Tory Bruno's abrupt departure comes after 12 years in the role. The company, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture, has had to fight to keep pace with Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The experience includes awards, poems, and pictures referencing your year in chat.

Chicago, IL – Unregulated, unlicensed abortion clinics have continued to maim and injure women across the state of Illinois, with the three most recent emergencies taking place in Chicago, where city officials continue to withhold and unreasonably redact public records. In 2025, alone, Operation Rescue received reports of 21 women injured across eight abortion facilities. …

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The infiltration of AI in music has even the younger artists of the genre a little freaked out. Braxton Keith stopped by the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast for our final episode of the year (don’t worry, we’ll be back in 2026). The young country star talked about how he avoids burnout with a busy touring schedule, what it’s like to play 150 shows a year, how his band is like family, and that he actually comes from a family of dentists. Obviously, he veered off his family’s path and has become one of the shining examples of neotraditional country music. Braxton Keith is helping to keep that sound alive, and spoke on how important it is for the younger generation to experience the country sounds of yesteryear, and even touched on how often he’s asked if he’s related to Toby Keith. But one of the standout moments from our time with him was Braxton’s thoughts on AI in music. You’ve surely heard about the AI-generated song that topped the Billboard Country Digital Songs Sales chart in the past couple of months, right? Whiskey Riff reported that a track titled “Walk My Walk,” by an artist called Breaking Rust, had seemingly fooled the masses. It’s a complete AI creation all around – from the artist, to the music video, to the song itself. Braxton Keith certainly saw all of that, and noted that with the influx of AI, music is at somewhat of a crossroads. However, he still thinks that the modern day is the best time to ever be alive in the history of music: “We’re facing some other scary stuff that’s happening to music all the time. I don’t know what exactly is going down, but I do think this is a great time to be alive for music. It’s a big movie, we’re all watching it right now. We’ll see what happens.” If it is, in fact, a movie, then the antagonist would undoubtedly be artificial intelligence. No one really knows what AI could become, and what boundaries it would have, if any at all. There’s a lot of unknowns with the technology, and a lot of concern with the minimal guardrails around it. That aspect of it all, especially when you talk about AI and music creation together, worries Braxton Keith: “I’m worried about it. I’m pretty scared about it. My cousin came up to me at my debut for the Opry and was like, ‘You’re screwed. I’ve been messing around with the AI songwriting thing.’ I said, ‘Don’t say that. Why would you say that to me?’ I’ve been down the rabbit hole, and there’s some scary theories, (like AI) copyrighting every melody known to man. I’ve heard it all, and I hope they don’t. That would be really scary if they took the human-ness out of music. I think it kind of loses its special thing.” That copyrighting every melody theory really does sound like something out of a movie. Luckily for us, if the antagonist of this figurative film is the soulless AI, the protagonists are all of the songwriters and musicians out there working hard to create things on their own… like Braxton Keith. As long as artists stand their ground and insist that the human element remains within music, the industry should continue to exist and prosper. And the good guys always win in the movies, right? And you can hear more from Braxton Keith on that matter by downloading the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Just search “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here. We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts. Cheers, y’all. Audio Video The post Braxton Keith On The Worries Of AI Infiltrating Country Music: “We’re Facing Some Scary Stuff” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Sad country music reigns supreme no matter what time of the year it is… Even during the holidays, I simply cannot get enough. It’s hard to find really good, high quality sad country Christmas songs, and as I’ve mentioned several times already this holiday season, I’m not really into Christmas music at all (I promise, I’m not a total grinch)… but when it comes to sad Christmas songs that really seem to hit home, of course country music does it best. I’ve managed to narrow down 12 of my favorites in case you wanna have a blue Christmas this year… or have heard “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” one too many times. For a lot of people, this is a beautiful time to reconnect with friends and family, and while I’m not saying you should walk around feeling sad during the holiday season, I think we all have moments where we feel sad for any given personal reason, and these songs will certainly help you feel a little less alone. Merry Christmas, y’all. Let’s get into it… “Hard Candy Christmas” — Dolly Parton This tune was famously included in the soundtrack for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and was actually written by Carol Hall and not Dolly Parton. It peaked in the Top 10 on the country charts and has been certified Gold by the RIAA, and is right in Dolly’s wheelhouse, as she sings about a time when families could only afford to buy their children hard candy as a Christmas present, pretty similar to her own upbringing in rural east Tennessee. Though Dolly maintains that she doesn’t really consider it a Christmas song, this is one of the classics and a holiday standard, in my humble opinion. “Christmas Morning” — Megan Moroney The most recently-released song on this list from Megan Moroney’s 2024 Blue Christmas… duh EP, “Christmas Morning” is an original she wrote alongside frequent collaborators Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter and Micah Carpenter. She sings about her relationship falling apart just in time for Christmas, and how it’s taken away the joy of the season because of how heartbroken she is. “Christmas Makes Me Cry” — Kacey Musgraves A truly stellar modern, original Christmas song, Kacey included “Christmas Makes Me Cry” on her 2016 A Very Kacey Christmas. It was co-written by her along with Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark, where she details how, even though it’s supposed to be the most wonderful tome of year, it makes her feel blue as she realizes another year has gone by and not everything is all sunshine and rainbows. “Lonely Christmas Call” — George Jones Released in 1962, “Lonely Christmas Call” tells the heartbreaking story of a husband who just wants his wife to come back for the holidays and spend it with their kids. It’s not clear if she up and left or if the couple got divorced, but it’s a heartbreaking Christmas song, no doubt about it. Not that it comes a surprise, because sad songs are obviously a George Jones specialty: “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” — Elvis Presley The song was first written by lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent and recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, who made it very popular and scored a top 10 hit with it. Honestly, there’s no feeling worse than wanting to be home for the holiday’s and the homesick feeling that comes along with not being able to be there with friends and family for whatever reason. Hearing it always makes me feel so nostalgic and teary-eyed… And while this might not technically be a country song, Elvis is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, so I say it counts in my book for the purposes of this list. There’s just something extra melancholy about the way Elvis sings it, and it was included as part of the tracklist for his 1957 Elvis’ Christmas Album. “White Christmas” — George Strait I guess this one isn’t necessarily a stone cold country heartbreaker like some of the others here, but there’s a certain wistful nostalgia to it that always makes me feel a little bit sad. George Strait included his rendition of “White Christmas” on his 1986 Merry Christmas Strait to You! album, which has since been certified double platinum by the RIAA. “It Won’t Be The Same This Year” — Vince Gill This might be the saddest one on the whole list. Vince included “It Won’t Be The Same This Year” on his Let There Be Peace on Earth holiday album, which he dedicated to his half-brother, Bob. Bob was in a severe car crash at the age of 22, when Vince was only 11, and suffered severe brain damage as a result. He continued to struggle for the rest of his life, ultimately losing contact with his family, and as Vince sings, “it won’t be the same this year” without him, as Bob passed away in 1993. If you’re missing a loved on this Christmas, definitely give this song a spin: “If We Make It Through December” — Merle Haggard An all-time great Merle Haggard song, this solo write became one of the beloved and signature songs of his career, and peaked at #1 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart. “If We Make It Through December” was the lead single for his 1973 album Merle Haggard’s Christmas Present, and became the the title track to a non-Christmas album four months later. He was inspired to write it after a conversation with one of his band members who was going through a divorce,  and it’s an all-time classic. “Blue Christmas” — Loretta Lynn The late, great Loretta Lynn included her version of “Blue Christmas” on her 1966 eighth solo studio album and first Christmas album, Country Christmas. It’s definitely a bit more upbeat than the others on this list, but Mrs. Loretta certainly nailed her version of the song Elvis first made famous. “Pretty Paper” — Willie Nelson Willie Nelson penned this one based entirely on an incredible and true story, but it was first made famous by Roy Orbison, when his version peaked at #15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Willie later recorded his own version of the song in 1964, and again in 1979, for his own Christmas album. It’s become a Christmas standard, and is easily one of my favorites to listen to this time of year. “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)” — John Denver Written by Bill and Taffy Danoff, “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)” was originally recorded by the late John Denver and included on his 1975 Rocky Mountain Christmas album, after it was initially on his Farewell Andromeda record. The narrator begs his dad not to get drunk on Christmas so his mom doesn’t cry. I guess it could be seen as more light-hearted and funny in a certain way, depending on how you want to look at it, but the beautiful thing about music is that it’s up for interpretation. In my opinion, if your mama’s cryin’ on Christmas, that’s pretty damn sad… “Please Come Home For Christmas” — Koe Wetzel In 2023, Koe Wetzel released his first Christmas EP Koe Wetzel Presents… Wetzel’s Wonderland, and he put out the second installment Chapter 2 last year. Still, his rendition of  “Please Come Home for Christmas” from the first edition remains a standout. The original was written in 1960 by Charles Brown and Gene Redd, and released the same year by Brown. It peaked at just #76 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, but has become a classic over the years. Koe’s reimagined version definitely has a lot of his signature Texas flair, and I think his voice sounds absolutely fantastic here. Definitely check it out if you haven’t yet, it’s one of the best covers of this song I’ve ever heard: That’ll do it for my list, what are some of your favorite sad country Christmas songs?The post 12 Of The Saddest Country Christmas Songs For Anyone Having A Blue Christmas first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Washington State ignored an ICE detainer on an illegal immigrant truck driver who killed a man earlier this month, releasing him without even charging him. Here’s the news: Washington State not charging . . .

The US Dollar is in SERIOUS TroubleFollow NewsClips channel at Brighteon.com for more updatesSubscribe to Brighteon newsletter to get the latest news and more featured videos:https://support.brighteon.com/Subscribe.html

Democrats have doubled down on stupid: Michael Whatley | The Chris Salcedo ShowFollow NewsClips channel at Brighteon.com for more updatesSubscribe to Brighteon newsletter to get the latest news and more featured videos:https://support.brighteon.com/Subscribe.html