Randy goodman

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 COLUMBUS, Ohio - Luke Combs wants you to understand this about country music: If you're making fun of it, there's a good chance you just don't get it. He's heard it all plenty of times before. You're probably going to say that all the songs sound the same, or that all the lyrics are about drinking cold beer and driving down dirt roads in your dad's old truck. Combs has heard every criticism, which puts him in the unusual position of a superstar who is shaping the future of the genre while also serving as one of its fiercest defenders. "It's never been about the small town you grew up in, it's knowing where home is; it's not about the dirt roads you ride down, it's the freedom you feel. The physical thing is not the thing that we're talking about. It's the emotion that's evoked by what that moment speaks to," Combs, 32, said in a recent interview. "It's not about your dad's truck, … [Read more...] about Luke Combs is country music’s newest mega-star, and its fiercest defender

“Government waste” is a popular term used to describe a multitude of government missteps. It’s now widely believed that the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) reckless spending at a Wuhan lab likely caused the COVID pandemic that has killed more than 6 million people and crippled the U.S. economy. Despite the many grave concerns about NIH spending overseas, dozens of suspect animal labs in China—and Russia—are still eligible to receive U.S. taxpayer dollars. Thankfully, Congress is beginning to recognize the dangers of untrammeled-spending by NIH bureaucrats in white lab coats and is taking concrete steps to restore some long-overdue fiscal sanity. Last month, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and the Senate Homeland Security Committee held their first hearing on gain-of-function research . The matter on hand was NIH funding of dangerous animal experiments at the Chinese Communist Party-run Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).  The research was meant to supercharge bat coronaviruses … [Read more...] about GOODMAN & WILLIAMS: Rein In Reckless Spending That Funds Foreign Animal Abuse

CENTRE, Ala. (AP) — Teddy Gentry, a founding member of and bass player for the country music super group Alabama, was arrested Monday on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge, records show. Gentry, 70, of Fort Payne was booked into the Cherokee County Jail in northeast Alabama and released about a half-hour later, records showed. He also was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Court records weren't immediately available, but Sheriff Jeff Shaver told al.com the arrest was made during a traffic stop. Don Murry Grubbs, a spokesman for the band, said he was aware of the incident but Gentry had no immediate comment. Gentry, along with cousins Randy Owen and Jeff Cook, formed the band more than 50 years ago and went on to sell more than 70 million albums — releasing dozens of hits including “Dixieland Delight,” “My Home's in Alabama” and “Tennessee River.” The act was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. The group said it was retiring from the … [Read more...] about Bassist for country group Alabama arrested on pot charge

(BPT) - As weather cools and daylight hours shorten, many people naturally spend more time indoors and there's no place more inviting than the fireplace. The problem is that while a traditional, open wood fireplace offers the ambiance and nostalgia homeowners cherish, they are often dirty, drafty and boast outdated styles. One simple, affordable way to upgrade and elevate your space is with a fireplace insert. Any wood fireplace is an option for a fireplace insert, a self-contained appliance designed to fit into an existing space. The most popular options are either fueled by gas or electricity, depending on the homeowner's preference. Many people are looking to eliminate ash and soot, therefore gas and electric inserts are the most popular. Plus, because fireplace inserts are far more efficient than many older wood fireplaces, they can help you save money while warming a space when temperatures dip. The Environmental Protection Agency explains the inefficiency of wood … [Read more...] about Have a dated, drafty fireplace? Inserts are affordable and boost efficiency

PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. — Walking the oceanfront footpath toward the fabled fish-packing warehouses of Cannery Row, Randy Sabado stops at a historical mural. As always, he grimaces. It depicts white men and women strolling in Victorian dress, Japanese abalone divers on the hunt at sea and Chinese villagers fishing in front of cabins built on wooden stilts. Something is off. The white characters are painted with care, rendered fully human with eyes and mouths. The Asians are indistinct, their faces mere smudges. "You can't even tell they're Chinese," Sabado says. "You can't even tell they're people." The inequality reflected in these portrayals is all the more disturbing to Sabado, who is Filipino-Chinese by heritage, because Chinese immigrants were evicted from the Pacific Grove settlement shown in the mural after a mysterious fire destroyed dozens of houses and businesses in 1906. White residents taunted the Chinese as they rushed to collect their belongings, and some … [Read more...] about A racial reckoning over a festival’s disrespect toward Asians in Monterey Bay: Will its demise bring healing?

MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge in Miami has awarded $73 million in damages to the family of a prominent opponent of Venezuela's socialist government who died while in custody in what he described as a “murder for hire” carried out by a criminal enterprise led by President Nicolás Maduro. Fernando Albán was arrested in 2018 upon arrival to the international airport in Caracas from New York, where he was part of a delegation that had denounced Maduro's government on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. He died three days later in what authorities initially described as a suicide jump from the 10th floor of a building belonging to Venezuela's intelligence services. Albán's death provoked international outrage and condemnation from the U.S. Last year, his widow and two children sued Maduro and several high-ranking members of his government for carrying out the kidnapping, torture and murder of the one-time Caracas councilman. The family accused the men of … [Read more...] about US court awards $73 million for Venezuelan opponent’s death

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 WASHINGTON (AP) — An Iowa man who was part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol believed a conspiracy theory that law enforcement officers would be arresting “all the corrupt politicians” that day, starting with then-Vice President Mike Pence, a defense attorney told jurors Tuesday. Doug Jensen wore a shirt bearing the letter “Q” to express his adherence to the QAnon conspiracy theory when he joined the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. A viral video recorded by a reporter's cellphone showed Jensen running after a Capitol Police officer who was retreating from a crowd of rioters up a flight of stairs. A federal prosecutor showed jurors the video at the start of Jensen's trial. They also saw a photograph of Jensen with his arms extended as he confronted a line of police officers near the Senate chambers, one of the most memorable images from the riot. “This is not a whodunit case,” … [Read more...] about Trial opens for QAnon follower who chased officer at Capitol

Aaron Judge disappointed fans by staying stuck at 60 homers but doubled twice and scored on Oswaldo Cabrera’s first-inning grand slam that started the Yankees to a 14-2 rout of the Pirates in the Bronx on Wednesday. A night after hitting home run No. 60 to spark a stunning five-run, ninth-inning rally capped by Giancarlo Stanton’s game-ending slam, Judge doubled on the first pitch to him in the first and fifth innings. Given another time up during an eight-run eighth inning, Judge walked on four pitches from rookie Eric Stout as the sellout crowd of 46,175 booed loudly. Judge went 2-for-4 and with 14 games left remained one home run shy of tying the American League record set by the Yankees’ Roger Maris in 1961. Judge leads the AL in average (.317), home runs and RBIs (128), in position to become the first Triple Crown winner in a decade. Cabrera and Gleyber Torres had five RBIs each. Torres homered twice in the eighth inning, raising his season total to 23. New York (90-58) … [Read more...] about MLB roundup: Aaron Judge held without homer, but Yankees win

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 WASHINGTON (AP) — An Iowa man was convicted Friday of charges that he led a crowd of rioters in chasing a U.S. Capitol police officer up a staircase and accosting other officers guarding the Senate, one of the most harrowing scenes of the mob’s attack that day. A federal jury deliberated for roughly four hours before convicting Douglas Jensen of felony charges that he obstructed Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021, and that he assaulted or interfered with police officers during the siege. Jensen was convicted on all counts, including a charge that he engaged in disorderly conduct inside the Capitol while carrying a folding knife in his pocket. During the trial’s closing arguments, a prosecutor accused Jensen of “weaponizing” rioters by taking the lead in chasing Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up a staircase. A reporter’s video of the … [Read more...] about QAnon follower who chased officer convicted in Jan. 6 trial

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 SAN DIEGO (AP) — A fugitive defense contractor nicknamed “Fat Leonard” who claims to have incriminating sex photos of U.S. Navy brass could become the latest bargaining chip in Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s efforts to win official recognition from the Biden administration, according to experts. But it’s unclear how hard the U.S. government will fight for the return of Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian owner of a ship servicing company in Southeast Asia who is the central character in one of the largest bribery scandals in Pentagon history. He fled home custody in San Diego on Sept. 4 and was arrested by Venezuelan police Tuesday attempting to board a flight at the Simon Bolivar International Airport outside Caracas. Francis had his first court appearance Thursday, according to a law enforcement official in Venezuela who spoke Friday to The Associated Press on condition of … [Read more...] about ‘Fat Leonard’ may be Venezuela bargaining chip, experts say