Shania Twainhas joined with cat conservation organization Panthera to launch Project Pardus, a worldwide effort to highlight the plight of and to protect leopards in the wild. “The image and spirit of the leopard is an inspiration to millions around the world, including myself,” says Twain. “That it is also the most oppressed of the big cats is almost unknown. I feel privileged to give back to a creature that depends for its future on what we do now to save it, and I urge the wider world to join Panthera and me in this mission.” More here.

 

 

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SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – It was once a criminal case. Now, it’s a civil matter. Country singer Billy Currington is being sued by a Georgia tour boat captain who pressed criminal charges against him last year. Currington was sentenced to five years’ probation in September after pleading no contest to a charge of abuse of an elderly person. Prosecutors say he chased and threatened 70-year-old Charles Harvey Ferrelle after his boat passed Currington’s home on Tybee Island. The Savannah Morning News reports Ferrelle filed a lawsuit saying Currington mocked and libeled him on a fan Web site two days before his plea.

 

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Authorities in North Carolina have arrested a suspect in a home invasion against “American Idol” winner Scotty McCreery and his friends. Police say Mikkail Jamal Shaw, 19, is charged with armed robbery and conspiracy after he turned himself in on Tuesday night. Police are looking for other suspects in the case. Officers were called to an apartment about a mile from North Carolina State University early Monday. McCreery – a sophomore at the school – was visiting friends when three armed men broke in and took wallets, cash and electronics. No one was hurt. McCreery won Idol in 2011.

 

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Police say country music singer Scotty McCreery was the victim of an early morning home invasion near the campus of North Carolina State University, where he is a student.

Raleigh Police spokesman Jim Sughrue says officers were called shortly before 2 a.m. Monday to an apartment about a mile from campus. Three suspects armed with guns are reported to have taken wallets, cash and electronic items.

Police say the 20-year-old McCreery was among the victims. No one was injured.

A native of nearby Garner, McCreery won TV’s “American Idol” in 2011 and was named best new artist at the Academy of Country Music Awards the next year. In addition to being a recording star and a pitchman for Bojangles’ Chicken ‘n Biscuits, McCreery is wrapping up his sophomore year of college.

 

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Brantley Gilbert is partnering with Harley-Davidson and Folds Of Honor for a motorcycle ride from Athens, GA to Arlington, VA May 21-26. Gilbert will perform at several locations, concluding with a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. A bus accompanying him will be wrapped with graphics featuring names fans submitted of those who gave their lives in military service. Gilbert’s new album Just As I Am is out May 19. More here.

 

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Toby Keith is offering fans the chance to have “Drinks After Work” with him at one of his I Love This Bar & Grill locations. The sweepstakes runs through Aug. 31 and fans over 21 can enter daily here. Five grand prize winners will be announced Sept. 12.

 

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UNDATED (AP) – Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry says he’s had an interesting last few days. He tweets he married his girlfriend, Jennifer Belcher. He also says he got hit by a tornado. He posted a photo of what looks like debris and part of a roof in a patch of mud.

 

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NEW YORK (AP) – Mariah Carey will kick off the “Today” show’s concert series. She will play on the May 16 show. The concerts run every Friday through the summer. Other performers include Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Pharrell Williams, Sara Bareilles , Train, Fall Out Boy, Ed Sheeran, Jason Mraz, Jennifer Hudson, Aloe Blacc, Neon Trees, Maroon 5 and Usher.

 

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Alan Jackson has recorded the title track for the soundtrack to the upcoming movie A Million Ways to Die in the West. Writer, director, producer and co-star Seth McFarlane co-wrote the song and personally approached Jackson to cut it. The album drops May 27 and the film opens May 30. The song is available here.

 

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Clay Walker will perform at the OTHER horse race going on in Louisville, Kentucky, this weekend. He will sing the national anthem at the Kentucky Oaks on Friday. The race is held on the day before the Kentucky Derby every year. Walker will also sing the anthem before the Iroquois Steeplechase on May 10 in Nashville.

 

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NASHVILLE (AP) – Crystal Gayle’s custom white microphone with her name engraved in gold and the Grammy she won for “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” will be part of an exhibit about her at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The exhibit will also feature the Barbie doll based on Gayle that commemorated her 1984 flight aboard an F-16 fighter, the flight suit and boots she wore for the flight and a hand-stitched valentine she made for her mother in third grade. The exhibit opens on Friday. Gayle will participate in a museum program on Saturday.

 

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jo Dee Messina will sing the national anthem for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. She is only the sixth performer of the anthem at the derby. Messina calls it an “experience of a lifetime.”

 

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