (composer and sax player) (68)
Jeffrey Hammond (sometimes called Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, former bassist for Jethro Tull) (67)
Jaime Pressley (actress, My Name Is Earl) (36)
Edd "Kookie" Byrnes (actor and singer, "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb") (80)
Peter Bogdanovich (director, Paper Moon, The Last Picture Show, What's Up Doc, and actor, appeared in The Sopranos) (74)
Christopher Nolan (director, Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises) (43)
Richard Linklater (director, Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, School of Rock, Before Sunset, A Scanner Darkly) (53)
Bud Selig (baseball commissioner) (79)
Jean Reno (actor, The Da Vinci Code, Mission: Impossible, Ronin, The Pink Panther movies) (65)
Simon Baker (actor, The Mentalist, The Devil Wears Prada) (44)
ON THIS DAY
Eli Young Band vocalist Mike Eli and his wife, Kacey, welcomed their first daughter, Kline Olivia Diaz, in Dallas in 2012.
Alan Jackson's Good Time album went gold in 2008.
Rodney Atkins
received a diploma from Tennessee Tech in Cookeville in 2007, 14 years
after he stopped taking classes. School officials discovered he'd racked
up enough hours of credit to qualify for a newly created degree.
Kenny Chesney performed at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field in 2005. The performance was shot for inclusion in an ABC Thanksgiving special, Kenny Chesney: Somewhere In The Sun.
Martina McBride's "My Baby Loves Me" charted in 1993.
Travis Tritt's Country Club album was certified platinum in 1991.
Alabama became the first country act to go quadruple-platinum, as the Mountain Music and Feels So Right albums were certified for shipments of four million copies in 1985.
Johnny Cash recorded the Number One single, "Daddy Sang Bass," in 1968.
LINDSAY LOHAN TO GUEST HOST 'CHELSEA LATELY':Lindsay Lohan's road to career redemption will continue with a guest hosting gig on Chelsea Lately on August 5th. E! promises that Lilo will interact with Chelsea's sidekick Chuy, run the roundtable discussion, and interview the celebrity guests. DARREN CRISS AND LUCY HALE TO HOST '2013 TEEN CHOICE AWARDS': It was officially announced on Monday (July 29th) that Glee's Darren Criss and Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale will be hosting the 2013 Teen Choice Awards
on Fox. Lucy tweeted, "Excited to announce I'll be cohosting this yrs
Teen Choice Awards w/ the talented & charming @DarrenCriss." The
show will air on August 11th and fans are invited to vote in their
favorite categories until August 10th. CHARLIE ROSE TO CAMEO IN FINAL SEASON OF 'BREAKING BAD': PBS talk show host Charlie Rose revealed during a panel at Astoria's Museum of the Moving Image that he will be making a cameo in the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad. Neither Rose nor the show's creator Vince Gilligan would reveal whether he will be playing himself. CBS RENEWS 'UNDER THE DOME': CBS has announced plans to bring back its summer series Under the Dome back for a second season. Network president Nina Tassler
released a statement saying, "We're excited to tell more stories about
the mystery of the dome and the secrets in Chester's Mill, and are
thrilled to have the master storyteller himself, Stephen King, tell the first one of next season." SHOWTIME RELEASES FIRST TEASER FOR THIRD SEASON OF 'HOMELAND': The first teaser trailer the upcoming third season of Homeland has been released online and features only voiceovers. The new season will premiere on September 29th. Check it out:
EVAN RACHEL WOOD GIVES BIRTH:Thirteen star Evan Rachel Wood and her husband Jamie Bell
welcomed a baby boy on Monday (July 29th.) This is the first child for
the couple who were married in October of 2012. A rep for the actress
confirmed that "Parents and baby are doing well." ROBERT PATTINSON HANGS WITH SIA AT JAY Z/JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE SHOW:Robert Pattinson was spotted hanging out with Australian singer Sia at the Legends of the Summer concert at Rose Bowl Stadium on Sunday (July 28th.) E! Online is reporting that the pair are just friends and were just one of many famous faces at the show including Jessica Alba, Beyonce, Diddy, and Glee star Chris Colfer. ALLEGED NAKED PHOTO OF JOSH HUTCHERSON LEAKS ONLINE: A naked photo allegedly ofHunger Games star Josh Hutcherson
leaked online on Monday (July 29th) supposedly taken off of an online
dating site where he was using the name "Connor." Connor reportedly sent
photos and videos of him pleasuring himself believed to have been taken
sometime around 2010-2011. See the NSFW picture here: http://bit.ly/17NTKhs LEA MICHELE BREAKS HER SILENCE ON CORY MONTEITH'S DEATH:Lea Michele returned to Twitter for the first time since Cory Monteith's
death to post a photo of the couple during a happy day together and to
thank her fans once again for their support. Lea wrote, "Thank you all
for helping me through this time with your enormous love & support.
Cory will forever be in my heart." Take a look at the photo: http://bit.ly/13hnaoo 'THE VIEW' IS EYEING HODA KOTB TO FILL THEIR EMPTY SEAT: The NY Post is reporting that ABC is "very interested" in having Today show host Hoda Kotb join the ladies of The View. The network has reportedly already reached out to begin discussions with her people.
Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice and her husband Joe
are facing over 50 years in prison if convicted of the 39-count
indictment brought against them on Monday (July 29th) by U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman. According to TMZ, the couple defrauded the IRS and several banks from 2001-2008.
The
Giudices allegedly conspired to illegally obtain mortgages and loans
from multiple banks by intentionally overestimating their incomes to get
more money. They are also being accused of withholding vital
information about their net worth after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
in 2009 -- including how much Teresa was being paid for appearing on the
Bravo reality show. The husband and wife are also being charged with
conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Neither Teresa nor Joe have
been arrested but they are expected in court this morning (July 30th.)
Teresa released a statement to Entertainment Online
saying, "Today is a most difficult day for our family. I support Joe
and, as a wonderful husband and father, I know he wants only the best
for our lovely daughters and me. I am committed to my family and intend
to maintain our lives in the best way possible, which includes
continuing my career. As a result, I am hopeful that we will resolve
this matter with the Government as quickly as possible."
The
IRS is also coming after Joe for tax evasion after he allegedly failed
to file income tax returns from 2004-2008 when he reportedly earned $1
million. He is still awaiting trial for an arrest from over two years
ago for wrongfully using identifying information of another and
impersonation.
Former King of Queens star Leah Remini
left the Church of Scientology earlier this month and while many
suspected the actress was being bullied to stay silent on the matter,
she is finally speaking out. People caught up with Leah at
Saturday's (July 27th) 15th annual DesignCare event in Malibu where she
proclaimed once again how grateful she has been for the support she has
received.
Leah said, "We stand united, my family and I, and I
think that says a lot about who we are, and what we're about. I believe
that people should be able to question things. I believe that people
should value family, and value friendships, and hold those things
sacrosanct. That for me, that's what I'm about. It wouldn't matter what
it was, simply because no one is going to tell me how I need to think,
no one is going to tell me who I can, and cannot, talk to." She added,
"It doesn't matter, it could be anything. I thought about the family
being broken up for some other cause, and I'm not about to shut up."
The 43-year-old had spent over three decades as part of the church.
A 40-year-old Queens psychiatric patient who is described by the NY Post as a gay, Jewish, white supremacist has been arrested for stalking Anderson Cooper.
Alex Hausner has reportedly been obsessed with the CNN reporter since
2008 when he allegedly began making unwelcome phone calls and visits to
Anderson's home in the West Village.
Everything culminated last
month when Hausner showed up at Cooper's home once again and began
trying to kick in the door. Security cameras caught him shouting, "I
swear to f--king God, don't insult me" and "I'm going to f--k you up!"
Alex was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Saturday (July 27th)
and is currently being held on $75,000 bail.
Hausner reportedly claims that Anderson's boyfriend, Benjamin Maisani, is a "thug and a mongrel" who has sent people after him.
Prosecutors say that Alex has prior felony and misdemeanor charges.
Regardless of the box office performance for his latest film The Lone Ranger, Johnny Depp
is still one of the biggest names in Hollywood but the actor says he
has been thinking about moving on from the movie-making business. The
50-year-old chatted with BBC about the "quieter" things he would like to do with his time.
Depp
explained, "I wouldn't say that I'm dropping out any second but I would
say it's probably not too far away. At a certain point, you start
thinking, and when you add up the amount of dialogue that you say per
year, for example, and you realize that you've said written words more
than you've actually had a chance to say your own words, you start
thinking of that as a kind of insane option for a human being." He
continued, "So, are there quieter things that I wouldn't mind doing, you
know? Yeah, I wouldn't mind that."
The iconic actor recently told Rolling Stone
that he thinks about retirement "every day" and that eventually he'd
like to "just take it down to the bare minimum and concentrate on, I
guess, living life. Really living life."
Johnny currently has three projects in development including Into the Woods, a sequel to Alice in Wonderland, and the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film.
THE STRANGEST BABY GIFTS BEING SENT TO PRINCE GEORGE
Although most people send stuffed animals or some sort of clothing, Prince William and Kate's son has been receiving a plethora of strange and completely atypical birthday gifts. According to Radar Online,
high level people including government officials and business owners
have sent peculiar presents in the hopes of distinguishing themselves
from the rest of the well-wishers.
Officials from Australia's
Northern Territory reportedly gifted a baby crocodile named George who
will live with two other crocs named William and Kate. Kela -- the
Social Insurance Institution of Finland -- sent a whole box of goodies
which included condoms and bra pads amongst other more practical items
like clothing, diaper cream, and a towel.
The baby also
received some fancy duds. He will be presented with a pair of French
cufflinks at his christening which may go well with the suit and tie
that little George got from the Israelis.
One local
supermarket where William and Kate have shopped gifted his royal
highness with a parking space for when his mom and dad need to go on a
diaper run.
FBI PUTS 150 IN CUSTODY IN SEX TRAFFICKING SWEEP: 150 people
across the United States were arrested by the FBI over the weekend on
charges of holding children against their will for prostitution. FBI
officials called the three-day sweep the largest-ever operation against
child sex-trafficking. The arrests were made in 76 cities, with all
suspects expected to face state and federal charges related to sex
crimes and human trafficking. FBI agents and local police recovered 105
children during the operation at truck stops, motels, casinos and other
places where officials said they were forced to work as prostitutes. 8 ARRESTED AFTER U.S. SURFING OPEN ENDS WITH RIOT: An
unruly mob swept through the downtown area of California's Huntington
Beach following the town's U.S. Open of Surfing on Sunday night (July
28th), fighting, looting a bicycle shop, clashing with police and
trashing property before authorities broke up the disturbance and made
eight arrests. Several officers and people received minor injuries. The
weeklong surfing competition drew thousands of people to the Orange
County city that bills itself as "Surf City USA." SWISS TRAINS COLLIDE, INJURING 35:
Two trains in Switzerland collided head-on Monday evening (July 29th),
injuring about 35 people. The driver of one of the trains was still
unaccounted for and thought to be inside the wreckage. Police spokesman Jean-Christophe Sauterel
said that the trains were traveling at slower speeds, adding that "the
situation could have been much more catastrophic." He also said it was
too early to ascertain the cause of the crash. The accident comes a week
after one of the worst train crashes in decades killed 79 people in
Spain. TALIBAN FREES HUNDREDS OF PRISONERS: Taliban
fighters disguised as police and armed with bombs and grenades broke 250
prisoners out of a Pakistan jail in a brazen overnight operation that
raised serious questions over the new government's ability to combat
militancy. Explosions and machine gunfire rattling the city of Dera
Ismail Khan near Pakistan's lawless tribal regions bordering
Afghanistan. TODAY'S FYI: MONOGAMY MAY HAVE EVOLVED TO PROTECT CHILDREN: A
new study has concluded that monogamy may have evolved among humans and
other mammals because it protected infants from being killed by rival
males. Scientists at University College London suggest that in addition
to providing more effective infant care, monogamy developed so that a
rival male would not kill a newly born infant in order to return a
female to a fertile state so that he could impregnate her with his own
child. Infanticide is very high among some primate species, including
chimpanzees and gorillas, possibly for that reason, but the new study
shows that the risk of that happening led to monogamous relationships
among primates and, eventually, humans. HOUSE MADE OF BEER CANS NOW A LANDMARK: A house covered completely in flattened beer cans remains both an art object and a landmark in Houston. John Milkosovich
began papering the walls of his house with crushed beer cans in the
early '70s, when aluminum siding was all the rage, using as many as
50,000 cans that he had piled up by drinking a six-pack daily over the
span of 20 years. Milkosovich passed away in the mid-'80s, but his wife
lived in the house until her death in the mid-'90s and the house was
purchased 10 years ago by local nonprofit Orange Show Center for
Visionary Art, who restored it and opened it to the public. Ruben
Guevara, head of restoration and preservation of the so-called Beer Can
House, said that Milksovich "had no idea what was the fascination about
what he was doing." RESIDENTS OF NORTH DAKOTA ARE TOP BEER CONSUMERS: While
we're on the subject of beer, the top five states for beer consumption
per capita are North Dakota, New Hampshire, Montana, South Dakota and
Wisconsin, according to a survey released by the Beer Institute, a trade
organization. North Dakota drank about 45.8 gallons of beer per
resident 21 and older last year. The figures do not include anyone under
the age of 21. The states that consume the least suds per capita are
Utah, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Kentucky, with
Utah residents drinking about 20.2 gallons of beer on average last year.
Most of the beer across the board -- 72 percent, in fact, -- was
consumed by men. SPORTS: FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER'S BODY RECOVERED: The body of former major league pitcher Frank Castillo
was recovered on Monday after he apparently drowned in Bartlett Lake
northeast of Phoenix. The 44-year-old Castillo, who family members and
friends said wasn't a good swimmer, jumped off a pontoon boat Sunday
afternoon for a swim and didn't resurface. Castillo had an 82-104 record
in 13 major league seasons, pitching for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado,
Detroit, Toronto, Boston and Florida before retiring in 2005. A-ROD COULD FACE LIFETIME BAN: Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez could
face a lifetime ban from playing if he doesn't take a deal that would
suspend him for the rest of 2013 and all of 2014. Rodriguez is widely
expected to be implicated in the scandal surrounding Biogenesis, the
South Florida anti-aging clinic that allegedly supplied
performance-enhancing drugs to him and other players.
WHOSE LINE IT IS ANYWAY? - Kyle Richards and comic Jonathan Mangum.
WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? - Jeff Davis helps the cast with improv games.
CAPTURE - (series
premiere) Twelve teams of two enter a high-tech wilderness compound,
where they must battle fatigue, hunger and extreme weather as tehy
compete for $250,000.
BRAVO
INTERIOR THERAPY WITH JEFF LEWIS - Jeff and Jenni helpe a new bride who feels trapped in a medieval castle her husband's father built.
DAY TIME TALK SHOW THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW - (repeat) THE VIEW - Ethan Hawke, John Walsh, guest co-host Lauren Sanchez LATE NIGHT TALK SHOWS THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (CBS) - Bryan Cranston, Amanda Seyfried, Michael Franti & Spearhead THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO (NBC) - Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Gad JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE (ABC) - Larry David, Naya Rivera, Backstreet Boys THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON (CBS) - Henry Winkler, Valerie Azlynn LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON (NBC) - Dan Aykroyd, Paula Patton, Brad Paisley, Booker T. Jones LAST CALL WITH CARSON DALY (NBC) - (repeat) THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART (COMEDY CENTRAL) - Tim Gunn THE COLBERT REPORT (COMEDY CENTRAL) - Atul Gawande CONAN - Neil Patrick Harris, Shailene Woodley, Dan St. Germain
NEWLYWEDS CELEBRATE AT MCDONALDS: A British couple
celebrated their wedding reception at McDonald's. Steve and Emily Asher
brought 33 guests to McDonald's after their wedding ceremony at a local
registry office. The couple took a limousine to the McDonald's where the
manager reserved a special area for the wedding. The reception cost the
couple about $200. When asked why he chose the popular fast food
restaurant to hold his reception in, Mr. Asher joked it was because
everyone loved to eat at McDonald's. (The Sun) FIRE SERVICE WARNS COUPLES AGAINST USING HANDCUFFS:
The London Fire Brigade has warned couples to think twice before using
handcuffs. The fire service has urged couples to be careful when using
the cuffs after the number of people trapped has risen over the last
three years. The service has had 79 incidences in the past three years.
Firefighter Dave Brown said: 'I don't know whether it's the Fifty Shades
of Grey effect, but the number of incidents involving items like
handcuffs seems to have gone up." (Daily Mail) YOUNGEST US CHESS EXPERT:
A nine-year old Massachusetts girl is the U.S.'s youngest chess expert.
Carissa Yip, who learned how to play chess only three years ago, ranks
in the top seven percent of the 51,000 players registered. Her father,
Percy, taught her the game and played with her until she began beating
him. Yip could reach the master level in as soon as a year. She has
three years to reach master rank in time to beat the world record, held
by Irina Krush, who became a master at 12. (UPI)
WORKER SENT TO REMOVE GRAFFITI FINDS IMAGE OF HIMSELF ON THE SAME WALL:
A London stencil artist was surprised to find his first piece of "Bad
Kitty" graffiti being painted over. The artist only known as "DS" took a
photo of the man painting over his piece. DS then painted the image of
the man on the wall as a way to commemorate his original work. A month
later the mural is still on the wall. DS explained, "My reaction to it
being removed was a little different than normally. Knowing a piece has
been removed or painted over doesn't bother me, it's the name of the
game in graffiti but this time was a little different as it only lasted
eight hours." (Telegraph) LARGEST VIDEO GAME BATTLE:
More than 4,000 ships fought in a huge battle online in Eve online. The
massive multiplayer game, which routinely breaks records for the most
populous in-game events, had 4070 ships participate in the battle
shattering the previous record by 400 ships. The battle started when two
huge player alliances were fighting over one region of the game called
the fountain. Developers recently put some valuable moons in the
fountain. The alliance CFC was victorious in end. The game slowed down
by 10 percent due to the large amount of players. (Mashable)
PREACHER PRANKED STARTS RECITING FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIRE AND STAR WARS PLOTLINES:
WHAT YOUR HAIR STYLE SAYS ABOUT YOU: Hair is really important
when it comes to how we look. Trichologist Philip Kingsley says, "Hair
is called a secondary sexual characteristic. You can't flaunt your
primary sexual characteristics in public, at least not in western
society, so that's what makes your hair important from a social
viewpoint." Kingsley says long, glossy hair is popular because it
denotes youth and fertility, while short, cropped hairstyles are widely
considered masculine. Other experts say that bright colored hair is
associated with a quirky personality while wavy hair makes a person seem
likeable. Additionally, experts say long hair is glamorous, and fringe
hair makes a person seem like an individual. (Daily Mail) WHY IT'S FUNNY WHEN A GUY GETS KICKED IN THE GROIN: http://tinyurl.com/mhlhjmz PET INSURANCE IS BECOMING A POPULAR EMPLOYEE BENEFIT:
Experts say that more and more companies are starting to offer pet
insurance policies to their employees as a benefit. Companies like
Chipotle and MGM Resorts in Nevada have both added pet insurance to
their employee benefits in recent years. The plan Chipotle employees
have access to costs between ten and 57-dollars per month per pet. If
you're interested in find out about insurance options for your pet,
visit www.PetInsuranceReview.com/dog.asp. (UPI) THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL MAY DIFFER IN MEN AND WOMEN:
A new study finds that gender may influence which emotions drive heavy
drinkers to drink, and how they feel the next day. To find this,
researchers from the University of Vermont had a group of nearly 250
participants who were flagged by their doctors as having a possible
drinking problem go through an alcohol treatment program. Following the
treatment, participants were then called every day for six months and
asked about their moods, stress level, and drinking habits. Researchers
found that anger drove men to drink, and a man who felt angry the next
day was more likely to drink than a man who did not feel as angry.
Researchers say they also found that people reported less happiness as
they use more alcohol, and that this effect was seen in both men and
women, but was particularly strong in women. Researchers hope the
findings will be useful in helping a person who might have a drinking
problem. (Fox) OPTIMISTS ARE MORE RESILIENT TO STRESS:
New research finds that optimists are more resilient to stress than
other personality types. To find this, researchers from Concordia
University presented participants with a half a glass of water.
Participants were then asked how they viewed the glass. Researchers
found that those who viewed the glass as "half full" had lower levels of
the stress hormone cortisol than their pessimist coubnterparts.
Additionally, the optimists held steady levels of cortisol even after a
tough day, while the pessimists' corisol levels shot up each time they
faces a stressful situation. Researchers explain that this happens
because optimists usually believe they're going to overcome stressors
and are therefore more likely to seek out solutions, while pessimists
tend to expect the worst and avoid challenging situations which adds
more stress. (Men's Health) HAVING NATURAL TEETH LINKED TO BRAIN POWER:
New research finds that people with fewer natural teeth performed worse
on mental exercises than those with all of their teeth. The study was
published in the European Journal of Oral Sciences, and researchers
found that with men of all ages, having more natural teeth meant they
would perform better on mental exercises. Men's Health dentistry
advisor, Dr. Mark Wolff, said the results may indicate that, "People who
have more teeth are probably more health-conscious and take better care
of themselves, as well as their teeth." (Men's Health) TO MAKE A BETTER BARGAIN, COMPLIMENT THE SELLER:
New research finds that flattering the seller of an item might get you a
better bargain on it. To find this, researchers assigned a group of
participants the role of a buyer or a seller and then presented them
with a coffee mug. Sellers were told they could keep the mug or sell it,
and buyers were asked to evaluate the mug. Bother sellers and buyers
were shown several words on a computer screen-- all of the words fell
into three categories: threatening, neutral or non-words. They found
that sellers responded to threat-related words much more quickly than
buyers, and made them drive up the price of their item. Researchers say
they were able to neutralize this effect in buyers when they flattered
them. One researcher explains, "Buyers may want to affirm sellers to
make them feel less threatened by the loss of a possession and therefore
willing to set lower prices." (Daily Mail) IS IT ACTUALLY POSSIBLE TO COUGH UP A LUNG?http://tinyurl.com/m24783q MANY PEOPLE FRIEND REQUEST A PERSON ON SOCIAL MEDIA BEFORE A FIRST DATE WITH THEM:
A new survey finds that one-in-four people say they send a
friend-request online before a first date with someone. To find this,
Mashable surveyed three-thousand participants on what they found
acceptable and polite in regard to dating in the digital age. The survey
found that 37.1-percent of singles will check their phone if their date
leaves the room, while 38.6-percent of people in committed
relationships, and 33.4-percent of married people said the same. Also,
26.6-percent of people surveyed said it's ok to friend request someone
before the first day, while 26.9-percent said "after multiple dates." Of
those surveyed who were college-age, 38.8% said friend requesting was
acceptable before the first date, while just 26.2-percent of
20-somethings said the same, and just 16.4-percent of those in their 30s
agreed. (Mashable)
A military judge is set to issue a verdict on Tuesday (July 30th) in the court martial of Bradley Manning,the
U.S. soldier who disclosed reams of secret intelligence documents to
the Wikileaks website. Manning has acknowledged leaking the documents
but denies the most serious charge of "aiding the enemy." He has already
pleaded guilty to 10 lesser charges out of 22 total, and faces life in
prison if convicted.
Obama's Choice: Hillary or Joe?
President Barack Obama and his former Secretary of State and onetime rival for the presidency, Hillary Clinton,
had lunch at the White House on Monday (July 29th), fueling speculation
over whether Clinton plans to run again in 2016 and is looking for
Obama's support. But another of the president's closest advisers, Vice
President Joe Biden, is also mulling another run at the nation's
top office, which would leave the President with a difficult choice of
who to endorse. A White House spokesperson said that the lunch was
"chiefly social," adding that Obama and Clinton have "developed not just
a strong working relationship, but also a genuine friendship."
Meanwhile, Biden and Obama are scheduled to have their own breakfast on
Tuesday (July 30th).
Guess Who's Footing the Bill?
Virginia taxpayers are stuck with a $53,530 bill from a private law firm that took over an investigation of Governor Bob McDonnell's
gifts from a political donor and businessman. The investigation
ultimately cleared the governor of violating state law after probing
gifts McDonnell's family received from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams.
Jason Aldean might be re-teaming with Ludacris. The rapper, whose real name is Christopher Bridges, recently reached out to Jason and the two might be heading back into the studio.
Jason tells us: "Well,
you know, we worked together on 'Dirt Road Anthem' and he called and
had some interest in me coming in and maybe doing something on one of
his records, so we'll see, man. I've always been one of those people (who) loves
working with other artists. I love doing different things like that and
working with artists that are outside of our genre. I'm a fan of music
in general, and I love doing those things, so anytime an opportunity
like that comes up I think you look at it and see if it makes sense and
if it does I think it's cool to kind of step outside your comfort zone a
little bit and do something different."
In
other Jason news, he broke the all-time attendance record at Cheyenne's
Frontier Days on Friday (July 26th). Hours before the show, he had sold
24,457 tickets, with walk-up lines wrapped around the front gate for
what was the largest concert ever held in the state of Wyoming. The
previous mark was held by George Strait.
Jason said,
"It's such an unbelievable thing to even have your name uttered in the
same breath as a guy like that. Strait is probably the best country
singer of the last century in my opinion. I can only hope for a career
that lasts half as long as his . . . there is still no one cooler than
King George!"
Jason partnered with GE, Susan G. Komen and the
Wyoming Women First organization at Frontier Days to help encourage
women to sign up for more information on screening options in Wyoming,
the state with the third-lowest screening rate in the country. He
donated concert tickets, private meet and greet experiences and more to
raise awareness of the GE "Mammovan" parked on site, which is a mobile
screening facility especially vital in states like Wyoming where the
average distance a woman has to travel for a mammogram is 70 miles. SIDE NOTES
Each
October, which is dubbed breast cancer awareness month, Jason turns one
of his tour dates into the Concert for the Cure. He donates all profits
to Susan G. Komen. To date, his Concerts for the Cure have raised in
excess of $1 million.
Taylor Swift
is known for her surprise collaborations in concert, and she did not
disappoint during her performance on Saturday (July 27th) at Gillette
Stadium in Boston. Fans were thrilled when Carly Simon took the stage to duet with Taylor on Carly's iconic hit, "You're So Vain."
After
the show Taylor tweeted, "Got to sing 'You're So Vain' with Carly Simon
at Gillette Stadium tonight!!!!! Unreal. I could not possibly look up
to her more."
Saturday's show was the second of Taylor's two sold-out concerts at Gillette Stadium.
The Red tour rolls on to Des Moine, Iowa and Kansas City, Missouri this week. CHECK IT OUT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-zfeXPDNIs#action=share
Garth Brooks became a grandfather last week! The superstar's middle daughter, 19-year-old August, welcomed a daughter with her longtime boyfriend, Chance Russell. Baby Karalynn was born in Oklahoma on Tuesday (July 23rd).
Garth
issued a statement on Friday (July 26th) saying "Our family would first
like to thank everyone for their warm wishes and sweet celebration of
Baby K's arrival. Our children's lives have always been extremely
private and they have been endlessly encouraged to be their own people.
We have always wanted them to be individuals and NOT be known as
'someone's daughters'. I have been amazed and grateful how the press has
always respected this. I now ask that respect to please continue as
this young family begins the greatest days of their lives."
Garth's oldest daughter, Taylor, is 21, and his baby, Allie, is 17 and in her last year of high school.
Justin Moore will headline the Off The Beaten Path tour this fall. The 57-date trek featuring special guests Randy Houser and Josh Thompson will begin on November 1st in Springfield, Missouri.
This will be Justin's second time to headline a tour.
He said, "I can't express, in words, how excited I am about this tour. The success of the Outlaws Like Me
tour gave us the opportunity to step it up a notch this time around.
From the production to venue size to Randy and Josh, we're taking it to
another level."
He added, "I consider Randy Houser and Josh
Thompson to be two of my best friends in Nashville, and, I've said
numerous times, I believe they are the two most talented
singer-songwriters in our format. We are thrilled to welcome them to our
second headlining tour and know that they will help us tremendously. As
a fan, I can't wait to watch them play . . . It's gonna be a party
every night!"
Here are the dates on Justin's Off the Beaten Path tour: 11/1 - Springfield, Mo. 11/2 - Enid, Okla. 11/3 - Fort Smith, Ark. 11/8 - Tupelo, Miss. 11/9 - Columbus, Ga. 11/10 - St. Petersburg, Fla. 11/14 - Saginaw, Mich. 11/15 - Highland Heights, Ky. 11/16 - Youngstown, Ohio 11/20 - Topeka, Kan. 11/21 - Lincoln, Neb. 11/22 - Mankato, Minn. 11/23 - Fargo, N.D. 11/30 - Chicago, Ill. 11/23 - Greensboro, N.C. 1/24 - Knoxville, Tenn. 1/25 - South Haven, Miss. 1/30 - Lacrosse, Wis. 1/31 - Springfield, Ill. 2/1 - Duluth, Minn. 2/6 - Fairfax, Va. 2/7 - California, Pa. 2/8 - Huntington, W.Va. 2/13 - Clovis, N.M. 2/14 - Cedar Park, Texas 2/15 - Allen, Texas 2/16 - Wichita Falls, Texas 2/26 - Springfield, Mass. 2/27 - Indiana, Pa. 2/28 - Kingston, R.I. 3/1 - Salisbury, Md. 3/6 - Lowell, Mass. 3/7 - Bangor, Maine 3/8 - Portland, Maine 3/14 - Kalamazoo, Mich. 3/15 - Ypsilanti, Mich. 3/20 - Park City, Kan. 3/27 - St Louis, Mo. 3/28 - Cedar Rapids, Iowa 3/29 - Rockford, Ill. 4/10 - Norfolk, Va. 4/11 - Salem, Va. 4/18 - Reading, Pa. 4/26 - Jonesboro, Ark. FAST FACTS
Justin's third studio album, also called Off the Beaten Path, will be in stores on September 17th.
The album's debut single, "Point at You," is nearing the Top 10 on the country charts.
Kelly Clarkson is ready to be a newlywed! The singer says that she and her fiance, Brandon Blackstock, had hoped to be married by now but their busy careers forced them to push things back.
Kelly tells us that agreeing on a wedding date was no easy task: "Picking
the date for this wedding was ridiculous! We wanted to actually get
married in June. I should be married by now, okay? I'm very upset about
it, and I should be married by now but we could not fit it in. And then
I'm making a Christmas album and I'm doing country stuff and I'm still
doing pop stuff, and I'm doing the wedding and I've got a new life, you
know? I've got two kids now and we live together in a new house and
there's construction everywhere. I mean, everything you could put on a
list we've actually put on our list. Anyway, but we had to plan it for
October cause when you get closer to holidays that's when we have time
off, so I'm getting married right after I get off tour. He's with Blake (Shelton) all the time. He manages Blake, so he's everywhere with Blake with The Voice or tour stuff so he's just as busy as me, so it's hard."
Kelly recently tweeted one of her engagement pictures. CHECK IT OUT: http://tinyurl.com/q4eu98l
Dustin Lynch spent a little time in the hospital before his show in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday (July 25th) while out on Keith Urban's Light The Fuse tour. Dustin was reportedly battling the flu and checked into a local hospital to receive fluids.
The
singer tweeted about his hospitalization, writing, "Thx to my lovely
nurse Tara and Dr Davidson for helping me kick the flu! I'm back and
ready to Light The Fuse!"
Dustin went on to play shows in Raleigh, NC and Atlanta, GA this weekend. CHECK IT OUT: http://tinyurl.com/kvs2eva
Dangerous weather forced Luke Bryan
to cancel his outdoor show at the Isleta Amphitheater in Albuquerque,
New Mexico on Friday (July 26th). The storm was so bad it actually broke
records, being reported by the Albuquerque National Weather Service as
bringing the "most intense rain, severe-wind producing storms in recent
memory, if not on record."
Luke tweeted, "Hey y'all. Hope
everyone is ok. Praying everyone got to they're vehicles safely... Bad
weather here in Albuquerque. Show can't happen tonight. Freakin
bummed..."
The concert has been rescheduled for September 22nd, and tickets will be honored on that date. FAST FACTS
Luke will release his Crash My Party CD on August 13th.
His brand new single is called "That's My Kind of Night."
Willie Nelson is getting some help from the ladies on his next album. The project is called To All The Girls . . . , and features an impressive lineup of some of the best female voices in music today, including Carrie
Underwood, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert, Roseanne Cash,
Sheryl Crow, Wynonna Judd, Alison Krauss, Mavis Staples, Norah Jones,
Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris, and Brandi Carlile. The album will be in stores on September 20th.
Here is the 18-track listing of To All The Girls . . . : 1. From Here to the Moon and Back feat. Dolly Parton 2. She Was No Good for Me feat. Miranda Lambert 3. It Won't Be Very Long feat. The Secret Sisters 4. Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends feat. Rosanne Cash 5. Far Away Places feat. Sheryl Crow 6. Bloody Mary Morning feat. Wynonna Judd 7. Always on My Mind feat. Carrie Underwood 8. Somewhere Between feat. Loretta Lynn 9. No Mas Amor feat. Alison Krauss 10. Back to Earth feat. Melonie Cannon 11. Grandma's Hands feat. Mavis Staples 12. Walkin feat. Norah Jones 13. Till the End of the World feat. Shelby Lynne 14. Will You Remember Mine feat. Lily Meola 15. Dry Lightning feat. Emmylou Harris 16. Making Believe feat. Brandi Carlile 17. Have You Ever Seen the Rain feat. Paula Nelson 18. After the Fire Is Gone feat. Tina Rose
COUNTRY TRIVIA
Q. Who was the first artist to sign a recording contract live on television? A. Barbara Mandrell
ON THE TUBE
BACKSTORY: JASON ALDEAN/GAC 8:00PM (ET)
NOTEWORTHY AT THE OPRY: OPRY BIRTHDAY SPECIAL/GAC 9:00PM (ET) Jason Aldean, Bill Anderson, Casey James
It looks promising that Keith Urban will, in fact, be returning to the judge's table at American Idol. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Keith "looks set to return" for Season 13.
Newcomer Brett Eldredge
is getting very close to the Number One spot on the country charts -- a
little too close for Brett's comfort, actually -- with his second
single, "Don't Ya." Brett made a friendly bet with some folks in his
camp that might just force him to face his biggest fear if, ironically,
he meets his biggest career goal so far.
All eyes are on Chris Young
when he's performing, but things get a little weird when Chris locks
eyes on concert-goers. He gets a kick out of zoning in on a fan who is
singing all the words along with him because it has an inevitable
effect. 
Vince Gill and his good friend and famed pedal steel player, Paul Franklin, released their new collaborative album, called Bakersfield, this week. The project pays homage to two of Bakersfield's sons -- Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.
Vince and Paul co-produced the album and recorded it in two days at
Vince's home studio with Vince playing all the acoustic and electric
guitar fills and solos. 
Brad Paisley will make the broadcast network debut of his new single, "I Can't Change the World," on NBC's hit series, America's Got Talent, airing tonight (Wednesday, July 31st) at 9 p.m. ET. Brad co-wrote the song, which is the third single from his Wheelhouse CD. 
JUSTIN LONG TO APPEAR ON ANNA FARRIS CBS SITCOM: Justin Long has signed on to play a love interest for Anna Farris on her new CBS sitcom Mom debuting this fall. Oscar winner Octavia Spencer has also been cast in a guest-starring role in the series' fifth episode. Mom premieres Monday, September 23rd.
TERESA AND JOE GIUDICE HAVE THEIR DAY IN COURT: Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice and her husband Joe
were each released on $500,000 bail on Tuesday (July 30th) after
appearing in court in New Jersey. Following the hearing, Teresa's
attorney told E! News, "It's been a difficult few days but she's
been resolute. She's tending to her kids and dealing with this like a
grownup." He added, "It's almost invariably true that in federal
criminal cases such as this one, the judge requires each defendant to
have their own attorney. It reflects the ethical rules so the lawyers
avoid conflicts of interest. Even if people are on the same page like a
husband and wife, they could theoretically go in different directions at
some point in the future."
Katy Perry reveals in the September issue of ELLE UK that she actually reached out to Kristen Stewart after false rumors of her romance with Robert Pattinson began to spread a few months back. The pop star wanted to make sure that Kristen knew she was a better person than that.
Bruce Willis
is building a reputation for himself over in the UK as being a bit of a
loon after giving a string of wacky interviews to various media outlets
while promoting his latest films. Most recently, the 58-year-old sat
down with Kate Garraway from the morning show Daybreak while wearing a robe over his clothing.
STATIONS: Please note the following story contains language that could be considered offensive to your audience.
Now that Jennifer Aniston has found happiness with Justin Theroux, the 44-year-old actress can look back on her younger years and recognize where mistakes were made. The We're the Millers star sat down with her co-star Jason Sudeikis and Glamour magazine to discuss how they both found their happiness and what advice Jenn would give herself when she was in her 30's.
Opening today (July 31st) is the sequel to the hybrid live action/animated movie, The Smurfs 2, starring Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Katy Perry and Jayma Mays. The film follows the Smurfs as they head to Paris to resuce Smurfette, who has been kidnapped by Gargamel.
Kip Moore's latest single, "Hey Pretty Girl," takes the top spot this week on the Mediabase
country singles chart, marking his third consecutive chart-topper. "Hey
Pretty Girl" follows the two-week Number One hit, "Somethin' 'Bout A
Truck" and "Beer Money" off Kip's debut album, Up All Night.
Lady Antebellum will return to the road on their new Take Me Downtown
tour beginning on November 8th in Southaven, Mississippi. The 2013 leg
will wrap on December 14th in Peoria, Illinois. Special guests on the
tour are Kip Moore and Kacey Musgraves. Fans can purchase tickets and special VIP experiences beginning on September 13th. 
Dierks Bentley will return to host the 7th Annual ACM Honors, an evening dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
The event will take place on Tuesday, September 10th at the historic
Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Tickets priced at $40.00 will go on sale
to the public at Ticketmaster.com and the Ryman box office at 8 a.m. PT
on Friday (August 2nd). 
Loretta Lynn is mourning the death of her oldest daughter, Betty Sue Lynn,
who passed away yesterday (Monday, July 29th) morning in Waverly,
Tennessee from complications of emphysema. She was 64. Betty Sue is
survived by two daughters and five grandchildren. A spokesperson for the
legendary singer says Loretta and her family thank friends and fans for
their thoughts and prayers during this time of great loss.
Kristian Bush of Sugarland
helped create a new character as part of the game My Singing Monsters,
which is available on various forms of media. Kristian contributed
vocals and mandolin for "Shugabush," which was designed and animated by
the artists at Big Blue Bubble. 
Sixteen-year-old Danielle Bradbery is juggling being a high school student and a recording artist. As the winner of this season of The Voice, Danielle is trying to figure out the best way to get her education and pursue her dream at the same time. She tells us: "I started off high school in my huge, regular high school with
everybody else but as this whole Voice thing started, I got an online
schooling and it's for students who travel, so that was a big help for
that. But now that this is continuing, it's kind of up in the air right
now. But we're definitely trying to figure out if I should go back to
school or keep online schooling. It depends on my schedule. We're
thinking if I went back to my regular school, it'd be kinda crazy. We're
still trying to figure that out."
George Jones is being remembered with the re-release of God's Country: George Jones And Friends.
The 10-song CD was originally released on a limited basis in 2006, but
is now back in stores to honor the late legend. The project is George's
classic hits sung by "the possum's" friends and fellow entertainers like
Garth Brooks, Joe Diffie, Vince Gill, Tracy Lawrence, Pam Tillis, Tanya Tucker and George himself.
LINDSAY LOHAN TO GUEST HOST 'CHELSEA LATELY': Lindsay Lohan's road to career redemption will continue with a guest hosting gig on Chelsea Lately on August 5th. E! promises that Lilo will interact with Chelsea's sidekick Chuy, run the roundtable discussion, and interview the celebrity guests.
EVAN RACHEL WOOD GIVES BIRTH: Thirteen star Evan Rachel Wood and her husband Jamie Bell
welcomed a baby boy on Monday (July 29th.) This is the first child for
the couple who were married in October of 2012. A rep for the actress
confirmed that "Parents and baby are doing well."
Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice and her husband Joe
are facing over 50 years in prison if convicted of the 39-count
indictment brought against them on Monday (July 29th) by U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman. According to TMZ, the couple defrauded the IRS and several banks from 2001-2008.
Former King of Queens star Leah Remini
left the Church of Scientology earlier this month and while many
suspected the actress was being bullied to stay silent on the matter,
she is finally speaking out. People caught up with Leah at
Saturday's (July 27th) 15th annual DesignCare event in Malibu where she
proclaimed once again how grateful she has been for the support she has
received.
Regardless of the box office performance for his latest film The Lone Ranger, Johnny Depp
is still one of the biggest names in Hollywood but the actor says he
has been thinking about moving on from the movie-making business. The
50-year-old chatted with BBC about the "quieter" things he would like to do with his time.
Although most people send stuffed animals or some sort of clothing, Prince William and Kate's son has been receiving a plethora of strange and completely atypical birthday gifts. According to Radar Online,
high level people including government officials and business owners
have sent peculiar presents in the hopes of distinguishing themselves
from the rest of the well-wishers.
Jason Aldean might be re-teaming with Ludacris. The rapper, whose real name is Christopher Bridges, recently reached out to Jason and the two might be heading back into the studio.
Taylor Swift
is known for her surprise collaborations in concert, and she did not
disappoint during her performance on Saturday (July 27th) at Gillette
Stadium in Boston. Fans were thrilled when Carly Simon took the stage to duet with Taylor on Carly's iconic hit, "You're So Vain."
Garth Brooks became a grandfather last week! The superstar's middle daughter, 19-year-old August, welcomed a daughter with her longtime boyfriend, Chance Russell. Baby Karalynn was born in Oklahoma on Tuesday (July 23rd).
Justin Moore will headline the Off The Beaten Path tour this fall. The 57-date trek featuring special guests Randy Houser and Josh Thompson will begin on November 1st in Springfield, Missouri. 
Kelly Clarkson is ready to be a newlywed! The singer says that she and her fiance, Brandon Blackstock, had hoped to be married by now but their busy careers forced them to push things back.
Dustin Lynch spent a little time in the hospital before his show in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday (July 25th) while out on Keith Urban's Light The Fuse tour. Dustin was reportedly battling the flu and checked into a local hospital to receive fluids.
Dangerous weather forced Luke Bryan
to cancel his outdoor show at the Isleta Amphitheater in Albuquerque,
New Mexico on Friday (July 26th). The storm was so bad it actually broke
records, being reported by the Albuquerque National Weather Service as
bringing the "most intense rain, severe-wind producing storms in recent
memory, if not on record." 
Willie Nelson is getting some help from the ladies on his next album. The project is called To All The Girls . . . , and features an impressive lineup of some of the best female voices in music today, including Carrie
Underwood, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert, Roseanne Cash,
Sheryl Crow, Wynonna Judd, Alison Krauss, Mavis Staples, Norah Jones,
Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris, and Brandi Carlile. The album will be in stores on September 20th.