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Miranda Lambert to be inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABCMiranda Lambert will soon officially be a cowgirl. 

The country superstar will be inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in her home state of Texas in 2021.

Miranda is in the company of four other nominees including painter Pop Chalee, eight-time Women’s Professional Rodeo Association roping champ Lari Dee Guy, show jumping Olympic medalist and first licensed female jockey in the U.S. Kathryn Kusner, and cowboy hat designer Lavonna Koger. 

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is described in its mission statement as a place that “honors and celebrates women, past and present, whose lives exemplify the courage, resilience and independence that helped shape the West, and fosters an appreciation of the ideals and spirit of self-reliance they inspire.”

The induction luncheon is set to take place on April 27 at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dolly Parton saves the world: Vanderbilt donation supported Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine research

• No Comments • Country Music News

Valerie Macon/Getty ImagesAs if we needed another reason to love Dolly Parton.  Her $1 million donation to Vanderbilt has made an impact on the search for a COVID-19 vaccine. 

The icon made headlines in April with the major donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in honor of her friend, Dr. Naji Abumrad, to support research teams working on coronavirus cures.  When pharmaceutical giant Moderna announced Monday that their vaccine had proven to be better than 94% effective in preventing COVID-19 infection, there was a familiar name among the list of research funding supporters reported by the New England Journal of Medicine: “the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund (Vanderbilt University Medical Center).”

Dolly’s money has also gone toward convalescent plasma studies, which takes the antibodies from patients who had the virus to treat those who are currently infected with it.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Baby Yoda now aboard the International Space Station

• No Comments • Entertainment News

Disney+(SPACE) — The Child, the tiny, Force sensitive critter lovingly dubbed “Baby Yoda” by fans of The Mandalorian, is now in space, for real.

When Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched four NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on Sunday, they stashed a stowaway aboard their Crew Dragon spacecraft Resilience: a toy version of the character, which the crew used as their cheeky “zero G indicator” — a totem meant to show the travelers that the crew have left gravity’s grip.

With their trip to the International Space Station successful, the Resilience crew — NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, as well as JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, along with their little green friend — successfully docked with the ISS Monday night, and early this morning, they opened the hatch and joined the space station’s crew. 

Footage posted on NASA’s Twitter feed shows the historic moment, with the little stuffed Baby Yoda floating in. The new residents will stay aboard for six months. 

Let’s hope they keep him away from the controls — if the Disney+ hit taught the astronauts anything, they should know Baby Yoda is fond of pushing buttons, sometimes with dangerous results. 

Not only is this the time SpaceX shuttled a full NASA crew to the ISS, the mission represents another historic first: Glover, Resilience‘s pilot and second-in-command, will be the first African-American to stay aboard the station.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAA0hJp5MvU&w=640&h=360]

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Positive COVID-19 tests halt 'Dear White People' production

• No Comments • Entertainment News

Creator Justin Simien, Ashley Blaine Featherson, on set/Beth Dubber/Netflix(LOS ANGELES) — The Netflix comedy Dear White People has become the latest casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Deadline reports that production on the series, which has been filming its fourth and final season in Los Angeles, has paused for two weeks after several crew members tested positive for the virus. 

The infected people, “are currently under quarantine, and other staff members have been notified,” a spokesperson for Lionsgate, the series’ producer, tells the entertainment website. “We are following the extensive health and safety protocols we have in place, and the series will not be shooting for the next two weeks while quarantine measures are observed”.

The fourth and final season of Dear White People will premiere sometime this year on Netflix.

By George Costantino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Florida Georgia Line signs multi-year touring deal

• No Comments • Country Music News

John ShearerFlorida Georgia Line has inked a multi-year touring deal in North America with Live Nation. 

Billboard reports that the deal will make Live Nation the exclusive tour promoter for the duo of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, with hopes of resuming touring as early as summer 2021.

Like countless other artists, FGL has been off the road this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two saying in a statement that they have used this time to focus on writing and creativity but are “itching” to get back on the road.

“We miss our fans, and the live energy and connection we have with them when we hit the stage,” FGL states. “Our Live Nation family has been a great partner in the past, and we’re excited to be teaming up like this together. Getting back on tour and being able to share our new music can’t come soon enough!” 

The Live Nation deal comes in the wake of rumors that the duo was on the rocks after a fan noticed that Tyler and his wife, Hayley Hubbard, had unfollowed Brian and his wife, Brittney Kelley, on Instagram. The Hubbards have since re-followed the Kelleys, with a source telling Billboard there is “no truth” to the breakup rumors.  

Florida Georgia Line is working on their fifth studio album and has already released “Long Live” as the lead single.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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