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For “American Idol” contestant Emmy Russell, country music runs in her blood. Russell, who officially made the Top 20 on last night’s episode of the singing competition show, is the granddaughter of country music superstar Loretta Lynn, and as she is proving, Russell has inherited some of Lynn’s remarkable talent. “I’m a songwriter,” the 25-year-old singer said in a video …

The judge presiding over former President Trump’s hush money trial in New York City announced he will hear arguments this month on whether Trump violated a gag order amid the case and should pay $1,000 fines for each violation. Judge Juan Merchan said he will hear arguments on April 23 at 9:30 a.m. regarding whether Trump violated a gag order …

A former top Obama administration official, who once worked for TIME Magazine, said in a new paywalled op-ed that democracy depended on outlets making 2024 election coverage free this year. Richard Stengel, an ex-TIME managing editor who also worked in the Obama State Department, wrote in The Atlantic that online paywalls “get in the way of the public being informed.” …