According to Bossip, Jakes and his legal team believe YouTube isn’t doing enough to prevent or remove the clips, prompting legal action from the pastor. On Dec. 19, Jakes’ attorney, Dustin Pusch, submitted a request to the court for the Northern […]
Mark Spain, news anchor at ABC affiliate WSET-TV (ABC 13) in Lynchburg, Virginia, died on Dec. 18, less than a month after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was 64.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of my loving husband Mark,” Spain’s wife, Lynita Carter Spain, wrote on Facebook, Deadline reported. “Our family along with the city of Lynchburg lost a man of hope, someone who loves this city and stood for equality, treating others with respect and kindness. He was a husband, father, brother, friend and a positive light in the community. My first true love. He brought so much joy, compassion, love and strength into our lives, and his absence will be deeply felt by all who knew him.”
Spain joined WSET in 2015 and has won several awards for his work throughout his time at the station, including Best News Anchor awards from the Association Press of the Virginias in both 2018 and 2019. The 64-year-old also received an Outstanding News Series award from the Virginia Association of Broadcasters in 2018. In 2022, he also won a Best Documentary or Public Affairs Program award from the organization.
It is with deep sadness that ABC13 announces the passing of Mark Spain, who was a vital anchor in both our newsroom and the community.https://t.co/38fM4KI0qy— ABC 13 News – WSET (@ABC13News) December 19, 2024
“Tonight we are celebrating the life of Mark Spain even as we grieve his sudden death after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. But we know we are not alone in mourning–you, the community, are too,” WSET wrote in a tribute to its website. “His smile and positivity were known to his family, our team here at WSET, and the thousands across Lynchburg and beyond who welcomed Mark into their homes each night on TV.”
According to the New York Post, several of Spain’s colleagues from throughout his career paid their own tributes on social media.
“To know Mark Spain was to know positivity, faith & kindness,” Kristen Mirand, a former WSET colleague of Spain’s, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “He was the anchor at my last news station in VA. More than a gifted journalist, he was an incredible person who inspired everyone he met Mark passed away after battling pancreatic cancer. His legacy will live on [sic]”
To know Mark Spain was to know positivity, faith & kindness. He was the anchor at my last news station in VA. More than a gifted journalist, he was an incredible person who inspired everyone he met Mark passed away after battling pancreatic cancer. His legacy will live on 💜 pic.twitter.com/nz4SWRt9f2— Kristen Mirand WKBW (@kristen_mirand) December 20, 2024
The Danville, Virginia, police department also addressed Spain’s passing on X.
“#DanvillePD extends heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of @ABC13News anchor Mark Spain. He was a familiar face on WSET each evening in many homes throughout Danville, and very professionally covered several news stories about the Department. Mark will be missed,” the department wrote.
Spain is survived by his wife and three children.
Newsweek reported that shoppers may have purchased several recalled food products before Christmas dinner. These notices are issued to warn about harmful ingredients found in the items. The recalled food items could have been used in appetizers, the main course, […]
President Joe Biden has granted clemency to Black Mafia Family (BMF) co-founder Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, who was released from federal prison during the pandemic in 2020 and ordered to serve the rest of his sentence on house arrest.
It is part of President Biden’s effort to pardon prisoners like Flenory who have been on house arrest since the pandemic, 11 Alive reported. The scripted, 50 Cent-produced BMF TV series on Starz follows the Black Mafia Family, including Terry Flenory and his older brother, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory
Recently, there has been an alarming increase in unlicensed dental practices and cosmetic dentistry, particularly in veneers. This trend, fueled by social media and the quest for the perfect aesthetic, has led many to cheap alternatives, which poses significant risks to public health and safety.
In October, Brandon Dillard, an individual who coined himself “Atlanta’s top veneer specialist,” was arrested for practicing dentistry for years without a license.
According to WSB-TV, Fulton County police raided Dillard’s popular “A List Smiles” office, which had operated since 2021. The arrest was highly publicized due to his long list of notable clientele, high social media following, and notoriety for holding contests such as procedure raffles.
Like Dillard, unlicensed professionals provide services for half the price, but ultimately, the patient pays the price. Unlicensed individuals have an increased chance of not adhering to proper infection control protocols and being without the proper training to perform procedures correctly. This leads to misdiagnosis, complications like nerve damage, excessive bleeding, improper healing and long-term health complications.
In most states, unlicensed practitioners can face felony charges for practicing without a license. Unfortunately, patients who receive care from these individuals may only be provided limited legal recourse.
Dr. Arlene Asante of Hyattsville, Maryland, is a cosmetic dentist specializing in oral health, implantology and cosmetic dentistry. Blavity spoke with Dr. Asante about understanding the repercussions of illegal cosmetic dentistry, its lasting impact on patient’s lives and health, and how to avoid it.
Nordstrom will soon operate under new ownership. According to the Associated Press, the retailer is being sold to Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group for $6.25 billion. The new ownership will operate the store as a private company while also picking up Nordstrom’s $2 billion debt, the AP reported.
R&B legend Eddie Levert is grieving the death of his 22-year-old daughter Ryan Levert, who had lupus. Granddaughter Carlysia Levert confirmed the sad news in an Instagram post.
“Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers for my family. please send extra love up for my papa and nana,” Carlysia wrote in her Instagram Story, per Essence.
According to the Associated Press, children from around the world call the agency on Christmas Eve to ask about Santa’s location. “There are screams and giggles and laughter,” Bob Sommers, a civilian contractor and NORAD volunteer, told the AP as […]
Hillary Scott and her daughter Eisele Kaye, who released the holiday single “Hard to Wait for Christmas” on Nov. 15 and debuted it live at Nashville’s legendary Grand Ole Opry in December, commemorated the special occasion with a sweet mother-daughter interview led by 11-year-old Eisele on behalf of Billboard Family, for our new Kids Interviewing Their Famous Parents video series. On the eve of Christmas Eve, enjoy their Q&A, filmed backstage at the Opry and premiering in the video above.
Dad Chris Tyrrell, who co-wrote the charming Christmas tune with his wife and daughter, even joins in for an exclusive mini family performance.
It’s “Hard to Wait for Christmas,” even when it’s just two days away. Just ask the mother-daughter duo, who have a whole song about practicing patience and keeping in mind what Christmas means to their family — underneath the dazzle of holiday season gifts and treats.
Eisele leads the convo with Hillary, delving into her mother’s personal Christmas memories from childhood and those that the two have made together with their family of five. (Hillary Scott and Chris Tyrrell have three children, Eisele, Betsy and Emory.)
One fun highlight from their chat is Hillary recalling the best Christmas present she received as a kid, and how magical it felt to be so surprised.
“I was not expecting Santa to bring that,” she says of a big, bewildering Barbie gift that arrived from the North Pole. “Because how in the world could it fit in the sleigh? Somehow it did.”
Hillary, who used to go Christmas caroling around the neighborhood with her family when she was younger, remembers that the first time she got to sing in a studio was for a Christmas record when she was 15. Eisele upheld her mom’s tradition with her first studio experience being vocals on a Christmas song, “Hard to Wait for Christmas” (now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Amazon Music and YouTube Music).
“I feel like circling back to doing Christmas music now, with you, just feels right,” Hillary tells her daughter in the interview.
“I got to experience it with you for the first time, so it felt new again, which is really exciting — and I got to just stand by and be a proud mom watching you be so comfortable and sing so beautifully in that environment … I mean, I’m proud of [Lady bandmates] Charles [Kelley] and Dave [Haywood], but like, I’m really proud of you, ’cause you’re my girl,” Hillary shares with Eisele.
Billboard has been publishing weekly rankings in one form or another for over a century.
Early in the 1900s, Billboard presented charts detailing the popularity of sheet music in the U.S. In July 1940, Billboard unveiled its first chart ranking the sales of recorded songs, the 10-position “National List of Best Selling Retail Records,” with Bing Crosby, Jimmy Dorsey and Glenn Miller among its ranks.
Billboard expanded its number of weekly charts over the next few years, starting recaps for R&B in 1942 and country in 1944. In March 1956, the weekly Billboard 200 albums chart premiered (at just 10 positions deep). Two years later, in August 1958, the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart began.
At the end of 1958, Billboard printed a recap of the year’s biggest songs for the first time (that year also encompassing songs’ performance on pre-Hot 100 charts leading up to its launch that August). Domenico Modugno’s “Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)” finished as Billboard‘s first year-end No. 1 Hot 100 song. The track, which spent five weeks at No. 1, became the second song to top the weekly Hot 100, after Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool.”
Also in the 1958 year-end issue, Billboard continued its tradition of surveying the music industry via “The Billboard Eleventh Annual Disc Jockey Poll,” which “Volare” also crowned. “[The song] was really a left-field hit … one of the few disks in recent years with a non-English lyric to reach the top,” Billboard wrote at the time. In the 2020s, such hits are plentiful, largely via the growth of K-pop and Latin music. Thus, this line from that 1958 issue proved prophetic, given the sonic, and geographic scope of that year’s biggest titles: “The preference in tunes indicates that no one type of song or artist reigns supreme among jockeys. The list also includes several types of songs with many extremes, ranging from an old folk song to European, Latin American and tunes by American cleffers.”
Today, Billboard not only has the year-end Hot 100 Songs ranking, but also annual recaps for all 200-plus weekly charts, reflecting chart performance of songs, albums and artists over a 12-month tracking period.
From “Volare” to this year, here’s a look at every year-end No. 1 Hot 100 single since 1958, as published in every year-end issue.
Additional research by Gary Trust, Paul Grein and Alex Vitoulis
2024
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