The Eagles' Glenn Frey dead at 67

Glenn Frey

Glenn Frey, a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, has died at 67, a publicist for the band has confirmed.

"Glenn fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but, sadly, succumbed to complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia," reads a post on the band's official website.

Frey had been suffering from intestinal issues, which caused the postponement of the band's inclusion in the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors.

Frey and the other original members of the Eagles — Don Henley, Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon -- came together to form singer Linda Ronstadt's backup band in the early 1970s.

They were all experienced musicians who forged a laid-back, country-tinged sound that the Eagles would eventually make famous.

"We are all in a state of shock, disbelief and profound sorrow," Henley said in a statement Monday. "I'm not sure I believe in fate, but I know that crossing paths with Glenn Lewis Frey in 1970 changed my life forever, and it eventually had an impact on the lives of millions of other people all over the planet.

"It will be very strange going forward in a world without him in it," Henley added. "But, I will be grateful, every day, that he was in my life. Rest in peace, my brother. You did what you set out to do, and then some."

Throughout the early- to mid-1970s, Frey and the band released hit after hit, leading a renaissance of mellow California singer-songwriters with such artists as Ronstadt and Jackson Browne.

Frey and Henley co-wrote many of the band's biggest songs, including "Best of My Love," "Lyin' Eyes," "One of These Nights" and "Hotel California." Frey also famously helped Browne finish writing the Eagles' first hit, "Take It Easy," contributing the catchy verse, "it's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford / slowing down to take a look at me."

Frey played guitar and keyboard and took lead vocal duties for the band on tunes like "Take it Easy" and "Tequila Sunrise."

With "Hotel California" in 1976, the band reached the pinnacle of its success, selling 16 million copies. They released four number one albums consecutively between 1975 and 1979: "One of These Nights," "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975," "Hotel California" and "The Long Run."

"Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975," was the first album certified platinum and has sold 29 million copies in the United States, second only to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," according to Rolling Stone.

The Eagles have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. But while public reception was warm, the band had a prickly relationship with many critics.

"Another thing that interests me about the Eagles is that I hate them," wrote rock critic Robert Christgau in 1972, when they first hit it big.

The band succumbed to internal squabbles and broke up in 1980. Frey, Henley and other band members were famously contentious.

With his pop sensibilities and gift for melody, Frey was an ideal songwriting counterbalance to Henley's seriousness and penchant for weighty social statements.

"He was like a brother to me," Henley went on to say Monday. "We were family, and like most families, there was some dysfunction. But, the bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved."

Frey saw solo success with the 1982 release "No Fun Aloud." He hit the top 40 with "The Heat Is On," "You Belong to the City," "True Love," and "Soul Searchin.'"

He also tried his hand at acting with a guest spot on "Miami Vice" and a small role in the 1996 film "Jerry Maguire," among other credits.

The Eagles reunited for 1994's Hell Freezes Over tour, which spawned an MTV special and a live album. They would continue to tour together over the years.

"Words can neither describe our sorrow, nor our love and respect for all that he has given to us, his family, the music community & millions of fans worldwide," the band said on its website Monday.

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FG to leverage on the existing structures of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) for 'Change Begins With Me' Campaign

The Honourable Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the plan while receiving the Acting Post Master General of the Federation, Mr. Enoch Adeogun, in his office in Abuja on Monday, saying the outlets of NIPOST across the country remained veritable platforms for the 'Change Begins With Me' Campaign of the Federal Government.

"Very soon we are going to start our re-orientation campaign. This is a campaign in which we are going to tell Nigerians about the change we promised. The fact is that the change we promised will only happen if we all change the ways and manners we do things and this is why your tele-centres become useful to us. This is where your postal agencies and post offices become useful to us. We will apply to you to please allow us to brand some of your post offices and postal agencies so that the people who come to the post offices will see exactly what the change is all about.

"We are going to have very impressive outdoor images preaching change and, if for instance I have 3,000 locations in Nigeria where I can brand the Change Mantra, it means that everyday when people are going to the post offices or postal agencies, they will learn about the Change Mantra.

"I have also looked at how it is possible to use your 3,000 post outlets as information centres to disseminate government programmes and policies to our people and, in this respect, I would want the National Orientation Agency to work closely with NIPOST,'' he said.

Alhaji Mohammed therefore implored the NIPOST to explore technology to boost the safety and integrity of the documents and parcels entrusted in their care in order to inspire public confidence and place NIPOST on equal pedestal with the private courier service companies.

The Minister harped on the need to enforce the laws concerning the use of the services of NIPOST in the delivery of certain items that were exclusively reserved for it in order to boost its activities and make it possible for it to create more jobs.

He observed that though the advent of technology had posed a huge challenge to NIPOST services, it was incumbent on the organization to adapt and explore Information and Communication Technology to add value to its services as obtained in other parts of the world.

"We are not the only country where technology has come to enhance services. In Britain, the post office still remains one of the largest employers of labour today. So I don't know why this cannot happen in Nigeria,'' the Minister remarked.

Earlier, the Acting Post Master General had told the Minister that NIPOST, with over 3,000 outlets, had embraced technology to boost its activities through the establishment of tele-centres and the remodeling of some of its offices across the country.

He said in the last four years, NIPOST had remodeled about 300 post offices and had also entered into partnership with Galaxy Backbone to install 1,500 VSAT in the post offices.

Mr. Adeogun, however, noted that in spite of the reach and efficiency of communication through the telephone and the Internet, physical delivery of parcels at affordable cost, especially in reserved areas, was crucial to the economy.

He reminded the public that any parcel less than 500 grams was statutorily reserved for delivery by NIPOST and not through the private courier services.

Celebrities to boycott Oscars ceremony over race issue

Invoking the Rev. Martin Luther King's legacy on his birthday, two prominent African-Americans announced Monday that they will boycott this year's Academy Awards over a lack of diversity among nominees.

Filmmaker Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith posted separate messages Monday saying they would not be attending the February 28 ceremony. The Oscars have drawn criticism after an all-white slate of major nominees was announced Thursday for the second year in a row.

"We cannot support it and [I] mean no disrespect ... But, how is it possible for the second consecutive year all 20 contenders under the acting category are white? And let's not even get into the other branches," Lee wrote on Instagram. "Forty white actors in two years and no flava at all. We can't act?! WTF!!"

"Dr. King said, 'There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it's right,' " continued Lee, the outspoken director of such racially charged films as "Do the Right Thing" and "Malcolm X."

Lee said the " 'real' battle" over racism in Hollywood is not with the Academy Awards but in "the executive offices of the Hollywood studios and TV and cable networks," where gatekeepers decide which projects get made and which don't.

"People, the truth is we ain't in those rooms, and until minorities are, the Oscar nominees will remain lilly white," he wrote.

In a video posted to Facebook, Pinkett Smith said she would not even watch the Oscars on TV this year. Her husband, Will Smith, had been considered an Oscar contender for his role in "Concussion" but was not nominated.

"Today is Martin Luther King's birthday, and I can't help but ask the question: Is it time that people of color recognize how much power, influence, that we have amassed, that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere?" she said.

"Begging for acknowledgement, or even asking, diminishes dignity and diminishes power. And we are a dignified people, and we are powerful," she said. "So let's let the Academy do them, with all grace and love. And let's do us, differently."

#OscarsSoWhite trended on social media last week after a number of black Oscar hopefuls, including "Beasts of No Nation's" Idris Elba; "Creed" star Michael B. Jordan; that movie's writer-director, Ryan Coogler; and the cast of N.W.A biopic "Straight Outta Compton" were overlooked by academy voters.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has faced years of criticism that its 7,000-plus members who vote on the Oscars are mostly older, male, white and out of touch with today's moviegoers.

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is black, said over the weekend that she was "disappointed" by the Oscar nominations.

"But this is not to take away the greatness" of the nominated films, she told Deadline. "This has been a great year in film, it really has, across the board. You are never going to know what is going to appear on the sheet of paper until you see it."

Still, Isaacs acknowledged that the academy's efforts at boosting diversity among its membership and throughout Hollywood were moving too slowly. "We have got to speed it up," she said.

A longtime critic of the academy, Lee received an honorary Oscar at a banquet in Hollywood in November, where he said, "This industry is so far behind sports, it's ridiculous. It's easier to be president of the United States as a black person than be head of a (movie) studio. Honest."

Next month's 88th Academy Awards will be hosted by black actor-comedian Chris Rock, who has largely remained quiet about the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Friday on Twitter, however, Rock referred to the show as "the white BET Awards."

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Man stabs friend to death with Civil War sword during mobile home brawl

MONROE COUNTY SHERIFF

Stanley Pace reportedly stabbed to death his friend with a replica Civil War sword.

Authorities have arrested an Alabama man accused of fatally stabbing another man with a replica Civil War sword after a fight at a mobile home in Mississippi.

Monroe County Sheriff Cecil Cantrell said, that 47-year-old Stanley Pace of Pale City, Alabama, chased 43-year-old Ronnie Max Duke of Amory down a street before stabbing him approximately 20 times with the sword late Friday night

Cantrell said investigators arrested Pace on a murder charge Sunday after Duke was reported missing. Monroe County Coroner Alan Gurley said Duke’s body was recovered Monday afternoon.

Cantrell said Pace had hidden Duke’s body beside the road before moving it to a garbage dump.

Pace was being held at the Monroe County jail pending his arraignment. It was not known whether he had a lawyer.



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'Doga' world record set in Hong Kong

Even though, this isn't the Year of the Dog, but a new world record for the biggest dog-yoga class was set in Hong Kong on Sunday. And 270 dog-and-owner pairs participated. It's called "doga" and led by doga-teacher, Suzette Ackerman.

For over half an hour, the participants massaged, twisted, and stretched their furry friends in a series of poses. "Doga" is hailed as a great way to bond and relax with your pets, especially amid big-city pressures. Owners said they were honored to be part of a new world record attempt and want to continue their "doga" disciplines. 

As for the dogs, it's a great opportunity to hang out with other members of the species. The record-breaking attempt has yet to be confirmed by Guinness World Records, but organizers are confident they have satisfied the requirements. The previous record was set in San Diego about a year ago with 265 dog-and-owner pairs. All proceeds from the Hong Kong event are going to the Hong Kong Guide Dog Association.

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