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A grandpa's note, a bucket of baseballs and an emotional tweet

• No Comments • Sports News

manusapon kasosod/iStockBy GENEVIEVE SHAW BROWN, GMA

(NEW YORK) — Sometimes the simplest gestures are the ones that tug at the heartstrings.

That’s certainly the case with a bucket of baseballs, a sweet note and a grandson’s now-viral tweet.

On Monday Ethan Anderson, Twitter handle @TheBigE_21, tweeted a photo that’s now been liked more than 200,000 times. He wrote, “My grandad left an old bucket of balls at the batting cages we used to go to with this note on them…. I’m not crying, you’re crying.”

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Anderson assures the commenters in subsequent tweets that he does visit his grandfather and though it’s been some time since they went to the batting cages he’s making plans to do so soon.

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Many granddads, dads and sons chimed in with their memories of playing ball.

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Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Google pledges $1 billion over 3 years to pay news publishers for content

• No Comments • National News

courtneyk/iStockBy CATHERINE THORBECKE, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Google has announced a $1 billion investment over three years to start paying news publishers for content and to support the launch of a new product dubbed the “Google News Showcase.”

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google parent company Alphabet Inc., announced the move Thursday in a blog post, opening up about “enduring” memories of his father reading the newspaper each morning.

“I have always valued quality journalism and believed that a vibrant news industry is critical to a functioning democratic society,” Pichai wrote.

The chief executive said the $1 billion investment in news publishers is their biggest financial commitment to journalism to date. He said the company is aiming to create a “different kind of online news experience” through the Google News Showcase.

The showcase, which will initially appear in Google News on Android devices, will feature curated news stories on the platform. Pichai said he hopes the service will “give readers more insight on the stories that matter” as well as help publishers “develop deeper relationships with their audiences.”

It will soon launch on the Google News app on Apple iOS devices and be available through Google’s search function in the future.

“This approach is distinct from our other news products because it leans on the editorial choices individual publishers make about which stories to show readers and how to present them,” Pichai said.

The service is rolling out in Germany and Brazil on Thursday and other countries around the world soon after. Publications that will be featured in Thursday’s launch include Germany’s Der Spiegel and Bazil’s Folha de S.Paulo.

Google and other tech giants have faced international scrutiny in recent years for their siphoning of news content. The matter is embroiled in a legal battle in Australia, where lawmakers are trying to force digital giants to compensate commercial news organizations more fairly for their original content, the Associated Press reported.

In the ever-evolving digital news landscape, tech giants have also courted controversy over their online ad revenue models that experts say have had a devastating impact on a beleaguered journalism industry, a topic that came up during a recent Congressional hearing featuring Pichai and other big tech CEOs.

The announcement of the Google News Showcase was met with cautious optimism by U.S. news organization leaders, including Robert Thomson, the CEO of News Corp, whose publications include The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

“We applaud Google’s recognition of a premium for premium journalism and the understanding that the editorial eco-system has been dysfunctional, verging on dystopian,” Thomson said in a statement. “There are complex negotiations ahead but the principle and the precedent are now established.”

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

It’s 'Pardi Time': Jon Pardi announces digital variety series ahead of deluxe 'Heartache Medication' release

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LAJon Pardi announced his new, eight-episode digital variety show, Pardi Time, this week. The series will air on CMT beginning next Thursday, October 6.

A combination of music, day-to-day life and his signature, goofball brand of humor, Pardi Time will join Jon, his fiancée, Summer and their pals in quarantine for a lighthearted look into the singer’s life. Segments of the show include “Dear Jon,” an advice column segment; “Til Death Do Us Pardi,” a behind-the-scenes look into Jon and Summer’s wedding planning; and “Pardi Snacks,” the singer’s quirky spin on a cooking show.

“It’s produced by me, it’s directed by me, it’s casted [sic] by me and it’s Pardi time, all the time,” Jon announces in a special trailer for the series.

In music news, Jon is gearing up to drop the deluxe version of his Heartache Medication album on Friday, October 2. The expanded version of his hit 2019 record includes three bonus tracks. One of those, “Bar Downtown,” is premiering early today; you can head over to Rolling Stone to watch it.

The other bonus tracks on the deluxe Heartache Medication project will be a new song called “Beer Light,” as well as a Western Version remix of Jon’s single, “Ain’t Always the Cowboy.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Lindsay Ell shares optimistic “Workin’ Out,” from the Make It Up As We Go podcast

• No Comments • Country Music News

Sony Music Nashville/Audio Up MediaLindsay Ell shared her sunny new “Workin’ Out” this week, a banjo-laced, encouraging anthem that advises us to roll with life’s ups and downs.

The new tune comes off of the soundtrack for Make it Up As We Go, a new scripted musical podcast that tells the story of a young singer-songwriter trying to make it in Nashville’s competitive music industry. 

The podcast is executive-produced by Miranda Lambert, who also makes an appearance in the roster of stars appearing on Make it Up As We Go. Other featured guests include Billy Bob Thornton, Craig Robinson and many more. Singer-songwriter Scarlett Burke stars in and directs the show.

Lindsay’s new song follows her recently released sophomore album, heart theory. That project includes the lead single, “wAnt me back.”

The first two episodes of Make It Up As We Go will premiere on October 8, available anywhere you listen to podcasts.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jay Ellis says he was "shocked as everyone else" with the season four finale of 'Insecure'

• No Comments • Entertainment News

Photograph by Merie W. Wallace/HBO(NEW YORK) — Jay Ellis says he had no clue how season four of Insecure was going to end.

Like many fans who shared their surprise online, Ellis tells ABC Audio that he, too, was blindsided when he learned that his character, Lawrence, was going become a father right as he was getting back together with his estranged girlfriend — played by Issa Rae.

“I was just as shocked as everybody else, to be honest with you,” Ellis says. “I remember when we read it in the table read and I just screamed, ‘Dios mio!’ I was completely shocked at the end and didn’t see it coming at all whatsoever.”

What Ellis didn’t see coming was that his character had to be the one to break the news to Issa that he had gotten another woman pregnant. With such a bombshell ending, Ellis says he’s “super excited to find out” what will happen in season five.

“We’re just starting to get into our table reads now,” he reveals, noting he’s unsure what will happen to Lawrence. “We’ll pick up shooting at the top next year. But, you know, this show is known to play with your emotions a little bit and really make you think, and have conversations, and argue, and find different points of view. And I think that’s one of the fun things that that finale did.”

While Ellis is more than ready to get back on set as Lawrence, he’s admits he’s interested in going behind the camera as well.

“I would love to direct another episode,” Ellis says. “[But,] COVID kind of changes everything. Protocols are changed… and schedules… I don’t know how it’s all going to work out next season.”

“[But,] if Issa and Prentice [Penny] will have me back… I’d be happy to do another episode for sure,” he adds. 

By Candice Williams
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.