The 25-year-old firm is an early investor in Anduril, Applied Intuition and Runway AI.

As a kid, I had a hard time imagining the year 2000, but now, we’re more than a quarter century past that, as 2025 rolls into history. According to surveys, only 10% of Americans felt it was a “good” year; 20% thought it was a “bad” year and 28% thought it was a “terrible” year.  The rest …

Pretty incredible numbers. After what felt like months upon months of anticipation and speculation, this afternoon, Luke Combs announced his sixth studio album The Way I Am, which is set for release on March 30th. Produced by Combs, Jonathan Singleton and Chip Matthews, the record will feature a whopping 22 songs, and he says he’s very proud of the album: “It’s been a long process getting this thing going, but I’m really proud of this record. I’ve loved the song ‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’ for a long time and it’s been awesome to see how excited the fans are for that one as well.” Combs has already released quite a bit of new music from the project, including the likes of “Giving Her Away,” “Back in the Saddle,” “My Kinda Saturday Night” and “Days Like These,” which is his current single that’s sitting at #18 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. Given how long the North Carolina native has been teasing new music, starting all the way back in August, fans have been waiting on the official announcement for a while now. View this post on Instagram While fans everywhere are justifiably excited for the future of Combs’ music upon the album’s announcement, I thought it would be fun to look back at his long-history of smash hits. At this point, it’s become pretty clear that Combs, along with the likes of Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan, have been the most successful artists in the genre, especially from a streaming standpoint. Though Wallen has now become the highest-selling country artist of all time (third all-genre), there was a brief period in 2025 when Combs dethroned Garth Brooks‘ long-standing position as top-selling artist in the genre, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) . With over 168 million units sold, second behind the “Last Night” singer’s 240 million, Combs’ has scored some monster numbers both on Spotify and across other streaming platforms. From a RIAA perspective, he’s been dominant, owning four separate diamond-certified songs and four separate albums that have reached platinum to 8x platinum status. From a Spotify perspective, he’s also been a powerhouse. Along with two songs reaching a billion streams (“When It Rains It Pours” and “Beautiful Crazy”), the 35-year-old singer/songwriter has a staggering 10 songs that have surpassed at least 500 million streams. With all that being said, here are Combs’ Top 20 most-streamed songs on Spotify, along with the total streaming numbers from each of his five studio albums. Of course, time is a factor when it comes to streaming, meaning that the longer a song or album has been out, the more opportunities you have to stream it. But nevertheless, there’s quite a few surprises in here. Top-Streamed Songs “When It Rains It Pours” Total Streams: 1.184 billion RIAA Certification: 15x platinum (Diamond) “Beautiful Crazy” Total Streams: 1.118 billion RIAA Certification: 13x platinum (Diamond) “Fast Car” Total Streams: 903 million RIAA Certification: 8x platinum “Hurricane” Total Streams: 885 million RIAA Certification: 12x platinum (Diamond) “She Got the Best of Me” Total Streams: 836 million RIAA Certification: 10x platinum (Diamond) “Beer Never Broke My Heart” Total Streams: 748 million RIAA Certification: 8x platinum “The Kind of Love We Make” Total Streams: 700 million RIAA Certification: 6x platinum “Forever After All” Total Streams: 636 million RIAA Certification: 8x platinum “Where the Wild Things Are” Total Streams: 885 million RIAA Certification: 4x platinum “One Number Away” Total Streams: 566 million RIAA Certification: 6x platinum “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma” Total Streams: 473 million RIAA Certification: 3x platinum “Better Together” Total Streams: 447 million RIAA Certification: 5x platinum “Going, Going, Gone” Total Streams: 336 million RIAA Certification: 3x platinum “1, 2 Many” (feat. Brooks & Dunn) Total Streams: 305 million RIAA Certification: 2x platinum “Even Though I’m Leaving” Total Streams: 303 million RIAA Certification: 5x platinum “Guy For That” (Post Malone feat. Luke Combs) Total Streams: 885 million RIAA Certification: N/A “Dive” Total Streams: 263 million RIAA Certification: N/A “Lovin’ On You” Total Streams: 254 million RIAA Certification: 3x platinum “Love You Anyway” Total Streams: 249 million RIAA Certification: 3x platinum “Must’ve Never Met You” Total Streams: 237 million RIAA Certification: 3x platinum Top-Streamed Albums This One’s For You Total Streams: 5.74 billion RIAA Certification: 8x platinum What You See Is What You Get Total Streams: 4.25 billion RIAA Certification: 5x platinum Gettin’ Old Total Streams: 2.3 billion RIAA Certification: 2x platinum Growin’ Up Total Streams: 1.54 billion RIAA Certification: platinum Fathers & Sons Total Streams: 311 million RIAA Certification: N/A The post From “Hurricane” To Making History: How Luke Combs Became A Country Music Streaming Giant first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Pure gold. In an alternative country scene that’s seemingly bursting at the seams with talent, it’s hard to choose who’s the most underrated artist out there today. With names like Wyatt Flores, Dylan Gossett, 49 Winchester and more continually being named on top of many lists, I’d argue that there’s one name that has flown under the radar consistently: Charles Wesley Godwin. With three albums’ worth of what can only be described as brilliance, the “All Again” singer has proven time and again why he’s one of today’s premier songwriters and voices in the genre. Ultimately, CWG is one of those “if you know, you know” artists. In other words, though he might not be as popular as someone like Zach Bryan or even Sam Barber, if you ask anyone who’s truly entrenched in both the alternative and Appalachian country scene, chances are they’re going to say he’s one of the best in the business. Similarly, from a mainstream perspective, the same can be said about Jamey Johnson. Overall, the “In Color” singer is one of those artists that seemingly bridge the gap between multiple different scenes and subgenres in country music today. As we know, he’s scored a few hits in his day at country radio with “In Color” being a Top 10 entry and his debut single, “The Dollar,” being a Top 15 hit. As a songwriter, Johnson has penned hits for other artists like George Strait’s “Give It Away” and Trace Adkin’s infamous “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.” Over the past few years, however, Johnson has seemingly effortlessly swung between the alliterative scene and the mainstream, making appearances with the likes of Riley Green on tour, Ella Langley and Randy Houser while also teaming up with Kaitlin Butts, Marcus King, Lily Meola and more. Nothing showcased this better than when he teamed up with Godwin for an absolutely killer performance of Tyler Childers’ “Whitehouse Road” at a concert at the Cadence Bank Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi back on August 18, 2024. It’s no stretch to say that “Whitehouse Road” is one of the most popular songs from Childers‘ deep catalog, Though it’s not quite as massive as the likes “Feathered Indians,” “Lady May,” and the Grammy-nominated “Nose to the Grindstone,” the track has procured a monster 245 million streams on Spotify alone along with a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Over the years, it’s been pretty clear that Godwin is a huge fan of his fellow Appalachian country star, frequently covering the song and even including it on his first full-length live album, Live From Steel City, back in September. Though it feels pretty common to hear the song performed by Godwin, hearing Johnson add a couple lines, mainly “It’s a damn good feeling to run these roads” is nothing short of incredible. I also have to give a major shout-out to the “High Cost of Living” singer’s backing band, who delivered a flawless rendition of the swampy track. If you’re a fan of Johnson and Godwin, this performance is nothing short of a must-watch. Watch here: @alecia_davis #charleswesleygodwin #jameyjohnson #whitehouseroad #countrymusic ♬ original sound – Alecia Davis Charles Wesley Godwin Tour Dates March 27 – Boise, Idaho – Extramile Arena + March 28 – Salt Lake City, Utah – Maverick Center + April 10 – Little Rock, Arkansas – The Hall ~ April 14 – Oxford, Mississippi – The Lyric ~ April 16 – Atlanta, Georgia – The Eastern ~ April 17 – Chattanooga, Tennessee – The Signal ~ April 23 – Indio, California – Stagecoach = July 19 – Whitefish, Montana – Under The Big Sky = +  Supporting Turnpike Troubadours ~ With Jason Scott & the High Heat = Festival The post Watch: Charles Wesley Godwin & Jamey Johnson Stun Fans With A Gritty Tyler Childers Cover first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

From eradicating smallpox to battling the COVID-19 pandemic, these vaccine pioneers have helped make colossal strides in public health.

U.S. forces have seized an oil tanker linked to Venezuela and bearing a Russian flag, in a move that could inflame tensions between the U.S. and Russia. U.S. European Command confirmed Wednesday morning that the vessel had been seized by the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department in coordination with the military for "violations of U.S. sanctions" amid a blockade on certain oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela...

The U.S. seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker that was being shadowed by a Russian submarine on Wednesday, after pursuing it for more than two weeks across the Atlantic as part of Washington's efforts to block Venezuelan oil exports, U.S. officials said. It appeared to be the first time in recent memory that the U.S. military has seized a Russian-flagged vessel. The Marinera, originally known as the Bella-1, had previously slipped through a U.S. maritime blockade of sanctioned tankers in the Caribbean and rebuffed U.S. Coast Guard efforts to board it. Wednesday's seizure effort, in the Atlantic near Iceland, was first reported by Reuters...