Over the past several weeks, political dynamics in the Middle East and beyond have taken a dramatic turn, raising the possibility that the United States may move from diplomatic pressure to more direct involvement in Iran. Reporting from The Jerusalem Post indicates that U.S. policymakers are now actively weighing forms of intervention aimed at supporting […]

Nvidia unveiled Alpamayo at CES 2026, which includes a reasoning vision language action model that allows an autonomous vehicle to think more like a human and provide chain-of-thought reasoning.

Google's AI research lab is working with Boston Dynamics to make Atlas act more like a human.

Business as usual for Morgan Wallen. Despite there being major breakouts across the board throughout 2025, primarily from the likes of Zach Top, Ella Langley, The Red Clay Strays, Treaty Oak Revival and more, there’s simply no denying that 2025 was the year of Morgan Wallen yet again. While there’s no denying he’s been nothing short of a powerhouse since the start of the decade, namely scoring huge numbers from the likes of Dangerous: The Double Album and namely One Thing At A Time, which contained 2023’s top song of the year, “Last Night,” among other massive hits, 2025 has proven to be his best year to date. Last month, Wallen topped a number of different year-end lists. Beyond his placement as iHeart Radio’s Top Country Artist of 2025, he also scored the most-listened-to album on Apple Music globally, the #1 most-listened-to album in the U.S. on Spotify and became the second male country artist in history to be named Billboard’s Top Artist of the Year, beating out the likes of Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny and more. Additionally, Wallen made even more history in December. He etched his name in the history book on the 16th by not only becoming the highest-selling country artist of all time according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) but also the third-highest-selling artist in history, all-genre. Receiving a mind-blowing 80 new certifications, Wallen has now sold over 240 million units in his career, third only to global superstars Taylor Swift (247.5 million) and Drake (331.5 million). The Billboard Top Artist nod was particularly historic considering the fact that Wallen became just the third country artist in history to capture the accomplishment, joining only Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks. When you take a further look into all the top spots he captured en route to the #1 artist spot, his year becomes even more unfathomable. In addition to his Top Artist of 2025 win, the “Whiskey Glasses” singer would also take home over a dozen other #1 spots on Billboard’s year-end charts, including Top Male Artist, Top Country Artist, #1 Hot 100 Artist, #1 Hot 100 Male, Top Billboard 200 Male and more. A full list of Wallen’s #1 Billboard spots is as follows: Top Artist Top Male Artist Top Country Artist Top Country Male Top Billboard 200 Male Top Streaming Albums Artist #1 Hot 100 Artist #1 Hot 100 Male #1 Digital Songs Sales Chart Artist #1 Streaming Songs Artist #1 Hot Country Songs Artist #1 Country Airplay Artist #1 Country Digital Songs Sales Artist #1 Country Streaming Songs Artist #1 Top Country Albums #1 Billboard Canadian Hot 100 Artist #1 Streaming Album (I’m The Problem) #1 Country Album (I’m The Problem) #1 Canadian Album (I’m The Problem) Given that 2025 officially came to a close last Wednesday, Billboard uploaded its final end-of-the-year tallies. And to no one’s surprise, Wallen’s I’m The Problem finished its historical year by spending the most weeks at #1 throughout 2025 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart. Spending 12 non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, Wallen just edged out Taylor Swift’s equally massive record, The Life of a Showgirl, which finished the year with 10 weeks. Evidently, Wallen and Swift were the only two artists to spend 10+ weeks at #1 on the chart in 2025, with Super Bowl headliner Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS coming in third place with only four weeks. Rounding out the multi-week #1s is Playboi Carti’s Music, SZA’s SOS, Kpop Demon Hunters’ Soundtrack and Kendrick Lamar’s GNX. View this post on Instagram As always, you can love or hate Wallen, his musical output and his off-stage shenanigans. However, you can never deny the sheer staying power and success he’s experienced over the course of the decade. Taking a look at the staggering amount of top spots he’s taken not only in country music but in all-genre charts as well, it’s becoming more and more apparent that the “20 Cigarettes” singer has become nothing short of a phenomenon. It’s likely we’ll never see another artist with such an undeniable chokehold over the genre and its charts quite the way Wallen has. Still The Problem Tour Dates April 10 || Minneapolis, Minn. || U.S. Bank Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason April 11 || Minneapolis, Minn. || U.S. Bank Stadium w/ HARDY, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason April 18 || Tuscaloosa, Ala. || Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Vincent Mason, Zach John King May 1 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 2 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 8 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Zach John King May 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Flatland Cavalry, Zach John King May 15 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King May 16 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King May 29 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 30 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason June 5 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 6 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 19 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 20 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 26 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat June 27 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 17 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 18 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 24 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 25 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ HARDY, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 31 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ ​​Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten August 1 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Ella Langley, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten The post Morgan Wallen’s Monstrous Year – How ‘I’m The Problem’ Dominated Billboard’s All-Genre 200 Chart In 2025 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

How’s everyone holding up? It’s the first week back at work in the new year for a lot of people, which means a lot of catching up on emails, “circling back,” and trying to figure out what day of the week it actually is. It’s brutal. Of course some people choose to make their January even worse by deciding to give up alcohol for “dry January,” a tradition that’s really taken off online over the past few years. A study last year found that as many as a quarter of Americans who drink alcohol take part in dry January and abstain for the month, which is of course part of a larger trend of people who are giving up drinking alcohol altogether. So it’s not really a surprise that dry January has become more and more popular over the past few years. Now, I’m not participating this year (I actually decided to drink more this January because I realized on New Year’s Eve that my tolerance is pretty much shot and I need to get it up). But for everybody who is, there are plenty of country songs about giving up alcohol to help you get through the month: “High Cost of Living” – Jamey Johnson “My life was just an old routine Every day the same damn thing I couldn’t even tell I was alive I tell you, the high cost of livin’ Ain’t nothing like the cost of livin’ high” “That’s Why I’m Here” – Kenny Chesney “Well I ain’t had nothin’ to drink I knew that’s probably what you’d think If I’d drop by this time of night Remember way back when I promised you I’d drop in At one of those meetings down at the Y … It’s the simple things in life Like the kids at home and a loving wife That you miss the most, when you lose control And everything you love starts to disappear The Devil takes your hand and says no fear Have another shot, just one more beer Yeah I’ve been there That’s why I’m here” “One Day At A Time” – American Aquarium “For years the drinks were just a crutch until the drinks were just too much I guess it comes with the job: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ roll You see songs fulfill a human need to stand back and watch another man bleed So for a moment, we don’t have to feel sorry for ourselves And this imaginary confidence became the first line of defense If you don’t let ’em in, boy, they’ll never let you down But she broke through and took control, my sweetheart of the rodeo And for the first time I found somethin’ I couldn’t afford to lose” “Better Than the Bottle” – Cody Jinks “We swore like hell we’d never slow down Money we’d burn when we’d paint the town Rollin’ like we’d never see tomorrow We were chasin’ that high, we had time to borrow We were out of control, like the James-Younger brothers We were hard on ourselves, we were bad for each other Some living’s been done, and we pulled back on the throttle Still a vice or two, but they’re better than the bottle” “Little Rock” – Collin Raye “I haven’t had a drink in 19 days My eyes are clear and bright without that haze I like the preacher from the Church of Christ Sorry that I cried when I talked to you last night I think I’m on a roll here in Little Rock I’m solid as a stone, baby, wait and see I’ve got just one small problem here in Little Rock Without you, baby, I’m not me” “Wine Into Water” – T. Graham Brown “Tonight I’m as low as any man can go I’m down and I can’t fall much farther And once upon a time you turned the water into wine Now on my knees I’m turning to you Father Could you help me turn the wine back into water” “Flowers” – Chris Young “You won’t believe how much I’ve changed since you left It took losing you for me to find myself Oh I wish that you could see me Steady hands without the whiskey You’d be so proud” “That Wasn’t Jack” – Justin Moore “I know he’s called you a bunch of times Tore up from the floor up out of his mind Saying he’s sorry and asking if he can stop by again He’s pulled a Hank and got hellbent Said some things he swore he meant But I swear this time is different, baby No, it wasn’t the late night crazy Two in the morning up calling you, baby I wasn’t out with my friends in a real drunk crowd That ain’t at all how it all went down It wasn’t the whiskey and a country song That you were hearing from my end of the phone All that talk I was talking ’bout missing and wanting you back That was all me, that wasn’t Jack” “Winning Streak” – Jelly Roll “The broken glass of a bottle makes a jagged rock bottom And right now I got two shaky hands, only one way to stop ’em And I haven’t touched a drop in seven hours, three minutes Hardly sobered up, already wanna quit quittin’ Sweatin’ in an old church basement, wishin’ I was wasted I never thought I’d say this ‘Hello, my name’s Jason'” “Bottle By My Bed” – Jason Boland & the Stragglers “My life was as empty As the bottle by my bed My friends turned into strangers And I was all but dead Jesus came and found me there That day those demons bled When my life was as empty As the bottle by my bed” “Angels and Alcohol” – Alan Jackson “You can’t change lonely with a bottle of wine It might ease the heartache for one short easy time In the end you have to face what’s hiding in your mind You can’t change lonely with a bottle of wine You can’t mix angels and alcohol An angel once loved me, I traded it all I let the bottle drive my life into a wall You can’t mix angels, and alcohol” “I Will Rise” – Benjamin Tod “Oh, it’s hard to wake from feeling blue Oh, but I will rise, I will rise And my hands may shake from lack of booze Oh, but I will rise, I will rise And though I’ve fallen out of space and time Oh, I will rise, I will rise And I dug my grave with honest lies Oh, I will rise, I will rise” “Dear Sobriety” – Pistol Annies “Dear Sobriety Please come back to me I left you high and dry I’m doomed for good this time I swore I wouldn’t be I’m making a fool of me I need you desperately Dear Sobriety” “Nose On the Grindstone” – Tyler Childers (I know this one isn’t specifically about alcohol, but it’s about sobriety, and it’s too good to leave out). “Well Daddy, I’ve been tryin’, I just can’t catch a break There’s too much in this world that I can’t seem to shake But I remember your words, Lord, they bring me the chills Keep your nose on the grindstone and out of the pills” The post For Everyone Doing Dry January, Here Are 14 Country Songs About Giving Up Alcohol first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

President Trump just weighed in on Tim Walz dropping out of his reelection campaign to be Minnesota’s governor for a 3rd time, suggesting he might even leave office before his term is . . .

Earlier today we told you that, per DHS, a Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis flat out refused service to federal immigration agents because of President Trump’s deportation of illegal immigrants. Now, Hilton has . . .

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Friday his first executive order as mayor was meant to draw a line after former Mayor Eric Adams was indicted while also launching a new City Hall office aimed at changing how the public is involved in decision-making. "In the first executive order, you, as the new mayor of a city, have to sign a continuation of all prior executive orders or a revocation or an amendment of all of them," Mamdani said during a question-and-answer session focused on what he called the city's revived Office of Mass Engagement.

Behind Mayor Zohran Mamdani's stunning electoral victory was a grass roots volunteer operation that saw 100,000 volunteers knock on three million doors and make 4.5 million calls to engage voters. Mr. Mamdani announced on Friday that he wants to bring that level of public participation to City Hall. Sitting in Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, he signed an executive order creating an Office of Mass Engagement to help New Yorkers participate in government decisions and to reach communities that have been marginalized from the process.