Wrestler Rocky Johnson, father of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, dies at 75 - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Rocky “Soulman” Johnson, a WWE Hall of Fame wrestler who became better known as the father of actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has died. He was 75.

WWE issued a statement on Johnson’s death tonight. Johnson and Tony Atlas became the first black world tag team champions in WWE history when they defeated The Wild Samoans on Dec. 10, 1983.

The statement didn’t provide details on the cause or location of Johnson’s death.

“A loss for every fan of WWE, Rocky Johnson was a barrier-breaking performer. Our thoughts are with his family at this time,” WWE executive and wrestler Paul “Triple H” Levesque tweeted.

>> Click here to see photos and videos remembering Rocky Johnson.

Johnson later helped train his son, who adopted the Rocky moniker from his father. Johnson came to his son’s aid after a match at WrestleMania in 1997. The Rock inducted his father into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.

Former professional wrestler Brian Blair, another 1980s WWE star, was friends with Johnson for decades and they still went to church together in the Tampa, Florida area. Blair told The Associated Press today that Johnson had complained of an unspecified illness of late and had missed church that he attended with Blair and other former wrestlers. Blair said Johnson’s wife, Sheila, was distraught over her husband’s death.

“He was just under the weather, he thought he had the flu or something,” Blair said by phone. “I said, ‘You, need to get checked out, Rocky.’ He said he’d be OK. Then he missed this Sunday, a few days ago. When I talked to him again, he said he still wasn’t feeling good and he still missed church. He still didn’t get checked out. I talked to Sheila and she said he was just being stubborn. He died at home, today.”

Johnson was born Wayde Douglas Bowles and started his wrestling career in the mid-1960s. He spent the bulk of his career in the National Wrestling Alliance and later joined the then-World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s. He formed a tag team with Atlas known as “Soul Patrol” and became of one the popular teams of the era. Johnson retired in the early 1990s, but helped introduce his son to officials at WWE.

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2020-01-16 07:01:40Z
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'Jeopardy!' crowns 'Greatest of All Time' - CNN

The question is: Who is Ken Jennings?

Jennings defeated James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter to win the "Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time" special tournament on Tuesday night. Jennings was the first to win three matches, which made him champion.

Besides bragging rights, the Seattle-based software engineer turned author won the grand prize of $1 million. As the runners-up, Rutter and Holzhauer each won $250,000.

Jennings became a household name during his record 74-game winning streak, which was the longest in the game show's history.

Tuesday night's victory brought his winnings total to $4.37 million.

The three contestants were selected for their standout performances on the show.

Rutter holds the title for the most money won by a contestant across any television game show, raking in $4.68 million in "Jeopardy!" prize money. He has never lost "Jeopardy!" to a human opponent.

Holzhauer is the record holder for all 15 of the top single-game winnings records on the show. He won the 2019 Tournament of Champions and his winnings total $2.71 million.

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2020-01-15 14:57:00Z
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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2020 inductees are... - CNN

They are Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G. and T-Rex.

Jon Landau and Irving Azoff are the recipients of the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame an individual artist or band must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination.

Ballots were cast by an international voting body of more than 1,000 artists, including current living Inductees, historians and members of the music industry.

Factors such as an artist's musical influence, body of work, innovation, style and technique are taken into consideration with the voting, according to the organization.

Four of the Inductees this year were on the ballot for the first time: The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Notorious B.I.G. and T-Rex.

The Ahmet Ertegun Award, to be presented to Landau and Azoff, honors songwriters, producers, disc jockeys, record executives, journalists and other industry professionals who have had a major influence on rock and roll.

The 35th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place in May in Cleveland, Ohio.

Tickets will go on sale to the public on February 27. Performances and special guests will be announced later.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on HBO on May 2nd at 8 p.m. ET.

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2020-01-15 13:12:00Z
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Meghan makes first public appearance since stepping back from royal family - CNN

The Duchess was pictured, smiling, alongside staff at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre on Tuesday.

"Look who we had tea with today!" the center wrote on its Facebook page. "The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, visited us today to discuss issues affecting women in the community."

Meghan has been in Canada with the royal couple's baby, Archie, in recent days, while the royal family has attempted to deal with the crisis that followed the unheralded announcement that Meghan and Harry wanted to scale back their duties.

Tuesday's visit to the women's center is the first confirmation that Meghan is in Vancouver, as had been widely speculated.

Harry attended crunch talks with the Queen and other members of the family on Monday, but a source told CNN that Meghan did not dial into that meeting, which she had previously been expected to do.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the Queen said the family would have preferred the couple to "remain full-time working members of the royal family," but that they "respect and understand" Harry and Meghan's "wish to live a more independent life."

The Queen has agreed to a "period of transition" while details of their new role are hammered out, the family announced. It is unclear when Meghan plans to return to the UK.

Meghan lived in Toronto while filming the TV series "Suits," in which she starred for seven years. The couple will spend time in both the UK and Canada during their transition period.

Meghan has visited several women's centers during her time as a royal and is the patron of Smart Works, a charity that helps long-term unemployed and vulnerable women find work.

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2020-01-15 10:37:00Z
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Ken Jennings wins ‘Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time’ - Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s official: Ken Jennings is the “Greatest of All Time” — at least when it comes to “Jeopardy!”

The victory comes 15 years after Jennings’ initial legendary run on the game show — a 74-game winning streak that totaled $2.52 million.

Now, Jennings is taking home $1 million and a big fancy trophy.

The “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” tournament began a week ago, and the prime-time event has drawn an average of 15 million viewers per episode, putting it on a level with the 2019 NBA finals and the 2019 World Series.

From the beginning, “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” has predominantly been a tight competition between Jennings and James Holzhauer, who holds the single-game record at $131,127.

That was also the case Tuesday night.

During the first game of the match (one match equals two regular “Jeopardy!” games), Jennings pulled a classic Holzhauer move, going “all in” and wagering all of his money on the Final Jeopardy question.

On Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, Ken Jennings won the “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” tournament, taking home the $1 million prize.

ABC

It paid off.

The clue: “This area of Greece, home to Pan, is synonymous with a rural paradise; it’s a setting for Virgil’s shepherd poems the ‘Eclogues.’”

Both Jennings and Holzhauer gave the correct response — “Arcadia” — but in a rare move, Holzhauer only wagered a portion of his money. He added $11,381 to his $22,800 total, bringing his Game 1 total to $34,181.

Jennings, who had the lead with $32,800, doubled that score — an aggressive bet that brought his Game 1 total to a staggering $65,600.

Now it was just a matter of maintaining the momentum.

For a while, it looked like Holzhauer was going to pull off a win — Jennings made smaller wagers this time around, and Holzhauer went all in, wagering his $20,200 on the following Daily Double: “This big landlocked African country was surprised to be added to the USA’s 2017 travel ban, but was removed from the list in 2018.”

In what has been a common play for all contestants throughout the tournament, Holzhauer seemed to be stumped on the answer, waiting until the very last second to blurt out the correct answer: “What is Chad?”

With that response, Holzhauer took a large lead with $40,000 and closed out the game with $44,000 to Jennings’ $23,000 and Brad Rutter’s $1,400.

It all came down to the Final Jeopardy round. And it was a category all three contestants were likely familiar with: Shakespeare tragedies.

“There’s stuff that’s disproportionately ‘Jeopardy!’” Jennings previously told the Deseret News in an interview where he gave tips about auditioning for the show. “Like they don’t ask about opera a lot, but way more than it comes up in real life, so learn the composers of 20 operas. The Shakespeare plays are another manageable list.”

Jennings knows his Shakespeare. The Final Jeopardy clue: “He has 272 speeches, the most of any non-title character in a Shakespeare tragedy.”

Jennings came up with the correct answer: the villainous Iago. In a surprising move, the BYU graduate played it safe and didn’t wager anything, keeping his Game 2 total at $23,000.

All eyes were on Holzhauer.

His answer? “Who is Horatio?”

His wager? All $44,000.

With Holzhauer down to zero, Jennings was officially the winner, with a two-game total of $88,600. Jennings walked over to shake host Alex Trebek’s hand before Holzhauer and Rutter lifted him up on their shoulders so he could hoist the trophy in the air.

Throughout the “Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time” tournament, all three contestants paid tribute to longtime host Alex Trebek.

ABC

Oh, and if you’re wondering about Rutter’s response to the Shakespeare clue, he used the moment to pay touching tribute to the longtime “Jeopardy!” host, the constant star of the show all three contestants have expressed gratitude to over the course of the tournament.

“You’re the best, Alex,” Rutter wrote.

In match 3 of the tournament, Holzhauer lovingly labeled Trebek the “Ghost” — the “Greatest Host of Syndicated TV.” Tuesday night, Jennings earned his own new label — the “Goat (Greatest of All Time)” of “Jeopardy!” winners — showing the world that he hasn’t lost a step since his incredible run on the show 15 years ago.

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2020-01-15 05:45:51Z
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Meghan did not dial into royal crisis talks with Queen, source says - CNN

She had been expected to call in to the meeting with the Queen and Princes Charles, William and Harry about the Sussexes' decision to step back from senior royal duties.

In the end, the Sussexes decided it was not necessary for her to join the discussion, the source said.

The meeting was held at the Queen's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, some 100 miles north of London, and Meghan is currently in Canada, with the couple's baby son Archie.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the Queen said the family would have preferred the couple to "remain full-time working members of the royal family," but that they "respect and understand" Harry and Meghan's "wish to live a more independent life."

The Queen has agreed to a "period of transition" while details of their new role are hammered out, the family announced.

Harry and Meghan will spend time in both the UK and Canada during this period. The couple revealed last week that they wish to step down as senior British royals and live part-time in North America.

The Queen said she had agreed that Harry and Meghan could split their time between the UK and Canada but that "complex matters" would have to be resolved. The monarch added that she had ordered final plans to be drawn up in the next few days.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a local television station Monday that discussions are ongoing over who will pay the costs of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's security for their proposed new life in the country.

Trudeau said "there is a general feeling of appreciation for the Sussexes" in Canada, but talks continue as to the exact arrangements.

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2020-01-14 14:38:00Z
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'The Bachelor': Fans Are Dragging Hannah Brown for Leaving Peter With the Worst Parting Gift - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Two episodes into The Bachelor prove this may actually be “the most dramatic season yet.” Pilot, Peter Weber, had his hands full (literally) in the last episode. Ex-girlfriend and former Bachelorette, Hannah Brown, showed up two separate times during the premiere. The other contestants were less than thrilled to see the pageant queen seemingly still vying for Weber’s heart. That said, fans are taking Hannah B. to Twitter jail for doing this one prohibited thing.

Hannah Brown’s pageant history is ingrained in her

Hannah Brown and Adrienne Bailon attend The 2020 InStyle And Warner Bros. 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards Post-Party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel | Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for InStyle

If you didn’t catch Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette, you might not be familiar with her lengthy pageant history. She began competing at age 15 around the Alabama area (where she’s from). Hannah B. placed first-runner up in Miss Alabama Outstanding Teen 2010, followed by Miss Alabama Teen USA 2011.

From there, the pageants became bigger. Hannah B. garnered the Miss Tuscaloosa crown in 2012. She went on to compete for Miss Alabama but didn’t make the cut.

Hannah B. eventually took a break to attend the University of Alabama. However, she never left the sparkly gowns and bright, white smile too far behind.

In 2017, Hannah B. tried her hand at Miss Alabama again, but she still didn’t place. In 2018, she tried again and made it, competing in Miss USA thereafter.

Hannah B. keeps her pageant past close, even throughout her reign as The Bachelorette. You can take the sparkly gown out of the girl, but you can’t take the girl out of the sparkly gown.

Fans are ticked at what happened with Hannah B. and Weber

When you enter into a reality dating competition on TV, you can’t expect things to flow normally. Weber may have tried to move one from his past with Hannah B., but she had other plans.

A dramatic ending to the premiere carried over into the beginning of the second episode. Hannah B. and Weber tortured themselves with another “will-we-won’t-we,” leaving the other contestants in the dust.

Hannah B. debated on staying in the house to compete for Weber’s heart. She admitted part of her cared for him and wondered “what if,” but in the end, Weber said he couldn’t do it and left Hannah B. to tend o the other women.

Needless to say, the cringe-worthy scenario had fans screaming at their TV’s for Hannah B. to let Weber find his own path — without her. Still, she let him with one final memory that many immediately condemned.

Reactions to the situation prove Hannah’s parting gift is the worst

Thanks to Hannah B.’s pageant past, the girl loves one thing that most consider a biohazard. All that time Weber and Hannah B. hid away talking (and Hannah B. crying), her dress assaulted the entire area, including Weber. Fans are not cool with it.

“Did anyone else notice ALL THE GLITTER HANNAH GOT ON PILOT PETE,” one fan tweeted. “CanNOT get over the glitter on Peter’s hair/beard/suit after emotionally explaining to the girls about his conversation with Hannah,” another added.

Another viewer said, “Hannah B so wearing that glitter dress to deliberately cuddle with Peter and leave glitter all over him so the other girls see it is a POWER MOVE if I ever did see one.”

It didn’t end there. The comments, GIFs, and photos dragging Hannah B. for a) wearing a glitter dress and b) getting it all over “Pilot Pete” has America livid.

While Hannah B. ultimately went home, she was sure to leave Weber with the worst parting gift in history. We all know that once something is glittered, it’s glittered forever. Thanks a lot, Hannah B.

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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2020-01-14 14:24:44Z
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