Welcome to The List,

Yesterday we reported the retirement announcement for Pat Sajak from “Wheel of Fortune”. Vanna White Tweeted a message to Pat Sajak on his retirement.  She said, quote, "When we started Wheel of Fortune who could have imagined we'd still be at it 41 seasons later? Even though Pat still has a year to go, the horse race is already on to replace him. But guess who's already at the top of the list?  Obviously, it's Ryan Seacrest.

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Johnny Depp was finally paid his $1 million settlement from Amber Heard from last year's defamation trial.  And he already knows what he's going to do with it. Johnny is splitting it up evenly between five charities.  So each organization will receive $200,000.  Still no word on the Captain Jack return.

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Hailey Whitters tells SongwriterUniverse.com that she almost gave up on music after 10 years and it was a trip to the Grand Ole Opry sitting in the audience and watching Brandy Clark performing that changed her mind. As she says “ I knew if I quit now, I would be very disappointed in myself later and now here I am with a hit record. Just goes to show you should never give up on your dream.”

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At all the family functions Shane Profitt says EVERYONE brought an instrument and a plate of food.  and we sit around, and play music. I was the one who didn’t know how to play anything. I just watched and got tired of that. So I decided I wanted to learn how to try to play guitar."

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Jake Owen says the relationship between him as a father and his daughter is that of a role model “A dad to a girl is a role model, and it’s someone that she can count on and stand behind, and it’s my dying goal to make sure that my daughter knows that, that I’m here for her and for no matter what.”

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And finally, I just finished watching “Avatar 2” Now, we hear "Avatar 3" has been delayed from December of 2024 to December of '25.  "Avatar 4" will follow in December of 2029 . . . and Part 5 won't be here until December of 2031.  Will you still care by then?

You can catch The List, weekdays at 2:20 and 4:20 on Iowa’s BEST Country KIX 101.1

Welcome to The List,

Actor Treat Williams was killed yesterday while riding his motorcycle in Vermont. .  His rep says he was making a turn and a car cut him off. Treat got his big break in 1979, in the movie version of "Hair". . More recently, he played Dr. Andrew Brown on the WB's "Everwood" from 2002 to 2006. He was 71 years old.

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It's the end of an era:  76-year-old Pat Sajak is retiring as the host of "Wheel of Fortune".  The 41st season that starts in September will be his last.  But he'll be sticking around as a consultant for three years after. Pat's been the host of the syndicated version since it debuted in 1983.  There's no word who will replace him.

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If I had tickets to see Chris Stapleton in concert, the last thing I'd want to do is get kicked out.  Some idiots at his concert in Massachusetts started fighting, so Chris stopped the show and gave them a stern talking-to. He reminded them that everyone paid good money to have a good time . . . and if they can't do that too, then "get the hell out."  Seems they did.

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CMA Fest this year was another success…more than 90,000 people attended each day this year.  Which is a new record, some 50,000 went to the concerts each night.  The whole world loves this event.  People came from all 50 states and 51 international countries. Don't forget you'll get to see highlights on the "CMA Fest" TV special.  It's hosted by Dierks Bentley, Elle King, and Lainey Wilson . . . and it airs July 19th on ABC .

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American Idol fans can expect Luke Bryan to be around a while.  He tells American Songwriter magazine that he is returning to American Idol. Saying “My future with Idol [will continue] as long as the show is growing and popping, and we feel like we’re doing beautiful work as a show.

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And lastly, a new grasshopper species has been named after Willie Nelson. The grasshopper was discovered in Texas and is named Melanoplus Nelsoni. It makes sense Harrison Ford gets ant and a spider named after HIM…and Willie Nelson gets a GRASS…hopper…

You can catch The List, weekdays at 2:20 and 4:20 on Iowa’s BEST Country KIX 101.1

Welcome to the List,

In the new Netflix docuseries "Arnold", Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone dive deep into their race to be the biggest action star of the '80s. Stallone says their rivalry got so heated that, quote, "We couldn't even stand to be in the same room.  People had to separate us." They're good friends now, and Stallone is even willing to admit that Arnold was BETTER.  The three part limited series “Arnold” is streaming on Netflix now.

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Fans were upset with Eric Church's show at CMA Fest on Saturday.  He was the last act of the show, so he only did seven songs.  But it was the WAY it all went down.  He reimagined some of his own songs, which was disappointing. He ignored many of his biggest hits, and instead did a cover of a Little Feat track.  When he was done, he abruptly walked off the stage, and some of the people ended up booing.

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The Daily Star says six cast and crew members from ''Gladiator 2'' were rushed to the hospital after an explosion on the set. A source tells the newspaper that a gas pipe may have ruptured. Hopefully everyone will be OK, but it was a serious accident.

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What’s it like going on tour with Dierks Bentley…lets ask Jordan Davis   "Dierks does such a great job of not making a tour feel like a tour in the best way. We're all away from home, but Dierks makes everybody comfortable and goes out of his way to make sure that everybody's having fun.”  Jordan plays for an hour..Dierks plays for an hour and a half…he says it’s a master class and he’s learned so much from that guy.

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The Miami Heat are down three games to one to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.  And they're also down one MASCOT. At halftime during Friday night's game, UFC’s Conor McGregor came out for a "comedy" skit to hype his new pain relief spray. Part of the skit involved Conor knocking out the Heat's mascot, Burnie, then whipping out a bottle of TIDL his pain relief spray and spraying him.  Well, Conor punched Burnie, and Burnie went down, and didn’t get back up. Unfortunately, the guy in the Burnie costume ended up in the HOSPITAL. But he’s ok now…

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Newsweek magazine says a Wheel of Fortune spin-off for children is in the works. The new version will include physical and comedic challenges that help students learn while playing the game.

You can catch The List, weekdays at 2:20 and 4:20 on Iowa’s BEST Country KIX 101.1

Welcome to The List,

You never know when you're going to meet the love of your life.  Lauren Alaina was chowing down on tacos when her now-fiancé Cam Arnold came into the picture.  All he said was 'Nobody's gonna take those tacos away from you.'  First thing he ever said to me.  That was when I knew." By the way, today is also a pretty big day for Lauren.  She's releasing her new EP, "Unlocked".  It features "Thicc As Thieves", her duet with Lainey Wilson.

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Luke Comb’s song ‘Fast Car’ is a hit for sure and he says the song has always been a big part of his life  .”It’s one of the first songs I ever remember hearing riding around in the truck with my dad.  I was probably five years old and he had it on a cassette tape” he covered it in collage and continued to play it. He made a video in 2020 during the pandemic and thought why not make it official.

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We STILL don't know anything about the "medical complication" that Jamie Foxx has been dealing with since April.  There have been unconfirmed reports that he had a stroke. Last weekend on Dr. Drew's podcast, he and a guest were discussing the possibility that the COVID vaccine caused a blood clot that led to that alleged stroke. Well, Jamie's rep calls that, quote, "completely inaccurate."  But, unfortunately, we STILL have no info on what DID happen.

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Jelly Roll tells Billboard magazine that he wants people to be inspired by his story. “I want people to look at my life and realize that no matter how bad life gets, no matter how bad you screw up, there's always light, always a chance to make it right. As long as you're willing to fight, there's always a chance to make something good out of your life.” Jelly Rolls documentary is streaming now on Hulu.

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Will Johnny Depp reprise his roll at Captain Jack Sparrow…well, The Daily Mail says Johnny Depp is refusing to return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He’s upset with Disney for dropping him during his defamation trial with Amber Heard. The paper says Johnny was going to make $20 million to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow.

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The Savannah Morning News says Ohio firefighter Scott Edward Nall changed his name to Optimus Prime.  He did it when he was 30 and wanted to do something crazy for his birthday..I guess Mrs. Prime wouldn’t have much of a problem with it…'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' opens in theatres today.

You can catch The List, weekdays at 2:20 and 4:20 on Iowa’s BEST Country KIX 101.1

Welcome to The List,

Sad news to report, WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik died yesterday.  He was 81 years old.  His rivalries with popular heroes like Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter helped wrestling become huge in the '80s…

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If Garth can do it so can Thomas Rhett! He has just announced his Special Edition Album set to celebrate 20 number one hits “It is a VERY limited run so be sure to get your pre-orders in. it’s going to have a lithograph, which I didn’t know what that was till today, but every one of them are signed by me. The box set will include a booklet with a note from me.  This project is just my way to say thank you the fans for your support on this ride. I can’t believe I get to do what I love and call it a job and it’s all because of you.” A one of a kind  20 number one vinyl record and box set  out September 29^th.

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AV Club says Shannen Doherty's breast cancer has spread to her brain. She posted, “On January 5th, my ct scan showed Mets in my brain. That fear.... The turmoil..... the timing of it all.... This is what cancer can look like”

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Country music legend Randy Travis has been inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame during a special ceremony on May 27. The country icon recorded his first studio recordings under the name “Randy Ray” at Paula Records in Shreveport, La. And  joins a “sacred group” of inductees that includes Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Louis Armstrong, Buddy Guy, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Tim McGraw and countless others.

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Jenna Ortega who plays “Wednesday” on the popular program has stepped up in responsibility and will be a producer for the second season.  She says conversations have already started with Tim Burton and the team. Saying they’ve decided to lean into the horror aspect of the show a little bit more and ditching any romantic love interest for Wednesday. Season 2 will premiere in 2024.

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Miranda Lambert tells Music Mayhem magazine that she and her husband, Brendan, have written a song together He told her one time that  ‘Oh, it’s just words.’ So, they booked some time and sat down…she shared that  he’s creative in the kitchen. That’s his creativity, but sometimes I give him a glass of wine and make him sit down and write a song with me.” it’s fun.

You can catch The List, weekdays at 2:20 and 4:20 on Iowa’s BEST Country KIX 101.1