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Chicago mayor orders the dismounting of 2 Christopher Columbus statues

• No Comments • National News

Jonathan Davis/Getty ImagesBy CHRISTINA CARREGA, ABC NEWS

(CHICAGO) — After weeks of protests, the mayor of Chicago has decided to temporarily remove two statues of Christopher Columbus until further notice.

During the early morning hours of Friday, the Columbus statues in Grant and Arrigo Parks were hoisted off their pedestals after the city consulted with “various stakeholders,” according to a statement issued by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office.

This action “comes in response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police as well as efforts by individuals to independently pull the Grant Park statue down in an extremely dangerous manner,” the mayor’s office said.

Protests sparked around the world after the May 25 death of George Floyd, which was captured on cellphone video and went viral online. The protesters, mostly led by Black Lives Matter activists, continued their case to end police brutality against people of color and propelled the call to remove the statues of controversial historic figures such as Columbus.

Columbus has been revered for centuries for discovering North America, despite his and his crew’s mistreating and murdering of Native Americans.

“Over the coming days, Mayor Lightfoot and the City will be announcing a formal process to assess each of the monuments, memorials, and murals across Chicago’s communities, and develop a framework for creating a public dialogue to determine how we elevate our city’s history and diversity,” according to the statement from the mayor’s office.

Lightfoot said all statues and murals across Chicago will be up for debate, not just the one of Columbus.

Nonetheless, some Italian-American residents in Chicago says the temporary removal of the Columbus statues are a form of betrayal.

“The Italian American community feels betrayed. The Mayor’s Office is giving in to a vocal and destructive minority. This is not how the Democratic process is supposed to work,” said Pasquale Gianni, of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, to ABC News affiliate WSL.

Sergio Giangrande, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, told the station that their community is “very hurt.”

“Columbus is a symbol of hope we’ve all celebrated for years. Maybe we all forgot why we celebrate Christopher Columbus, and to take somebody who’s a symbol of hope from us, we’re not OK with that,” said Giangrande.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

From a corn field to a helicopter, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani are “Happy Anywhere” in their latest video

• No Comments • Country Music News

Warner Music NashvilleJust hours after sharing their newest single, “Happy Anywhere,” Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani dropped a sweet music video to go along with their latest track, and it puts the lyrics of their song to the test.

In the song, Blake and Gwen harmonize as they list all the locations and situations that would suit them just fine, so long as they’re together.

Appropriately enough, the music video shows a montage of the couple exploring different kinds of places. The pair walk a dirt road holding hands, lounge on a tropical beach, and even take a helicopter ride together.

“Happy Anywhere” follows another duet from the couple, “Nobody But You.” That single hit number one on the country charts, a first for pop superstar Gwen. In May, she had another major country first when she and Blake performed her Grand Ole Opry debut.

“Even though Gwen and I just had a single out we decided that under the circumstances, this year…man, there’s never been a better time for ‘Happy Anywhere,’” Blake previously explained in a statement. “We’ve all been in quarantine and lockdown, and hopefully we’ve been doing that with somebody that we really love and enjoy being around.”

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

Wolfgang Novogratz tapped into Tim Tebow for his role in 'Yes, God, Yes'

• No Comments • Entertainment News

Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Netflix(NEW YORK) — If you haven’t yet heard the name Wolfgang Novogratz — and what a name it is — you soon will. The 23-year-old actor is fast becoming Netflix’s go-to teen movie guy, appearing in no less than four of them: Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, The Last Summer, The Half of It, and Feel the Beat.

Now, he’s starring in Yes, God, Yes opposite Stranger Things actress Natalia Dyer. Dyer plays Alice, a teen at a Catholic high school in the early 2000s, grappling with her burgeoning sexuality. Novogratz plays Chris, a senior retreat leader who catches Alice’s eye.

“He immediately made me think of Tim Tebow,” Novogratz tells ABC Audio of his character, referring to the former NFL quarterback turned New York Mets baseball player.

“And then once I got the role, I spent actually a lot of time kind of using Tim Tebow as an inspiration,” he adds. “So I watched a lot of interviews with him and kind of tried to pick up on different nuances and his mannerisms. And there’s a lot of very admirable qualities about Tebow that I wanted to infuse into Chris.”

Novogratz also embraced the nostalgic early 2000s setting, even though he was just a young kid during the peak days of AOL Instant Messenger and Nokia phones.

“I was so excited when I saw the finished film for the first time and there was like Mandy Moore’s ‘Candy’ and these great songs from that time,” he says. “And for me, I love all kinds of music, but I definitely have a soft spot for the boy bands and pop music of the late 90s, early 2000s.”  

Yes, God, Yes opens in virtual cinemas and drive-in theaters today, and hits VOD and digital July 28. (VIDEO CONTAINS SUGGESTIVE CONTENT)

By Andrea Tuccillo
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Lindsay Ell is “Ready to Love” in her hopeful new tune

• No Comments • Country Music News

BBR Music GroupLindsay Ell is sharing the next piece of her upcoming album, heart theory. 

Her new song, “Ready to Love,” tells a peaceful and optimistic story about finally being able to move on to new love after a difficult heartbreak. It’s the 12th and final track on heart theory, representing the final “acceptance” stage of the grief process, which the singer tracks throughout her project.

“My new album [heart theory] is the arch of the seven stages of grief…ending in acceptance,” Lindsay explained on social media when she released the song. “That stage is the song that dropped today.”

The other song included under the “acceptance” stage in heart theory is “Make You,” which Lindsay shared earlier this month. While “Ready to Love” is bubbly and hopeful, “Make You” delves into heavier territory, coming to terms with real-life sexual assault experiences the singer faced at the ages of 13 and 21.

Lindsay also previously shared a swagger-filled kiss-off anthem called “Want Me Back,” which she wrote with fellow country star Kane Brown.

heart theory is due for release on August 14.

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

Hardy bids farewell to a loved one in the gut-punching “Give Heaven Some Hell”

• No Comments • Country Music News

Big Loud RecordsFans of Hardy are already well-acquainted with the singer’s powerful songwriting and knack for blending country lyrics with a hard-rocking style. Both talents are on full display in “Give Heaven Some Hell,” a powerful song about saying goodbye to a loved one gone too soon.

“I hope you hit those gold streets on two wheels / I hope your mansion in the sky’s got a ten-acre field / With some mud and some hubs you can lock in / Make some thunder, make ‘em wonder how you got in,” Hardy sings in the chorus. “Hide your beer, hide your clear from the man upstairs / Crank it loud, hold it down ‘til I get there.”

The song’s music video follows Hardy as he suits up, visits a church, shares memories with a close-knit group of people and even sets off some fireworks in tribute to his lost friend.

“‘Give Heaven Some Hell’ is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” the singer shares. “I just hope this helps anyone who’s ever suffered a loss of a loved one.”

“Give Heaven Some Hell” will be included on Hardy’s recently-announced debut album, A Rock, which drops in September. The project also features his current single, “One Beer,” which is a collaboration with Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson.

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