There’s nothing like shopping at an uncrowded grocery store, but Publix is so popular that it’s rarely empty. This is the best day to shop at Publix.
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Month: February 2026
Here’s what’s happening this week Inside The Garage: That 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports will field an extra car to attempt to make the Daytona 500 this week is just a subtle sign of what it meant to get through their lawsuit against NASCAR before the start of the 2026 season. Both organizations had told employees they would have jobs in 2026 even if they lost their lawsuit and didn’t have guaranteed spots for any of their cars in the field. But whether they would field three full-time cars, let alone a fourth car on occasion, appeared optimistic at best. And for them to be around in 2027 was doubtful. Now the drivers and crew members have nothing to worry about. The organizations have their charters and appear on much more solid footing for the future. “I look at it from the people that showed up to work each and every day knowing that there was something of that magnitude looming, and they still gave their effort to build us the fastest race cars to the best of their abilities and they didn’t let that affect them,” 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace told me. “But we’re not naive to the fact that are we shutting doors? Who knows? The big unknown there. And they were able to put that aside. Now, with all that going away, I can only imagine there’s a massive sigh of relief for them, they can continue to do what they do, show up and give their best effort.” [MORE NASCAR: 20 Most Memorable Moments in Daytona 500 History] After eight days of testimony in December in the antitrust case, the sides settled with 23XI and FRM getting most of what they wanted as far as various ancillary revenues and, most importantly, evergreen charters and more collective bargaining for the teams with NASCAR. “I really was never super worried, but when the trial time came, it definitely ramped up the nerves a little bit I’m sure for everybody in the whole company” FRM driver Todd Gilliland told me. “And I think one of the coolest things is you probably had one or two people leave over the offseason. “Just to see how many people stuck as a team with Front Row Motorsports, and then now to be past it and through it to the other side. I think there’s a lot of excitement. Same drivers, a lot of the same team members, and no black cloud kind of lingering over us.” The drivers pretty much were free agents once the teams lost their charters during the summer. Driver contracts typically are written requiring they race a chartered car. None of them bolted. “I haven’t really changed anything,” 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick told reporters in mid-January. “As a driver, I feel like I do my part to be one of the best, and hopefully again, regardless of the outcome, I still get asked [to do that].” Reddick said he felt everyone just focused on their jobs. For team members, it is something they know they can’t control and the racing industry is one of constant change — it’s sports and a performance-based business with decisions not always done with empathy. But especially for employees with families, the uncertainty of a race team can cause a great deal of angst. “It is nice that it’s behind us,” Reddick said last week in a media conference call prior to the Clash. “It’s done, and it’s in the past.” For 23XI Racing, an organization that entered the sport in 2021 with NBA great Michael Jordan as a co-owner with driver Denny Hamlin, their leadership has often portrayed the organization as one seeking to change the way people look at the sport. “What we said from Day 1 about this team is we want to be different,” Wallace said. “We want to push for change in a positive way, and if we have to ruffle some feathers then so be it. But I stand 100 percent behind my team and thankful for the opportunity.” No More Roval NASCAR and Charlotte Motor Speedway decided that they will no longer compete on the Charlotte road course, opting for an oval race in the Chase. The Cup race will be 400 miles, the O’Reilly race will be 300 miles and the truck race will be 201 miles. With the improvement in the racing on the 1.5-mile tracks with the Next Gen car and the return of the Chase (meaning it won’t be an elimination race) made officials feel like this would be a good time to make the change. “As the Chase returns, we are putting a spotlight on performance while honoring the tracks and traditions that have defined championship moments,” NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell said in a news release. “Charlotte Motor Speedway’s historic oval has played a central role in some of the sport’s most memorable races, so bringing the Chase back to the 1.5-mile configuration for our fans simply felt right.” The elimination of the Charlotte road course means there won’t be a road course in the 10-race postseason. News & Notes –Brad Keselowski has been cleared to race after an on-track test today (Feb. 9) at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A Jan. 30 x-ray on his broken right leg showed enough healing that doctors approved him getting back in the car, but he still needed to get in and out of the car and show he could work the pedals before determining whether he could race in the Daytona 500. Keselowski: “Getting cleared was a huge moment for me. You put in the work, you trust the process, but until you hear that final ‘yes,’ nothing is guaranteed.” –Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and four-time INDYCAR champion Dario Franchitti will compete in the NASCAR truck race Feb. 28 at St. Petersburg. Franchitti has returned to racing in the last year for the first time since a crash in 2013 ended his INDYCAR career. Franchitti ran 10 Cup races for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2008 as well as 18 races in O’Reilly in 2007-08 before ending his attempt to transition to NASCAR. He will drive the Tricon No. 1 truck at St. Pete with sponsorship from Dollar Tree through a partnership with Franchitti good friend Jimmie Johnson and Legacy Motor Club. [MORE INDYCAR: Mick Schumacher Takes First Oval Test at Homestead] –The truck race at Daytona this weekend will feature several notable drivers who don’t race regularly in the series. Former Cup champion Tony Stewart is driving for Kaulig as part of Ram’s entry into the sport. Travis Pastrana is driving for Niece Motorsports, as is YouTube personality and racer Cleetus McFarland. Also in the field will be current Cup drivers Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar, John Hunter Nemeche and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as well as Corey LaJoie. –23XI Racing announced that Corey Heim will compete in 12 Cup races this year, starting with the Daytona 500. Bootie Barker will be the crew chief. –Two big INDYCAR tests await in the next couple of weeks. Several teams are taking a driver to Sebring for a test today and Tuesday (Feb. 9-10) to work on road-course setups. The first oval test of the year is Feb. 17-10 at Phoenix, where they will race just a few weeks later. –NASCAR announced that seeding for its in-season tournament will be by point standings following the 14th race of the year at Pocono. That keeps the race at Naval Base Coronado (a first-time event) from having an impact on the seedings. The five races for the challenge are again the TNT races: Sonoma, Chicagoland, Atlanta, North Wilkesboro and Indianapolis. –In other in-season special-event news: The O’Reilly Dash 4 Cash races will be Bristol, Kansas, Talladega and Texas; the triple-truck challenge races will be Darlington, Rockingham and Bristol. Why The Call? Why did NASCAR allow teams to re-fuel in the Clash when they could have started on fuel and been OK? “It’s the first time we’ve run that [750hp] engine at an actual race with a higher horsepower, for one, so was our data totally accurate that we went into? We believe it is,” NASCAR Cup Series Director Brad Moran said during a media briefing the day after the Clash to go over 2026 rules. “What we were managing from our side is that we had way more cautions than we’ve ever had, we don’t really have a pit road that you could just allow fuel anytime, we don’t have our fire protection in every [area]. … With nobody gaining or losing spots on pit road, we felt the best decision at that point was to let them top off and come back out.” Some teams felt those who gambled on fuel — so they could have a weight advantage — should have paid the price. But Moran said with the race already going so long and the potential of more cautions happening because of drivers running out of fuel that “we didn’t want that to be the entire story on how the race ended.” Sweet Rides We will post some of our favorite paint schemes here. How about these liveries introduced by Arrow McLaren for the 2026 INDYCAR season? Stat Of The Week No driver has won his first Daytona 500 after his 20th start (that was Dale Earnhardt in 1998). Kyle Busch will be making his 21st start. They Said It “Yeah, a non-points race, but winning at this level is not freaking easy. So I’m proud.” —Ryan Preece after winning the Clash to open the 2026 NASCAR season. In Inside The Garage, Bob Pockrass takes us behind the scenes of the motorsports world the way only he can.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement furiously denounced Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show, denigrating the Puerto Rican superstar and claiming he does not truly represent America.
Trump, who previously called Bad Bunny a “terrible choice” to head up the NFL’s largest annual broadcast, chimed in with complaints about the show’s first-ever mostly-Spanish performance: “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying,” he wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post, calling it “one of the worst, EVER!”
At Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, Bad Bunny delivered a 13-minute homage to his homeland, weaving through a sugarcane field studded with bodegas and a traditional casita. His show was lauded by fans as a vibrant celebration of Puerto Rican heritage — but Trump and MAGA faithfuls weren’t so convinced.
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, the Puerto Rican-born singer better known as Bad Bunny, made his Super Bowl debut in 2020 alongside Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. But since the NFL announced him as the Super Bowl headliner in September, he became a focal point for conservative ire — thanks, in part, to his high-profile political activism.
An outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration crackdown, he declared “ICE out” onstage at last week’s Grammy Awards — where his album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” made history as the first all-Spanish record to snag the show’s coveted album of the year trophy — and left viewers wondering what message he might have for the millions of football fans tuning into his set.
But Bad Bunny did not directly call out any of the president’s policies or supporters during his Super Bowl show. The only English he spoke during Sunday’s show was him saying, “God bless America,” as he was marching off the field with a procession of Latin and South American flags — led by the U.S.’s flag. He then spiked a football that read: “together, we are America.”
His show also referenced the island’s long-struggling power grid.
In the hours after the performance, MAGA allies took issue with the show’s mostly-Spanish discography and Puerto Rican inspiration.
“Was a single word of English spoken during the Super Bowl Halftime Show?” Nick Adams, Trump’s pick to become ambassador to Malaysia, wrote on X. “Someone needs to tell Bad Bunny he’s in America. This is an abomination.”
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer railed against his set in a series of X posts, urging border czar Tom Homan to deploy an immigration raid on site.
“There’s nothing American about any of this,” she wrote. “This isn’t White enough for me. Cant even watch a Super Bowl anymore because immigrants have literally ruined everything.”
Meanwhile, MAGA-friendly influencer Jake Paul urged his X followers to “turn off this halftime,” decrying Bad Bunny as a “fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America.” Paul, who was recently seen with Vice President JD Vance at the Olympics in Milan, received swift blowback online, including from Paul’s own brother, Logan.
Many, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), pointed out that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens — and that Paul himself has been living there since 2021.
Other figures within the president’s orbit echoed their disapproval. Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino reacted to Bad Bunny’s performance in a podcast episode on Rumble titled “Kid Rock > Sad Bunny,” telling viewers the show “sucked.” Meanwhile, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, wrote on X that she and her family “aren’t watching him.”
Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) called the show “disgusting” and said it violated broadcast standards, writing on X that he plans to send a letter to FCC Chair Brendan Carr demanding a review.
“Had he said these lyrics — and all of the other disgusting and pornographic filth in English on live TV, the broadcast would have been pulled down and the fines would have been enormous,” Fine wrote. “Lock them up.”
Conservatives did rally behind alternative programming. Turning Point USA, the conservative organizing group founded by Charlie Kirk, aired a rival halftime show headlined by longtime Trump ally Kid Rock, drawing support from Republican officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who praised the event.
Politics
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Shortly after Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home, multiple media outlets reported that they had received ransom notes demanding millions in Bitcoin for her safe return.
Now, we have new details regarding the notes, the demands, and the deadlines issued by the people who claim to have abducted the beloved mother of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie.
We learned last week that the alleged kidnappers issued two deadlines: one came and went on Friday at 5 pm, and the other is sometime today.
(For security reasons, many details of the notes are being kept secret, but TMZ founder Harvey Levin, who received one of the letters, revealed that today’s deadline would carry “serious consequences” if it were not met.)
Now we know that the authors of the ransom note are demanding $6 million in Bitcoin.
It’s safe to assume that the authors of the notes (it’s important to bear in mind that we don’t know if they’re actually holding Nancy) expect the funds to be deposited today.
But according to a new report from TMZ, the account is publicly viewable, and its balance stands at $0 with no transactions recorded.
Former CIA member and FBI special agent Tracy Walder told Page Six today that he believes the author of the note “definitely knows what they’re doing.”
“This person probably practiced and thought it out. I don’t think someone woke up and was like, ‘This is what I’m going to do,’” Walder told the outlet, adding:
“This is someone who said, ‘I am going to sit down. This is how I’m going to encrypt the email, this is the VPN I’m going to use.’ They put some plan into this.
“Not everyone knows bitcoin is an easier way to be untraceable. This person clearly has knowledge of these things.”
Asked if he believes the kidnappers can be caught, Walder noted that the chances of an arrest increase with each new piece of communication:
“I think anyone could be caught,” the former agent says.
“The question is how long does that take? You have that added sense of urgency with a potential life being in jeopardy. I do think the problem is the length of time. The more tech savvy you are adds an extra layer of difficulty.
“The more communication this person has adds another layer of difficulty because this person has gone dark and only released two ransom notes, they’re not communicating a lot. They are doing that on purpose,” he said.
Walder noted that each new email “opens the FBI to be able to trace that.”
“I think I do feel they will be caught. I just wish it was now. That’s the problem,” he added.
So the bad news is that the alleged kidnappers appear to be professionals. The good news is that investigators are working with state-of-the-art technology in their efforts to apprehend them.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
Nancy Guthrie Kidnappers Demand $6 Million in Bitcoin For Her Safe Return: Report was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
The top-rated slow cooker on Amazon boasts 4.8 stars and a design that is both spacious and portable. It even comes with built-in cord storage!
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The Guild of Music Supervisors has announced their 16th annual Icon Awards honoree, legendary singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Raphael Saadiq. The Icon Award was created to celebrate those who have made legendary contributions to the music and film industry. Previous recipients of the Icon Award include Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, Kenny Loggins, Marc Shaiman, and Stephen Schwartz.
The 16th Annual Guild of Music Supervisor Awards ceremony takes place February 28th at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets are available to purchase now.
Raphael Saadiq offered the following: “I am honored to be the recipient of this year’s Icon Award. Music plays such an important role in how stories are told on screen and I have always believed in the power of music to deepen emotion and connect people to the story. To be recognized by a community that celebrates the important relationship between music and cinematic story telling means a lot to me.”
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Lindsay Wolfington, President of the Guild of Music Supervisors, had this to say about Raphael Saadiq, “We are very excited to honor someone whose reach has touched so many parts of the music and media industries; Raphael Saadiq’s contributions as an artist, songwriter, producer and composer for visual media truly define what we celebrate with the GMS Icon Award.”
The recipient of this year’s Legacy Award, meanwhile, is Robin Kaye, former Vice President of the Guild of Music Supervisors. The Legacy Award is presented to a music supervisor who has made a lasting impact on the industry over the course of their career.
A founding member of the iconic R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, Saadiq went on to forge a trailblazing solo career with acclaimed albums including Instant Vintage, The Way I See It, Stone Rollin’, and Jimmy Lee. Saadiq has written and produced for D’Angelo, Solange, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, and John Legend, among many others. Most recently, Saadiq co-wrote the original song “I Lied to You” (with Ludwig Göransson) for Ryan Coogler’s 2025 film Sinners, performed by breakout star Miles Caton. Saadiq received Golden Globe, Grammy, and Oscar nominations for “I Lied to You.”
Browse our R&B / Soul / Funk collection featuring limited edition vinyl and CDs here.
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Five Guys has some of the tastiest fries in the business, but that doesn’t mean every aspect is good. This particular award isn’t one the chain wants to win.
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When you’re on the go, grocery store subs are an easy option for a quick meal. But not all subs are created equal. Which ones are actually worth buying?
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After decades of hit songs and sold-out tours, Luke Bryan says he’s entering a phase of his career that’s less about the grind and more about feeling fulfilled. For him, that means continuing to grow as an artist but doing it on his own terms.
He shared that he has no plans to slow down when it comes to releasing new music, whether that means writing his own songs or cutting tracks from Nashville hitmakers. Now, he finds that it’s less about chasing hits and more about choosing music he’s excited to perform for years to come, all while staying authentic.
“I want to keep pushing myself to be a better singer and a better musician and just make sure from here on out, the rest of my life, when I’m on stage, it’s on my terms and I’m having fun,” he told PEOPLE.
This perspective Bryan has is rooted in gratitude and all the years of showing up it took to be able to enjoy his career with a bit more flexibility and freedom.
He continued, “I don’t want to be going to a photo shoot and complaining about it. I want to try to make sure I’m enjoying every aspect of my career because, thank God, that’s the work I put in to get to this point, to just enjoy the back half of the career.”
A big reason that the Georgia native has been able to remain his true self is because of the time he spends at home with his family when he’s not working.
“What grounds me is my family, my boys. Going back home to the farm, and fishing, and hunting, and golfing and taking the family on all that stuff.”
Back home with his wife, Caroline, and their two sons, Bo, 17, and Tate, 15, life looks pretty normal. And while to the rest of the world he may be a country music sensation, to his boys, he’s just Dad.
“They’ve grown up in this lifestyle, so when I get off the road, they really don’t care where Dad’s been,” he admitted. “They want to go hang with Dad, go get in the woods or do stuff like that, and that keeps me grounded.”
Bryan’s busy schedule is already picking back up for 2026, starting with his role as a judge on American Idol. The show’s newest season just launched on ABC and will run through the spring.
On top of that, the “Love You, Miss You, Mean It,” singer also has announced two tours for the year. He will embark on his 17th annual Farm Tour in May and then shortly after hit the road for his Word On The Street Tour. The trek begins with back-to-back shows on May 29 and 30, 2026, in Gilford, New Hampshire.
More dates can be found HERE.
The post Luke Bryan Talks Embracing His Life And Career On His Own Terms appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
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You do not generally “gotta hand it” to either of the Paul brothers.
But on Super Bowl Sunday, the two butted heads — publicly — over the “controversial” Bad Bunny Halftime performance.
Jake’s abhorrent take, calling one of the planet’s most popular musicians a “fake American citizen,” went viral.
Even his brother, Logan, called him out.
We’ll delve into Jake’s terrible tweets after we show them to you
This is an all-too-common Jake Paul L. But it’s also a rare Logan W. That’s something.
“Purposefully turning off the halftime show,” Jake announced in a Sunday, February 8 tweet.
“Let’s rally together and show big corporations they can’t just do whatever they want without consequences,” he declared, explaining: “(Which equals viewership for them).”
In the pretense of speaking truth to power, Jake wrote: “You are their benefit. Realize you have power. Turn off this halftime.”
He concluded by whining: “A fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America. I cannot support that.”
We will delve into Jake’s tweets because the terrible views that he’s expressing need examination.
But first, we must grimly report that he wasn’t done yet.
“The problem with my tweet is the word fake being misinterpreted,” he claimed in a follow-up tweet.
“He’s not a fake citizen obviously [because] he’s Puerto Rican,” Jake acknowledged. “And I love Puerto Rico and all Americans who support the country.”
He then claimed: “Moreso Bunny is fake bc of his values and criticism of our great country.”
Yes, he managed to make it worse
“To clarify: I wasn’t calling anyone a ‘fake citizen’ because they’re from Puerto Rico,” Jake tweeted in yet another post.
“I live in Puerto Rico, and I love Puerto Rico,” he acknowledged, claiming: “I have used my platform to support Puerto Rico time and time again and will always do so.”
Jake then griped: “But if you’re publicly criticizing ICE who are doing their job and openly hating on America, I’m going to speak on it. Period.”
“That’s the same reason I called out Hunter Hess,” he continued.
“If you benefit from a country and the platform it gives you, but publicly disrespect it at the same time,” Jake went on, “that’s what I mean by being a fake citizen. And I agree love is more powerful than hate. Love America.”
There was a fourth tweet from Jake, but let’s first delve into what his famous brother had to say.
“I love my brother,” Logan began his own tweet.
“But I don’t agree with this,” he shared, quote-tweeting Jake’s original post.
“Puerto Ricans are Americans,” Logan correctly affirmed.
He then expressed: “I’m happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island.”
The problem with his post was the malice behind it, not the ‘geography fail’ that he implied with the first tweet
We promised to address Jake’s nonsense, so we will. Bypassing that Bad Bunny is an American and a US citizen, which is a basic piece of information about Puerto Rico that we hopefully do not have to explain.
One, Jake framed his initial tweet as if calling upon “the people” to “speak truth to power.” In reality, Jake’s abhorrent politics — the malevolence behind those who put on an “alternative” Halftime show — is the reigning power right now, and does not challenge power.
Two, and perhaps worst of all, Jake defended “ICE who are doing their job.” No. Just doing one’s job — “just following orders” is never an excuse. ICE agents arguably abdicated their personhood the moment that they joined, and they certainly became enemies of the American people. Criticizing them is our moral duty.
Three, Hunter Hess is an Olympic athlete who admitted that he had reservations about representing America given the current horrors of our times. Jake and others of his ilk pitched a fit because, you know, they are part of the horrors of our times.
Speaking of the horrors of our times, it’s worth noting that Jake has been rubbing elbows with the likes of JD Vance and Sam Altman. A true who’s-who of who’s-ew. So none of this should come as a surprise.
In the morning on Monday, February 9, Jake once again tweeted a message on the same topic. This time, he struck a different tone.
“Guys i love bad bunny idk what happened on my twitter last night ?? wtf” he wrote.
This appears to be a joke that is also an attempt at damage control. It’s neither funny in context nor is it convincing.
Maybe Jake should stick to gluing on his beard-wig or whatever he does to pass the time in between receiving brain damage in the ring.
But it would be nice for him to grow and change and become a good person. It’s possible. But is it likely?
Logan Paul & Jake Paul CLASH Over Bad Bunny Diss was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip