falling

Country music’s emo cowgirl Megan Moroney canceled her Denver show just a few songs into her set on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old singer was barely able to get through her hits “Stupid,” “Medicine” and “Bless Your Heart” before she broke down in front of the Ball Arena audience and said she would need to nix the gig for health reasons.

A video on TikTok captured the moment Moroney broke the news to concertgoers. “I am obviously extremely sick, and I thought I did everything to make myself better, and obviously, two songs in, I just can’t play this show tonight,” Moroney said. “I will make it up to you guys. I absolutely promise I’ll be back. You’ll be able to come. But I want to give you guys the show you deserve. I’m probably gonna go cry in my dressing room now.”

Fans in the audience could be heard yelling, “No, you got this!”

In a since-expired Instagram story, Moroney apologized again and told Denver fans that the show had been rescheduled for Aug. 27, and that if they weren’t able to make the new date, their tickets would be refunded.

“I never ever will give you guys a show that is not 100% and by song 3 I knew that I was not capable of giving that to you tonight,” she wrote. “I’m typing this as I’m quite literally bawling my eyes out in my dressing room & it hurts me so much to disappoint you all.”

The country hitmaker said she had never had to cancel a show before.

In February, she released her third album in less than three years, “Cloud 9,” which features chart-topper “6 Months Later,” and duets with Kacey Musgraves and Ed Sheeran. The same month, as she geared up for her “Cloud 9 Tour” — which kicked off May 29 in Columbus, Ohio, and concludes Oct. 1 in Belfast — she told The Times that she copies Kenny Chesney when training for the run of back-to-back performances and life on the road.

“Lots of cardio,” she said. “Treadmill while singing. Lagree three to four times a week.”

If you’re unfamiliar with Lagree, Moroney said it’s “like Pilates but harder.”

“There’s a place in L.A. that killed me — I couldn’t walk properly after. If you do Lagree and an ice bath in the morning, then the worst part of your day is already over. That’s how I look at it: Anything that comes my way today will not suck as much as this sucks right now,” she said. “There’s also a diet of some sort — low sugar, no carbs, just meat and vegetables. I’m kind of copying Kenny and his routine because he gets in crazy shape. He does a freaking 31-day juice cleanse. I tried to do a juice cleanse in college, and by Day 2 I wanted to die. I’m not that committed.”

Moroney is slated to hit the stage again on Saturday at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore., before she travels to Seattle, Sacramento and Los Angeles over the next two weeks. She is scheduled to play Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. on Aug. 8.

Japanese PM Takaichi says it’s a ‘race against time’ to rescue those still trapped in the mall and others affected by the quake.

Thousands of shoppers and store employees, quickly evacuated by staff after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake, watched in horror as an explosion ripped through Kumamoto’s Aeon mall, exposing steel beams and catapulting debris across the parking lot.

Workers in and around one of southern Japan’s largest shopping centres described being thrown to the ground and enveloped in a disorienting cloud of dust by the explosion that followed the massive quake on Tuesday.

“I thought a bomb had gone off,” Takateru Sonoda, 41, who runs a combined hair salon and cafe near the mall, told news agency Jiji Press.

“There were people calling on others to evacuate, and sirens were ringing out. Nearby roads were gridlocked; it was a state of panic.”

First responders, initially fearful of entering the wreckage, hauled eight people from the partially collapsed site early on Wednesday, three dead among them.

The status of three shop workers remains unknown, Aeon said, adding that it was investigating a possible gas leak as a potential cause for the explosion.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday that it was a “race against time” to rescue those trapped in the mall and others affected by the quake.

About 170 soldiers have been deployed to help with rescue operations at the site.

All 25 cats left behind in a cat cafe during the hasty evacuation were rescued on Wednesday, the cafe owner said in a social media post, thanking rescue workers.

Aeon mall had just reopened last month, a new and improved shopping and entertainment complex, after its recovery from another deadly tremor a decade ago.

After being badly damaged in the magnitude 7.3 Kumamoto earthquake in April 2016, the operator highlighted its seismically reinforced ceilings and overall improvements to safety and resilience.

Across the street, in a pub about 300 metres (330 yards) from the mall, Kazuya Tsurunaga was cleaning up dishes and glasses broken by the quake when he heard the deafening blast.

“A large cloud of smoke was billowing up, and because the wind happened to be blowing, and the wind direction was toward the shop, it was like volcanic ash was falling around us,” he told broadcaster TBS.

Police officers and firefighters were wary of entering the wreckage because of the risk of further collapse amid a series of aftershocks, a police official said. By the end of Tuesday, more than 100 aftershocks had occurred in Kumamoto.

Aeon President Akio Yoshida told a news conference on Wednesday that staff evacuated 3,000 shoppers within half an hour after the quake hit. But an unlucky few were inside when, 50 minutes later, the explosion occurred.

“We confirmed that all customers had been evacuated. We believed that employees had also evacuated, but it later emerged that some people had remained inside, or returned for whatever reason,” Yoshida said, adding that one survivor was found injured in a toilet.

Video shot by a police officer inside the building early on Wednesday showed large sections of the ceiling collapsed, storefronts blown open and furniture strewn across the floor.

Yoshida said the possibility the explosion was caused by gas was “very high”, but that thorough investigations were needed to understand what went wrong.

“We had not fully anticipated that an explosion of this kind could occur,” he said. “We have never had an accident like this.”

Moment a projectile struck a border area between Kuwait and Iraq, sparking a fire and sending thick smoke into the sky. The scenes emerged after Kuwait said it intercepted 32 hostile drones since dawn as Iran announced strikes targeting US assets in the country.

Military and defence analyst Alex Alfirraz Scheers says the US risks falling into an ‘escalation trap’ if it launches a ground assault in Iran because Tehran still retains a large number of ballistic missiles.

David Kelly was flown home but could not be saved

A man has died after a holiday in Turkey when he suddenly fell seriously ill hours before flying home. David Kelly was at the airport when his health rapidly deteriorated.

Within hours, the joiner was rushed into intensive care and placed in an induced coma. He was kept alive on life support as he fought for his life miles from home. His devoted wife, Dawn, remained at his bedside in a Turkish hospital for four weeks.

A fundraiser set up with the permission of David’s family said: “What was meant to be a relaxing holiday in Turkey turned into a nightmare that none of us could have imagined. Just hours before his flight home, David suddenly became seriously unwell at the airport.

“Within a matter of hours, his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he was rushed to intensive care. Placed into an induced coma and kept alive by life support, David was fighting for his life thousands of miles from home.

“For four long weeks, his devoted wife, Dawn, remained by his side in a Turkish hospital, never leaving him as he battled with incredible strength and courage.”

David, from Barrhead, Renfrewshire, was eventually repatriated on 8 June aboard a specialist flying intensive care unit. He was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

The fundraiser said he continued his fight while receiving “outstanding care” from hospital staff. But David sadly died peacefully on 18 June surrounded by his family. The fundraiser added: “Despite everyone’s best efforts, our warrior David passed away peacefully on 18 June, surrounded by his loving family.”

His family later announced the devastating news through his business’ Facebook page, Barrhead Joinery. They said: “We would like to share the devastating news that sadly after fighting as hard as he could, our lovable, amazing David Kelly passed away on Thursday 18 June.

“Barrhead Joinery will now cease trading, as a family we’d like to thank you all for the work you all have given David over the years. Lots of love from his wife Dawn and daughters Gemma & Sophie.”

David was described as a much-loved husband, father, brother, uncle and friend. The fundraiser said: “He was someone who was always there to lend a hand, offer support, and put others before himself. Now it is our turn to be there for those he loved most.”

Tributes have also poured in from members of the local community. Noreen McHugh wrote: “I am devastated to hear this sad news about Davie. He was an excellent professional who I counted on over the years.

“But upmost a wonderful human being who was always friendly and honest. My sincerest condolences to you and your daughters. A huge loss for you all. RIP Davie, you will be sorely missed.”

Another person added: “So sorry to hear this very sad news. David did some work for me when I moved into my home in Newton Mearns some years ago. Such a lovely, lovely man. Sending you all my heartfelt condolences. x”

A fundraiser has been launched to help ease the financial impact of David’s emergency medical treatment abroad and specialist repatriation. Money raised will also support Dawn and the family, help with funeral expenses and fund donations to Kidney Research UK and the Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

The appeal said the donations would recognise the “exceptional care and compassion” shown to David and his family.

A three-armed spacecraft rockets into orbit to rescue a NASA telescope that’s in danger of crashing back to Earth.

NASA has launched a robotic mission to try to prevent one of its ageing telescopes from burning up in the atmosphere in a complicated operation expected to last several months.

Northrop Grumman launched the Link spacecraft – built by United States-based Katalyst Space Technologies – from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean on Friday.

A Pegasus rocket blasted off from the belly of a modified aircraft putting Link on course to reach and capture NASA’s Swift Observatory in about a month.

Initially scheduled for Tuesday, the robot’s launch was postponed due to weather, then technical issues. Blast-off happened on Friday at 0836 GMT from an atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

The unprecedented $30m effort involves sending a robot to rescue the Swift space telescope that is falling towards Earth. If successful, the mission could pave the way for giving other satellites a second life.

Launched in 2004, Swift is sinking faster than ever because of recent solar storms. The $250m telescope studies gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe.

Once it reaches an orbit close to Swift’s, the robot will deploy its solar panels and perform a series of checks.

It will then have to locate the Swift telescope in the vastness of space, circle around it and dock using three robotic arms – manoeuvres expected to take several weeks.

Finally, it will attempt to propel the satellite approximately 300km (186 miles) higher above the Earth, roughly to its initial orbital position. That operation is expected to last at least a month.

“This is a lot of firsts stacked on top of each other,” Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, told reporters on Tuesday. “I’m just deeply thankful that we’re even giving this a go.”