Kelsea Ballerini may be soaking up life in New York City for now, but she might not be sticking around for too long.
Last month the songstress sparked buzz during An Evening with the Grand Ole Opry at Carnegie Hall, where she announced she had made the move to the Big Apple. Ballerini explained it was something she had dreamed about for years.
“Ever since I was a little kid and I got here for the first time, I always promised myself that I would do a season or chapter of life in the city and that season and chapter is right now,” Ballerini told the crowd.
Photo Courtesy of Kelsea Ballerini
The news came as a surprise to fans, who have followed her various moves from sharing a Nashville penthouse with ex-husband Morgan Evans to the post-divorce home in Tennessee that she purchased from fellow country star Kacey Musgraves. She also spent a good amount of time between L.A. and South Carolina in recent years while dating her now ex-boyfriend, Chase Stokes.
Just as she told the audience at Carnegie Hall, her next chapter finds her spending some time in NYC. The six-time Grammy nominee recently gave an update to E! News about her living situation, revealing that her move to New York is likely not permanent.
“I’m not permanently moving,” Ballerini told the outlet in an interview at the 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. Awards in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 7. “I’m just there through the summer, and I’m loving it so much.”
Since she is still coming off a fresh breakup from Stokes, who also appeared at the L.A. event, Ballerini is enjoying “just discovering” new things in the city and focusing on herself.
“I feel this resurgence of energy just doing stuff for myself,” she admits. “It’s been really nice, and I’m really excited.”
While settling into her new NYC chapter, Ballerini also revealed that a top priority on her list right now is to find the best “spicy rigatoni.”
“That’s my Italian, that’s my heart. I gotta go find it,” she notes.
In another video from the event, Entertainment Tonight asks how she would describe this new chapter of her personal life. Ballerini responds, “I feel so creative and really free right now.”
Coming off her massive headlining tour of 2025 in support of her latest Patterns project, Kelsea Ballerini currently has only two upcoming shows on the books for 2026, including the Barefoot Country Music Festival on June 19.
Additionally, it was announced today that Ballerini has earned her ninth nomination for Female Artist of the Year head of the 61st ACM Awards, set to stream live exclusively on Prime Video for a global audience across more than 240 countries and territories on Sunday, May 17, 2026.
Sandy Alcántara is back. After missing the 2024 MLB season due to Tommy John surgery and struggling for the better part of 2025, the Miami Marlins’ ace has been exceptional out of the gate this season. Boasting an 0.74 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, a 528 ERA+ and 1.1 wins above replacement through his first three starts and 24.1 innings pitched, Alcántara is performing once again like the pitcher who won the 2022 National Cy Young Award. With that in mind, while Miami is coming off a competitive 2025 campaign (79-83) and has a chance to be in the NL wild-card mix this season, the reality is teams are going to make compelling trade offers for Alcántara, who has a team option for 2027. Here are the three best trade fits for the right-hander. San Diego Padres Michael King is an ace, and Randy Vasquez is coming into his own. At the same time, San Diego could use another impactful starter, and Alcántara would cement their status as an NL contender. Prior to his electric start to this season, Alcántara found himself down the stretch of 2025, recording a 3.13 ERA across his last 12 starts after sporting a 7.22 ERA at the MLB All-Star break. Alcántara — who finds success by consistently throwing four pitches (changeup, four-seamer, sinker and slider), while mixing in a cutter and sweeper — keeps runners off the basepath and pitches deep into games. In fact, he has led the NL in complete games three times (2019, 2022 and 2023), including throwing six complete games in 2022. This season, San Diego’s rotation is 22nd in MLB in opponent batting average (.252) and 20th in WHIP (1.40). Granted, the Padres have played just 12 games. Relying on Joe Musgrove’s return from Tommy John surgery and one of Walker Buehler and German Marquez having a bounce-back year is risky. Bringing in Alcántara would remove the reliance on the aforementioned scenarios, making San Diego’s rotation a front-line staff again. The Padres could base an Alcántara trade package around former first-round left-handers Kruz Schoolcraft and Kash Mayfield, among other pitching prospects in a pitching-heavy offer. All that said, the Padres may feel they have to draw the line in the sand with gutting their farm system in trades (e.g., pulling off blockbuster trades for Blake Snell, Josh Hader, Juan Soto and Mason Miller), instead preserving their young prospect capital, while feeling that their rotation has the upside to turn a corner (King being healthy and Nick Pivetta building on a 2025 campaign that saw him post a career-best 2.87 ERA). Athletics You have to start somewhere, and the Athletics need long-term answers in their starting rotation. Enter Alcántara. The A’s have struggled mightily to develop pitching from within of late. To date, the 2026 season has been a continuation of last season for the A’s starting rotation. Coming off a 2025 campaign that saw their starting staff finish 27th in ERA (4.85), 25th in opponent batting average (.257) and tied for 23rd in WHIP (1.34), the Athletics are last in WHIP (1.71) and 29th in ERA (5.36) this season. Trading for Alcántara would allow the A’s to bypass waiting for a young pitcher to develop into a star, providing them with the anchor their pitching staff doesn’t possess and an accomplished veteran mentor for younger pitchers like Jacob Lopez and Luis Morales; Jeffrey Springs and Luis Severino haven’t been veteran pillars since their acquisitions in the 2024-25 offseason. Yes, the A’s enter April 9 with an underwhelming .226/.296/.355 team slash line. At the same time, this is an Athletics’ nucleus that, talent-wise, is arguably the best young positional core in the sport. Highlighted by Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers, they have a lineup of future perennial All-Stars and one that was fifth in hits (1,403), batting average (.253) and slugging percentage (.431) and seventh in home runs (219) last season. With a mere middle-of-the-pack rotation, the A’s have a fighting chance at being a playoff team this year. Acquiring Alcántara would be a tangible step toward accomplishing that feat. They could base a trade package for Alcántara around infielder Leo De Vries — who MLB Pipeline regards as the No. 4 prospect in the sport — and two of pitching prospects Jamie Arnold, Gage Jump, Braden Nett and Wei-En Lin. The only factor that could halt an Alcántara trade for the Athletics is them potentially feeling it’s more prudent to sign a premier starter to improve that aspect of their team before making a seismic trade for another pitcher, a move which is usually made with the expectation of being a playoff team. Baltimore Orioles The Orioles have the talent to make the playoffs, but they reside in arguably the best division in the sport (AL East). To break through, their starting rotation can’t just be improved: It has to be both a plausible and reliable unit. Acquiring Alcántara would provide them with that needed sense of security. Yes, Baltimore made multiple moves for its rotation in the offseason, acquiring Shane Baz and signing Chris Bassitt, among other moves. Still, that unit is just 26th in opponent batting (.262) and 24th in WHIP (1.45) this season. Moreover, Baltimore’s rotation was 26th in opponent batting average (.265), 24th in ERA (4.65) and 21st in WHIP (1.32) in 2025. Since Corbin Burnes’ 2024 free-agent departure, the Orioles have been seeking their bona fide ace. Alcántara, who threw a complete-game shutout on April 1 and has pitched through seven innings in each of his three starts this season, would become that pitcher for Baltimore. Put Alcántara next to Trevor Rogers, who has pitched at a Cy Young-caliber level since July of last season and was previously teammates with the right-hander in Miami, and the Orioles would have an elite one-two rotation punch. With Alcántara in the fold, Baltimore also wouldn’t be reliant on Baz taking the next step or Kyle Bradish staying healthy. Rather, it would be a bonus if these situations unfolded. What’s more, right-hander Zach Eflin underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the season; Baltimore could use another starter, anyway. The Orioles could send outfielder and former first-round pick Colton Cowser, infielder Coby Mayo, right-hander Brandon Young and pitching prospect Trey Gibson, who’s in Triple-A, to Miami to acquire Alcántara.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
When it comes to deciding country music awards show nominees, there’s a new king. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
A dog lover through and through, McNown instantly lit up when the three puppies were unleashed onto the set. As they played and gobbled up treats, McNown recalled where his love for dogs first began: when he was six years old during a camping trip with family, when he fell in love with a dog named Jake. When he returned home, he convinced his parents to get a dog, and his first pup, Bear, a Rottweiler lab retriever mix, entered his life.
Max McNown; Photo by Osprey Media
Now, McNown is a proud dog dad to the “sweetest in the world” German Shepherd Pit Bull mix.
“Her name is Astoria, but we call her Story. We named her after one of my favorite beaches in Oregon, right on the border to Washington. And we’re actually training her right now because someday I want her to be a road dog with me and take her on the bus,” he revealed. “So we’re getting her nice and trained up. And maybe at some point, if we can get her trained up, we might even have her on stage.”
The 24-year-old Oregon native has seen his fair share of stages in recent months, thanks in part to the success of his now double Platinum hit “Better Me For You (Brown Eyes).” The song has fueled his meteoric rise with over 455 million worldwide streams and charting across multiple formats.
What’s wild is that the song almost wasn’t a single. McNown revealed that his manager, who also happens to be his uncle, is who encouraged him to release it. Putting his trust in him, McNown released the song and says watching its journey has been truly “amazing.”
“It’s just slowly grown. The consistency and the slow burn is really, really good for long-term success. There are a lot of songs that can have kind of an initial explosion and then fizzle hard, but it’s been going strong and increasing ever since it came out,” he pointed out.
Watch Max McNown on the Pupdate
Following the release of his 2025 sophomore album Night Diving (The Cost of Growing Up), McNown continues to feed fans’ desire for new music, and after writing five to six days a week in recent months, he kicked off 2026 with a steady stream of new releases, including “World Change Me,” “Done For,” and his latest track, “Standstill (My, My, My).”
After making a statement with “World Change Me” about “standing your ground and standing up for what you believe in and not falling for the pull that the world often temps you with,” McNown got personal with “Done For,” which explores falling deeply and unexpectedly in love with someone and choosing a lifelong commitment, despite outside pressure to stay free and not settle down. This mirrors his personal life, as he got married last fall.
The Story Behind “Done For”
“‘Done For’ is a song that kind of acknowledges and affirms my choice to start my life with the person I love early and just bet on the future and kind of choose this one person very early in my career,” he explained.
McNown said people questioned his decision to settle down and get married at a young age.
“As simple as it gets, I fell in love and I’m never looking back and I don’t really want to test the waters anywhere else. Love is something that you work for every day and I want to work for it every day. And so the first line of ‘Done For,’ …’They say you’re only young once. You don’t want forever, boy, you better sleep around while you can.’ And so that’s very specifically what I was told. And this song is basically, screw that, I want to give you a lifetime.”
With “Standstill (My, My, My),” McNown took a different approach.
Max McNown; Photo by Osprey Media
“That is one of those songs that’s just designed to be a feel good, windows down, belted out song. It’s not as much of a statement like ‘World Change Me’ and ‘Done For’ is, but I think there’s a place for those songs as well as a place for the statement songs. And every album should have its unique messages behind each song. And so I kind of tried to switch it up. It doesn’t always have to be so serious.”
Since the release of his 2023 debut EP and his 2024 full-length Wandering, Max McNown’s life has changed dramatically. He said he tries to soak it all in because he knows it could be gone in an instant.
“To see what my life looks like now, I mean, it’s the cliche, but if you would’ve told me even just a year and a half ago that I would be doing what I’m doing in the places I’m doing it right now, I would’ve called you a liar, not because I didn’t trust you, but because I didn’t believe in myself. And so it’s really just a blessing that I can’t even comprehend right now. And I try to journal and I try to really take it in because I know that it can be gone real quick.”
Just Announced: The Summer Vacation Tour
Max McNown – The Summer Vacation Tour
Fans can catch Max McNown on tour throughout the summer. Following back-to-back sold-out shows at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium as part of the ongoing The Cost of Growing Up Tour, the hitmaker has also unveiled plans for The Summer Vacation Tour, bringing his headlining show to cities across North America throughout July and August. Tickets and VIP info can be found HERE.
Max McNown; Photo by Osprey Media
Adopt Molasses
One of these sweet pups, Molasses, is still looking for his forever home. Those interested in adopting should contact Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue, a foster-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization based in Middle Tennessee and run primarily by volunteers. Proverbs is fully dedicated to the care and well-being of every animal they rescue. To learn more or make a donation, click HERE.
Alex Bowman, who has missed the last four NASCAR Cup Series races because of vertigo, will return to the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 car this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowman spent Tuesday in a street car turning laps on the Ten Tenths road course that is next to Charlotte Motor Speedway. He participated in pit-stop practice and did laps in a simulator Wednesday and was medically cleared to race. “I’m grateful for the support I’ve had from Hendrick Motorsports, my sponsor Ally, our fans and the medical team throughout this process,” Bowman said in a news release. “It’s been tough being out of the car, but we all wanted to make sure I was 100 percent ready before returning. I feel really good, and I’m excited about being at the track with my team and getting back to racing.” Bowman, who couldn’t complete the race at Circuit of the Americas because of the onset of vertigo, had a rough start in his first three races. He is 144 points out of 16th in the standings so it is unlikely he could rally over the next 19 races to qualify for the Chase. He would need a waiver to be eligible for the title because of the rule requiring a driver to compete in all races. He is expected to receive one. Bowman was replaced by Anthony Alfredo for Phoenix and then Justin Allgaier for the last three races. “We’re proud of Alex and the way he’s handled this situation,” said HMS President Jeff Andrews said in a news release. “He’s put a lot of work into his recovery and followed the medical team’s plan every step of the way. “From the outset, our goal was to prioritize his health and have him return when he was fully recovered and medically cleared. We’re looking forward to seeing Alex back in his race car this weekend.” Bowman is used to dealing with injury. He missed five races in 2022 because of a concussion and three races in 2023 because of a broken back suffered in a sprint-car accident.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
Flory Bidunga could anchor the next championship defense. After playing two seasons at Kansas, Bidunga entered the transfer portal, and will look for another suitor for his junior season. At 6-foot-9, 220-pounds, Bidunga’s a versatile forward who can switch out onto the perimeter and protect the paint. He averaged a Big 12-best 2.6 blocks last season, while improving his offensive game as well. Here are the three best transfer portal fits for Bidunga, who has two years of NCAA eligibility remaining and will at least explore the NBA Draft, per ESPN. St. John’s The Red Storm fell to Duke in the Sweet 16, a season-ending loss that was star center Zuby Ejiofor’s final college game. With Ejiofor graduating, there’s a gaping hole in the center of St. John’s team on both sides of the ball. With his endless motor, Bidunga would bring a similar energy to Ejiofor, and could protect the rim at the same – or even better – level. Following in Ejiofor’s footsteps would be very fitting as he transferred to St. John’s from Kansas back in 2023, before Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino helped develop him into a two-way star. Bidunga has the defensive side of the ball down, and Pitino has proven he can improve a big man’s offensive game. Bidunga is one of the top players in the portal and will be looking for a place where he is featured. St. John’s offers the platform, coach and has a need at its position. The Red Storm are also reportedly one of Bidunga’s final choices, per The Field of 68. Michigan Another one of the programs Bidunga is considering is the defending national champions. The Wolverines will likely lose all three starting frontcourt members — Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg — to the NBA Draft. Bidunga would be one of the replacements for those departures, and help Michigan recreate the No. 1 rated defense in KenPom’s rankings. He would also be a great lob partner for point guard Elliot Cadeau, who is entering his senior year. Head coach Dusty May has a history of winning with elite big men, but Bidunga doesn’t match the build of players May has coached. Mara and former Wolverines’ center Vladislav Goldin are both taller than 7 feet, while Bidunga is more of an undersized athletic freak. That said, there’s no reason to doubt May’s ability to adapt and build a defense around a forward who, despite his differing stature, is as capable of a rim-protector – if not a better one – than Mara and Goldin. Duke The Blue Devils are also a top choice that Bidunga is weighing. Duke offered Bidunga a scholarship during the summer of 2022 before he chose Kansas, so there was prior interest. The Blue Devils will likely lose forwards Patrick Ngongba, Cameron Boozer and Maliq Brown to the NBA Draft, so Bidunga would be a solid and necessary replacement. Duke, however, did not have a transfer on their roster last season, and only had one in reserve forward Mason Gillis, last year. Maybe it’s against coach Jon Scheyer’s best interest to follow his peers and dip into the portal. But after a second consecutive season enduring a devastating tournament-ending loss, will Scheyer snap his trend in sight of a breakthrough? It seems that could be the case as the Blue Devils were also a reported finalist for Bidunga according to The Field of 68.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
There’s no such thing as a perfect Costco, but your shopping experience will vary by location. Customers living near this warehouse tell a cautionary tale.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
His attorneys are trying their hardest as they argue before the appeals court.
One of their arguments is that the judge sentenced him improperly.
More interestingly, they argue that his very narrow conviction is Unconstitutional — because “freak-off” parties are First Amendment expression.
P. Diddy seen leaving Bauer Media on November 08, 2023. (Photo Credit: Ricky Vigil/GC Images)
Could he get out even earlier than scheduled?
TMZ reports that the disgraced rapper’s legal team is presenting an oddly compelling argument before a federal appeals court.
The argument is, in essence, pretty simple: that the few charges on which Diddy was convicted, the “freak-offs,” are Constitutionally protected activities.
Remember, the jury failed to convict him of the actual crimes — like racketeering conspiracy.
His convictions were for transporting sex workers “for purposes of prosecution.” That is a crime under teh Mann Act.
Diddy’s attorneys are saying that the law doesn’t apply, because the “freak-offs” were transformative works of art.
Now-disgraced rapper Sean Diddy Combs on the ‘The Breakfast Club’ podcast. (Image Credit: YouTube)
“Freak-offs and hotel nights were highly choreographed sexual performances involving the use of costumes, role play, and staged lighting,” his attorneys arue.
According to the attorneys, these were events “which were filmed so Combs and his girlfriends could watch this amateur pornography later.”
His legal team notes: “Pornography production and viewing of this sort is protected by the First Amendment.”
The argument continues: “And thus cannot constitutionally be prosecuted.”
Prosecutors are calling these claims “meritless,” but the appeals court may find it a compelling case.
This scene of Diddy boasting about his parties to Vogue has not aged well. (Image Credit: Vogue/YouTube)
His team is also complaining about his sentence
Despite the horrors presented in court, Diddy only received a 50-month sentence. That is because he was only convicted of the least of these charges.
His attorneys say that a typical sentence for transporting people for sex work is 15 months.
(This is not the case on which to argue it but, obviously, sex work must be decriminalized.)
As such, his team says that his sentence is excessive.
To date, he has served 19 months. Scary to think that, even if the appeals court doesn’t bite, he could be out in less than two years!
According to the rapper’s defense team, the judge’s sentence was out of line.
Why?
They say that the judge considered evidence from Diddy’s much more serious charges in issuing the sentence.
Like it or not — and, really, who other than the man himself likes it — the jury acquitted him of racketeering and trafficking.
Team Diddy doesn’t like the idea that the judge considered anything, including the horrific video of Diddy’s violent attack against Cassie Ventura, when sentencing their client.
Many of Diddy’s old interviews don’t seem so good, in hindsight. (Image Credit: YouTube)
What will the appeals court decide?
As we said earlier, sex work absolutely must be decriminalized. The government should not, and must not, tell people what to do with their own bodies.
And porn — whether it’s high art or just filmed on a phone (or somehow both) — is Constitutionally protected, and must remain so.
The appeals court will have to determine whether Diddy’s “freak-off” parties qualify.
One helpful tip may be that Constitutionally protected performance art does not generally have victims. At least, it isn’t supposed to.
But the rapper wasn’t convicted for anything involving a victim. The jury gave him a pass for every charge where he allegedly had a victim who was a woman or a sex worker. Only time will tell how he court will rule.
