Latest news with #BestoftheWest
USA Today
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Tim McGraw surprises with bold shaved head look: See the photos
Tim McGraw could stay cool this summer with a cowboy hat, but the singer has opted for a more drastic style measure. The country music icon, known for his signature look of form-fitting jeans, a T-shirt and his preferred black cowboy hat, is rocking a shaved head look, as seen in new photos. In one photo, McGraw, who's been back in the studio in Nashville, Tennessee, working on new music, is seated in the front seat of his vehicle while wearing a pair of green cargo trousers with a fitted burgundy tee, brown sunglasses and blue sneakers. 'I stand for what I stand for': Tim McGraw is firm in his beliefs and love of his family Aside from working on his next musical era, McGraw is also expected to return to the stage on Saturday, Aug. 2, with a headlining pregame concert at the MLB Speedway Classic in Bristol, Tennessee. Singers Pitbull and Jake Owen are also expected to perform at the event. The upcoming concert comes a month after McGraw was forced to pull out of his July 21 performance at the inaugural Best of the West bull riding and music festival in Fort Collins, Colorado, due to his recovery from recent back surgery. Country-rock band Cross Canadian Ragweed was tapped to be his replacement. "We're sending our very best to Tim for a quick recovery and hope to see him at a future PBR event," event organizer Professional Bull Riders said in a June 23 statement on Instagram. 'Happy freaking Pride': Tim McGraw's daughter Gracie McGraw comes out as queer Tim McGraw opens up about multiple back, knee surgeries During a May interview on "The Bobby Bones Show," McGraw, who last toured with the 2024 Standing Room Only Tour, opened up about how his touring activity was impacted by health issues with his back and knees, revealing he underwent three back surgeries and double knee replacements within a span of six to eight months. "I had a back surgery before tour last year, and that sort of went south on me at the beginning of the tour, and sort of compensating for that, my knees went out like three weeks into the tour," McGraw, 58, explained, adding that he was also forced to resign from his role in an untitled Netflix series. "So, I had to finish the tour with my knees completely gone and my back gone, and as soon as I got off tour, I went in and had the surgeries done," the singer continued. "I had my knee surgeries done, and then in the process of recovering from my knee surgeries, my back went out again and I had to have another back surgery." Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Sara DiNatale joins S.F. Chronicle to report on Trump's impact on the Bay Area
Sara DiNatale has joined the San Francisco Chronicle as a reporter on the politics team. In her new role, DiNatale will chronicle the ways in which the Trump administration is shaping life in the Bay Area, including impacts its policies and decisions are having on local governments, businesses, nonprofits, individuals and communities. She will report to Politics Editor Sara Libby. 'Sara has done incredible work examining the ways in which government systems are impacting people's day-to-day lives,' said Libby. 'As the Trump administration continues to target California's leaders and seeks to override policies it disagrees with, it's more important than ever to dig into the ways these tensions are playing out on the ground.' DiNatale has spent the last decade reporting on a mix of business and breaking news topics across the southern United States. She has worked for the Tampa Bay Times, Mississippi Today and, most recently, the San Antonio Express-News, which is also owned by Hearst, the Chronicle's parent company. DiNatale was the recipient of a 2024 George Polk Award for her investigation on the Texas residential solar industry as an energy reporter at the San Antonio Express-News. The four-part series led Texas to adopt new state laws and licensing requirements to regulate bad actors and door-to-door scammers. In addition to energy, she has reported extensively on labor, health care and retail. She got her start as a night cops reporter in Tampa after graduating from the University at Buffalo with an English degree in 2015. DiNatale's storytelling has spanned power tool theft-driven drug rings, Delta farmworkers fighting racist hiring practices and the complexities of Texas' troubled electric grid. Her reporting has been recognized by a series of state-level and national awards, including top honors from the Headliner Foundation, Best of the West and Bill Minor Prize for Investigative Reporting. She's a native of Western New York. 'I'm so excited to begin this next chapter of my career in the Bay Area,' DiNatale said. 'I look forward to being on the ground, meeting Californians and reporting how they see their lives changing under the Trump administration.' The San Francisco Chronicle ( is the largest newspaper in Northern California and the second largest on the West Coast. Acquired by Hearst in 2000, The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 by Charles and Michael de Young and has been awarded six Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence. Follow us on Twitter at @SFChronicle
Washington Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Lizzie Johnson named Ukraine Correspondent
We're happy to announce that Lizzie Johnson will become Ukraine correspondent, adding more powerhouse talent to our first-class team in Kyiv. A standout reporter and writer, Lizzie already knows her way around Ukraine and the momentous stories unfolding there. She has excelled during three long fill-in stints over the past 16 months, reporting on the war, its impact and on its leaders in riveting ways. Her most recent reporting trip produced, among other things, a wrenching portrait of a city in anguish after a Russian missile strike killed nine children on a playground. Lizzie joins International from The Post's narrative accountability team, which combines the rigor of investigative reporting with the power of narrative storytelling. She is a four-time finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists, including recognition of her work from Ukraine. She was previously a staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, where she covered City Hall before moving to the enterprise and investigative team, earning nods from the California News Publishers Association for Best Writing, Best Profile, Best Enterprise, Best Feature and Best Wildfire Feature. She won the Best of the West contest in longform feature writing in 2021 and was honored by the National Press Club with the President's Award in 2023. Her in-depth coverage of California's wildfire crisis — for which she attended and graduated from a professional firefighting academy — led to her first book, 'Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire." It won the 2022 Gold Medal for nonfiction in the California Book Awards contest and is being developed into a feature film starring America Ferrera and Matthew McConaughey, out this fall. Raised in a farming family in Nebraska, Lizzie is a graduate of the University of Missouri, with bachelor's degrees in journalism and political science. She is also something of an extreme athlete who backpacks, runs marathons and climbs mountains, including some of America's tallest peaks (including, just last week, Mount Hood). That adventuresome spirit will serve Lizzie well in Ukraine, where she joins a team led by bureau chief Siobhán O'Grady, Ukraine-based reporter David L. Stern and a talented and dedicated team of local reporters. Lizzie will start the new job on June 1; she and her husband will move to Kyiv this summer.
San Francisco Chronicle
30-04-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle wins top honors at Best of the West awards
The San Francisco Chronicle won some of the top awards at this year's Best of the West journalism awards, with judges recognizing the newsroom's visual storytelling and sharp commentary across several categories. The Best of the West competition draws hundreds of entries each year from newsrooms across the western U.S., and is judged by veteran journalists and editors from around the country. This year's field was especially competitive, with more than 800 entries across dozens of categories. The Chronicle earned top honors for ' Mass incarceration devastated S.F. Japantown. For the first time, we know how much,' which traced the consequences of the U.S. government's internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and showed, through data, visuals and interviews, how the forced removal still echoes through Japantown's modern housing patterns, economic disparities and community life. The piece — by culture critic Peter Hartlaub, data visualization developer Nami Sumida, photographer Lea Suzuki, illustrator John Blanchard and digital designer and developer Stephanie Zhu — won first place in both Social Justice Reporting and Online Presentation, with judges praising the immersive project as 'digital storytelling at its finest.' The judges lauded the Chronicle staff for its 'spectacular' use of historical census data and Japanese-language records, as well the digital presentation — which included archive and contemporary photography, animations, and a closing visual of a paper crane — calling it 'poetry, showing every little detail considered.' The Chronicle was also honored in commentary and business reporting. Editorial Page Editor Matthew Fleischer won first place for Editorial Writing for 'Endorsement: Breed is the safe choice for mayor. But if you think S.F. needs change, only one candidate fits. ' Judges called the piece thoughtful, persuasive and rich in reporting. They noted the editorial 'treats its readers as adults and makes a persuasive argument with context to spare.' Columnist Emily Hoeven took second place in General Interest Column Writing for a portfolio that dug into San Francisco's regulatory dysfunction, a dog attack on a public beach and an international custody dispute — stories that judges said were defined by their mix of investigative rigor and emotional clarity. And former Chronicle columnist Soleil Ho, known for blending cultural criticism with reporting, earned second place in Special Topic Column Writing for work exploring the challenges faced by San Francisco's restaurant industry, including the economics of tipping, and the unexpected environmental threat of invasive bullfrogs. The Chronicle's newsroom was also recognized for standout work in business journalism. Reporter Susie Neilson won third place in Business and Financial Reporting for her investigation into Stanford University's relationship with self-help mogul Tony Robbins, a story that pulled back the curtain on how academic prestige and personal branding can intersect in uncomfortable ways. Chronicle Editor-in-Chief Emilio Garcia-Ruiz said the awards highlight the power of local journalism done with ambition and care. 'These stories show the full range of what this newsroom can do — from dogged historical research to cutting-edge design to deeply personal, emotionally resonant storytelling,' he said. 'They're not just good journalism. They're journalism that serves the public and challenges the powerful.' The San Francisco Chronicle ( is the largest newspaper in Northern California and the second-largest on the West Coast. Acquired by Hearst in 2000, the San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 by Charles and Michael de Young and has been awarded six Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence. Follow us on Twitter at @SFChronicle.
The Citizen
21-04-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Noordheuwel crush Linden in showdown
The highly anticipated Best of the West match between rugby rivals Hoërskool Noordheuwel (Nories) and Hoërskool Linden was a game most supporters were fixated on. The match got off to a thrilling start, with both teams bringing the intensity, aiming to score their first try. However, the game took a dramatic turn when a player from Linden suffered a concussion and was taken to the hospital immediately. Despite this setback, the team showed their resilience and continued to push through, refusing to let their teammate's injury affect their performance. Nories' dominance on the field was evident with the final score being a jarring 52–3, while Linden's best efforts only managed to secure them a penalty. Our second team played against Noordheuwel's third team, which is about seven or eight divisions higher than us, so we were well aware of the competitiveness and physicality of the team. 'I strongly feel that this was a great chance for the boys to challenge their fears of playing against such strong teams and take them head-on, not just in the field but in life too. Congratulations to Noordheuwel on this epic win, and we appreciate the lessons learned today,' said Linden's coach Gerrie Scheepers. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
