A two-year-old boy was struck and killed by a pickup truck in a parking lot near Willow Springs.
The Highway Patrol says the boy walked in front of a parked truck.
The driver did not see the child and pulled forward striking the child.
The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Greene County judge has denied a man a motion for a new trial.
Attorneys asked Greene County Judge David Jones to set aside Nicholas Godejohn’s 2018 murder conviction based on poor representation.
Last week, Judge Jones denied Godejohn’s a motion for a new trial.
Nicholas Godejohn was convicted of first-degree murder for stabbing Dee Dee Blanchard in 2015 and is serving life in prison without parole.
Latto hit the stage at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (March 1) to perform her new single “Lottery” and receive the Powerhouse award during the 2023 Billboard Women in Music event.
Flanked by four backup dancers, the rapper swaggered and danced her way through the disco-inflected track in a sparkling body suit and matching opera-length gloves and dramatic heels.
Following her performance, Latto was presented her award by previous Rising Star honoree Chlöe Bailey, who called her pal and “For the Night” collaborator “a force to be reckoned with,” “an icon for young women everywhere” and “the personification of a powerhouse.”
“Megan Thee Stallion won this award, Doja Cat won this award. It’s crazy because I’m fans of my peers and they’re now my peers,” Latto said, gratefully gripping Bailey’s hand for support. “All the inspiring women who paved the way for me and all the women that there are to come. I’m grateful to be a part of this new wave of female rap and baby, we kickin’ down the door and we ain’t takin’ no for an answer.”
Latto recently sat down with Billboard at Los Angeles’ luxe Paramour Estate to reflect on her rise to Powerhouse status and her dedication to supporting the upcoming generation of female MCs.
“My No. 1 thing has been being a girl’s girl,” she said, giving props to the likes to Flo Milli, Lola Brooke and GloRilla. “I utilize my power in uplifting others on my way up. When you see Latto do a feature with an upcoming female rapper, I don’t charge them.”
Becky G was honored on Wednesday night (March 1) with the American Express Impact award at 2023 Billboard Women in Music.
The bilingual crossover star also brought Latinidad flair to the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles during the show by performing a solo rendition of her Karol G collab “Mamiii” while flanked by a guitarist, percussionist and two backing vocalists. “Lo que no sirve, que no estorbe/ Te metiste autogol por torpe/ Te quedó grande este torque/ Ya no estoy pa que de mí te enamores, baby/ Sin visa ni pasaporte/ Mandé tu falso amor de vacaciones,” she sang in Spanish.
The singer later got teary-eyed as she accepted this year’s Impact award from Dove Cameron. “Let’s talk about my friend Becky G,” the Vengeance actress said while introducing her pal. “Her music is incredible, spans multiple languages and keeps racking up the hits.”
From there, Cameron ran through Becky’s litany of recent accomplishments, including five career top 10s on the Hot Latin Songs chart, her first No. 1 on the Latin Pop Albums chart (thanks to her 2022 sophomore full-length Esquemas) and more than two billion U.S. streams (per Luminate), before touting the reasons Becky G is this year’s Impact honoree.
“A second-generation Mexican-American, Becky G has made it a point to represent her community and celebrate Latinidad culture and 200 percenters through her music, her beauty brand and her new production company, which will focus on storytelling [in] underrepresented communities,” Cameron explained.
“She has donated funds from merchandise to help underprivileged students from Los Angeles access digital technology to attend online classes, used her platform to support Black Lives Matter and Dreamers and was a co-chair of Michelle Obama’s voter registration nonprofit When We All Vote,” she continued. “The word ‘impact’ can mean so much to so many and there is no one who is more deserving than this tonight.”
TWICE basked in the spotlight for its performance of “Moonlight Sunrise” at Billboard’s 2023 Women in Music event held at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday (March 1).
As the performance kicked off, images of each of the members flashed on giant screens amid shots of gorgeous sunrises. As the screens lifted to reveal the K-pop group in matching black outfits, TWICE dazzled the audience — which was packed with screaming ONCE — with spot-on choreography throughout the sweet set.
The song — off upcoming mini album Ready to Be — is the K-pop group’s second English-language single; the first was “The Feels,” which arrived in October 2021. “Moonlight Sunrise,” released in January, debuted and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 84 on the Feb. 4-dated chart. Predecessor “The Feels” arrived and topped out one spot better – at No. 83 on the Oct. 16, 2021-dated tally — it was also the group’s first song to crack the Hot 100.
Earlier in the evening, TWICE – comprised of Chaeyoung, Nayeon, Tzuyu, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun and Jeongyeon – were honored with the Billboard 2023 Women in Music Breakthrough Award, which Sabrina Carpenter presented to the K-pop stars.
“I was especially thrilled they were being recognized because I’m a really big stan,” the “Nonsense” singer admitted to the audience. “They’re so talented, and now I consider myself a ONCE, which is what half this room is! I really hope this award will expose them to a wider U.S. audience.”
After the group took the stage to accept the honor, Chaeyoung held the award and was first to speak. “Receiving Breakthrough Artist at Billboard Women in Music is the most magical way to start our year,” she began. “Ever since we became TWICE, we believed in each other to always be together when taking a step toward our future. This moment is especially meaningful because all nine of us are standing here together in front of our fans who made our dreams come true. This title Breakthrough Artist proves that if you confidently push for your dream, people who support you will always be your team, you will break through.”
Added Tzuyu: “This accomplishment will forever motivate us to challenge ourselves to break more barriers.”
In an interview with Billboard ahead of the event, TWICE shared their thoughts on their rising global success despite language differences. “I think it’s the songs of ours that carry TWICE’s color rather than the language in which the song is sung,” Jihyo said at the time. “I don’t think the language is that relevant in carrying out TWICE’s [identity].”
Chaeyoung added that their songwriters know each of women’s personalities and strengths well, so are able to better craft tunes for the group. “They really express our personalities well, so I think that really establishes our style,” she shared. “That’s why it carries over different languages.”
And while they’ve now been named Billboard’s Breakthrough artist and have started making their way onto the Hot 100, TWICE is aiming high for the future. Said Chaeyoung to Billboard earlier: ““My personal goal going forward is to top the [Hot 100].”
After a night spent honoring some of this year’s most impactful female musicians, Lana Del Rey closed out the 2023 Billboard Women in Music list of awards recipients Wednesday (March 1) by accepting the night’s Visionary Award, well-earned after 14 years and nine genre-defining studio albums.
Last year’s Woman of the Year Olivia Rodrigo was on hand to present the 37-year-old singer-songwriter with the Visionary Award, with Lana mouthing “I love you so much” to the “Deja Vu” singer from her seat in the audience before taking the stage to deliver her acceptance speech.
“I can’t tell you how much it means that someone who wrote ‘Drivers License’ is standing next to me,” Lana said after Rodrigo handed her the award, before shouting out this year’s Woman of the Year: “SZA, from the minute I heard you, I knew I wanted to know you.”
“I don’t exactly have a long-term vision at all, but if you were curious, I am very, very happy,” Lana continued during the speech. “When I released my first album 14 years ago, the waters were not quite as warm. I’m really happy for everyone who feels like it’s a wonderful time in the culture to be themselves and express themselves. It didn’t feel that way in 2008.”
“I feel like being happy is the ultimate goal, so I did it,” she concluded. “Thank you, Billboard!”
After hitting a career high No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Snow On The Beach,” her Midnights collaboration with Taylor Swift, and donating a celestial original song to Euphoria’s Season 2 soundtrack, the indie pop auteur is now gearing up to release her next album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd — her fourth record in under four years — on March 24. The two singles to be released so far off the project, “A&W” and its title track, are peak Lana: ethereal, gloomy, jarring and, well, visionary.
“Eleven years ago I wanted it to be so good,” she told Billboard of the new album in her Women in Music interview. “Now, I just sing exactly what I’m thinking. I’m thinking a little less big and bombastic. Maybe at some point I can have fun creating a world again, but right now, I would say there’s no world building. This music is about thought processing. It’s very, very wordy. I’m definitely living from the neck up.”
King Stingray wins the 18th annual Australian Music Prize, with the indie-rock outfit’s self-titled debut LP.
When their name was announced Wednesday (March 1) during a ceremony in Sydney, the Stingers, as they’re affectionately known in these parts, collected the $30,000 ($21,000) champion’s check, courtesy of major sponsor Soundmerch.
The AMP, which recognizes the outstanding creative Australian album of the past year, is the latest accolade for a band very much on the rise.
Hailing from the Northern Territory, the Stingers are the reigning Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist winner at the 2022 ARIA Awards, and five tracks from the album impacted the triple j Hottest 100 countdown, making it one of the most successful Australian debuts in the poll’s history.
Also, the record led double j’s 50 best albums of 2022 list, and the group got a shout-out from prime minister Anthony Albanese, who chose album cut “Get Me Out” as his favorite song of the year.
Growing up in Yirrkala in north-east Arnhem Land, founding members Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu (frontman) and Roy Kellaway (guitar) formed King Stingray with friends Dimathaya Burarrwanga (rhythm guitar backing vocals and yidaki), Campbell Messer (bass) and Lewis Stiles (drums) in 2019. Last year, the group welcomed Yidaki-master Yimila Gurruwiwi into the fold.
King Stingray’s Kellaway and Burarrwanga accepted the AMP at the Oxford Art Factory in central Sydney.
“We’re so unbelievably stoked to have won the 18th AMP,” they said. “We had so much fun making this record and we just hope that listeners can hear the joy that we had making it, as well as feel the joy for themselves.”
The lads beat out a shortlist of albums by the likes of Sampa The Great, Julia Jacklin, and Tasman Keith.
“It really means the world to us to hear people enjoying the album,” the Stingers said, as they went on to thank their supporters and professional network.
A limited edition vinyl repress of King Stingray (via Cooking Vinyl/The Orchard) is due out March 24, and is sure to be a hot item.
The AMP is modeled on Britain’s Mercury Music Prize and Canada’s Polaris Prize, with a longlist of 490 eligible Australian albums individually reviewed this year by a panel of music experts.
Genesis Owusu’s lauded collection Smiling With No Teeth won the prize last time.
The shortlist of the 18th Soundmerch AMP:
1300 – Foreign Language
Body Type – Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising
Camp Cope – Running With The Hurricane
Julia Jacklin – Pre Pleasure
King Stingray – King Stingray –WINNER
Laura Jean – Amateurs
Party Dozen – The Real Work
Sampa The Great – As Above, So Below
Tasman Keith – A Colour Undone
From a Branson Police Department news release:
BRANSON, Mo – On February 28, 2023, at approximately 10:00 p.m., Branson officers located a known wanted subject at a gas station in the 1100 block of W. 76 Country Blvd. and made contact with the driver, who was alone in the vehicle with a dog.
After an initial investigation into the driver’s identity, it was determined that he was Randall Wesolek Jr., of Taney County. When officers instructed Wesolek to exit the car, a struggle ensued, a gun was produced and officers fired their weapons. The officers secured the scene and began performing life saving measures for Wesolek who died of his injuries on scene. His family has been notified. No officers were injured. Wesolek’s dog, a grey and white Pit Bull type breed, appeared to have been injured in the incident and ran off while the officers were securing the scene. Officers have not been able to locate the dog.
“This is a tragic situation and our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the involved persons and their families,” said Chief Schmitt. “We understand this incident will have long lasting impacts for all involved, as well as our community. Please remember that regardless of the circumstances of this incident, this community values human life. We should remember to give respect as we move forward. It is crucial that a thorough, fair and impartial investigation of this incident be completed. We will provide you information on how this process will proceed,” Chief Schmitt said.
One Sergeant and two patrol officers fired their weapons and all have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings. Police Chief Schmitt has formally requested the assistance of the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) to conduct a full investigation into this incident which is also standard operating procedure. MSHP immediately responded to the scene and assumed control of the investigation. After their investigation is complete, BPD will conduct its own internal investigation then provide the information to the community in a critical incident briefing about this incident and the results of the investigations.
The Branson Police Department would ask the community to be patient as the investigation unfolds as it will take some time. It would also like to thank all neighboring agencies that assisted including the Branson Fire Rescue and the Taney County Ambulance District (TCAD), and the Taney County Sheriff’s Office.
Blink-182‘s Latin American fan base will need to wait to see the band on its forthcoming world tour, as drummer Travis Barker required surgery after injuring his ring finger not once, but two separate times during rehearsals for the band’s reunion trek.
“This has been something we’ve been aiming to do for so long and we work so hard and we just kind of had one of those freak accidents that nobody saw coming,” lead singer Tom DeLonge shared in an Instagram video on Wednesday (March 1). “Travis needs to go in and have surgery on his finger and we have to get that well. We have to get that strong before we can do anything else. This is just so sad.
“These were the biggest shows we ever played,” DeLonge continued. “These are some of the most important places in the world for for a band this is like the pinnacle of our career was coming down and playing for you guys. So I really want you all to know, we are devastated and we plan to come back.”
Barker first revealed that his finger was injured on Feb. 8 via Twitter, telling fans, “I was playing the drums at rehearsals yesterday and I smashed my finger so hard I dislocated it and tore the ligaments.” Less than two weeks later, on Feb. 20, Barker shared an Instagram Story of his swollen and bruised knuckle, stating that he injured his finger “again.” By Feb. 27, Barker informed fans that the dual injury would require surgery the following day (Feb. 28).
Blink-182’s world tour marks the first the band has with original members Barker, Mark Hoppus and DeLonge since 2014. The Latin American leg of the tour, originally scheduled to kick off March 11 in Tijuana, Mexico, additionally featured stops in Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Bogotà, Lima and more.
See DeLonge’s video regarding the tour postponement below.
A U.S. congressman commemorated the start of Women’s History Month on Wednesday (March 1) by paying tribute to Beyoncé on the floor of the House of Representatives.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the end of Black History Month and the beginning of Women’s History Month by honoring an individual who represents both so well. She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she is now and forever the moment. I wanna celebrate none other than who I believe is the undisputed queen of pop and R&B: Beyoncé Knowles Carter,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, a freshman member of Congress from California.
He continued: “Now a few weeks ago, this brown-skinned girl out of H-town won her 32nd Grammy, giving her the most Grammy wins of all time. But Beyoncé is so much more than a performer and a singer. She’s a creator and an artist.”
Rep. Garcia then went on to quote lyrics from the superstar’s 2013 track “Yoncé” and cite his own experience seeing her perform with Destiny’s Child for the first time — a moment he said was “life-changing for me and the way I experience music.”
“Beyoncé’s also a role model for millions across the country,” he concluded. “She’s stood up for voting rights, for feminism, for women and girls, for my community — the LGBTQ+ community. For my generation and so many others, she simply is the greatest of all time. Her story is history.”
Last month, Queen Bey also took home multiple honors at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards, including outstanding female artist and outstanding soul/R&B song for “Cuff It.”
Watch Rep. Garcia’s passionate speech celebrating Beyoncé’s impact on history below.