Legacy RecordingsThe four-part reissue of Johnny Cash’s Forever Words album concludes on Friday, with the release of the fourth and final digital installment of a project that’s been slowly rolling out since last October.
Forever Words originally came out in 2018, as a collaborative album that featured the legendary singer’s poetry and lyrics set to music for the first time. Acts like Kris Kristofferson, Kacey Musgraves and Elvis Costello signed on to record the songs.
The 16 original tracks are included on the new, expanded version, but Forever Words more than doubles that with its 2020-2021 release, adding 18 new songs to the deluxe version. The final five of those new tracks will be revealed on Friday, and performing them are a few of the biggest names from today’s mainstream country.
Brad Paisley joins forces with Brooks & Dunn’s Ronnie Dunn for “Outta Site Tonite,” while Runaway June lends their signature three-part harmonies to “My Song.” Self-described “dirt emo” Americana star Ruston Kelly offers “Dark and Bloody Ground,” Aaron Lewis lends his gritty vocals to “The Third Degree” and Bill Miller, one of the pinnacle acts of the Native American singer-songwriter community, contributes “Tecemseh.”
Much of the new material was recorded at The Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee. John Carter Cash, the only child of Johnny and June Carter, produced the album.
ABCEver since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown, Eric Church has pulled no punches about what his goal is: To get back onstage, whatever it takes.
“I just want to play shows,” the singer and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year tells Billboard. “Politics’ job is to divide — that’s how you win elections. The things that unite us are music and sports. The times when, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican or whatever, you throw your arm around the person next to you.”
When he had to halt live show plans in March of 2020, Eric met with industry experts and epidemiologists to try to figure out what he could do to get back to what he loves doing most. He didn’t think he’d be able to resuming touring until 2023, but then the vaccine roll-out happened, faster than anyone expected.
Now, the singer’s on a mission to get fans to sign up for the shot.
“I view it as a God-sent miracle,” he says. “It became very clear to me that the only way to really get back to normal is through vaccinations. You’ve got to get needles in arms.”
Eric — who signed up for his own shot as soon as he became eligible, using his birth name, Kenneth, so no one would let him skip the line — knows that vaccinations are a politicized issue.
“If you believe you shouldn’t [get the shot], I don’t have a problem with it. I’m a liberty guy, too. I get it,” he reasons. “But I view this a little differently than most other things. We’ve never encountered this.”
Eric is also looking ahead to the April release of his triple album, Heart & Soul. His current single, “Hell of a View,” is now a top-15 hit.
Walt Disney Pictures(LOS ANGELES) — Emma Stone’s upcoming movie Cruella generated a lot of buzz when it released its first trailer and, recently, sparked comparisons with another antihero flick, Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix.
While both movies do tell the backstory of a famous villain, Emma — who plays the titular villainess from 101 Dalmatians — doesn’t really see similarities beyond that.
Speaking recently with Total Film, the La La Land star said, “It’s very different from Joker in many ways.”
The 32-year-old actress added that she is somewhat flattered by the comparisons, saying, “I would never even remotely compare myself to Joaquin Phoenix. I wish I was more like him.”
Emma also said that Cruella will add depth to her character, who previously made a name for herself for wanting to turn the Dalmatian puppies into a new fur coat.
“It’s hard to call someone a bad ’un completely when you see them from the very beginning,” she teased.
The movie’s director, Craig Gillespie, also weighed in on the movie’s backbone and said, “There are some really deep, emotional things that Cruella’s dealing with that send her to the villainous darker side.”
While he admits the theme is also present in The Joker, Gillespie adds, “It’s definitely its own thing.”
“Just to sort of reframe Cruella, I thought it was important to show this darker side of her,” the director continued. “But there’s going to be a lot of fun, a lot of humor in it. There’s a lot of absolutely delightful banter and rhythm to the style of it, which is different from Joker.”
Cruella hits theaters and Disney+ Premiere Access simultaneously on May 28.
ABC/Byron Cohen(LOS ANGELES) — Chrissy Teigen is the cover star for this year’s People “The Beautiful Issue”
The Cravings cookbook author graced the cover with her children, 4-year-old daughter Luna and 2-year-old son Miles, a moment that she was admittedly surprised she landed.
According to a press release, her reaction was, “Oh my God. I’m like in it? On it? It’s definitely a shock and an honor.”
In the issue, Chrissy remains the same open and candid woman that her fans have come to know and love as she discusses her definition of beauty, Thai traditions, and the heartbreaking tragedy she and her husband, John Legend, faced when they lost their son, Jack, at 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The 35-year-old also opens up about the racism she faced growing up and later when she entered the modeling industry.
“I grew up in a predominantly white area about 45 minutes north of Seattle. I didn’t experience casual forms of racism, but it’s the big moments that stood out to me — and I was fiercely defended by white or Black friends,” she recalls. “It would be the silliest, dumbest things, like someone saying, ‘Go eat a bowl of rice.” But it would escalate because I had protectors around me, and I remember friends getting suspended for defending me.”
“I experienced more everyday casual racism once I entered the modeling world,” she continues. “When they needed someone racially ambiguous — that’s what they called it — that was always going to be me…”
People‘s “The Beautiful Issue” also highlights other inspiring stars like Zendaya, Lily Colins, and Jennifer Lopez, and more with features like “Stars with no Makeup,” “Beauties of the Year,” “Cuties to Beauties,” and more.
The special double issue hits newsstand on Friday, April 2.
Salsibury Police DepartmentBy Morgan Winsor, ABC News
(SALISBURY, N.C.) — A police officer in Salisbury, North Carolina, has resigned after video surfaced showing him mistreating a K-9 during training.
Following a weekslong investigation, the Salisbury Police Department announced Wednesday that it concluded the officer depicted in the video, identified as James Hampton, “had acted in a manner entirely inconsistent with his K-9 training and had violated Police Department policy.”
“As a result, he was recommended for termination,” the agency said in a statement. “The Police Department followed its disciplinary process, which requires that an employee subject to termination be afforded a due process hearing. Following that hearing, and prior to the Police Department formalizing any disciplinary action, Officer Hampton tendered his resignation, effective immediately. The Police Department did not incentivize or otherwise request Officer Hampton’s resignation, which he tendered as a matter of right.”
“The Salisbury Police Department will continue to review and make the necessary changes to our K-9 training operations, policies and procedures that align with industry best practices,” the agency added.
Prior to the news of Hampton’s resignation, animal rights organization PETA sent a letter to the North Carolina Police Dog Association on Wednesday morning asking for the officer’s K-9 handler state certification to be immediately and permanently revoked.
“This individual’s violent and abusive behavior toward his loyal K-9 partner indicates a serious lack of judgment and decency — qualities that the public demands and K-9s deserve from their human partners in law enforcement,” PETA senior vice president Daphna Nachminovitch wrote in the letter.
The video at the center of the investigation shows Hampton placing a leash on the police dog, named Zuul, and hauling the K-9 off the ground by the neck. With Zuul suspended in the air, the officer swings the dog around his back and over his shoulder before walking toward a patrol vehicle. Someone outside the camera shot is heard saying, “We’re good, no witnesses.” Others can be heard discussing turning off their cameras.
Hampton is then seen slamming Zuul into the side of the car as he tries to lift the K-9 into the vehicle by the leash. The officer yells at Zuul and strikes the dog’s head.
The video, which is almost a minute long, was obtained by Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC and other local news stations about a month ago, but the incident allegedly occurred in October. Police have not confirmed when the video was taken.
On March 2, when the footage surfaced, the Salisbury Police Department released a statement saying that the officer involved had been “administratively separated from the canine” amid an ongoing investigation and that Zuul “was not harmed and is healthy and being well-cared-for.”
The dog appeared at a press conference where Salisbury Police Chief Jerry Stokes read the department’s statement.
“It is important to understand that a police canine is trained to use force against criminal suspects and a handler must ensure they have complete control over the dog at all times so that any use of the canine in the field is appropriate and lawful,” Stokes said. “When a canine is noncompliant with the handler’s commands, the handler is trained to correct the dog. Canine training tactics and corrective measures can sometimes be alarming out of context.”
Amid public outrage over the now-viral video, PETA held a protest outside the Salisbury Police Department on March 5, demanding answers along with a criminal investigation and appropriate charges. That same day, the Salisbury Police Department released another statement saying that Zuul was taken to a veterinarian on March 4 “for a checkup” and had “received a clean bill of health.”
“He is in good hands, happy and healthy, and taking some time off,” the agency added.
Veterinarian records later released by the Salisbury Police Department confirm that Zuul went to an animal hospital in Concord, about 20 miles southwest of Salisbury, on March 4 for a “semi-annual exam.” The document states that the 3-year-old Dutch Shepherd “had an incident that involved his neck in October of 2020” but “is doing well” and “is not having any clinical signs at this time.” The document further states that Zuul showed “no obvious musculoskeletal or neurological damage from his incident in October.”
“I do not see any reason that Zuul should not be trained for police work,” the examiner wrote in the document.
Legacy RecordingsThe four-part reissue of Johnny Cash’s Forever Words album concludes on Friday, with the release of the fourth and final digital installment of a project that’s been slowly rolling out since last October.
