The firing is just the latest of more than a dozen firings of top generals and admirals by Hegseth since he took office last year.
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Hegseth asks the Army's top uniformed officer, 2 other generals to step down amid war with Iran
The 8 Best Lyrics on Charley Crockett’s ‘Age of the Ram’
Outlaw story songs are a major subgenre of country music history, and you see a fair bit of reverence for those songs today. But modern-day artists just don’t write ’em like “El Paso” or “Pancho and Lefty” anymore.
Except for Charley Crockett, that is.
Crockett’s new album Age of the Ram, which concludes his Sagebrush Trilogy, opens like an old Western. You think we’re exaggerating? Roll the tape. Projector whirs and an “And now, for our feature presentation” message starts off the album.
Read More: 30 Songs That Define the Outlaw Country Movement
Creative sound choices boost the album’s themes throughout. Chugging freight trains, background bar noise and gun shots punctuate the project. Then there’s the musical decisions: Several mini-song interludes, time signature changes aplenty, and is that a nod to the 1961 Beatles’ hit “With a Little Help From My Friends” on the recurrent “Rancher Deluxe” motifs?
All in all, it’s a pretty avant-garde way to approach an age-old country concept: The life and death of an outlaw.
Most of the album exists in the space where the outlaw, a man name Billy McLane who’s on the run from cops and bounty hunters, is waiting for the other shoe to drop. You’ll find songs about being on the run, about escapism and good times, and about the outlaw growing weary and ready to accept his fate.
“Lord, I’m just a country boy with my hands upon the wheel / Of a tired Oldsmobile,” Crockett sings in the particularly plaintive “Diamond Belle (Country Boy).” “Still they’re coming after me / I think they’re just surprised / That I stand up for my rights.”
Nobody who’s been following Crockett’s career should be surprised by the specificity and nuance he uses to describe the outlaw life. A South Texas native who’s had his fair share of legal run-ins (he incurred a felony conviction for marijuana possession in 2016), the singer also is an established outlaw in terms of challenging the genre’s status quo.
Read More: Charley Crockett Takes Aim at Trump + Maybe Jelly Roll Too
The romanticism of Western movies abounds on Age of the Ram, but so do tougher realities.
Most poignant of those is the grief that Crockett’s outlaw allows himself to feel over the life (lives?) he has snuffed out. In “I Shot Jesse James,” a retelling of the story of American outlaw Jesse James’ murder and betrayal by the Ford brothers, Crockett sings from the perspective of Robert Ford, imagining Robert taking accountability for his action.
“I shot Jesse James but it didn’t do me any good / If I could take it back boys, don’t you think I would?” he sings in one lyric, adding in another, “I shot Jesse James and we ended up the same.”
Read More: Who is Charley Crockett?
It’s the kind of outlaw story that looms large in country music, though many of today’s would-be outlaws have forgotten the crucial part of the story where the outlaw appreciates the magnitude of what he’s done.
Imagine if Johnny Cash had combined the freewheeling bravado of shooting “A man in Reno just to watch him die” (in “Folsom Prison Blues”) with the all-consuming guilt and sorrow of his late-career murderer’s retrospective, “I Hung My Head.” Crockett captures the spirit of the outlaw narrative, but doesn’t ignore the bleak repercussions of doing terrible harm.
Keep scrolling for some of the hardest-hitting lyrics on Crockett’s new album, Age of the Ram.
No. 1: “Lonesome Dove”
The Lyric: “Everybody’s chasing that glory / Lord, it’s the same old story / But I got all my money down on you.”
“Lonesome Dove” is a rambler’s love song for the one he’s missing back home, and the lyrics in the chorus — “It’s a Coke and Pepsi world / They can have the whole thing, girl / Long as I know your love is true” — is a little saccharine, if very catchy. Our favorite line is the one that shrugs off the grind of industry and commercialism in favor of a love that’ll outlast any fleeting success.
No. 2: “My Last Drink of Wine”
The Lyric: “All of us here, we were made to die / While watching the world go by“
This song’s one of a few on Age of the Ram where the outlaw is clinging tight to freedom and good times — while he still has them. Tomorrow isn’t promised, so drink up tonight.
No. 3: “Fastest Gun Alive”
The Lyric: “I’ve been wanted / All of my life / I can’t change these things I’ve done / Please forgive my / Tears in the sun“
Crockett is in conversation with the natural beauty of the rural West throughout this album, and “Fastest Gun Alive” feels like an outlaw’s rest stop in the arms of the landscape that raised him. It’s a chance to be vulnerable, and to reflect on some of his life’s darker moments.
No. 4: “Diamond Belle (Country Boy)”
The Lyric: “Lord I’m just a country boy / With my hands upon the wheel / Of a tired Oldsmobile / Still they’re coming after me / I think they’re just surprised / That I stand up for my rights.”
There’s a lot going on in this road-weary song where Crockett sings about giving up the chase with the lawmen close behind him. Its lyrics speak not just to the outlaw experience, but for the plight of working-class people who are constantly undermined and beleaguered by unjust societal systems that don’t expect them to know, or exercise, their rights as Americans.
No. 5: “I Shot Jesse James”
The Lyric: “I shot Jesse James / And I could not see the cost / If I’m being honest / I thought I’d hear applause.”
This re-telling of the story of American outlaw Jesse James doesn’t fall prey to too much over-romanticization. The reality of taking another person’s life never matches up to any heroic Western fantasy.
No. 6: “Billy McLane”
The Lyric: “He spent a lot of time thinking about Jesus / And all the trials they put him through / Some people like to tell you to live more like Him / And then get mad when you do“
The titular outlaw in this song is the narrator through Age of the Ram, but this song is more overtly biographical than most of the rest of the tracks. While he’s hiding out in the mountains, McLane has plenty of time to contemplate the big stuff. A southern Texas outlaw might not have much in common with Jesus on the surface, but his outsider status gives him sharp perspective on the subject.
No. 7: “Powder River”
The Lyric: “You know an outlaw gets made / Can’t be born like this / Life made me that way“
It’s a stark observation on how a person finds their way to the margins of life.
No. 8: “Cover My Trail Tonight”
The Lyric: “I’ve heard ’em talk of paradise / But I’ve only known a pair of dice / I’ll throw ’em down in the afterlife again.”
Clever rhyme of “paradise” and “pair of dice” aside, the final track on Age of the Ram is a chilling conclusion to the outlaw’s story, and what might lie in store for him after he’s through with this life.
The Top 10 Charley Crockett Songs Every New Fan Should Hear
To a sub-sect of alt-country fans, Crockett is one of the biggest names in the business. The Texas-born crooner is one of the genre’s most authentic cowboy stars, and he’s won multiple awards in the Americana format. But to mainstream listeners and terrestrial radio, Crockett’s music is still uncharted territory. Keep scrolling for a primer on the best Charley Crockett songs for a new fan.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
This Oil Shock Is So Big It Is Fueling a Turnaround in Energy Stocks
Wall Street is bracing for a longer-term disruption from the war with Iran, and loading up on shares of oil-and-gas producers that have lagged behind in recent years.
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2026 Final Four TV schedule: Where to watch March Madness, NCAA Tournament announcers
The 2026 NCAA Tournament is officially down to a Final Four. With 64 teams eliminated and only three games remaining in March Madness, there is no rest for the weary this time of year — even though all four remaining programs will get six days off before competition continues Saturday in Indianapolis.
The final three games of the 2025-26 college basketball season will be televised across TBS, truTV, though fans will be able to keep up with the action no matter how they choose to watch or follow the games.
On the call for the NCAA Tournament this season have been several notable voices, but taking you the rest of the way is Ian Eagle, returning for the third straight year as lead play-by-play announcer and the voice of the Final Four alongside Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and reporter Tracy Wolfson. Gene Steratore will serve as rules analyst.
Ernie Johnson returns to host studio coverage for the Final Four alongside studio analysts Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith and Bruce Pearl.
CBS and TBS led the way, each set to televise 21 games each when the NCAA Tournament began. In addition to the March Madness Live app, where you can watch every game, HBO Max subscribers can catch the remaining games airing on TBS.
From the Selection Show all the way until the playing of “One Shining Moment” after a champion is crowned, CBS Sports and TNT Sports are committed to bringing you the magic.
Let’s take a look at the remaining schedule for the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
2026 NCAA Tournament schedule, dates
Final Four
Saturday, April 4
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
National Championship
Monday, April 6 — 8:50 p.m. (TBS)
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
Pope Leo marks first Easter of papacy
Pope Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, is celebrating the first Easter of his papacy by blending tradition while being outspoken on global issues. Chris Livesay reports.
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Motorcycle crash closes lanes of I-40 in Albuquerque
Several lanes of I-40 in Albuquerque have reopened following a motorcycle crash.The crash happened around 4 a.m. Friday, April 3 on westbound I-40 just west of Louisiana Boulevard. No information about the crash has been released by police.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
Several lanes of I-40 in Albuquerque have reopened following a motorcycle crash.
The crash happened around 4 a.m. Friday, April 3 on westbound I-40 just west of Louisiana Boulevard.
No information about the crash has been released by police.
Red Lobster Eyeing a Return of Endless Shrimp Promotion
They say if you fall off the horse to get right back on again, and that seems to be what Red Lobster is eyeing. The chain is reportedly looking to revive the promotion that once accelerated its financial troubles.
According to Fox Business, there are rumors swirling around that endless shrimp might be an option that is back on the table for the restaurant chain as it tries to stay afloat.
The all-you-can-eat deal could come back as a limited-time offer as soon as April, Bloomberg reported.
A Red Lobster spokesperson told Fox Business the company doesn’t have “anything to announce at this time,” but emphasized that the promotion remains a longtime customer favorite and that the company is closely monitoring guest feedback.
“We’re grateful for the enthusiasm and encourage guests to keep sharing their feedback with us. We’re listening.”
Why Did the Endless Shrimp Promotion at Red Lobster Fail?
In short, because America. We love to eat in our country, and we also love a deal. In one case, a diner claimed to have eaten 108 shrimp in a single four-hour sitting.
Red Lobster simply underestimated just how much shrimp their patrons could eat at a sitting when offered an unlimited amount, and they lost around $11 million per quarter on that promotion.
That contributed to the chain filing for bankruptcy in 2024.
Red Lobster’s New CEO Has a Plan
Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun — the former P.F. Chang’s chief who took over in August of 2024 — says they are exploring all options to help revive the brand, which most Americans grew up with in some form.
He explained that it won’t be easy though, telling the Wall Street Journal, “There’s a lot of positive signs, but we inherited a very damaged brand, so there’s still work to do to repair all of that.”
Country Stars With Their Own Bars + Restaurants
Of all of the side hustles country artists could partake in, opening a bar or restaurant is the most fitting — and very common. After all, many of these stars got their start on a barstool, tip jar nearby, playing their music for anyone who would listen.
These places feel like home for many of these singers. Over the years, several artists have gotten into the bar or restaurant game, and for a select few, brands have turned into franchises with several locations and/or concepts — we’re looking at you, Jimmy Buffett!
Let’s take a look at the country star food and entertainment venues that have opened over the years.
Gallery Credit: Jess
17 Country Songs That Describe Heaven Perfectly
The best country songs about Heaven try to describe what life after death looks like. Often these songs are written from the perspective of someone in Heaven.
Sometimes, a country singer finds him or herself singing to someone in Heaven, imagining who’s there and what privileges they enjoy.
These are the best country songs about Heaven. They’re not ranked. Instead, they’re organized by perspective.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
United to Roll Out Tiered Premium Fare Structure
United Airlines is rolling out a new tiered fare structure in its premium cabins, as carriers increasingly lean on higher-end seating to drive revenue.
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Ranking top 2026 WNBA free agents: MVPs to rotation players
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Alexa Philippou
Multiple Authors
An unprecedented time in the WNBA is upon us. Over the next few weeks, the league will finally hold free agency for 100-plus players. Yes, you read that right: 100-plus. Free agency was put on hold while the league and Women’s National Basketball Players Association negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified by both sides in March.
Knowing that a huge payday could be on its way in 2026, all but two of the league’s veteran players agreed to contracts that would expire following the 2025 season — which means more than 80% of the league currently is not signed to a team.
That said, two major players are already off the board: New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart announced on her podcast this week that she’ll be returning to Brooklyn, and teammate Sabrina Ionescu told reporters Wednesday at USA Basketball camp in Phoenix that she’ll also be re-signing with New York.
The official timetable for free agency has yet to be announced nor shared with teams, sources told ESPN, as the long-form version of the CBA gets completed. A late February memo shared with front offices proposed that free agency could begin April 7 with formal signings starting April 12 if a deal was completed by March 10. But the terms of the new CBA were verbally agreed to March 18, and those dates were thought to be fluid.
Another factor at play is Friday’s two-team expansion draft (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire. Each of the league’s preexisting teams can protect only five players, and Toronto and Portland can each pick only one player who is set to become an unrestricted free agent. That can include a player who is no longer core eligible, but the only benefit the expansion team would have in picking such a player would be that it can offer them a supermax salary.
With training camp still expected to begin on time April 19, this will be the most consolidated free agency period the league has ever seen — and with a $7 million salary cap in 2026, the most lucrative, as well.
ESPN ranked the top 55 free agents into tiers and broke down what factors could be at play as they make decisions this month. The players listed below are unrestricted free agents unless otherwise noted.
MVP-caliber
Napheesa Collier
Alyssa Thomas
A’ja Wilson
It is almost unheard of to see the league’s perennial MVP candidates all hit free agency at the same time. But the likelihood of these stars actually seeking new homes seems minimal. Aside from Stewart’s announcement, the Las Vegas Review Journal has reported that Wilson intends to re-sign with the Las Vegas Aces at the new $1.4 million supermax for 2026 as soon as possible. Collier and Thomas, meanwhile, seem content with the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury, respectively.
What’ll be worth monitoring are the terms of their eventual deals: Will they end up on long-term contracts, and will they join Wilson in taking the supermax? The supermax constitutes 20% of the salary cap (up from 16.5% in the prior CBA), but historically some stars have been willing to take less than that amount in an effort to sign deals that help their squads sign more talent around them.
All-WNBA level
Kahleah Copper
Allisha Gray
Chelsea Gray
Jonquel Jones
Kelsey Mitchell
Nneka Ogwumike
Kelsey Plum
Jackie Young
This group consists of players who could be prime candidates to be cored by their teams, which is the WNBA’s version of the NFL’s franchise tag. The core rules don’t change in the new CBA until 2027; the most recent rules stipulated that players who have played two seasons while under the core designation cannot be cored again, meaning, of the aforementioned players, Copper, Jones, Ogwumike and Stewart are all ineligible for the designation.
Ionescu indicated that New York’s nucleus — which also features Jones — will remain intact. All eyes will be on whether Las Vegas can also retain its big three of Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Young. Young would be a no-brainer for teams to poach from Las Vegas if she wants to follow in the example of Plum and become a team’s centerpiece.
Caitlin Clark and the Fever, meanwhile, have made it abundantly clear since the season ended that priority No. 1 is to re-sign Mitchell. When Plum was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks last offseason, both sides envisioned it being a long-term partnership, not just a one-off, so it seems likely she will be back there. Elsewhere, does Ogwumike return to the Seattle Storm after coach Noelle Quinn was let go?
It’s possible some of these players end up with the $1.4 million supermax in 2026. If not, the regular max isn’t too much lower ($1.19 million in 2026).
All-Star-caliber
Veronica Burton (RFA)
Skylar Diggins
Brittney Griner
Dearica Hamby
Rhyne Howard (RFA)
Brionna Jones
Jewell Loyd
Ezi Magbegor
Kayla McBride
Arike Ogunbowale
Satou Sabally
Brittney Sykes
Kayla Thornton
Gabby Williams
With such a condensed free agency, some industry insiders predict there will be less movement than initially expected and that players will sign one-year deals to wait to see how the new landscape sorts itself out. So which players could potentially be on the move?
Griner’s presence on the floor was diminished by the end of her first season with the Atlanta Dream — does that fit still make sense for both parties? Ogunbowale’s future will be of primary interest, too, after her productivity dipped last season and then-rookie Paige Bueckers emerged as the clear franchise cornerstone for the Dallas Wings. Loyd shined for the Aces once she started coming off the bench, helping them win their third title. Is that the role that makes most sense for her moving forward?
Magbegor is also hitting free agency at an interesting time following the arrival of Dominique Malonga in Seattle. Must the Storm choose between the two young bigs? Free agency will reveal more about the vision for the team under new coach Sonia Raman (and GM Talisa Rhea).
Seattle is in a position similar to Minnesota of contending but not yet breaking through to win a title with its current iteration. One of the major storylines of free agency will be whether the Storm maintain most of their roster from last year or lean toward heavy changes.
Of note: Players from this group who are no longer core eligible are Diggins, Jones, Griner and Loyd.
High-level starters
Ariel Atkins
Shakira Austin (RFA)
DeWanna Bonner
Jordin Canada
Tina Charles
Natasha Cloud
Tiffany Hayes
Naz Hillmon (RFA)
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (suspended, contract expired)
Marina Mabrey
Emma Meesseman
Alanna Smith
Azura Stevens
Courtney Vandersloot
Courtney Williams
There’s an assortment of players facing an interesting set of circumstances in this group. Will the Liberty run back the Cloud-Ionescu backcourt pairing, or go a different route? What does Laney-Hamilton’s future hold as she looks to return to the WNBA after missing a year because of a knee injury? Meesseman is always an unknown given her overseas commitments; does she return to the WNBA in 2026, and would New York want to give it another go with her?
Vandersloot and Atkins seem poised to be in the Chicago Sky‘s plans, with the former also a bit of a wild card as she returns from an ACL injury. Could a player such as Stevens be lured away from Los Angeles for a larger role or more money elsewhere? Veterans such as Bonner and Charles, similarly to Vandersloot, have more years behind them than ahead of them but can still make a difference for teams.
Players from this group who are no longer core eligible are: Bonner, Canada and Charles.
The situation for Mabrey is also tricky: The Connecticut Sun are clearly in a rebuild with young talent but are also relocating to Houston in 2027, with Comets and Sun front office personnel already working in tandem beginning this season. The impact of the franchise’s relocation on its free agency plans remains to be seen.
Key rotation players
Bridget Carleton
DiJonai Carrington
Alysha Clark
Sophie Cunningham
Temi Fagbenle
Tyasha Harris
Natisha Hiedeman
Natasha Howard
Lexie Hull (RFA)
Marine Johannes (reserve)
Cheyenne Parker-Tyus
Jessica Shepard
NaLyssa Smith (RFA)
Erica Wheeler
Sami Whitcomb
These players have the greatest variance in what their roles could look like depending on the makeup and vision of their teams. A player such as Carrington (who was traded from Dallas to Minnesota) is in an uncertain position as a midseason acquisition who proved her value, but there are a lot of unknowns regarding the direction the Lynx will choose. Smith thrived in Las Vegas following a midseason trade and helped the Aces to a championship, and might have found a new home there. The Fever have less uncertainty than others in that they have Clark and Aliyah Boston, both all-WNBA players, under contract, but they must decide whether they’ll look to return that pair’s surrounding cast of Howard (no longer core eligible), Hull and Cunningham.
China says peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan are advancing
BEIJING — Peace talks between Afghanistan’s Taliban government and Pakistan are advancing, China’s government said Friday, two days after those countries resumed conversations following weeks of fighting that have killed hundreds.
“The consultation process is being steadily implemented and advanced,” said China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. Xi Jinping’s government is mediating between Islamabad and Kabul, whose representatives resumed the talks on Wednesday in the western Chinese city of Urumqi.
“The three parties have also reached consensus and arrangements on a specific operational mode, including media coverage,” she added, without giving more details.
“Since the recent escalation of the Pakistan–Afghanistan conflict, China has been mediating and promoting talks in its own way, maintaining close communication with both sides through multiple channels and at various levels, and creating conditions and providing platforms for dialogue”, Mao said.
She added that both countries “attach importance to and welcome China’s mediation efforts, and are willing to sit down again for talks, which is a positive development.”
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in attacks in recent years, many claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.
Even as the talks restarted, the police reported that a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a police station in the Bannu district of northwestern Pakistan late Thursday, killing at least five people and wounding several others.
Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan of providing a safe haven to militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP.
The group is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in 2021 following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops. Kabul denies that it supports the group.
The fighting between the two sides picked up in February, when Afghanistan’s Taliban government said Pakistan launched strikes in Kabul and several other areas, causing mostly civilian casualties. Pakistan has said it targeted hideouts of TTP, but also that it is in “open war” with Afghanistan.