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Bindi Irwin announces plans to step away from social media to focus on family and mental health

22-year-old television personality and conservationist Bindi Irwin announced that she is stepping away from social media to focus on her family and mental health. Irwin shared the news on Instagram, alongside a photo of herself holding Grace Warrior, her 3-month-old daughter with her husband, Chandler Powell.

Said Bindi: “Hi guys, just a note to say thank you for your support. I’m taking a break from social media and most of my work in the public eye for a month to be with my beautiful daughter and my wonderful family. I feel tremendously grateful to share our life and conservation work with you but I need some time to focus on the happiness that is my family (both human and animal).”

Irwin also addressed the importance of taking care of one’s mental health, saying, “Recently, I’ve had many people reaching out to share their own stories of working hard to protect their mental health. Thank you for sharing and speaking your truth. To my friends who are dealing with depression, anxiety and other battles every day – I see you. These issues are very real and deserve to be discussed and addressed. Surround yourself with the light of people who genuinely care about you and will support you during the good times and the hard times. Remember there are helplines available. Mental health deserves more understanding and support instead of being dismissed or patronised. You are absolutely worthy of love and kindness.”

Bindi is the daughter of the late Steve Irwin, who starred with his family on The Crocodile Hunter.  Steve Irwin died at age 44 in September 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb. Bindi Irwin’s daughter’s middle name of Warrior is a tribute to Steve Irwin’s legacy as a “Wildlife Warrior.”

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‘Friends’ star James Michael Tyler reveals stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis

James Michael Tyler, the actor best known for playing Central Perk’s sarcastic coffee shop owner Gunther on the the hit NBC sitcom Friends, has revealed he’s fighting stage 4 prostate cancer. The actor appeared on the Today Show to discuss his initial diagnosis in 2018, saying that because he didn’t catch the cancer early, it spread more rapidly than usual. During the pandemic, the actor became paralyzed from the waist down due to tumors that grew on his spine. Said Tyler: “For my specific prognoses… it’s stage 4. Late-stage cancer. So eventually, you know, it’s gonna probably get me.”

Tyler’s illness kept him from appearing in person at the recent Friends reunion, however he did appear on Zoom.  Said Tyler: “I wanted to be a part of that, and initially I was going to be on the stage, at least, with them, and be able to take part in all the festivities. It was bittersweet, honestly. I was very happy to be included. It was my decision not to be a part of that physically and make an appearance on Zoom, basically, because I didn’t wanna bring a downer on it, you know? I didn’t want to be like, ‘Oh, and by the way, Gunther has cancer.’”

The actor is currently undergoing chemotherapy, and said he was speaking out about his diagnosis to urge people to listen to their doctors and get tested as often and early as possible.  Tyler said emotionally: “My goal this past year was to see my 59th birthday. I did that. My goal now is to help at least save one life.”

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American Airlines cancels 100s of flights due to maintenance issues and staffing shortages

American Airlines has canceled hundreds of flights scheduled for the weekend and Monday due to staffing shortages, including employees out sick, as well as maintenance issues.  The airline, the world’s largest, canceled 123 flights scheduled for Saturday, 178 for Sunday, and 97 for Monday, mostly involving Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft.
American Airlines spokesperson Sarah Jantz said: “We made targeted changes with the goal of impacting the fewest number of customers by adjusting flights in markets where we have multiple options for re-accommodation. The first few weeks of June have brought unprecedented weather to our largest hubs, heavily impacting our operation and causing delays, canceled flights and disruptions to crew member schedules and our customers’ plans.”

American said it also may continue to cancel at least 50 to 60 flights per day during the remainder of June and 50 to 80 flights per day in July, but that it will try to notify customers far ahead of their scheduled flight. American’s flight cancellations and schedule changes come amid a surge in travel as vaccine rates slowly rise and people become more comfortable getting on planes, causing staffing shortages at a number of major airlines and the TSA.

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Nine children and one adult killed in multi-vehicle crash in Alabama

Nine children and one adult were killed in a multi-vehicle pileup in Alabama. A father and his 9-month-old daughter were killed in one vehicle; Cody Fox, 29, and Ariana Fox were identified as the victims in a small SUV traveling from Marion County, Tenn.

The eight other victims who died were in a bus carrying girls housed at Girls Ranch, a foster home for girls from abusive or abandonment situations. The identities of the girls were not released as many were under the care of the state, however Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock said they ranged in age from 4-17. Girls Ranch wrote on Facebook: “Our hearts are heavy today. Our ranch has suffered great loss. As some of you may have heard, one of our ranch vehicles was involved in a multiple car accident this afternoon. Please send prayers our way as we navigate this difficult time.”  A bystander pulled the driver of the Girls Ranch bus from the vehicle but was unable to go back for the children, said Garlock, adding, “It was too late to get back to them because the bus was engulfed in fire.” Garlock said the crash was likely caused by hydroplaning due to storms on Saturday as Tropical Storm Claudette hit the area with heavy rains and strong winds.

Butler County Sheriff Danny Bond said the crash involved a total of 18 vehicles, including two 18-wheelers, and as many as five other people sustained nonfatal injuries. The crash forced both the northbound and southbound lanes of 1-65 to be closed, with parts of the interstate reopening early Sunday morning.

 

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Country Daypop

Garth Brooks extends his summer stadium tour with additional date in Nashville

Garth Brooks has expanded his summer stadium tour, with his first show taking place July 10 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, his first in a stadium since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Brooks will then be crossing the country to cities such as Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Missouri, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Cincinnati, Ohio, and has now added a show in Nashville, Tennessee, before wrapping up on September 25 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Tickets for Brooks’ newly added Nashville concert go on sale June 25 via Ticketmaster. Seating for his Stadium Tour shows is in-the-round style. Tickets will cost $94.95, inclusive of all taxes and fees, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per purchase.

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Jon Pardi ordered on vocal rest by doctor; forced to cancel June concert dates

Jon Pardi was forced to cancel three June concerts per doctor’s orders. The 36-year-old Pardi said on Twitter: “And it is NOT EASY. I promise to do my part and stay as healthy as possible to continue singing and performing. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

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Kate Beckinsale’s ‘Jolt’ to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on June 23rd

The action-comedy film Jolt starring Kate Beckinsale is coming to Amazon Prime Video, and will begin streaming on June 23rd.  Jolt is written by Scott Wascha and directed by Tanya Wexler, and along with Beckinsale the film co-stars Bobby Cannavale, Laverne Cox, Stanley Tucci and Jai Courtney.

The new movie follows Lindy (Beckinsale), a woman who experiences sporadic murderous impulses that can only be stopped when she shocks herself with a special device. The character seeks revenge after her first love is murdered. Beckinsale told Entertainment Weekly:  “My character, Lindy, is someone who since childhood has had an impulse control problem whereby she has a very difficult time not acting out and behaving badly when under pressure. As part of her therapy, she goes on a date and really gets on with the guy, and then he’s murdered. She’s understandably upset and pissed off and tries to figure out what’s happened and gets into a lot of scraps!”

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‘The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’ tops North American box office with $11.7M

The action-comedy ‘The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,’ starring Salma Hayek, Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, was the No. 1 movie in North America, earning $11.7 million receipts this weekend. The film is a sequel to 2017’s “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” and is one of the few movies released exclusively in theaters since the beginning of the pandemic.

Coming in at No. 2 is A Quiet Place Part II with $9.4 million, followed by Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway at No. 3 with $6.1 million, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It at No. 4 with $5.2 million and Cruella at No. 5 with $5.1 million.

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President Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday

On Thursday, President Biden signed a bill establishing Juneteenth — the day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States — as a federal holiday, establishing June 19 officially as Juneteenth National Independence Day.  The US Office of Personnel Management announced that many federal workers will observe the holiday today, June 18th, since this year June 19 falls on a Saturday. The holiday is the first federal holiday established since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

The legislation was passed by Congress on Wednesday, having gained momentum following Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery in Galveston, Texas, in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

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House votes to repeal the 2002 Iraq war authorization

On Thursday, the House voted to repeal the 2002 war authorization of military force against Iraq. The vote passed by 268-161 in the House, with 49 Republicans and 219 Democrats voting in favor. The repeal was endorsed by the White House and Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks argued that the legislation was “vulnerable to being abused” given Iraq’s proximity to other global hotspots, saying during the vote: “Repeal is crucial because the executive branch has a history of stretching the 2002 AUMF’s legal authority. It has already been used as justification for military actions against entities that had nothing to do with Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist’s dictatorship.”

The bill must now be considered by the Senate, which is already considering a similar measure, though theirs includes a repeal of the Iraq-focused 1991 authorization. If both bills pass, the two chambers will have to consolidate the bills before laying a final product on the president’s desk.