Fan favorite Lainey Wilson leads CMT Music Awards nominees

NASHVILLE (AP) — Country singer Lainey Wilson is a fan favorite at this year’s CMT Music Awards, where she is the leading nominee including for “Video of the Year.”

The “Heart Like a Truck” singer earned four nominations when nominees were announced Wednesday ahead of the April 2 show airing on CBS.

Other leading nominees including Cody Johnson, CMT co-host Kane Brown and first-time nominee Jelly Roll, who all have three nominations each. Brown and Kelsea Ballerini return to host the show from Austin, Texas.

There are 16 nominees for the show’s top prize, video of the year, a category that Carrie Underwood holds the record in with 25 awards. She’s nominated again for her video “Hate My Heart” and will also perform.

The winners will be selected by fan voting, which is open now at vote.cmt.com.

Wynonna Judd earned two nominations in the CMT performance of the year category, one with her late mother Naomi for their last performance together on last year’s CMT Music Awards and one for her performance of “The Rose” with Brandi Carlile during a memorial show after Naomi Judd’s death.

This year, CMT is splitting their breakthrough video of the year award into separate male and female subcategories, which increases the total number of nominees.

Tyre Nichols probe: 7 from Memphis police fired, 1 retired

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A seventh Memphis Police Department employee has been fired for his role in the fatal arrest of Tyre Nichols, while an eighth police employee retired before it was recommended he lose his job for his part in January’s events — which have reignited the national discussion over race and policing, the city’s chief legal officer said Tuesday.

The city on Wednesday also plans to release about 20 hours of video and audio related to the arrest of the 29-year-old motorist who died three days after his violent arrest, the chief legal officer Jennifer Sink told city councilmembers. It will add to the already-public footage from police body cameras and a surveillance camera that has given the world a detailed look at the police pummeling Nichols.

Officials have named six officers who have already been fired in the case, and five of them now face second-degree murder charges.

Those five officers’ own body cameras recorded them beating Nichols, propping the badly injured 29-year-old in handcuffs against an unmarked police car, and then ignoring him as he struggled to stay upright. They have pleaded not guilty.

The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into Nichols’ death. The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office has said its investigation is still ongoing, as well.

Tennessee Mountain Writers Conference Set for March 30-April 1

Tennessee Mountain Writers will celebrate their 34th Annual Conference with the theme “Mountain Lines” on Thursday through Saturday, March 30-April 1, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge.

The conference will encompass workshops, writing contests, networking, manuscript evaluations, publishers, editors, book signings, a bookstore, vendors, and more.

The conference, which is funded in part under an agreement with the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, will kick off with a 6 p.m. reception on Thursday, March 30. Conference sessions will be held from 9 a.m. through 5:15 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. through 3:15 p.m. Saturday, followed by the banquet on Saturday evening at 6:30. The Writer’s Block, a bookstore featuring works published by workshop leaders and conference participants, will be open all day Friday and on Saturday morning.

Tennessee Mountain Writers is a non-profit, non-political organization that promotes Tennessee literary arts and supports the work of Tennessee writers. Membership is open to all writers, regardless of geographic location.