Joey Feek says goodbye to Julie Zamboldi in final days of her cancer battle
UPDATE:
Joey Feek is ready to go home, according to husband Rory Feek. The ailing singer reportedly gathered her family and told them she loved them and that she would be going soon because "the flowers would soon be blooming back in Tennessee."
Joey is reportedly still alive but according to her husband Rory"s latest blog post, "...her body is shutting down quickly." He continued, "The hospice nurse came again this morning and said Joey will most-likely only be with us for a few more days... at the most."
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This Life I Live blog
Rory and Joey Feek spend Valentine"s Day in each other"s arms
Despite her ongoing battle with cancer, singer Joey Feek and husband Rory never run out of things to be happy about. After failing to snag the award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the Grammy Awards, Rory still has a lot to be thankful for.
"I"ve said before that just being nominated is enough. But after having more time to think about it... that"s not actually true.
"Instead, I would say that just being able to wake up and look into the eyes of the people we care about and tell them that we love them is enough," the Feek patriarch wrote on his blog This Life I Live.
"The truth is, G*d has blessed us with the gift of something even bigger than a Grammy award this year... perspective," Joey"s husband went on to say. And despite this, G*d never really falls short of surprises for the couple.
Just recently, it was revealed that the Feek couple"s final album "Hymns That Are Important to Us," went to the number one spot on Billboard"s country and contemporary Christian charts and number four on the top 200 chart.
When Rory congratulated Joey for the success, she respondedthat "this is G*d"s record." The couple is thankful for another blessing they got to experience together. The album is now available with a deluxe edition on sale on Cracker Barrel.
Meanwhile, Rory recountedtheir family trip to Hawaii last year to celebrate his birthday that time. As he reminisced the better days, Rory can"t believe "what a difference a year makes. The only thing that"s changed is everything. And nothing."
He shared on Facebook the clip from the trip showcasing the family having the best time of their life as they explored the wonders of Hawaii together. Upon watching the clip, fans suggested that perhaps Rory can bring his wife back there again.
Rory has stated that Joey"s health has been deteriorating. She, however, still finds the strength to prepare dinner from her bedand even grow a garden.
Alisan Porter, an actress best known for her portrayal of the titular moppet in 1991"s "Curly Sue" movie, has confirmed she auditioned for the upcoming season of "The Voice."
"In life you take risks, walk through fear, do the unthinkable. For what is life without living. I am a singer, that"s what I am and what I have always been. I"m letting the world know, I am ready. See what happens in 10 DAYS!!!!!!! #THISISTHEVOICE #SEASON10 #feb29 #THEVOICE," read her Instagram post.
A video of the audition shows the 34-year-old actress enjoying a standing ovation from show coaches Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Pharrell Williams after she performed a stunning rendition of "Blue Bayou."
"The Voice" returns for its 10th season Monday on NBC.
DISCUSS AND COMMENT ON THIS STORYReality TV World now offers Facebook Comments on our stories. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box.
Four students were hurt when gunfire erupted Monday morning in a school cafeteria in Madison, Ohio, authorities said.
According to the Butler County Sheriff"s Office, a 14-year-old boy shot two peers during lunchtime at Madison Junior/Senior High School, which serves 1,600 students in grades 7 through 12.
School officials described the students" injuries as non-life threatening and said they wereairlifted to a local hospital for treatment.A doctor at Miami Valley Hospital said the two boys, ages 13 and 14, will fully recover.
Two other students a 14-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy suffered shrapnel wounds or were hurt while trying to leave the building,NBC affiliate WLWT reports.
The suspected gunman was taken into custody and will be charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terroristic threats, according to the sheriff"s office.
"This is a tragic and horrific event that you hope never happens," Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones said in a statement Monday.
Officials said the school was on lockdown and students were dismissed just before noon.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican running for president, told reporters, "obviously it"s a tragedy," but added, "thank G*d no life was lost."
School and community relations coordinator AJ Huff said the school"s emergency training paid off Monday.
"It has been valuable for our teachers and administrators," Huff explained. "When I got the call, I immediately knew what to do, how to handle things, and students knew how to react."
Here"s a roundup of news trending across the nation and world today.
What to know now:
1. Its a super day: Tuesday will see 12 states hold primary elections as the largest voting day in the 2016 election cycle has arrived. By the end of Super Tuesday, Republicans will award about half of the 1,237 delegates needed to claim the GOP nomination. For Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders will be battling over more than 800 delegates. Click here to see an explainer on Super Tuesday.
2. Photographer slammed: A photographer for Time was grabbed by the neck and slammed to the ground by a Secret Service agent at a rally for Donald Trump in Virginia Monday. Chris Morris was thrown down by an agent after he stepped out of a press pen to take a photo of protestors at Trumps rally. The incident happened after a verbal altercation. Time said in a statement, they had contacted the Secret Service, and that Morris felt sorry for his part in the incident.
3. Last of the emails: On Monday, the State Department released 1,700 of Hillary Clintons emails the last of the 52,000 pages of emails off of a private server she kept in her New York home while she was secretary of state. The release Monday brought the total of emails deemed to have contained classified material to 2,080.
4. Hes headed home: Astronaut Scott Kelly is scheduled to return to Earth on Tuesday after spending 340 days in space a record for a U.S. astronaut. He and two Russian cosmonauts will land in Kazakhstan.
5. Andrews testifies: Sportscaster and Dancing with the Stars host Erin Andrews testified about how her life was in shambles after a man secretly shot n**e photos of her in a Tennessee hotel room then posted them on the internet. Andrews broke down in tears talking about the moment she first saw the photos online. "I grabbed my laptop and flipped it open and like you know your body, and I saw it for two seconds and was like "oh my G*d,"" she said. She is suing the man who shot the video and the owner and operator of the Marriott at Vanderbilt for $75 million.
And one more
Actor George Kennedy, who starred in such movies as The Eiger Sanction, Airport 1975, and the n***d Gun series, died Sunday in Idaho. Kennedy, who won an Oscar for his role in Cool Hand Luke, was 91.
In case you missed it
Heres something to do while waiting for votes to be counted.
(CN) - Since getting underway on Feb. 1, the day the Iowa caucuses were held, the 2016 race for the White House has been upending expectations and dominating the nation"s print, broadcast and electronic media.Four contests have been held so far, with the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, and the Nevada caucuses following Iowa in rapid succession.But for all the air time and ink devoted to the highly spirited Democratic and Republican contests, a mere smidgen of the total delegations needed to secure the parties" respective presidential nominations have been fought over.That ends tomorrow -- Super Tuesday -- when a total 878 delegates will be on the line, about a quarter of the total needed to secure the ultimate prize.Both the Republicans and the Democrats will holding primaries in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia.In addition, both parties will be holding caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota.Republicans will also be holding caucuses in Alaska and Wyoming, while the Democrats will hold a caucus in American Samoa.In the Republican race, Donald Trump is still generally polling far ahead of his nearest competitors, Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.According to Real Clear Politics, which monitors to numerous in-state polls, Trump leads his competition by an average 14.5 percent in Virginia; 14.4 percent in Georgia; 27.5 percent in Massachusetts; 8.6 percent in Oklahoma; and 17.7 percent in Alabama.Trump also holds the lead in polls in Tennessee, Vermont and Alaska.Rubio is a slight favorite in one poll in Minnesota, and Cruz holds a small lead in an Arkansas poll.As might be expected, it is in Texas, the state with the most delegates in play, and the home state to Cruz, that the most is at stake.Cruz, an incumbent senator and the state"s former solicitor general, is still ahead of the billionaire real estate developer in the polls on his home turf, but Trump has been closing dramatically in recent days, and it could be a dead heat by the time the polls open Tuesday morning.Two weeks ago, Cruz led Trump by double digits. The average of the latest polls, as reported by Real Clear Politics, have the senator with a lead of just 9.6 percent.All of the polls have an average margin of error of plus-or-minus three percent.As for the Democrats, after her landslide victory in South Carolina of Saturday, a victory that inspired her opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, to admit, "we were decimated," Hillary Clinton is widely expected to sweep the Southeast.In fact, so dominate is Clinton in the polls that the Sanders campaign has reportedly pulled nearly all of its television advertising in the region and reallocated its assets to states where he is considered more competitive.Sanders best chances for victories Tuesday are in Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Vermont, where slightly less than 300 delegates are in play.Clinton, who is banking on strong support from black voters, as she did in South Carolina, is seen to have an overwhelming advantage in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Those states represent a total of 578 delegates.It"s important to note, however, that none of those states are winner-tales-all. Both candidates will walk away with some delegates from each and every contest, assuming they reach a threshold of 15 percent of votes cast.Still, if the vote goes as projected, Sanders will need to rebound with decisive wins in the primaries to be held between Super Tuesday and the end of the month.These include contests in Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan and Pennsylvania.So what"s the temperature on the ground in the battleground states?Michael Joyce of the Texas Republican Party said the GOP is expecting a record turnout among their constituents on Tuesday.Although he declined to offer an assessment on how the respective candidates are doing in the Lone Star, explaining the party hadn"t done much in the way of internal polling, Joyce did say the party believes in Cruz."What I can tell you is [Texas GOP] chairman Tom Mechler believes that while anything is always possible, you should never underestimate Ted Cruz in Texas," Joyce said.He added, "There"s a lot of excitement around the race this year."In neighboring Oklahoma, Sarah Baker of the state Democratic Party, said as of Friday polls showed Clinton in the lead, but Sanders close behind and rising.In fact, a Monmouth University poll released Monday suggests Sanders has now pulled ahead in Oklahoma and now leads Clinton by five percent.There are 40 delegates in play in Oklahoma and three alternates.The 40 delegates include two undecided super delegates (the party"s chairman and a Democratic national committeeman) and two other super delegates (the party"s vice chair and a Democratic national committeewoman), who have come out in support of Sanders and Clinton, respectively.In Oklahoma, delegate allotments are determined based on the candidates" performance in each of the state"s five congressional district (for a total of 25 delegates); five "party leader or elected official" (PLEO) delegates that are divided based on statewide performance; and eight at-large delegates that are also divided based on statewide performance.While turnout on election day is always hard to guess, as of last week, Baker said, "it looks like we have a major surge in absentee ballot returns, even more than in 2008."A total of 3,451 absentee ballots had been returned by Democrats, while 143 had been returned by Independent voters.In 2008, Democrats returned 2,980 absentee ballots for the primary in total, "so even six days out, we"ve exceeded that," Baker said."We anticipate that Super Tuesday will have a larger turnout than 2012 and possibly even 2008," she said. "There"s an energy among younger voters in Oklahoma for both Sanders and Clinton, and we hope to see a spike in younger participation this year; but we"re just going to have to wait and see how that truly works out."That said, Baker conceded that "regular folks are split" over the primary election."Some are really excited, more than usual, and some are just ready for it all to be over," she said. "Everyone"s usually tired of all the political ads pretty quickly in general anyway, but with Oklahoma becoming a pseudo battleground state for both the Republicans and the Democrats, there"s just so much more of it this time."Republicans are fighting for the "endorsement" of Oklahoma to prove that they"re the most conservative and Democrats are fighting for the right to say they appeal to a bigger base than the "liberal elite,"" she said.Where things have been different among the so-called "regular" folks of Oklahoma is in their attendance of political rallies."The rallies that have happened in Oklahoma City are more and more made up of "regular" folks than political people," Baker said. "Granted there"s plenty of the political people who"ve been involved in years, but even in December when Hillary was in Tulsa there were a ton of new people that haven"t been plugged in before."We"re seeing a lot of that through the Sanders campaign as well," Baker said.But it"s not just the presidential election that"s motivating Oklahoma Democrats this year.Baker said part of the surge new participation can be attributed to a response to "all of the shenanigans that Oklahoma Republicans have been dishing out over the past few years.""We have budget failures, an implosion of the energy industry, earthquakes attributed to fracking ... refusal to accept the Medicaid expansion," she said. "Just today it was announced that the House leadership -- the Oklahoma legislature has a Republican supermajority -- is refusing to hear any bills authorized by Democrats on the House floor.""So Democrats in Oklahoma are more energized than they"ve been in a while, and we expect to see a shift in participation this year, not just for the Presidential election but for local and state elections as well," Baker said.Rachel Boyer, communications director for the Minnesota Democratic, Farmer and Labor Party, said she"s seeing a similar surge of excitement in her state, where 93 delegates and six alternates will be in play at the party"s caucus.Of that total, 50 delegates were elected at their Congressional District conventions and will be bound by the caucus results in their respective congressional district.Another 27 that were elected at the party"s state convention will be bound to support either Clinton or Sanders based on caucus results statewide.Boyer said though Minnesotans typically get excited about a big president contest and enjoy participating "in the resolution process," this year that appear to be even more engaged than usual."We expect turn out around 175,000 or higher," she said of Tuesday. "Each rally that"s been held in the state has seen a high turn-out, and our annual dinner, which featured both Secretary Clinton and Sen. Sanders, saw record attendance -- over 4,000 people."Katie Boyd, of the Minnesota Republican Party, gave a similar account of the race in the state for the Republican presidential nomination.""Regular folks are excited, energized," she said."This is the first time in several years that our presidential preference poll is binding, so every vote matters," Boyd said.As far back as November, when then-candidate Sen. Rand Paul visited the state, rallies held by the Republican candidates have drawn thousands of attendees, she said.Republicans are competing for 38 delegates, which will be allotted based on congressional district and statewide poll results."Twenty-four will be elected by congressional district -- three delegates each -- and bound according to their respective results, and 14 will be selected at the state convention and bound according to the statewide results," Boyd said.An interesting wrinkle in Minnesota is that Republican rules don"t allow for voting by absentee ballot. "Delegates can be nominated in absentia, via a written letter, but a vote must be cast in person," Boyd said.Returning to the subject of how keyed in people are to the election, Boyd said, "We are hearing from a lot of people who haven"t participated in caucuses in previous years.""It"s fantastic," she said.Another of the key races to watch on Tuesday night will be in Tennessee where 75 delegates are in play.Of these, 44 are district-level delegates, nine are unpledged "party leader or elected official" (PLEO) delegates, nine are pledged PLEO delegates, and 14 at-large delegates.However, one PLEO delegate is unable to participate in this year"s primary. Thus bringing the total to 75, said Sandra Seplveda of the Tennessee Democratic Party.Delegates are divided up proportionately based on the percentage of the primary vote won in that district by each candidate. Tennessee it yet another of the state in which candidates falling below a 15 percent will not be awarded any delegates or alternates.But that not expected to be an issue, Seplveda said."Whether they "Feel the Bern" or "Stand with Hillary," Democrats in Tennessee are more excited than they"ve been in years for these two qualified and exceptional candidates," she said."The two campaigns have been doing a wonderful job bringing out Democrats from all over the state," she said.Christina Amestoy, a spokeswoman for the Vermont Democratic Party, said according to the latest poll conducted by Vermont Public Radio and the Castleton Polling Institute, Sanders, the home state favorite, leads Clinton, 83.1 percent to 9 percent.Undecided voters make up 12.1 percent of those likely to head to the polls on Tuesday, and the remainder pledged their support to other, locally known candidates."The fact that Bernie is doing so well in Vermont is not a surprise - he has a strong home field advantage here," Amestoy said. "He has a very strong base of supporters from his time in office and generated a lot of excitement with his presidential bid."That being said," she continued, "the Clinton campaign does have a Vermont operation and has been out knocking on doors and distributing material. Clinton"s campaign will be making a strong push to try and ensure she reaches that 15 percent threshold."In the Republican race, Donald Trump has a commanding 2-1 in lead in the polls to his closest competitor, Sen. Marco Rubio. in the polls, Ted Cruz is third, with Kasich close behind him. Dr. Ben Carson is a distant fifth.Vermont has 26 delegates in total, 16 of which are ledged delegates, and 10 others that are unpledged or "super delegates." It is the 16 pledged delegates that up for grabs Tuesday night.In Vermont there are three categories of pledged delegates.The first is "district-level delegates." Vermont has 11 district level delegates. These delegates are allocated based on percentage of the vote that the candidate receives.The following five are divided among "party leader or elected official" (PLEO) delegates, and "at-large" delegates. These remaining five spots are elected by the 11 district-level delegates based on their pledged support so will go to the candidate who won the majority on Super Tuesday.Amestoy said absentee balloting has been vigorous in the state, as it was in 2008, the last time there was a contested Democratic race.According to the state board of elections, as of Friday, 15,200 Democratic absentee ballots had been collected, as had about 6,500 Republican ballots."Sanders" presence in the race is really helping to drive excitement," Amestoy said. "I think that Vermont is a very politically engaged state. We saw a lot of excitement around the 2008 elections and we"re seeing that same sort of engagement this time around. I think voters are really excited to turn out and have the chance to vote for a Vermonter."
GOTHAM | Tribulations from "Wrath of the Villains: Mr. Freeze"
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Get prepped for Monday night"s return episode. By Eric Goldman
IGN has the exclusive debut of the complete Gotham Stories, the new motion comic from FOX, Warner Bros. TV and DC Entertainment that bridges the first and second halves of Gotham: Season 2.
If you"ve missed the previous installments, you"ll see the entire story here, as new player in town Mr. Freeze confronts Penguin, leading Oswald to turn to an unlikely place for help. Check out how the tale ends, leading into Monday night"s Gotham midseason premiere.
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We want to hear it.
The storyline for Gotham Stories was outlined by Gotham Producer/Writer Rebecca Cutter and Senior Writer/Producer, FOX On-Air Promo Creative, Bart Montgomery, with a script by Tony Bedard and artwork by Matt Haley. The series is produced by VP, FOX On-Air Promo Creative, Julio Cabral.
Gotham cast members Robin Lord Taylor (Penguin), Camren Bicondova (Cat), Nathan Darrow (Victor Fries), Ben McKenzie (Jim Gordon) and Donal Logue (Harvey Bullock) all lend their voices to Gotham Stories.
DC will also be creating a custom cover for a special collector print edition of the complete Gotham Stories.
Gotham returns with new episodes Monday, February 29th at 8:00pm ET/PT on FOX.
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheEricGoldman, IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at Facebook.com/TheEricGoldman.
Plus-size? More Like My Size | Ashley Graham | TEDxBerkleeValencia
Ashley Graham wasn"t about to let Cheryl Tiegs" comments keep her from rocking the Oscar red carpet.
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl stunned in a revealing red dress at the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday night, just a few days after Tiegs apologized for calling the size 14-16 model "unhealthy."
Getty Images
WATCH: Cheryl Tiegs Blasts "Sports Illustrated" for Putting Ashley Graham on Swimsuit Cover: "Glamorizing" Full-Figured Women Is Not Healthy
"I don"t like that we"re talking about full-figured women because it"s glamorizing them because your waist should be smaller than 35 [inches]. That"s what Dr. Oz said, and I"m sticking to it," the 68-year-old former cover girl told E! News last week. "Her face is beautiful. But I don"t think it"s healthy in the long run."
After receiving backlash for her comments, Tiegs took to Twitter on Friday to offer "my sincere apologies to everyone I have hurt."
"I truly just want everyone to be healthy & happy," she added.
WATCH: "Sports Illustrated" Redefines Beauty by Naming Ashley Graham an Official Swimsuit Model
Graham hasn"t responded to the comments, but certainly seemed happy as she posed for pics in her stunning custom Bao Tranchi dress. On Monday morning, the 28-year-old model recapped her glam night on Twitter.
"Bao Tranchi custom dress last night had me feeling like I was wearing a piece of art!" she wrote, adding the hashtag "#beautybeyondsize."
WATCH: Ashley Graham Shows Off Sexy Pink Lingerie for "Love" Magazine"s Advent Calendar
Graham opened up to ET last August about the stigmas that come with being referred to as a "plus-sized" model.
"The things that I don"t necessarily like about it is all the negative stigmatisms that go with the word plus size -- you"re fat, you"re lazy, you have no drive, no determination, you"re constantly eating," she explained. "Honey, I work out. I work out three days a week. I lift. I do barre. I do it all. It"s the stereotypes. That"s what I really don"t like. I am me. Take it or leave it."
See more from the interview in the video below.
WATCH: Model Ashley Graham Isn"t a Fan of the Term "Plus Size": "I Am Me, Take It or Leave It"
