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Shay Mooney shifts focus from Dan + Shay to Asher + Ames, thanks to COVID-19

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LA2020 was off to an epic start for Dan + Shay. In late January, they picked up their second Grammy, and kicked off The (Arena) Tour about a month later. 

On the personal side, Dan Smyers and wife Abby had just bought a new house, while Shay and Hannah Mooney were expecting their second son. 

When COVID-19 brought things to a halt in March, Dan + Shay were suddenly — and unexpectedly — able to devote their full attention to their personal lives.

“That’s been a huge blessing in disguise during this whole thing… being home…” Shay tells ABC Audio. “We had Ames two weeks before our first show in Nashville at Bridgestone.”

If there’s an upside to the pandemic, it’s that Shay will get to experience milestones with Ames he might’ve missed with his three-year-old, Asher.

“Obviously the rug got pulled out from everybody and the touring just kind of went away,” Shay says candidly. “It was a little depressing at first to deal with as an artist, having that piece of you kind of taken away.”

“But then you kind of see the silver lining,” he reflects, “like, ‘You know what? I didn’t even think about this. I’m gonna be able to spend all the time in the world with my boys and be able to watch them grow up,’ which is something that, especially in that first year, there’s so many moments, you know, that I missed with Asher that I regret…”

“They’re gonna be sick of me by the time we are actually able to tour again,” he laughs. 

In the meantime, Dan + Shay are proving they remain a hot property, with their recently released single, “I Should Probably Go to Bed,” getting huge response at both country and pop radio.

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

3 arrested in murder of off-duty officer who moonlighted as USPS truck driver

• No Comments • National News

Jefferson County, MS Sheriff’s Office via FacebookBY: IVAN PEREIRA, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) — Three men have been arrested in connection with the murder of a Mississippi Highway Patrol officer while he was moonlighting as a postal worker.

Lt. Troy Morris, 58, was working his second job for the USPS and driving a postal truck early Friday morning when he called highway patrol and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to notify them of a flat tire, police said.

“We dispatched a deputy who arrived a short time later and found Mr. Morris had been shot to death inside his truck,” Jefferson County Sheriff James Bailey told reporters.

Morris had been a 27-year veteran with the force, according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. Sean Tindell, the Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner said in a statement he was in contact with Morris’s family and they have received an outpouring of support from around the state including Gov. Tate Reeves.

On Saturday, Treyon Washington, 24, Damion Whittley, 25, and Cdarrius Norman, 17, were arrested and charged with murder in connection to Morris’ death.

Washington was arrested in Jefferson County while Whittley and Norman were taken into custody in New Orleans.

There were no signs of theft from the truck, according to investigators. Norman and Whittley are awaiting extradition back to Mississippi, investigators said.

The investigation is ongoing, according to investigators.

“While we are pleased with the progress of this investigation, we realize there is much work left to be done,” Col. Randy Ginn of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol said in a statement.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Teen killed, off-duty cop 'struggling for her life' in overnight shooting incident in Washington, D.C.

• No Comments • National News

DC Police Department via TwitterBY: IVAN PEREIRA, ABC NEWS

(WAHINGTON) — A 17-year-old was killed and an off-duty police officer was “struggling for her life,” after they, and many others, were shot during a large gathering in southeast Washington D.C. early Sunday morning, police said.

The incident took place at 33rd Street and Dubois Place at around 12:30 a.m. where over 100 people had gathered, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham told reporters at a news conference. During the gathering, a dispute broke out and “multiple weapons were produced,” by at least three individuals and they opened fire into the crowd, Newsham said.

In total, 21 people were shot, 11 of whom were women and two of whom were teens, police said. One of the teens, Christopher Brown, 17, was pronounced dead, according to Newsham.

The chief said that the injured off-duty D.C. police officer was transported to the hospital in very serious condition.

“She is struggling for her life right now,” he said.

The D.C. Fire Department said nine of the victims transported to hospitals suffered serious to critical wounds.

Two injured persons who were found outside of the gathering and taken to hospitals may have been linked to the shooting, officials said. One was picked up from a location away from the gathering while another came to a firehouse, a D.C. Fire spokesperson said.

“Sadly several people who have no regard for human life opened fire at what had been people together, enjoying themselves,” Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters.

Newsham said there were officers in the vicinity of the gathering, which violated the city’s ban on large crowds, but they were unable to control the gathering or break it up.

Investigators are still searching for clues and witnesses and did not immediately have a motive, according to Newsham.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

5.1 magnitude earthquake reported near North Carolina-Virginia border

• No Comments • National News

USGSBY: MATT ZARRELL, ABC NEWS

(SPARTA, N.C.) — A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck near the border between North Carolina and Virginia on Sunday morning.

The earthquake was reported near Sparta, North Carolina, at 8:07 a.m., according to the USGS.

There are no reports of damage or injuries. The tremors were felt from Virginia to South Carolina.

The quake is the strongest the area has seen in over 100 years. The largest earthquake in the area (magnitude 5.1) occurred in 1916, according to the USGS.

There were several smaller earthquakes in the area in the hours leading up to the main quake Sunday morning, officials said.

“It trembled our house. And then it shook our bed. And we was like, What in the world was that?” Charlotte, North Carolina, resident Nisha Thomas told ABC affiliate WSOC. “I didn’t know what it was. Honestly, I don’t even know if it was earthquake or not. I experienced earthquakes little kid back in California, but I didn’t know if that was an earthquake or not. It really startled me.”

“To me, I thought, like, I didn’t even know that earthquakes actually exist in North Carolina because I’m from California. And I didn’t even know that they exist. So I was really startled,” Thomas told the station.

Aftershocks are possible in the region following the initial quake the USGS said.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Summertime storms roll through upper Midwest, August heat is on across Plains

• No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBY: BRITTANY BORER, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) — A line of thunderstorms is moving across portions of Missouri and Illinois this morning.

Flash Flood Watches are in effect as some spots could see as much as 2 to 4 inches of rain with due to thunderstorms.

Another round of storms is expected to follow a cold front across Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska as it moves through the region this afternoon and evening.

Storms are expected to continue through the overnight hours as they spread into parts of Wisconsin by sunrise on Monday.

Some storms could be strong to severe, with large hail and damaging winds in excess of 60 mph being the main threats. The tornado threat remains low at this time.

A heat advisory is in place across portions of southeastern Nebraska, southwestern Iowa, eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas as heat index values are forecast to be in the 100s across much of the Southern Plains to the Mississippi Valley.

After a brief trend of below average temperatures in the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, temperatures are forecast to return to the 90s plus for major metros like Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Elsewhere, a tropical wave is located a few hundred miles south-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands and has a 20% chance of development in the next 48 hours.

Slow development is possible over the next few days while the cluster of showers and thunderstorms moves westward across the tropical eastern Atlantic.

An “extremely active” Atlantic hurricane season is expected this year as a number of factors were taken into consideration.

First, there is a very active west African monsoon meaning that the waves, or disturbances, that move west off the coast of Africa expected to be more capable of becoming better organized as they move into the Atlantic Ocean.

Second, tropical cyclones thrive in environments where the wind is calmer and does not change as much with height. This is called vertical wind shear.

In the month of July, the average wind shear in the Atlantic was observed as the second lowest on record since 2005 meaning potentially a more favorable environment for tropical systems to thrive if the trend continues.

Very warm water temperatures help sustain tropical cyclones and the warmer the water, the more fuel it has to thrive on.

The odds of an El Nino to develop — cooler Atlantic water temperatures — this summer into the fall are extremely low.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.