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Country star trivia

• No Comments • Country Music News

Comstock/ThinkstockOn this date in 2012, a country duo debuted their song, “Cruise,” on the Grand Ole Opry stage. It would go on to become the group’s biggest hit to date, launching them into superstardom. Can you name them? ANSWER: Florida Georgia Line.

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

Keith Urban collaborating with Pink, Breland on 'The Speed of Now Part 1'

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LAKeith Urban has lifted the veil on the collaborators featured on his upcoming album, The Speed of Now Part 1. 

After causing a stir among his fan base when he posted the album track list on social media recently, with yellow boxes blocking out the names of his collaborators on two tracks, Keith has filled in those blanks, announcing Pink and rising country-rapper Breland as his special guests. 

Breland appears on opening track “Out of the Cage,” alongside legendary guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Nile Rodgers, who’s performed on hit songs by Madonna, Diana Ross, Lady Gaga and more.

Pink is the CMA Entertainer of the Year winner’s duet partner on “One Too Many,” while “We Were” co-writer Eric Church is featured on an alternative version of the song, included on the album alongside the original. 

Breland went viral earlier this year with his song “My Truck.” The breakout star also announced in July that Keith will appear on one of his new songs that he calls “country twerk,” slated for release later this year. 

Keith and Nile have also collaborated before on a song called “Sun Don’t Let Me Down,” off Keith’s 2016 album, Ripcord.   

The Speed of Now Part 1 will be released September 18.

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

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0oDCgfV79A&w=640&h=360]

Hourslong standoff at Texas home ends after all hostages released

• No Comments • National News

carlballou/iStockBy IVAN PEREIRA, MEREDITH DELISO and MORGAN WINSOR, ABC News

(AUSTIN, Texas) — A long standoff between police and a gunman holed up with hostages in a suburb of Austin, Texas, ended Monday morning, a day after three police officers were shot inside the home while responding to a 911 call about a domestic disturbance.

Three people related to the suspect were being held hostage inside the house in Cedar Park, following Sunday’s shooting. Two of the hostages were released Monday morning before the suspect and the last hostage exited the home “peacefully,” according to a tweet from the Cedar Park Police Department.

“The scene will continue to be active for quite a while as we investigate,” police added.

The incident began on shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday local time. A man in his mid-20s had kicked down the door of his mother’s home and was “acting very aggressive,” according to Mike Harmon, interim police chief for the Cedar Park Police Department.

The police later identified the man as Joseph DeSean Taylor, 26.

Responding officers were met with gunfire inside the house. They returned gunfire, and it is unknown if the suspect was hit, Harmon said. At least 50 bullets were fired during the incident, according to police.

Following the shooting, the suspect barricaded himself inside the home with three family members, including his mother and a juvenile, Harmon said. The age of the third family member remains unknown.

Residents of the area were urged to stay indoors early Monday morning as the suspect remained barricaded inside the house. Negotiators were in talks with the suspect to “bring this to a peaceful resolution,” the police chief told reporters at a press conference Sunday night.

“We do have a message for the suspect inside, and please take this to heart,” Harmon said. “We want to end this peacefully for everybody involved. For the suspect inside, for the hostages that are inside, for the officers that are on the scene, for everybody.”

“So please, if you’re listening to this, please come out and surrender yourself peacefully so we can resolve this situation tonight,” he added.

The Cedar Park Police Department has responded to the residence in the past, according to Harmon. The suspect has “some mental health issues,” he said, but did not elaborate beyond that.

Taylor has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a public servant and three counts of aggravated kidnapping, according to police. He was taken to a local hospital to be examined and was awaiting transport to the Williamson County Jail, the police said.

The three officers who were shot were rushed to an area hospital in stable condition while the suspect remained barricaded inside the house, according to a tweet Sunday evening from the Cedar Park Police Department.

The officers were later identified as Officer Jacqueline Quiles, a four-year veteran of the force, Officer Cris Hester, a 10-year veteran, and Officer Nik Anderson, an eight-year veteran.

The police chief later told reporters that the wounded officers had non-life-threatening injuries and two were released from the hospital Monday. One was still in stable condition as of Monday evening.

The three officers will be placed on administrative leave while the Cedar Park Police Department’s Professional Standards Division conducts an internal investigation, which is part of the department’s policy during shootings, the police said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared his condolences for the injured officers.

“Our hearts are with the police officers who were injured while protecting the Cedar Park community this afternoon,” Abbott said in a statement.

ABC News’ Josh Margolin and Cammeron Parrish contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Suspect in Michigan quadruple homicide surrenders to police

• No Comments • National News

vmargineanu/iStocBy IVAN PEREIRA and BILL HUTCHINSON, ABC News

(DETROIT) — A man suspected of gunning down four people, including his ex-girlfriend, in a Michigan home has surrendered to authorities, according to police.

Sumpter Township police officials announced in a Facebook post that Raymond Lee Bailey, 37, was in custody after he went to the Bay County, Michigan, Sheriff’s Office around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday and turned himself in.

Bailey had been the subject of a massive statewide manhunt launched after two men and two women were found dead from gunshot wounds on Saturday in a house in Sumpter Township, a Wayne County suburb of Detroit.

Police officers went to a house on Sunday after getting to a call about a possible homicide, officials said in a statement. The officers entered the home and discovered a grisly crime scene with four victims, all in their 30s, shot dead, according to the statement.

Detectives said Bailey, 37, of Sumpter Township, was an ex-boyfriend of one of the female victims and was identified as a suspect in the quadruple homicide.

Bailey, according to police, allegedly contacted several people and confessed to committing the slayings.

“Detectives were made aware that he had allegedly confessed to the killings to several people via telephone and texts,” police said in a statement.

Bailey allegedly fled north and police initially believed he was heading to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula region, where he once lived.

Police issued as a statewide bulletin for law enforcement agencies and the public to be on the lookout for Bailey.

Bailey’s vehicle was found abandoned on Saturday near Bay City, Michigan, roughly 120 miles north of Sumpter Township and near where he surrendered on Sunday night.

Authorities are expected to transfer Bailey as soon as Monday back to Wayne County, where murder charges against him are pending.

Police have not released the names of the victims. But relatives identified them as two sisters and two brothers in a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $14,000 pay for their funerals.

Police have yet to comment on a possible motive for the slayings. But a message on the GoFundMe page reads, “if you are the victim of domestic abuse, know you are not alone. Find support in this generous community of friends and family, or contact the National Domestic Abuse Hotline 24/7.”

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

"One of you…did this": Sharon Stone blames "non-mask wearers" for family's COVID-19 plight

• No Comments • Entertainment News

MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images(MONTANA) — In a personal and political Instagram post, Sharon Stone explained her younger sister Kelly and brother-in-law Bruce are “fighting for their lives” in the hospital, suffering from COVID-19.  And the actress is blunt about assigning blame.

“My sister Kelly, who already has lupus, now has COVID-19. This is her hospital room. One of you Non-Mask wearers did this,” Stone captioned a trio of photos.

The Basic Instinct star added, “She does not have an immune system. The only place she went was the pharmacy. There is no testing in her county unless you are symptomatic, & then it’s 5 day wait for results. Can YOU FACE THIS ROOM ALONE? Wear a mask! For yourself and others. Please.” 

Stone also posted a video, in which she mentioned her grandmother and godmother both died of the disease, and went on to criticize the governor of Montana for “lying” about the availability of testing. 

Endorsing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Stone says, “With women in power, we will fight for our families. We will fight for people to live. We will fight for people to get tested. Because the only countries that are doing well with COVID are the ones that have women in leadership.”

Stone closed the video with, “Please vote. And whatever you do, don’t vote for a killer.”

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