He’s sold 100 million records and topped the charts 33 times, but there’s one Kenny Chesney song that never hit No. 1 — and it still bugs him to this day. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
Month: January 2026
By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
Alaska’s population rose slightly between 2024 and 2025 and is now at its highest level since 2017, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced Wednesday.
Alaska had an estimated 738,737 people as of July 1, 2025, the department said in its annual state population estimate.
The rise comes despite a revision that erased thousands of international immigrants that the U.S. Census mistakenly believed had moved to Alaska.
Last year, relying on Census figures showing that thousands of people had migrated to Alaska from other countries, the department estimated Alaska’s population at more than 741,000 people.
Since then, and after prodding from Alaska state demographer David Howell, the Census Bureau retroactively lowered the number of international migrants that came to Alaska, and this year’s state population estimate is significantly lower than the one published last year.
“We think (that) is more accurate given that people crossing the southern border aren’t very often making their way to Alaska,” Howell said.
With the extra residents removed and a new baseline in place, the state’s population grew on a year-over-year basis because the number of births in the state exceeded the number of Alaskans who died.
That natural increase — births minus deaths — of 3,389 people was greater than the number of people who moved out of the state.
Between 2024 and 2025, 1,740 more people moved out of Alaska than moved here. It was the 13th consecutive year of negative net migration in Alaska, extending the longest streak of negative net migration since 1945.
Overall, the state’s population grew by 0.22%. That was less than the nation as a whole (0.5%). Compared with the other 49 states and the District of Columbia, Alaska’s population growth ranked 40th.
South Carolina (1.5%), Idaho (1.4%) and North Carolina (1.3%) had the highest growth rates among states. Vermont (-0.29%), Hawaii (-0.15%) and West Virginia (-0.07%) had the lowest and were among five states that posted population declines.
The U.S. Census Bureau has slightly different figures than the state — it estimated a 0.1% population gain between 2024 and 2025 — but the Alaska Department of Labor conducts surveys of military bases and group homes that the Census Bureau does not, Howell said. For that reason, he believes the state’s estimate is more accurate than the Census Bureau’s.
Overall, Howell said, Alaska seemed to simply extend existing population trends between 2024 and 2025.
“We’re continuing to see losses in the working-age population. … We’re really starting to see declines in the school-age population. It was growing slightly at the beginning of this decade, but at this point, there’s about 1,000 more 17-year-olds than there are 4-year olds. And so we’re just going through aging,” he said.
Alaska’s median age is 37.1, one and a half years older than it was at the start of the decade. Haines, the state’s oldest community, has a median age above 50.
As the state ages, the number of new births is dropping and the number of deaths is rising.
Howell and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development are predicting that the state’s population will start dropping steadily by the year 2050.
The number of births in the latest population estimate is the lowest since the trans-Alaska oil pipeline was built. The number of deaths dropped slightly last year, but Howell said there may be a morbid reason for that: The COVID-19 pandemic peaked in Alaska in 2021-2022 and may have killed elderly Alaskans who would have died later.
This year’s state population estimate retroactively updated the population change between 2021-2022, turning it from a small gain into a decline.
On a borough and city level, existing trends continued in the latest forecast. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough continues to be the fastest-growing large area of the state, the population of Anchorage is relatively flat, the Interior’s population is growing slightly and Southeast Alaska’s population is falling.
The NFL world has reacted similarly to Bill Belichick’s Pro Football Hall of Fame snub, as a lot of fans were wondering how this could happen. On Tuesday, news broke that Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach, was not a first-ballot entry into Canton. He needed 40 of 50 votes to get in, but there were reportedly 11 people who did not vote for Belichick. Here is how the NFL reacted to this news, according to our sources. NFL sources offer differing reactions on Belichick’s HOF snub Eric D. Williams: Much like the voting process itself, there was no consensus from league sources I spoke with on Bill Belichick not making the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. One NFL agent offered a strong rebuke to the Hall of Fame for leaving Belichick on the outside looking in this year. “It’s a complete f—-ing joke and they should close the Hall of Fame until further notice,” the NFL agent told me. “If current players and coaches voted, he would get 100%. Those voters are jealous and insecure fools.” That individual also felt it tarnished the legacy of the Hall of Fame. “Without question, and it already was questionable to begin with,” they said. And how much should his involvement in Spygate have any impact on his HOF candidacy? “None,” the NFL agent told me. “Because it has no meaningful role in his coaching career. Eli (Manning) not being in is a joke, too.” However, an NFC coach told me the Belichick snub was justified because of his involvement in Spygate. “In my personal opinion, he’s the greatest coach of this generation and I don’t think we’ll see anyone else quite like him,” the coach told me. “With that being said, he does have a stain on his name. I don’t get why people are trying to brush over that or trying to turn that page really quickly. “He got caught cheating. So, if you have cheated the game of football, I completely understand why you’re not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I completely understand if you got caught stealing what’s not yours – yeah, wait a year. Don’t sweep that sh– under the rug. Nobody gets a freaking pass.” However, the NFC coach does believe that Belichick eventually deserves entry into the Hall of Fame. “No, put the man in the Hall of Fame,” the coach told me. “Yeah, you cheated and got caught. But he should be in the Hall of Fame. We’re not doing that.” Two more league sources I spoke with echoed the coach’s sentiments that Belichick will eventually get in. “Belichick will get there,” an NFL scout told me. “It’s not a snub. It’s just the process. The process could use refining in not enough personnel people who are the blood of an NFL team are not included.” Said another longtime NFL coach about Belichick’s chances: “He will be in the Hall of Fame soon enough.” NFL coaches fume at ‘embarrassing’ Belichick snub Ralph Vacchiano: The outrage over the news that Bill Belichick had been snubbed by Hall of Fame voters was swift and loud. And may have been loudest among Belichick’s peers. A group of NFL coaches was still in disbelief that at least 11 Hall of Fame voters did not vote for one of the greatest coaches in NFL history to be a part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. “Embarrassing,” one current assistant coach told me via text. “He’s the best to ever do it. If he’s not in, you can’t have any coaches in.” Another assistant coach put it in even stronger terms: “A f—ing disgrace” he told me in a text. And none of the coaches contacted cared much about the reasons behind Belichick’s snub, whether it’s eventually blamed on the Hall’s flawed and confusing selection process or whether the voters held the “Spygate” cheating scandal against the former Patriots coach. “There’s no excuse. None,” a former NFL head coach told me. “If you don’t think he’s the best candidate, you don’t deserve to vote. Seriously, outside of Tom Brady, who’s more deserving of (a spot in) Canton than him?” “There’s not a coach in NFL history more deserving than him,” one of the assistants told me in a text. “There’s not a coach in sports history more deserving. Anyone who thinks he’s not a Hall of Famer doesn’t deserve a vote.”Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
Who’d have thought that Bill Belichick would steal the news cycle of a Super Bowl that he’s not even in — in a league that he no longer coaches in? Who’d have thought that Bill Polian, who hasn’t worked in an NFL front office since 2011, would end up getting almost as much attention? But that’s what has happened since ESPN reported that Belichick would not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when the results are announced on the “NFL Honors” show on Feb. 5. The news was a major shock, given Belichick’s Super Bowl titles — six as a head coach, two more as an assistant — make for an impossible-to-deny case for the Hall. And yet, the Hall is making Belichick wait. ESPN’s initial report is the primary reason why Polian has taken on such a prominent role. Polian is a former Indianapolis Colts general manager and a current Hall of Fame voter. In that ESPN story, Polian was reported to have told voters Belichick should have to “wait a year” due to Spygate, the videotaping scandal back in 2007. Polian later denied saying that, but he told ESPN that he heard other voters “float the idea.” The backlash for Belichick’s impending rejection has been significant. And fair or not, Polian initially stood as a scapegoat for the committee. There are 50 voters, all members of the media in one way or another — including Polian, who works for SiriusXM (and is a Hall of Famer himself). Polian released a statement on Wednesday to clarify. “I voted for Coach Belichick in the Hall of Fame selection meeting,” Polian said on Sirius XM. “The Pro Football Hall of Fame has confirmed that fact through the auditors of the selection process. Again, I’ll state that I never said that I believed that Coach Belichick should ‘wait a year’ for enshrinement. This has been confirmed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, numerous selectors who were in the room and my vote for Coach Belichick. “As a Hall of Fame member and selector, I realize the import of what we do. I’ve always tried as a selector to make these difficult choices with the utmost objectivity. I’ve said on Sirius XM Radio and numerous other media outlets that I believe Coach Belichick to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. My vote confirms that.” The ESPN report wasn’t the only reason Polian became such a feasible scapegoat. It was also his history of contention with the Patriots. Throughout New England’s dynasty under Belichick and Tom Brady, there was one AFC team that wanted to take the Patriots down as much as anyone. It was the Colts. New England had plenty of other rivals, of course. The Ravens were often a threat in the playoffs. Belichick loved beating up on the Jets, whom he left at the altar to join the Patriots (resigning as New York’s coach to take the job in New England). But the Colts’ rivalry was something fierce. The first iteration of that rivalry had the Brady-Peyton Manning duel at its center. But Manning, coach Tony Dungy and GM Bill Polian were often on the losing side of things. From 1998 to 2011 (the Polian era), the Patriots were 11-6 in the regular season and 2-1 in the postseason against the Colts. The rivalry between New England and Indianapolis spilled off the field as well. In the mid-2000s, the Colts were one of the teams that suffered from Belichick’s Spygate scandal, with the Patriots’ illegally videotaping opponents’ signs, including Indy. Polian also engineered a rule change in 2004 that limited defensive back contact with receivers — dubbed the “Ty Law Rule,” in reference to the former New England cornerback. That rule adjustment traced directly back to a postseason game during which Law and the Patriots got extremely physical with the Colts’ receivers, particularly downfield. Polian apparently didn’t like that, so he played a big part in making the rule that led to stricter enforcement of contact past five yards downfield. It’s worth noting that Indy later turned in a football that sparked the Deflategate scandal — but Polian played zero role in that. It simply increased the rivalry and dislike between Belichick’s Patriots and the Colts. If Polian did in fact vote for Belichick, then hopefully this is the end of the former GM taking the brunt of the criticism in the Belichick-Hall snub saga. And perhaps the voters who snubbed Belichick will come out and explain why, like Vahe Gregorian did.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
The overarching theme I could not ignore when asking some college football coaches and NFL scouts about Bill Belichick’s legacy in the NFL was clear: cheating. Not his six Super Bowls won as a head coach, not his coaching tree nor his decision to start a former sixth-round NFL Draft pick, Tom Brady, who became the greatest quarterback the sport has ever seen. Belichick’s cheating defines who he is to some in the NFL and college football. And that seems to be the message this year’s Hall of Fame voters wanted to impart, as Belichick fell short of receiving at least 40 votes of 50, or 80 percent, for Canton as a first-ballot inductee. Now, the former New England Patriots coach and current North Carolina coach will have to wait until at least 2027 to be voted in. “My personal opinion is I definitely feel like he’s a first-ballot guy,” former New York Giants scout and two-time Super Bowl champion Chris Watts told me. “Regardless of all the negative stuff floating around on him, I feel like he’s earned it.” Fans and current and former athletes — including Sanders, Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James and Jimmy Johnson — were shocked by Belichick’s exclusion. Brady was mystified. And those I spoke to Wednesday echoed their sentiments. “‘That was insane’ was my first thought, given his resume,” a Big 12 position coach told me. “Then I saw the Bill Polian angle, punishing him, even if it’s just for one year, due to the cheating allegations. It’s more symbolic to make him wait, but he’s the greatest of all time.” “Not sure what to make of it,” a former NFL general manager told me. “It’s not good for the game. The Polian stuff is concerning, if true.” “How do you ignore getting caught cheating three times?” a former NFL scout during the Patriots’ Belichick era told me. “And twice for the same thing. For those who said the first ‘Spygate’ wasn’t a big deal, why did he keep doing it? That’s a big part of his legacy. … I also don’t believe Polian didn’t tell them he shouldn’t go in on the first ballot.” [HALL OF FAME: Bill Belichick’s Snub Result of Flawed Voting Process] Did deciding to pursue college football hurt his NFL legacy? Perhaps, but one college football staffer told me that shouldn’t be a factor. “That sounds crazy that that’s the narrative,” the Power 4 assistant player of personnel said. “How can one season of college affect him on the Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot? I think it’s all about cheating.” Maybe it is. Going 4-8 in his first season as head coach at North Carolina couldn’t have helped him. Months of tabloid headlines about Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, playing a not-so-quiet part in building the image of not just Belichick on Chapel Hill but also the Tar Heel football program surely didn’t help either. Still, if Belichick had finished the 2025 season at 16-0 with a national championship, fans would have crowned him as the best football coach — NFL or college — who has ever lived. We love a conqueror in football, and we enjoy watching winners. And that is who most people believe Belichick is in the NFL — except his peers with the power to vote. [BELICHICK SNUB: Hall of Fame Voter on Not Voting For Bill Belichick] This snubbing will not enhance his legacy in the NFL, but it will have no bearing on how he is remembered in college football. That part is still up to him. There’s still time for Belichick to show us in college football that he can coach with the best in our sport. There’s still time for him to enjoy the two-year turnaround Deion Sanders, a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer, enjoyed at Colorado — going from 3-9 to 9-4 with a Heisman Trophy winner in tow. Now, he knows what the league he gave 24 years of his head-coaching life to think of him. We’ll find out if he coaches differently, wins more or cares less what college football does of him, too.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
Got a Galentine’s Day party coming up on your calendar?
If you’ve got a gathering with your best gals soon, why not pop on a fun rom com on Disney+ that everyone will love?
Find your perfect match…
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After all, Grey’s Anatomy alum Patrick Dempsey has “been texting” with his former costar Eric Dane amid the latter’s ongoing battle with ALS, which he…
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A number of Republican mayors are condemning the Trump administration’s hardline immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota, as they call on the president to pull back from Minneapolis and worry their cities might be next.
“It’s roiling the country,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt told POLITICO. “We’re all sort of feeling the angst of our residents and the fear that our city will be next and that chaos is going to inevitably creep across the entire country.”
Fresno, California, Mayor Jerry Dyer said in an interview that “too much damage has been done” with the crackdown and “the trust in communities has been lost.”
And Burnsville, Minnesota, Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, warned that the agency’s current tactics meant “our cities are no longer safe.”
The remarks from the trio of moderate-leaning GOP mayors who have broken with Trump in the past came at the annual gathering of the nonpartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors, held blocks from the White House. Holt chairs the conference.
The Republican leaders’ calls for Trump to deescalate after the fatal shootings of two Minnesotans by federal agents show the GOP’s deepening fissures over the administration’s aggressive immigration agenda, even as the mayors and Republicans broadly offered support for the president’s overall goal. And their alarm comes as ICE ramps up operations in other states, including Arizona and Maine.
The escalating immigration enforcement crackdown hung over the annual gathering, dominating conversations among leaders who are scrambling to prepare their cities for ICE sweeps and allay anxious and outraged residents.
Dyer on Wednesday said federal agents need to receive more training in deescalation tactics — a practice that the Fresno mayor, who served in law enforcement for 40 years, including 18 as the city’s police chief, said is integral for local police departments. He also said federal agencies should only work in communities where they have the cooperation of local leaders.
“I don’t believe that agencies should be deployed into cities against the will of local government and without the cooperation of local law enforcement,” Dyer said. “That’s a recipe for disaster, and I believe that’s somewhat of what we’re seeing today.”
And he urged other Republicans to speak out against federal immigration agents’ recent tactics.
“The Republican Party in general cannot rubber-stamp everything a party does or this administration does,” Dyer said. “Too many people today are turning a blind eye when they should be speaking out in opposition.”
It wasn’t just big-city GOP mayors who were concerned with the administration’s response: Kautz’s town of 64,000 people is in Minneapolis’ south suburbs.
Kautz, who said she now carries her passport in public, called for ICE to use judicial warrants, arguing that while violent criminals need to be off the street, it needs to be done “through proper channels, the rule of law, due process [and rooted] rooting in the Constitution.” In Minnesota, “that is not our experience.”
A new POLITICO poll found that more than 1 in 3 Trump voters said that while they support the goals of his immigration agenda, they disapprove of the way he is implementing it.
Holt, who runs one of the most conservative large cities in the U.S. but backed Kamala Harris over Trump in 2024, warned that Trump’s interior enforcement was a failure.
“The president can feel, generally, that his policies at the border have been largely supported by a majority of Americans,” Holt said. “But what he’s doing inside the border seems to be not working.”
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We have sad news to report out of the world of reality television:
Charity Pierce, who was best known for documenting her weight loss journey on My 600-lb Life, has passed away, according to her daughter Charly Jo.
She was 50 years old.
“I wasn’t going to post about this. But … the calling and texting is making my head feel like it’s on fire. Almost all immediate family knows so, my mom passed away today,” she wrote via Facebook, adding of the former reality show contestant:
“She’s up with her momma and brother and sister and she’s finally at peace.”
Added Charly Jo alongside an image of her holding her mother’s hand:
“Charity fly high momma. I hope you know how much I love you and how grateful I was to be able to be by your side while you took your last breath.”
Pierce appeared on season three of My 600-lb Life in 2015. At the start of her time on the series, she weighed 778 pounds.
From there, TLC viewers followed along on the star’s journey as she struggled with health challenges, surgery setbacks, family trauma and the unfortunate and unhealthy realities of obesity.
Pierce ultimately lost 282 pounds, bringing her down to 496 pounds.
According to celebrity gossip website TMZ, Pierce had been in hospice care for approximately two months due to ongoing medical conditions, including lymphedema and fluid buildup in her lungs.
She died early Tuesday morning, although an official cause of death has not been released.
Pierce eventually returned for My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now?.
After weighing close to 800 pounds, Pierce was able to regain her independence after weight loss surgery and multiple skin removal surgeries.
“I don’t want to go back to the way I was, where I was trapped in one room in my apartment all day, every day,” she said at the time. “You can live your whole life believing that you can’t change the things you just don’t like … the day you see that for a lie, anything is possible.”
When Pierce returned for the aforementioned My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now? special, she was beginning on starting a new chapter. This included trying to to reconnect with Charly.
“I’m still not where I want to be,” she said during the TLC special, which was posted on YouTube in October 2025. “I desperately need Charly in my life, but after my talk with Charly, I’ve slowly started feeling like I’m waking up and I’m able to become the mom I need for her.”
We send our condolences to the friends, family members and loved ones of Charity Pierce. May she rest in peace.
Charity Pierce Cause of Death: My 600-Lb. Life Gone at 50 was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
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