Merle is such a big deal in Johnson’s family, his two daughters each have their own special Merle Haggard song. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
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Martha Stewart isn’t just the reigning queen of the kitchen and household; she knows more than a thing or two about gardening, but she didn’t start big.
Food Republic – Restaurants, Reviews, Recipes, Cooking Tips
Darius Rucker’s Riverfront Revival Music Festival will return for its fifth year October 9-10 at Riverfront Park in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Founded by the Charleston native and three-time GRAMMY Award winner, the two-day event will once again bring a mix of established acts and rising talent to the waterfront.
This year’s lineup stays rooted in country while incorporating hip-hop and various styles, reflecting the festival’s evolving sound.
Rucker will be joined by Gavin Adcock, Old Dominion, BigXthaPlug, Nelly, Charles Wesley Godwin, Chase Matthew, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Austin Williams, Atlus, Dani Rucker, Gullah Collective, Karley Scott Collins, Saluda Shoals, Mel Washington, Whiskey Run, and AC Scar.
“Riverfront Revival has always been about bringing great music and great people together in a place that means everything to me,” Rucker said. “Getting to build this in Charleston year after year has been incredible, and this lineup shows how much it’s grown while still staying true to what the festival is all about.”
Presales are now open, with general tickets going on sale Wednesday, April 8, at 10 a.m. local time via RiverfrontRevival.com. Two-day passes will be available in General Admission, GA Plus, and VIP tiers, with single-day passes also offered.
A portion of ticket proceeds will benefit the Carolyn G. Rucker Nursing Scholarship at the Medical University of South Carolina and Rock ‘N Roll Rescue, which supports music education locally.
In addition to Darius Rucker’s Riverfront Revival Music Festival, fans can also catch the superstar on his Songs of Summer Tour 2026, kicking off June 4 in Toledo, Ohio.
The trek will make stops across the U.S., including Atlantic City, Cincinnati, and Boston, and will feature a rotating lineup of special guests such as George Birge, Lauren Alaina, Robert Randolph, Old Crow Medicine Show, Evan Honer, and Austin Williams.
The post Darius Rucker Brings Riverfront Revival Back for 5th Year With Genre-Spanning 2026 Lineup appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
NOTN- Juneau officials are asking residents to weigh in on how millions of dollars collected from cruise ship passengers should be spent in the coming year.
The City and Borough of Juneau has released draft recommendations for allocating Marine Passenger Fee revenue and is accepting public comments through May 3.
Each cruise visitor to Juneau pays $13 in fees, which must be used for projects that support the tourism industry or address its impacts on the community.
“Really what people need to know is we get $13 per passenger, and that these funds are restricted on how they can be used.” Said Tourism Manager Alex Pierce, “Every year I get messages that are like, ‘how come we can’t spend this money on my street in the valley, busses drive on it, and it needs to be repaved, and I want to spend passenger fees there.’ The funds are actually restricted by the US Constitution. So under the US Constitution, the fees have to serve the vessel itself. That gets a little bit complicated when you get into human cargo. So we’ve always kind of had a push pull with where and how we can spend this money.”
City officials say the current proposal would allocate about $24.5 million across operating, grant and capital projects.
Recommended spending includes funding to offset increased demand on city services such as police, fire and emergency response, along with street maintenance, parks and expanded bus service during the busy cruise season.
Other proposed projects focus on infrastructure improvements in downtown Juneau, including upgrades to the water system, expansion of public Wi-Fi, maintenance and extension of the seawalk, and additional public restrooms.
All comments received by the May 3 deadline will be reviewed alongside the draft recommendations before being sent to the Assembly Finance Committee on May 6. The plan will then move to the full Assembly for consideration as part of the city’s upcoming budget process.
Residents can submit comments by email or mail to the city manager’s office.
Celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli is picky about the spuds she uses for mashed potatoes. And when it comes to one popular variety, she’s not a fan.
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Grilled cheese is a nostalgic classic, but it can be so much more than American or cheddar. These underrated cheeses can take your sandwich to the next level.
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Creamy, tangy, slightly sweet, and a bit spicy, Bojangles Bo’s Special Sauce is popular for a reason – and now you can make it at home with this copycat recipe.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
Reading Time: 3 minutes
We have sad news to report from the world of television today.
Saul Consuelos, the father of Live With Kelly and Mark host Mark Consuelos, has passed away.
Mark and wife Kelly Ripa shared the news with viewers on this morning’s broadcast.
“Two weeks ago today, my father passed away after a long bout with an illness. He passed away peacefully,” Consuelos shared on air. “Such a fascinating man.”
Kelly also offered a heartfelt tribute to her late father-in-law, calling him a deeply meaningful presence in their lives.
“You were blessed more because you knew him his whole life. I only got to know my father-in-law for 31 years. But they were the best 31 years of my life,” Ripa said.
“I can honestly say I will miss him every day for the rest of my life, as I know you will, as our children will. He was the greatest person I’ve ever known. He really is so symbolic of everything you are.”
Consuelos also reflected on his father’s immigrant journey and lifelong dedication to service.
“He came here from Mexico in his early teens. He immigrated here from Mexico, he served his country for 30 years. Ended up in Special Operations Command in Tampa,” Mark said.
“This young kid from Mexico just got his education through the Navy… brilliant, got his master’s while I was a kid and he loved this country so much.”
On the show, Mark also shared how Saul taught him through hands-on experience rather than lectures, shaping the skills he carries into adulthood.
“If you asked him what time it was, he would tell you how to build a watch,” Consuelos said. “There were a lot of lectures… I learned the most by just watching him.”
Ripa noted how involved Saul was in their family’s life, especially when Mark was away for work.
“A lot of times you’d be away working and we would take the show on the road and your dad would come on remotes to take care of the kids so I could go to work,” she recalled.
She also marked how hard the loss has been for their three adult children.
“This is their first loss they’ve ever experienced in their lives,” Ripa said.
Consuelos concluded by sharing that he was grateful he had the chance to say goodbye before his father’s passing.
“I was able to thankfully get down there and say goodbye,” he said. “I knew I had to keep on going, especially during that time… I know he’s there watching.”
Our thoughts go out to the entire Consuelos family at this incredibly difficult time.
Mark Consuelos Reveals Death of Father: ‘Such a Fascinating Man’ was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
By: Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon
Metals mining has a prominent place in Alaska history. Today, it remains a prominent economic driver in the state.
Over the past decade, the metals mining sector has made up 3% to 4% of Alaska’s gross domestic product, and those mined metals rival Alaska seafood as top exports from the state, according to a state Department of Labor and Workforce Development analysis.
Metals such as zinc produced at the Red Dog mine in Northwest Alaska, silver produced by the Greens Creek Mine in Southeast Alaska and gold, lead and copper produced by various mines, now support an industry worth close to $3 billion a year, according to the analysis, published in the current issue of Alaska Economic Trends, the department’s monthly research magazine.
Alaska has six major metals mines, three of which produce more than one type of metal, and hundreds of small placer operations.
Among the mined products coming from Alaska is germanium, a byproduct of zinc that is classified as a critical mineral and used in electronics. In 2024, the Red Dog mine produced about 10 tons of germanium, according to the analysis, making it a critical source to the nation because China cut off deliveries of its germanium. That year, the Red Dog mine was the only U.S. mine producing germanium, though prior to 2023, a Tennessee mine was also producing the mineral, said Karinne Wiebold, the state economist who wrote the Alaska Economic Trends report.
The value of Alaska’s mining sector, including coal, gravel and sand as well as metals, actually peaked in 2011 at nearly $3.5 million and close to 5% of the state’s gross domestic product. That peak reflected extremely high metals prices and the startup of the Kensington gold mine in Southeast Alaska.
Still, mining has been a strong economic factor in Alaska for the last two decades, after jumping in value in 2006. Every year since then, its total value to the state has generally been above $2 billion and usually accounted for 3% to 4% of Alaska’s gross domestic product.
Metals mining has also become a big employment driver as well, according to the analysis.
There were 3,533 metal mining and support jobs in Alaska in 2024, the most recent data available, and jobs in the sector grew by 37% over the past decade, compared to an overall state job growth rate of 0.3%, Wiebold’s analysis said.
The average metal mining job paid $135,000 in 2024, well above the state average of $71,000 that year and second only to the average pay for workers in the oil and gas sector, the analysis said.
But a large percentage of mine workers are not Alaska residents. Wiebold’s analysis puts resident hire at 56%. That puts the non-resident hire percentage in the metals mining sector well above the state average.
In 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, 22.9% of workers in the state were not Alaska residents, according to an annual report published by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. That is the highest percentage since such records began in state average, which is the highest percentage since records started in the 1990s.
Wiebold noted that the nonresident hire in the mining sector is about the same as that in the oil and gas sector, which in 2024 was 40.5%, according to the state’s report.
Mining and oil and gas work in Alaska is conducive to nonresident employees because it is generally conducted at remote locations, typically with rotating schedules of two weeks on and two weeks off, she said.
“This combo means most folks don’t live near the mine and have to commute and stay at the worksite, and that there is not a significant time/cost/commute savings for living in the state,” she said by email. “As a result, miners from out of state can work in Alaska and live somewhere less expensive or more appealing to them.”
Another reason for the high percentage of nonresidents lies in Alaska’s demographics, she said. “In the last several years, with Alaska’s working age population fairly stagnant after a decade of significant declines, more jobs are being held by out of state workers,” she said.
The sector is poised for future growth, with projects like the Donlin gold mine in Southwestern Alaska, the Graphite One graphite mine in Northwestern Alaska and, potentially, the commercialization of the copper-rich but isolated Ambler Mining District in Northwestern Alaska.
But none of those proposed mines can be expected to be developed quickly, and development itself is uncertain, Wiebold’s article said.
“Mines take years to come to fruition — exploration, feasibility studies, environmental reviews, and permitting are expensive, and all have the potential to derail a project. Public concerns and controversy can also slow or stop development,” the article said.
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Sometimes, the best advertisements are the kind that can’t go on billboards.
Sydney Sweeney shared a slew of photos, including several thirst traps.
In one, she’s rocking a crop top and freeing the nipple at the same time.
She truly is her own best promoter, drawing the eye to her clothing brand with a simple snap.
This is a powerful promo
Over the holiday weekend, Sweeney shared a photodump to Instagram.
“Still not sure about these dumps but here we go,” she captioned the array of photos and videos.
The snaps cover a wide range, from a selfie wearing light therapy masks to a video of her horseback to a cheeky dress selfie and more.
(There’s even a fantastic dog photo! It totally makes up for the jumpscare of the Eiffel Tower!)
Somehow, photo 18 — in which she’s flaunting a bra and letting her underwear show from under her pants — isn’t the pic receiving the most attention.
Item number 12 on Sweeney’s photodump is another mirror selfie.
This snap shows the actress wearing a lacy crop top.
(And it’s very clear that, though she’s wearing jeans, her underwear matches.)
The top isn’t merely lacy. It’s sheer. To be blunt, her nipples are pretty clearly visible.
Turtlenecks are a controversial design, and sometimes labeled as prudish. Clearly, there are some exceptions.
Her brand is getting a lot of attention
The top is from her own fashion brand, SYRN.
(It is pronounced “siren” but spelled differently for distinctive branding reasons. Yes, many pronounce it like CERN at first.)
Sweeney is her brand’s biggest and most powerful promoter. This is no exception.
And she’s freed the nipple before — on camera in scripted roles, but also for Variety‘s 2025 Power of Women back in October.
This time, she’s pushing Instagram’s infamously prudish rules to their limits to showcase her brand. And she’s definitely getting people’s attention!
Sydney Sweeney models the Comfy lingerie collection for her Syrn brand.
— fanana hammock (@fananahammock.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Just a few years ago, Sweeney was actively leaning away from the tsunami of inappropriate attention that her body was receiving.
She is a famous, talented actress. While her looks obviously play into her acting — it is a visual medium, after all — the fixation on her breasts was not her focus.
More recently, it seems that either she or those advising her have had a change of heart. Possibly both.
Sweeney now seems to be using her body and her status as one of the most desired women on the planet to promote her brand and to gain followers and wealth.
Make no mistake: she’s an actress, and she cares about her art and her career. But if she can sell lingerie and bathwater and make bank while doing so, why not both?
She’s been controversial in ways that she never intended
Truth be told, Sweeney’s pivot to using her body for marketing has left some disappointed. But it’s about more than that.
It likely has more to do with how the political right has used her as a symbol, which she has gone to great lengths to avoid commenting on in any meaningful way. Her political statements tend to be decidedly anodyne.
The longer that she avoids speaking of her values in an unequivocal manner, the longer that people can make up their own story behind her beliefs and intentions.
As a result, she and SYRN have grown more controversial over the past year than most had ever imagined. (Well, that and Jeff Bezos is an investor.)
Many hope that she’ll be clearer about her values when America is a little more normal, when petty tyrants are no longer in positions of power. Some consider that scenario a little too optimistic.
Sydney Sweeney Frees the Nipple in Daring Crop Top was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip