More than 10 US warships, including the country’s largest carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, are bearing down on the Caribbean amid escalating tensions between President Trump and Venezuela. A Marine Expeditionary Unit capable of an amphibious land invasion has also been deployed as part of efforts to stem the flow of drugs into the […]

NATO could fire the first shot against Russia in the face of Vlad’s escalating shadow war on Europe, a top admiral has warned. Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of Nato‘s Military Committee, said the alliance could be forced to strike pre-emptively – which would be a toughening of its current policy of waiting to react. […]

Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked down the VC-backed startups that became unicorns so far this year.

For a long time, we were warned that when the financial system finally started melting down, the price of silver would explode.  It appears that those who predicted this were quite prescient.  The yen carry trade is unwinding, more than a trillion dollars in cryptocurrency wealth has been wiped out, stocks and bonds have been …

“And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.” -Deuteronomy 28:53 In starting this article off, the first thing that the American people need to understand …

Sometimes it just takes a sign. Every artist can sit around and swap stories for hours about their trials and tribulations getting to where they stand in the music industry today. It’s a hard industry to make it in, and an even harder one to stay relevant in. However, if you are lucky, you build a loyal fanbase that keeps you afloat and supports all your music. Sunny Sweeney, today, is regarded as one of the best female voices in the Texas and Red Dirt scenes. Sunny Sweeney has achieved mainstream success along the way, releasing numerous singles, five albums, and an EP. In the last five years, we have seen some of Sweeney’s best work, notably with her 2022 record, Married Alone, which showcased her authentic country stylings while delving into the heartbreak of divorce. In 2024, Sweeney turned the page and showed fans a healed version of herself with her 2024 album Still Provoked, making for some of the best music of her career.  Her most recent album, Rhinestone Requiem, expands on this stellar chapter of music from the Longview, Texas native. While Sweeney is settled into her career and more confident than ever in herself as an artist, there was once a time (or two) when she felt she was going to throw in the towel and wanted a stable job. During a recent interview with RDF-TV’s On The Record, Sweeney and host Suzanne Alexander are chatting about Sweeney being featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame and how that has made all the hard work she’s put into her career worth it. While Sweeney admits it’s beyond incredible to be featured in the Hall of Fame, there was a more specific defining moment that made her realize all the sacrifices and hardships she faced in music were worth it. “In 2012 and 2022, I tried to quit the music business both times, and my mom said, ‘Sunny, you need to…’ She’s like, ‘Whatever you want to do, I’ll support you.’ But in 2021, she said, ‘You need to pray about this,’ and she said, ‘You need to ask for like a specific sign.'” Sweeney said that her mother said she sympathized with her for all that she was going through at the time after getting dropped from Big Machine Records, however her mother was confident that she needed to be doing music, so she begged Sweeney to wait two weeks and ask for a very prominent sign that she needed to move on from music, if that’s what her heart was telling her to do. “I was like, ‘Mom, please just get off me. Like, just come on.’ She’s like. ‘No. Give yourself a timeline. Two weeks, something like that.’ So you know the music business shuts down at the end of the year, so my birthday is December 7th, and on my birthday, I said, “I need two weeks, I need a sign. Lord, if you want to give me a sign, if you want me to stay in the music business, otherwise, I’m getting a degree. I’m getting a job from my degree. I can’t do this anymore, it’s too hard.’  On the 14th day, in the morning, I called my momma, and I said, ‘It’s the 14th day, and I haven’t gotten any signs. Letting you know I’ve been praying about it, but I’m getting a job.’ She’s like, ‘Okay.’ So at 5:00, I get a call that the ACMs have nominated me for Best New Artist. Didn’t even have a record deal, didn’t have a song on the radio. Nothing. And so… and the guy said, ‘I’m not supposed to tell you this until January, but I felt like you needed to hear it today.’ Which still makes me want to just like, lose it.” I have chills just hearing this story, so I can only imagine the emotion that Sweeney had tied to it. The fact that the ACM representative called her before it was required of him to let her know in the final hour of the 14th day that she asked for a sign is bone-chilling. While I’m not certain if Sweeney had imagined in her mind what a sign would look like, this phone call was a sign that was as clear as getting a door slammed in her face: She needed to keep pursuing music. Sunny Sweeney is a staple vocalist among the red dirt and Texas music scenes, and it’s hard to imagine that in an alternate universe, we would have been missing out on her stellar discography. While most people’s signs might not be as evident that you’re on the right path, Sweeney taking the time to pray on it and lean into her faith to get a sign is a perfect lesson that you can’t quit when times get hard. There’s often a reason you started a journey to chase your dreams, and you must see it through. Check out the entire interview while you’re here: The post Sunny Sweeney Says Her 2012 ACM Award Nomination Kept Her From Quitting Music: “Didn’t Even Have A Record Deal” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

It’s time to revisit some of the Disney holiday classics we grew up with. How well do you remember these movies?