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Kylie Bunbury and Katheryn Winnick tease the rollercoaster that is 'Big Sky'

• No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC (LOS ANGELES) — TV super producer David E. Kelley, the guy behind Big Little Lies, Ally McBeal, and a bunch of other hits, is back tonight with his latest show — ABC’s Big Sky — and stars Kylie Bunbury and Katheryn Winnick tell ABC Audio that viewers are in for a wild ride. 

“This show is a dark thriller about an ex cop, Jenny, and a private detective who come together to find two teenage missing girls,” Bunbury dishes as Winnick adds, “Intertwined with a crazy love triangle, that there’s a lot of heightened emotions, a lot of tension that you will see unfold as the series goes on.”

While tuning in is the only way to keep up with the drama, Bunbury shares that viewers won’t be left in total suspense. 

“Actually you will you will get some answers. You will know things after every episode,” she says. “Will things be solved? No.”

As for her favorite part of making Big Sky, that goes a bit deeper than just love triangles and drama. For Bunbury playing a character that she, and others, can identify with was rewarding. 

“As a biracial woman myself, I grew up in a pretty white world in Minnesota, and to get to explore that in this show is is really gratifying,” she explains. “… also that I get to sort of represent Black cowboys, because a lot of people don’t know that some of the first cowboys were Black.”

Meanwhile for Winnick, her favorite part was simply that she got to wear jeans, which was a dramatic change from what she wore while starring in Vikings for the past seven years.

“I was literally strapped up in leathers and chains and braids,” she laughs. “And so it’s nice to not be in a period piece.”

Big Sky premieres Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

By Danielle Long and Jason Nathanson
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Hate crimes in US reach highest point since 2008, FBI statistics show

• No Comments • National News

MattGush/iStockBY: LUKE BARR, ABC NEWS

(WASHINGTON) — After a gunman walked into a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, last summer, and killed nearly two dozen — mostly Hispanic — people, investigators discovered a screed allegedly written by the suspect, in which he discussed his hate for immigrants and Mexicans, according to authorities.

In addition to state capital murder charges, the gunman, Patrick Crusius, faces 22 federal hate crime charges stemming from the deaths of the people he is accused of murdering.

That incident contributed to a more than 112% increase in hate crime murders between 2018 and 2019, according to statistics released Monday by the FBI as part of its Uniform Crime Reporting Program. There were 51 murders in 2019 and 24 the year before. Anti-Latino hate crime incidents also saw an increase in 2019.

According to the FBI’s newly released statistics, hate crimes rose in the United States for four out of the last five years.

In 2018, there were 7,120 hate crimes total, and in 2019, there were 7,314 — a 3% increase. That’s the highest it has been since 2008, when there were 7,783 hate crimes across the country.

Like in 2018, more than half of the incidents were race-based, followed by crimes based on religion and crimes based on sexual orientation, according to the FBI. Within the race-based category, nearly 50% were anti-African American incidents, followed by 16% anti-white incidents and 14% anti-Latino/Hispanic incidents.

Crimes based on gender identity also increased, from 157 anti-transgender bias incidents to 173.

However, the number of law enforcement agencies that reported their hate crime statistics to the FBI dropped by over 400 agencies, according to the agency. In 2018, just over 16,000 agencies reported its hate crime statistics, while in 2019, 15,588 agencies submitted their numbers. It is not mandatory for law enforcement agencies to send these statistics to the FBI, and it is not known how the decrease in law enforcement agencies reporting affected the data.

The Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization, urged Congress to enact more legislation against hate crimes after the FBI released the statistics.

“When one individual is targeted by a hate crime, it hurts the whole community — that’s why people are feeling vulnerable and afraid,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “We urge Congress to immediately pass the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act to improve hate crime training, prevention, reporting and best practices.

The NO HATE Act would increase reporting for agencies, provide grants for state-run hate crime hotlines and establish alternative sentencing for individuals convicted under existing hate crime statues.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton named winners at Tunie Awards

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABCCountry stars were the big winners at the 2020 Tunie Awards, a collaboration between Waffle House and TouchTunes which celebrates the artists who received the most plays on Waffle House jukeboxes throughout the year.

During the virtual show,co-hosted by Walker Hayes, Chris Stapleton kept up his winning streak: He was awarded the #1 Played Song trophy for his signature rendition of “Tennessee Whiskey” for the second year in a row 

Winners in other major categories include Luke Combs for Top Country Artist and Zac Brown Band for Top Country Band.

Meanwhile, Carly Pearce and Lee Brice‘s “I Hope You’re Happy Now” was named Top Collaboration. Lee also took home the prize for Top Songwriter, while Lauren Alaina was dubbed Top Country Vocalist.

Old Dominion scooped up the Associate’s Choice Award, which recognizes the artist selected most by Waffle House employees at restaurants around the country.

LoCash scored their first Tunie Award for Breakout Band of the Year with their most recent number one single, “One Big Country Song,” and their other fan-favorite, “I Love This Life.”

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

Bryce Dallas Howard confirms 'Apollo 13' homage in her new epsiode of 'The Mandalorian'

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Disney+(NEW YORK) — (SPOILER ALERT) “I woke up to such sweet messages and it means the world!!” said Bryce Dallas Howard, who thanked fans for “staying up late” and watching Friday’s new episode of The Mandalorian, which she directed — and during which she also included an homage to her father Ron Howard’s Oscar-winning 1995 film, Apollo 13.

As the episode begins, the title character’s ship, the Razorcrest, is heavily damaged as it makes a dramatic atmospheric entry.  A sharp-eyed fan tweeted a side-by-side comparison of Razorcrest‘s re-entry and that of the crippled NASA command capsule’s re-entry in Apollo 13, both ships shaking violently as they nearly burn up on their way to landing. 

Bryce confirmed via Twitter it was indeed a deliberate shot-for-shot homage to her father’s based-on-real-life space film.

“Nice catch!! 100% correct,” Bryce tweeted the fan, who noted, “Like father, like daughter.”

Friday’s episode of The Mandalorian, titled “The Heiress,” is Howard’s second directing turn on the series; she also previously directed “Sanctuary,” the well-received fourth chapter from the first season of the Emmy-winning Disney+ show, set in the Star Wars universe.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood starring in CBS holiday special

• No Comments • Country Music News

Rick Diamond/Getty ImagesGarth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are returning to the small screen for a Christmas special. 

Trisha announced on Instagram today that the beloved couple will star in the CBS special Garth & Trisha Live! A Holiday Concert Event next month.

The one-hour event invites fans to celebrate the holidays with the superstar singers, Trisha beckoning fans to submit their song requests, prompting many to reply in the comments section recommending such classics as “Oh Holy Night,” “Mary, Did You Know?,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and more. 

Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper reports that the holiday show, “for viewers looking for the comfort and shared joy of music during the holidays,” according to a statement, will follow the model of Garth and Trisha’s CBS special that aired in April in which they performed live acoustic songs from their home studio based on fans’ requests. 

Garth & Trisha Live! airs on CBS on December 20 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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