In honor of Dolly Parton celebrating her 80th birthday on January 19, the country music icon has dipped into her timeless catalog to unveil a brand-new, star-studded rendition of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning.” It has been 50 years since Parton wrote this classic so to commemorate her birthday as well as this milestone, she tapped a powerhouse lineup of female hitmakers to help give it a new life.
Joining her on the fresh recording is Lainey Wilson, her goddaughter Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, and Reba McEntire. Parton reignites the song through the recording and music video that also features David Foster on piano and The Christ Church Choir on backing vocals. Together, these artists and musicians combine their talents to share a message that encourages everyone to spread some love and hope in their days.
Dolly Parton; Photos Courtesy of YouTube
“You know, we’re living in troubled and uncertain times,” the country icon states in the opening of the video. “But we can’t let the darkness in.
“It’s time to wake up,” adds Queen Latifah, before Parton continues, “because I can see the light of a clear blue morning. Can you?”
The delicate piano keys slowly build over their vocals, offering a soft, tender melody that is soon overtaken by the unmistakable sounds of each of the artists’ voices whispering through the speakers. At first, they take turns carrying out the messages of hope, freedom, and renewal before coming together with soaring harmonies and a powerful spirit.
“I can see the light of a clear blue morning/ I can see the light of a brand new day/ I can see the light of a clear blue morning/ Oh, and everything’s gonna be all right/ It’s gonna be okay,” they sing on the chorus.
Parton acknowledged that this story was penned back in 1976 when she had found herself going through a moment of personal transition. Now, five decades later, Dolly revisits it with a fresh energy, transforming the classic into a celebration of perseverance and optimism for a new generation. The arrangement, which was produced by Dolly and Kent Wells and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, offers reminder that even after the darkest nights, brighter days are ahead.
“I wrote ‘Light of a Clear Blue Morning’ during a season when I was searching for hope, and fifty years later that message still feels just as true. As I celebrate my 80th birthday, this new version is my way of using what I’ve been blessed with to shine a little light forward, especially by sharing it with some truly incredible women,” Parton shared.
Dolly Parton; Light of a Clear Blue Morning
One of Parton’s collaborators, country music sensation Lainey Wilson called “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” a “powerful song.” While celebrating a career milestone of her own this week, Wilson reflected on the opportunity to be a part of this recording, stating how honored she was considering how impactful Dolly Parton has been on her musical journey.
“Whenever she asked if I could be a part of this, I was like, that will never get old to me. That will never get old to me. And when I found out who else is going to be a part of the song, it’s huge for her to kind of tip her hat to me like that by allowing me to be on this incredible song that has stood the test of time, that does mean so much,” she shared honestly.
Lainey Wilson, Dolly Parton, Michelle Wilson; Photo Courtesy of Instagram
The “Somewhere Over Laredo” goes on to say that she got to spend time in the studio with Dolly while recording this track and in doing so got to be coached by one of the greatest in the genre.
“I feel like I’ve known her from another lifetime. My mama got to spend some time with her. It was just a really special day. And I do not take it for granted that I even got to just spend a few hours with that woman. Everything that she says, I put it in my pocket. Just getting to know her and just, there’s so many layers to that woman and I’m thankful to have her in my life.”
Continuing her longtime tradition of giving back, Dolly Parton has announced that all proceeds from the song and its music video will support the pediatric cancer research program at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, an organization that has been a cherished partner and cause for Parton for many years.
The second Trump administration has weakened federal civil rights law and is shredding the foundations of America’s racially inclusive democracy.imagedepotpro, iStock/Getty Images Plus
One year after Donald Trump’s second inauguration, a pattern emerges. Across dozens of executive orders, agency memos, funding decisions and enforcement changes, the administration has weakened federal civil rights law and the foundations of the country’s racially inclusive democracy.
Federal agencies were charged with enforcing those laws, collecting data to identify discrimination and conditioning public funds on compliance. These choices reshaped U.S. demographics and institutions, with the current Congress “the most racially and ethnically diverse in history,” according to the Pew Research Center. The laws did not eliminate racial inequality, but they made exclusion easier to see and harder to defend.
The first year of the second Trump administration marks a sharp reversal.
In a March 2025 speech to Congress, Trump spoke of dismantling DEI programs.
Cumulative retreat
Rather than repealing civil rights statutes outright, the administration has focused on disabling the mechanisms that make those laws work.
Drawing on over two decades of teaching and writing about civil rights and my experience directing a GW Law project on inclusive democracy, I believe this pattern reflects not isolated administrative actions but a cumulative retreat from the federal government’s role as an enforcer of civil rights law.
Over the past year, the president and his administration have taken a series of connected actions:
• On its first day in office, announced the end of all federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs, including diversity officers, equity plans and related grants and contracts.
• Issued a government-wide memo labeling common best practices in hiring, admissions and other selection and evaluation processes – such as compiling diverse applicant pools, valuing cultural competence, considering first-generation or low-income status and seeking geographic and demographic representation – as potentially legally suspect. The memo warned that federal funding could be cut to schools, employers and state and local governments using such practices. Federal prosecutors reportedly investigated federal contractors that consider diversity, characterizing such initiatives as fraud.
• Rescinded an executive order that barred discrimination by federal contractors, required steps to ensure nondiscriminatory hiring and employment, and subjected contractors to federal compliance reviews and record-keeping. This weakened a key mechanism used since 1965 to detect and remedy workplace discrimination.
Civil rights, union and religious leaders board a dedicated Pennsylvania Railroad train from New York to Washington, D.C., to march in support of the bill that would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Bob Parent/Getty Images
Taken together, these shifts have practical consequences.
When agencies stop collecting data on racial disparities, discrimination becomes harder to detect. When disparate impact analysis is abandoned, unfair practices with no legitimate purpose go unchallenged. When diversity programs are chilled through investigations and funding threats, institutions respond by narrowing opportunity. When history and language are recast as threats to unity, truth and freedom of speech and thought are suppressed and undermined.
Lyndon Johnson at the base of the Statue of Liberty on Oct. 3, 1965, before signing the Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in the immigration process and repealed quotas heavily favoring immigration from northern and western Europe. LBJ Library
Administration officials argue that these steps are needed to prevent discrimination against white people, promote unity, ensure “colorblind equality” and comply with a Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action in college admissions. But that ruling did not ban awareness of racial inequality, or neutral policies aimed at reducing it. Many of the administration’s actions rely on broad claims of illegality without providing specific violations.
The selective nature of enforcement is also telling.
The administration is not simply applying neutral rules. It is dismantling the systems that once helped the U.S. move toward a more open and equal democracy. It is replacing them with policies that selectively narrow access to economic, cultural and educational participation.
The result is not simply a change in policy, but a fundamental shift in the trajectory of American democracy.
Spencer Overton is the faculty director of a program at GW Law that receives grants from non-profit foundations like the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, Democracy Fund, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Last week, Teyana Taylor became a first-time Golden Globe winner for her performance in One Battle After Another. This week, she visited The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for an interview and a performance of her song “Hard Part” featuring Lucky Daye.
“My first televised performance in a long time,” Taylor shared in a statement, “and wow it felt so good to be back… thank you Jimmy Fallon for having us and welcoming me back with so much love, warmth, and open arms. We all had a blast!!”
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In the performance, Taylor and Daye sit across from each other onstage in a living room setup, trading verses about a relationship gone wrong. They join together on the chorus, singing: “Can’t believe you never said it to me/I never said it’d be еasy/But the hard part is over with it.”
“Hard Part” is featured on Taylor’s 2025 record Escape Room, which is nominated for Best R&B Album at the upcoming 68th Annual Grammy Awards. Escape Room was Taylor’s return to music following a five-year hiatus, and her first album distributed by Def Jam. Of the record, she told Variety: “I poured my heart into every layer, from the story to the sound, to capture that journey we all take through the shadows of heartbreak… and guide you toward the lightness of healing.”
Taylor additionally sat down for an interview with Fallon, where he showed off her new Golden Globe statue. The pair talked about the viral clip of Leonardo DiCaprio chatting animatedly during a commercial break, and Teyana’s quest to figure out the context behind it. Originally, she believed she “broke the Da Vinci code,” when she told Access Hollywood that Leo was talking to her about Kpop Demon Hunters, but walked back that claim after calling her co-star. “Apparently he had two KPop Demon Hunter conversations that night, so KPop Demon Hunters was just in his mouth all night!”
If you follow Vanderpump Rules news on social media, you’ve probably seen the headlines.
The stunning announcements report that Katie Maloney is pregnant.
Some posts even throw a curve-ball by naming a very surprising baby daddy.
A lot of fans are shocked by the news. Hopefully, we can clear the air.
‘Vanderpump Rules’ alum Katie Maloney on ‘Watch What Happens Live.’ (Image Credit: Bravo)
Is Katie Maloney really pregnant?
In recent days, headlines have exploded across social media.
The happy reports have asserted that Katie Maloney is expecting her first child, naming the father as boyfriend Nick Martin.
After all of the attempts to conceive with cheating ex-husband Tom Schwartz, that’s a surprise after only, what, a year and a half or less of dating.
In fact, these headlines and announcements came as a surprise to so many people that the same question kept popping up:
Does Katie know?
On the ‘Vanderpump Rules’ aftershow, Katie Maloney talks to the camera. (Image Credit: Bravo)
By that, people are implying that Katie herself does not “know” because she isn’t pregnant.
Indeed, she hasn’t posted an announcement of a pregnancy to social media.
The Vanderpump Rules alum also didn’t make the announcement in an interview.
Where do the smiling photos come from?
Well, some are suggesting that they might be generative AI. Which means that congratulations from fans may have been a bit premature.
Whoops! A fan jumped the gun by sharing “news” of Katie Maloney’s pregnancy in January 2026. As the comments suggest, it’s not true. (Image Credit: Reddit)
Why would someone make up a pregnancy story?
False headlines — not misleading headlines, not plays on words, not clickbait — exist. They’ve been around for years.
We did some digging, and the original page to which many of these “joyful” social media posts linked is no longer up.
What happens is that people can make a little bit money and a lot of (brief) clout for posting deliberate misinformation.
Not correcting lies, as we here at THG are doing. Also not for simply honest mistakes.
It’s easy to get attention when you can fabricate any story that you want.
On ‘Vanderpump Rules,’ Katie Maloney seems unsure of what she’s hearing. (Image Credit: Bravo)
Several years ago, when she was still married to Tom Schwartz, Katie shared her fertility journey on the Reality Life podcast.
Over a decade ago, Katie was in a horrific accident. She fell 25 feet through a skylight.
Bones broke, her jaw was broken, and she suffered a brain injury.
About a year later, she actually became pregnant, but this was at totally the wrong time.
Katie got an abortion. She knew that she was not mentally in a place to be a good parent. Very wise of her!
Here, we see Katie Maloney on ‘Vanderpump Rules.’ (Image Credit: Bravo)
Her fertility journey makes this feel so … insensitive
However, when she and Tom later tried to conceive, she found herself second-guessing past decisions — even though she acknowledged that they were irrational.
During her fertility journey, she also felt a little shamed by Lisa Vanderpump, even though Lisa meant well when she asked if Katie and Tom were “trying” well enough.
As for the false reports of Katie expecting … if you believed it, that’s normal. It’s important to double-check where a headline is coming from before you believe.
It’s also good to double-check a news story before you repeat it. How many “congratulations” messages did Katie receive this week? That sounds uncomfortable, at best.
For those who celebrate, Valentine’s season at Costco is a festive affair. Amongst the pink and red sweets lining the aisles this year, these are our top picks.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
Megan Moroney is offering a fierce look into her upcoming Cloud 9 album with her latest track release, “Wish I Didn’t.” She comes in hot with a bold attitude with playful flirtation while offering a fun and all-too relatable story about falling for someone she probably shouldn’t.
From the opening line, Moroney sets the scene by describing her potential love interest as someone who’s “got a hell of a reputation” with a plethora of “horror stories” tied to his name from the list of women who came before her.
“You’ve got a hell of a reputation/ So, here I am patiently waiting/ For that other shoe, or should I say boot, to drop I’ve heard all of the horror stories/ Your graveyard of girls before me/ If you play dirty, mmm, how do I say this?/ Hell hath no fury,” Moroney sings.
Dylan Efron, Megan Moroney; Photo by Carly Sharp
She admits she’s falling for his charm cautiously while waiting for the other shoe to drop, but makes it clear she won’t be wearing rose-colored glasses. But if the man decides to cross her like he’s done in his past, Moroney warns him that she’s got the power of being a songwriter, which in her mind, can cause as much damage as a “stone cold killer” with a gun.
The serious tone behind Moroney’s rich yet playful vocals is palpable and should be enough to make any man think twice about doing her wrong. The song, penned by Moroney with Emily Weisband, Hillary Lindsey, and Luke Laird, goes on to navigate desire to give into temptations while remaining hesitant in an effort to avoid yet another heartbreak.
She continues onto the chorus, “Don’t make me wish I didn’t/ Get dressed up, let you take me out/ Wreck your bed, make you all I’m talking about/ Consider this a warning/ You’ve got one shot to listen/ I think I’m falling for ya/ Don’t make me wish I didn’t.”
Megan Moroney; Photo Courtesy of Facebook
The catchy track was paired with an equally fierce music video starring the Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records singer/songwriter with reality TV star Dylan Efron. The video directed by Lauren Dunn finds the pair tapping into their acting skills to play a seemingly ordinary couple, navigating the routines of their morning and heading off to work, but it doesn’t take long for the secrets to unravel.
Paying homage to the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie classic film, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Moroney and Efron plot to take each other out, leading to a wild, dinner-table fight scene. In the final scene, their brawl is interrupted when they realize someone has been watching them the whole time, leaving Moroney and Efron emerging from the front door with feat and uncertainty.
Throughout the video, fans will catch playful nods to her pink Cloud 9 era, including her signature pink Jeep and the number 9 on her door, and several other Easter eggs.
“Wish I Didn’t” marks the third track released from the MULTI-PLATINUM superstar’s upcoming third studio album Cloud 9, due out on February 20. It follows hits “6 Months Later” and ”Beautiful Things,” setting the tone for what’s to come, including collaborations with global superstar Ed Sheeran and Country luminary Kacey Musgraves.
The titles of the remaining tracks off the 15-song project were unveiled in another teaser video that found Moroney stepping off a jet in style and looking up to the clouds to see each of her songs laid out before her in skywriting.
Moroney is hitting the road this May for THE CLOUD 9 TOUR, a 49-stop international headline run. She’ll be bringing her show to major arenas across North America, Europe, and the UK.
In the months since Charlie Kirk’s death, his widow, Erika Kirk, has become one of the most visible media figures in the country.
Now, she’s coping with one of the uncomfortable aspects of massive fame — namely, wild rumors and speculation about her private life!
Specifically, thousands of social media users are now convinced that Erika is dating Tom Brady.
Erika Kirk interviews surprise guest Nicki Minaj on the final day of Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest conference at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 21, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Caylo Seals/Getty Images)
The claim seems to have originated from Hoops Crave, an X (formerly Twitter) account with more than 20,000 followers.
“Tom Brady and Erika Kirk are reportedly dating,” the page posted, alongside photos of Brady and Kirk.
It doesn’t get much more straightforward than that, and not surprisingly, the post was quickly shared thousands of times.
But it doesn’t appear that there’s any truth to it.
Tom Brady attends Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl party at the Marquee Nightclub at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on February 10, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Hoops Crave page is marked with a “satire” tag, but so are millions of other pages, which might be why it went unnoticed by so many.
That tag doesn’t necessarily mean that everything a page posts is untrue.
But it does seem that Hoops Crave posted the Brady-Kirk claim as a joke (or as shameless engagement bait, if you want to be less generous about it).
It’s no great shock that this story appears to be bogus.
After all, Erika’s husband was just brutally murdered four months ago. She’s probably not quite ready to re-enter the dating pool yet.
Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk, widow of late right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, speaks during Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Arizona on December 18, 2025. (Photo by Olivier Touron / AFP via Getty Images)
And of course, there are a million other reasons why Tom and Erika would make for a very odd couple.
She’s one of the most vocal right-wing activists in the country, and with a few notable exceptions, Tom mostly stays silent on political matters.
While his playing career might be over, as a broadcaster for Fox and a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Brady is still one of the faces of the NFL.
The central focus of his life has always been football, and it seems unlikely that he would jeopardize his legacy by getting involved with someone as divisive as Kirk.
Anyway, all of this is immaterial, as Tom and Erika are not dating, and in all likelihood, they’ve never even met.
But don’t tell that to the thousands of people who shared Hoop Crave’s parody post!
Worcestershire sauce is a popular condiment for steak, but don’t let the creativity stop there. Here are some other resourceful ways to use Worcestershire.
