ABC/Image Group LANominees for this year’s CMA Awards were announced this week. But although the ceremony will proceed in Nashville this November, tickets won’t be available to the general public.
That news came in a letter from Sarah Trahern, CEO of the Country Music Association. She explained that capacity in the venue will be limited to essential personnel, due to guidance from local health authorities and the CDC.
“We understand this news is disappointing, but know the adjustment is necessary in order to provide the safest possible environment for all involved,” she explained. “We are so proud to broadcast the event, not only domestically but internationally, allowing us to expand the growth of Country Music worldwide.”
Though fans won’t be able to purchase tickets to the show itself, the 2020 CMA Awards will be broadcast on ABC so that you can tune in live from home. The show will broadcast beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET on November 11.
(NEW YORK) — A frontal storm system will move into the Mid-Atlantic states Thursday and will bring a threat for damaging winds and tornadoes from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia.
Severe storms are expected to blossom in the early afternoon Thursday in western Pennsylvania and West Virginia and move east into the I-95 corridor between 5 and 6 p.m. ET.
These storms come after more than a foot of rain fell in the southern Plains. Now a flash flood threat moves into Ohio Valley for Thursday.
Rounds of heavy rain will continue to move over the same areas and that could produce flash flooding Thursday morning and into the afternoon. Locally, an additional 2 to 3 inches of rain is possible from Louisville, Kentucky, to Cincinnati and into Charleston, West Virginia.
Meanwhile, a heat dome will continue to build in the West, pushing temperatures into the 100s.
Numerous heat warnings, watches and advisories have been issued for Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
Some cities could even see near-record highs Thursday, including Medford, Oregon and Portland, Oregon.
Amanda Edwards/WireImage(LOS ANGELES) — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has tested positive for COVID-19.
In an 11-minute video shared on Instagram Wednesday, with the caption, “My message to all of you around the world,” Johnson confirmed that he, as well as his wife, Lauren, and two daughters, have all tested positive for the coronavirus.
“I wish it was only me that tested positive, but it wasn’t, it was my entire family,” said Johnson. “So this one was a real kick in the gut.”
The 48-year-old actor and retired professional wrestler revealed that he and his family contracted the disease from close family friends who, like his family, have been extremely disciplined during quarantine and “had no idea where they picked it up.”
“They’re devastated that it led to them infecting our family with it,” said Johnson, but said that because they were able to mitigate the disease, it didn’t spread out of control.
“I’ve gone through some doozies in the past… but testing positive for COVID-19 is much different than overcoming nasty injuries or being evicted or even being broke, which I have been more than a few times,” he shared. “The reason why I feel like this has been different is because my number one priority is to always protect my family, protect my children, my loved ones.”
Despite testing positive for the virus, Johnson assured his followers that he and his family members are on the mend and are “no longer contagious.”
Johnson, who has put his health and wellness first over the years, ended his video update by sharing some advice with his fans and followers to help slow the spread of the disease and prevent infection, such as wearing a mask and not interacting with people who haven’t been tested.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE NY Mets 9, Baltimore 4 Toronto 2, Miami 1 Atlanta 7, Boston 5 Milwaukee 8, Detroit 5 San Diego 11, LA Angels 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE Cleveland 5, Kansas City 0 Houston 2, Texas 1 Tampa Bay 5, NY Yankees 2 Minnesota 8, Chi White Sox 1 Oakland at Seattle (Postponed)
NATIONAL LEAGUE Colorado 9, San Francisco 6 Cincinnati 4, St. Louis 3 Philadelphia 3, Washington 0 Chi Cubs 8, Pittsburgh 2 LA Dodgers 3, Arizona 2 (10)
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS Miami 116, Milwaukee 114 (Miami leads 2-0) Houston 104, Oklahoma City 102 (Houston wins series 4-3)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Colorado 4, Dallas 1 (Series tied 3-3) WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Minnesota 86, Chicago 83 Los Angeles 91, Dallas 83 Seattle 71, Washington 64 MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER Miami 0, Atlanta 0 (Tie) Chicago 0, Cincinnati 0 (Tie) Columbus 1, Philadelphia 0 DC United 1, New York 0 Houston 3, Minnesota 0 Houston New York City FC 2, New England 0 Orlando City 1, Nashville 1 (Tie) FC Dallas 1, Sporting Kansas City 1 (Tie) Seattle 2, Real Salt Lake 2 (Tie) LA Galaxy 3, Portland 2 LA Galaxy Los Angeles FC 5, San Jose 1
(NEW YORK) — Millions are projected to travel this holiday weekend despite COVID-19 concerns. Labor Day flight bookings are only around a third of what they were last year, according to data analysis from travel itinerary app TripIt, but reservations to Florida have jumped 200 percent.
“Florida is this year’s hot spot,” TripIt said in its findings. Orlando, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale are all listed among TripIt’s top 25 Labor Day travel destinations as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists the Sunshine State as having the second highest total number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Matthew Meltzer, a freelance travel writer, is flying from Louisville, Kentucky, to Miami this weekend to visit friends.
“I understand there’s a lot of cases, but it’s just a risk you run,” Meltzer told ABC News. “Life is full of risks.”
The flight to Miami will be Meltzer’s fourth trip on an airplane since he left Europe in March.
“It’s the only place to go where they really are militant about making everyone wear a mask,” he said. “They obsessively wipe everything down.”
Twenty-four-year-old Mollie Markey of Portland, Oregon, is taking her first flight amid the pandemic – heading to Los Angeles Thursday to celebrate a birthday alongside seven of her friends from college in Palm Springs, California.
California has had the highest total number of COVID-19 cases out of any state in the U.S., according to the CDC.
“I know our physical health is just as important, but for me right now, it’s prioritizing my mental health,” Markey said. “To be able to get out and be with people that I really care about.”
Markey and her friends all got tested for the virus last week and plan on getting tested when they return home.
Testing has even given some Labor Day holiday travelers enough confidence to venture outside of the U.S for the long weekend.
Sonya Castellanos, 36, is getting a COVID-19 test before flying from Los Angeles to Cancun, Mexico, for a scuba diving trip.
“I went camping in an RV last week and it was great, but I’m ready to go scuba diving,” Castellanos said. “I have done everything that I could possibly do – I’ve gone paddleboarding like every week, I’ve done crazy expensive hikings, I quit my gym and bought a Peloton, but this is it. Six months is it for me.”
Pittsburgh-based travel agent Mollie Fitzgerald of Frontiers International Travel told ABC News that while bookings are considerably down she is seeing some people that are “just dying to go somewhere.”
“I see people craving big wide open spaces, being in the outdoors,” Fitzgerald said. “And I think some people are using the Labor Day weekend to get together as a family, and plan for the future, plan the big trip, you know, a bucket list trip for 2021.”
Experts are concerned the uptick in travel might translate to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
“It’s very predictable,” ABC News contributor Dr. John Brownstein, chief innovation officer for the Boston Children’s Hospital and a professor of epidemiology at Harvard Medical School, said. “Major holidays, where people are moving — increases in mobility lead to transmission, and you see cases start to surge two weeks later. We saw that with Memorial Day and we saw that with July 4. Unfortunately, we’re sort of saying the same thing over and over again — just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean that you should stop doing the things that we’ve been doing.”
On top of following CDC guidelines on masks and social distancing, Brownstein says the big thing is for travelers who are returning home to consult with their local public health officials about quarantine rules.
ABC/Image Group LANominees for this year’s CMA Awards were announced this week. But although the ceremony will proceed in Nashville this November, tickets won’t be available to the general public. 
