Conway Twitty built one of the most successful careers in country music history, but even longtime fans may not realize just how dominant he once was on the charts.
Born on Sept. 1, 1933, in Friars Point, Mississippi, Twitty became one of country music’s biggest stars, scoring 40 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart between 1968 and 1986.
For years, that total stood as the most in the chart’s history.
Twitty’s run began with “Next in Line,” his first country No. 1, in 1968.
He followed it with a string of hits including “Hello Darlin’,” “You’ve Never Been This Far Before,” “Linda on My Mind” and “Don’t Take It Away.” Eleven of his 40 Billboard country No. 1s were songs he wrote himself.
His record eventually fell to another country legend: George Strait.
Billboard now credits Strait, 74, with 44 Hot Country Songs No. 1s, putting him ahead of Twitty’s 40.
Twitty’s career stretched far beyond country music, too.
He first found fame as a rock and roll singer, scoring a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “It’s Only Make Believe” in 1958 before reinventing himself as a country star.
Twitty died in 1993 at age 59, but his chart legacy remains one of the most remarkable in country music.
When Clay Buchholz made his major league debut for the Boston Red Sox on August 17, 2007, there were little expectations for him other than to be a fresh arm for the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
Then-manager Terry Francona downplayed his arrival, telling reporters before the start that it “doesn’t matter if he throws a no-hitter, he’s going back down” to the minor leagues.
Buchholz was solid in that debut, giving the Red Sox 6.0 innings while allowing three earned runs and picking up the win against the Angels. Still, as Francona had forecasted, the 23-year-old was quickly demoted back to Triple-A Pawtucket after the game.
But when he returned to the big leagues just over two weeks later, Francona didn’t even get the chance to take the ball away from his young pitcher, who went out and tossed one of the most improbable no-hitters in MLB history.
Riding a four-game losing streak as the calendar turned over to September, Boston turned to Buchholz to provide a spark against the visiting Baltimore Orioles. What he ended up giving them was something that had never been done in franchise history, as he became the first Red Sox rookie to pitch a no-hitter.
The Sox jumped out to an early lead that night behind big hits from Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz. A three-run homer from Youkilis in the sixth inning put Boston up 8-0, but the focus had shifted to what was happening on the mound. A sensational diving stop and throw from fellow 23-year-old Dustin Pedroia to cut down a head-first sliding Miguel Tejeda in the bottom of the seventh kept the no-hitter rolling into the late innings, igniting a tense but raucous sold-out Fenway crowd.
Buchholz came into the game with just six innings of MLB experience, throwing 91 pitches in his first outing. By the end of the eighth inning, his pitch count had climbed to 102, but Francona didn’t hesitate to send his guy back out for a chance at history.
13 pitches later, Buchholz had done it. Dropping in a curveball on Nick Markakis for a called third strike, the young righty from Texas had thrown a nine-strikeout no-hitter just two weeks after the Red Sox manager had joked about such a feat to underscore the certainty of his demotion.
The performance lives on as the only of its kind in Red Sox history. He became just the third player to throw a no-hitter in one of his first two career starts, and the only Red Sox rookie to ever throw one.
To this day, only 24 rookies have ever tossed a no-no, with Reid Detmers the most recent example on May 10, 2022. The Red Sox saw another no-hitter less than a year later when Jon Lester did it on May 19, 2008, which marks the last the franchise has seen.
Buchholz went on to pitch just two more games that year and did not crack the postseason roster as Boston claimed another World Series Championship, but his unbelievable September 1st performance was the start of an iconic 13-year career, 10 of which were spent with the Red Sox.
Part of the United States could receive its first snowfall of the fall season later in September.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association updated its prediction this week for the El Niño, which continues to get stronger, prompting the possibility of significant weather in September. There is now a roughly 90 percent chance of a “significant” weather event during the 2026-27 winter season.
Regions including the Rocky Mountains areas in Montana, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming could get hit with first snowfall as early as September. The latest projections for September snow come from Accuweather.
Meanwhile, snowfall could continue in other regions later in October and November.
“Snow chances should increase in the Rockies during November, especially in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, where a couple of early-season snow events are possible,” Accuweather said.
Some U.S. states are bracing for snowy conditions.
(Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, an updated map from The Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting which U.S. regions could receive “more snow” than usual this year.
Multiple U.S. regions are bracing for snowier than usual conditions throughout the winter months.
“Love snow? You may be in luck. A snowier-than-normal winter is expected from central New England through the Appalachians, in the Intermountain region and Pacific Northwest, and in Alaska,” the prediction reads.
U.S. states bracing for snowier than usual conditions include:
North Carolina
Virginia
Maryland
New York
Massachusetts
Pennsylvania
Connecticut
Vermont
New Hampshire
Farmer’s Almanac map.
Old Farmer’s Almanac.
More snow doesn’t mean colder temperatures, though
While some U.S. regions will be getting hit with more snow than usual, winter temperatures across the board are expected to be higher this season.
It’s expected to be a “milder” winter.
“A milder winter doesn’t mean the cold is taking the year off. Across much of the country, temperatures are expected to be near normal or warmer than normal. But colder-than-usual temperatures are expected from central New England south through the Appalachians and into the Ohio Valley. Hawaii will also be cooler than normal,” the prediction adds.
“And remember: ‘Above normal’ is relative. While it won’t be as cold as usual, it’s still winter!”
Carol Connare, Editor-in-Chief, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, adds that winter weather won’t look the same everywhere.
“Winter won’t look the same everywhere this year. While much of the country is headed for a milder season, some areas will still see plenty of cold and snow. Check the forecast for your region to see what’s ahead,” Connare said.
Winter officially begins on December 21, though meteorologically, it’s set to start on December 1.
Primal Fear follows defense attorney Martin Vail, played by Richard Gere. He takes on the case of Aaron Stampler. Edward Norton plays Aaron, a timid altar boy accused of murdering a prominent archbishop.
Collider ranks the film No. 7 on its list of the 10 greatest legal thrillers of all time. The outlet credited Norton’s star-making performance as the film’s greatest asset. It was his feature film debut, which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and an Academy Award nomination.
Time also included the film among its list of the best courtroom dramas ever made. The outlet praised the film’s twist ending as one of the most memorable of the entire decade.
Laura Linney co-stars as the prosecutor and Martin’s ex, adding tension both inside and outside the courtroom.
Richard Gere in a press conference for Primal Fear.
The Performance Behind Primal Fear’s Most Talked-About Ending
Time specifically singled out the film’s ending as one of the most memorable of the 1990s. The outlet compared its impact to that decade’s other major twist, The Sixth Sense.
Much of that impact rests on Norton’s performance as Aaron. Time called his portrayal “flawless.” The publication described him as a guileless kid who might be suffering from multiple personality disorder.
Collider echoed that praise, calling the role a star-making moment for Norton. The outlet described his performance as “phenomenal, mercurial and layered yet still believable.”
Gere anchors the film as Martin, the arrogant defense attorney who gradually becomes convinced of his client’s innocence. Time described him as “sly,” playing well against Laura Linney’s “headstrong, principled” prosecutor.
Their history as exes adds an extra layer of tension to the courtroom scenes. That dynamic blends the formula of a legal thriller with something closer to a screwball comedy.
Both outlets agreed the trial scenes themselves are tightly constructed and satisfying. Thirty years later, the film’s ending is still cited as one of the genre’s best.
In 1940, Gary Cooper starred in a critically acclaimed film that earned awards and has a rare perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. Decades later, The Westerner has recently been ranked as one of the greatest Westerns ever produced.
‘The Westerner’ Earning a Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score Says a Lot
On Rotten Tomatoes, there is nothing that is more elusive than a perfect score. In fact, the website maintains a ranking of the “Best Movies of All Time,” which mostly features films that have failed to reach the 100% mark. Even legendary films like The Godfather, Rear Window, Schindler’s List, and Citizen Kane have fallen short of that achievement. On the other hand, Gary Cooper’s 1940 classic The Westerner earned a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
In addition to earning that accolade decades later, The Westerner was celebrated upon its release, as it won and was nominated for Oscars. At the 13th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Art Direction (Black and White) and Best Writing (Original Story). Additionally, Walter Brennan won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Judge Roy Bean in The Westerner.
Who Ranked ‘The Westerner’ Among the ‘Best Western Movies of All Time’?
On July 13, 2026, StudioBinder published its ranking of the “Best Western Movies of All Time.” That list included all-time classics like The Searchers, Unforgiven, Stagecoach, High Noon, Once Upon a Time in the West, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The Westerner was listed alongside those legendary films, as it was ranked No. 25.
There are many reasons why The Westerner is a classic movie that still holds up today. The most obvious highlight of the film is Walter Brennan’s stellar performance as Judge Roy Bean, an eccentric and funny character in a typically serious genre. Additionally, seeing how Gary Cooper’s Cole Harden maneuvers having to escape the grasp of such an unusual person is extremely compelling. Perhaps most of all, the film deserves praise for how well it blends comedy and drama in the Old West.
In The Westerner, Gary Cooper portrayed a drifter who is arrested for stealing a horse and is forced to face off against Judge Roy Bean. Directed by William Wyler, the film starred Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Fred Stone, and Doris Davenport. Notably, the film’s architect, Wyler, was nominated for 12 Best Director Academy Awards during his career, which is the most anyone has ever earned in that category.
Sixty-four years ago, on August 30, 1962, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Ivan’s Childhood took the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, immediately announcing the arrival of one of cinema’s most formidable directors. While it shared this victory with Valerio Zurlini’s Family Chronicle, Tarkovsky’s film left Venice with something more enduring than the trophy: the reputation of a radically different kind of war movie.
Set during the Second World War, the Soviet film follows 12-year-old Ivan, an orphan who serves as a reconnaissance scout behind German lines. Yet Tarkovsky largely refuses the conventional machinery of battlefield heroics.
War is experienced through ruined landscapes, fractured memories, nightmares, and the psychological destruction of a child. The result did not celebrate military victory as much as it painted a devastating portrait of what warfare does to innocence.
A War Film That Started a Political Argument
Andrei Tarkovsky holding the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Its politics were complicated. Ivan’s Childhood emerged during the Khrushchev Thaw and challenged the expectations of Soviet socialist realism by emphasizing individual suffering rather than uncomplicated patriotic triumph. Its dream sequences and intensely personal visual language became particularly controversial.
After Venice, sections of the Italian Communist press (notably the PCI newspaper L’Unità) attacked Tarkovsky for supposedly indulging in “bourgeois aestheticism” instead of sufficient class consciousness. As noted in the Criterion Collection essay:
“The Italian Communist press, however, accused the director of overplaying the lyrical elements and substituting detached bourgeois aestheticism for class-consciousness. Meanwhile, Jean-Paul Sartre came to Tarkovsky’s defense…”
Indeed, Jean-Paul Sartre intervened publicly in Tarkovsky’s defense, arguing that the film’s unusual style did not make it politically reactionary. In his letter to the editor, Sartre notes:
“How is it that for the first time in my knowledge the charge of schematism could be sustained against the articles that L’Unità and other leftwing newspapers devoted to Ivan’s Childhood which is one of the most beautiful films I have had the privilege of seeing in the last few years? It was given the highest award, the Golden Lion, by the Jury: but that has become a strange certificate of ‘occidentalism’ and contributed towards making Tarkovsky a petty bourgeois suspect with the Italian left seeing it with a bad eye. In truth, such distrustful judgements abandon to our middle classes, without real justification, a profoundly Russian and revolutionary film which expresses the sensibility of the young Soviet generations in a typical way.”
In another profound passage, Sartre wrote:
“War kills those who make it even if they survive it. And, in a still more profound sense: history, in one and the same movement, demands heroes, creates them and destroys them by rendering them incapable of living without suffering in the society they have contributed to forge.”
And so the ensuing debate turned the movie into something larger than a critical success: it became an argument over what politically meaningful cinema was supposed to look like.
The Anti-War Canon
That controversy has faded, but the film’s reputation has not. Ivan’s Childhood now sits comfortably among the most acclaimed war films ever made, with Rotten Tomatoes listing a 100% critics’ score from 27 reviews. Critics continue to praise its fusion of poetry, horror and psychological realism.
It wouldn’t be accurate to claim that the film has suddenly conquered every major “greatest film” poll, considering that, for example, Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev and Stalker, have generally achieved stronger positions in major canon-building surveys. Still, Ivan’s Childhood has maintained remarkable critical longevity.
It has appeared in Sight & Sound voting across decades, including the 2002, 2012 and 2022 editions, demonstrating that its stature has survived changing generations of filmmakers and critics. That is precisely why its anti-war status carry significant weight.
Tarkovsky did not need speeches about peace. He showed a child whose childhood had effectively been confiscated by war. More than six decades after Venice, Ivan’s Childhood remains a haunting example of how an anti-war film can achieve greatness not by shouting, but by making the human cost impossible to ignore.
Star Wars Zero Company has been having a moment this week; it’s one of the top sellers on Steam, and gameplay clips have gone viral on social media. On top of that, the game has received excellent reviews, with an 85 on Metacritic based on 47 critic reviews. Unfortunately, many of the people who helped make the game happen in the first place haven’t been able to come together and celebrate the game’s success because they were furloughed before launch.
“A rep for Bit Reactor confirmed to Game File today that the studio had furloughed many of its workers prior to the game’s release. They said it was a difficult decision and one that had been made before it was clear how launch would go. The rep emphasized that the call to do this was Bit Reactor’s alone (meaning not from publisher EA nor Star Wars license holder Disney).”
Zachariah Scott, an Unreal Engine Generalist, took to LinkedIn to voice his displeasure with how the studio has handled the launch and firings.
“It is sick and weird to have all of these EA and Disney folks as well as Bitreactor Senior staff making all of these 10/10 posts about Star Wars : Zero Company being such a huge success and praising the work of the team while seemingly concealing the fact that the team was Furloughed weeks ago.
It is a gross but all to common sight to see, Another corporate game hitting the top of steam while the team is left looking for work and cut off from any possible profit sharing. It would be such a different story if they had been upfront about it earlier, and now it feels like they’re trying to keep the team in a holding pattern with good vibes and more empty promises.
I may be a bit biased as I was fired from bitreactor after being involuntarily put on medical leave and then fired after months where I was forbidden from explaining those facts to the team and my friends, who all just suddenly found out wasn’t there anymore. It seems like relevant context for me to share with the Bitreactor folks, who are in a precarious position where the only lifeline they have left is promises from the management team.
I wouldn’t take those odds”
The situation is an example of the weird space the gaming industry is in. To maximize profits, companies will cut corners and fire employees just to add a bit to the bottom line. Cutting the very people who made the game off from profit sharing is just the latest example of companies putting profits over people.
Now that the game has become such a big success and this story has come out, Bit Reactor has told Gamefile that the company “hopes to reinstate furloughed employees and restore their pay if Star Wars Zero Company proves successful.”
Given that the game has become such a big success, appealing to players who wouldn’t normally purchase games in the turn-based tactical genre, hopefully Bit Reactor will be true to their word and start rehiring the furloughed employees.
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REI’s Labor Day Sale and Clearance is live until Sept. 7, and camping gear is one of the categories worth digging through. If you’re looking for a camping chair for the first time in a while, they’ve gotten a lot more advanced, with options that even swing like a hammock. Nemo’s Stargaze Evo-X is one of the more premium picks in this arena, but it’s $80 off at the moment and more than worth your time if comfort is a non-negotiable for you.
Frame: Steel base, six points of contact, no assembly required
Features: Auto-recline, swinging, padded headrest, two cupholders
Setup: Unfolds in seconds, packs into a roll-top carry case with a shoulder strap
Best For: Car camping, backyard hangs, stargazing, tailgating
Let’s make one thing clear: This is nowhere close to a basic $10 folding camp chair. This is something far, far more special.
Tensioned straps let the seat drop into a deep enough recline that you’re looking almost straight up, which is the main point of the Stargaze chair lineup (to stargaze). To get there, you just lean back without having to mess with a lever or straps, and the same tension system lets the seat swing. Nemo also added extra padding to the hips, headrest, and pressure points in this version, a direct response to the main complaints about the original Stargaze.
That auto-recline and swing combination is not something you commonly find in chairs under $200, which is most of what you’re paying for here, even at the sale price. The steel frame means it weighs around 14 pounds, so this is best used for car camping, the yard, or tailgating. If you want something simpler and packable, take a look at Coleman’s basic camp chair, now on sale for $27.
$100 is still a lot for a camping chair, but you’re paying for features and quality that’s instantly felt. One shopper wrote that the old camp chairs don’t work for them anymore, but this one does, and it’s “the best addition I’ve made to my gear in a long time.”
Another shopper wrote, “Extremely comfortable and very easy to set up and take down.” This is definitely on the heavier side at around 14 pounds, so it’s not the best backpacking option, but reviewers said it’s perfect for car camping.
A new national map places Allentown, Pennsylvania, at No. 1 among the most challenging U.S. metropolitan areas for people with asthma—a distinction arriving as September’s seasonal rise in asthma emergencies begins.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s 2026 Asthma Capitals report ranks Detroit, Rochester, Philadelphia and Cleveland behind Allentown. Lakeland, Syracuse, Hartford, Charleston and Sacramento complete the top 10. The findings extend beyond those cities: CDC data show nearly 28 million Americans currently have asthma.
AAFA compared the 100 most-populated metropolitan areas in the contiguous United States using estimated asthma prevalence, asthma-related emergency-department visits and deaths. The factors “are not weighted equally,” the report notes.
Allentown had high prevalence and the highest emergency-visit rate among the cities analyzed. AAFA argues geography reflects policy as well as individual care: “Asthma outcomes are not simply a matter of individual health and responsibility,” but also how communities “fund, regulate, and prioritize.”
The map reveals a regional pattern. Seven of the top 20 metros are in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Yet the list stretches from California to Texas and Arizona.
Although AAFA’s newer claims analysis found asthma peaks can also occur during winter, emergency visits commonly begin climbing around September. Back-to-school illnesses, ragweed, mold, wildfire smoke and abrupt weather changes can converge now.
The CDC says asthma “causes wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing at night or early in the morning.” For children, AAFA says asthma-related ER admissions “start to rise in September and continue to spike” alongside respiratory-virus season.
AAFA recommends reviewing a written Asthma Action Plan with a health care provider, taking controller medicines as prescribed, and monitoring air-quality and pollen forecasts. The World Health Organization emphasizes that asthma “can be managed with the right treatment” and advises people experiencing symptoms to “speak to a health professional.”
At home, the EPA recommends fixing leaks and keeping humidity between 30 and 50 percent to discourage mold.
For larger rooms, the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde BP04 uses HEPA H13-grade, activated-carbon and formaldehyde-destroying filtration. Dyson says it “captures gases and ultra fine particles” while reducing odors. An air purifier cannot treat asthma or replace prescribed medication, but it may support a plan for reducing indoor triggers.
Forty-eight years ago today, Styx released the album that gave fans two of the band’s most enduring rock songs.
Pieces of Eight, Styx’s eighth studio album, arrived on Sept. 1, 1978, following the massive success of the band’s breakthrough record, The Grand Illusion. The new album proved Styx wasn’t about to lose momentum.
The record featured three charting singles, including “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights),” which reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Renegade,” which climbed to No. 16.
Both songs were written by guitarist and vocalist Tommy Shaw and have remained among Styx’s best-known tracks.
It’s funny to think “Renegade,” which has become one of the band’s most popular songs, almost sounded very different. Shaw, 72, originally conceived the song as a slower, acoustic number before keyboardist Dennis DeYoung encouraged him to transform it into the hard-driving rock anthem fans know today.
Pieces of Eight became another major success for Styx, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and earning multi-platinum sales. It was also the second of four consecutive Styx albums to sell at least two million copies, a run that marked one of the band’s most successful periods.
Beyond its biggest singles, the album included “Sing for the Day,” another Shaw-penned track that reached the Top 50.
Nearly five decades later, Pieces of Eight remains a key chapter in Styx’s catalog, not just because it followed The Grand Illusion, but because it gave the band two songs that have continued to define its legacy: “Blue Collar Man” and “Renegade.”
