• Sierra Leone Cancels Public Christmas, New Year's Celebrations to Curtail Ebola

    Only about 10 percent of all people who are living in Sierra Leone are Christians who will be celebrating this holiday season, but the government has already put necessary restrictions on the festivities due to the continuing Ebola outbreak. Sierra Leone is now the hardest-hit country, surpassing the illness and death that even Liberia has seen, and its leaders are scrambling to find ways to keep Ebola from spreading. That has led them to determine that public Christmas and New Year's celebrations are now banned. People are now forbidden from gathering in groups to celebrate as they normally would. Military personnel will once again take to the streets to make sure that groups of revelers are not gathering together, which would basically intensify the risk of spreading the virus to each other. This is just one more way the everyday lives of the people of West Africa have been disrupted by this epidemic. As of Dec. 10, Sierra Leone had recorded 8,000 cases of Ebola and nearly 1,900 deaths. In West Africa as a whole, more than 18,000 people have been infected, resulting in more than 6,500 deaths. Those numbers are pretty harrowing, but the truth is many at the World Health Organization feared they would be far higher by now.

  • 'Home Alone,' 'The Grinch,' 'It's a Wonderful Life': 5 Best Musical Moments From Holiday Movies [WATCH]

    Before TiVo and onscreen menus that showed program schedules days in advance, you had to hunt for your favorite holiday movies. It was absolutely thrilling. There was a whole process for finding a time for "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "It's a Wonderful Life." And a constant in all of the specials is great holiday music. "Home Alone" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" made the cut on our list, but here's a few honorable mentions to get things started.

  • Lorrie Morgan Releases Christmas Tour Dates [SCHEDULE]

    Lorrie Morgan is bringing the Christmas spirit to several small cities this winter before landing in Nashville for a tour finale in late December. "To be able to bring the wonderful music of Christmas to audiences around the country is a dream come true," says Morgan. "This is my favorite time of year. I get to think about my children growing up and reminisce my life with my family. I wish all year could be Christmas time!" The Boot notes Morgan has hosted the Enchanted Christmas Show at Opryland in Nashville for the past two years and also released a holiday album, "Merry Christmas from London," in 1993. Here are the official dates, with ticket information on Morgan's website:

  • LeAnn Rimes Still Trying to Convince Everyone That Eddie Cibrian's Her 'Soulmate'

    LeAnn Rimes has been making the media rounds to promote her new Christmas album, but of course the main topic of discussion always ends up being her marriage to Eddie Cibrian. At some point in time, Rimes may choose to simply make peace with the fact that people really do not like them as a couple and get on with her life, but she is not exactly there yet. Remember their reality show on VH1 last summer? The ratings were horrendous and Rimes and Cibrian seemed to think that mocking the press would be their ticket to getting fans back in their back pockets. Obviously, that was an epic fail. So Rimes is back to her more normal approach of praising her husband and hoping that her fans will forget how she has said that she fears he will eventually cheat on her. Remember, these two first hooked up while married to other people and, for whatever reason, it was an indiscretion that fans never accepted. In an interview with Mail on Sunday, Rimes explained: "I was meant to be with Eddie. Fans felt as though I was their daughter or sister making a big mistake when we got together, because they've grown up with me. But we both acted from our hearts and that's impossible to turn around. Trust me, we both tried. Look, I've said 'I'm sorry' and made amends. Eddie is my soulmate — he and I completely get each other. We're opposites — I want to go shopping; he wants to ride dirt bikes — but we bring out the best in each other. Divorce is not an option for us. Obviously, if something horrible happened, I would have to take care of myself, but I don't see that happening."

  • Fifth Harmony Cover Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' [LISTEN]

    We are a little more than a week away from Thanksgiving, which means Christmas is in the air ... and has been for a few weeks now. Epic Records has put together an EP of holiday covers titled "I'll Be Home for Christmas" that includes Fiona Apple, Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, among others. Female R&B group Fifth Harmony are on the EP, and they decided to take on Mariah Carey's 1994 classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You" while Meghan Trainor contributes an original titled "I'll Be Home." Fifth Harmony are reverent with their cover of the tune, which is a good choice since it has become a holiday favorite in the last two decades, MTV News reports. The women trade off verses, and the variety of vocals really adds something special to the song.

  • Robert Earl Keen Band to Release Album 'Santa Is Real' [TRACKLIST]

    The Robert Earl Keen Band used to treat Christmas tunes as a solemn addition to their show. "Originally, it was a more somber affair," Keen told The Boot. "We'd perform these delicate instrumental Christmas songs, dressed in black suits, as background music to set the mood for the show." But things quickly changed for the better. "After a few shows, we decided we needed to step it up and do something more upbeat," he said. "So we let loose a little and dressed up in hillbilly outfits and performed Bob Wills-y type versions of Christmas carols. People dug it. It went so well that after the set, Robert said, 'You guys need to make a record.' So we did!" Now, the REK Band has an instrumental Christmas album, "Santa Is Real," out this winter.

  • 'RHONJ' Teresa Giudice Willing to Allow Bravo to Film Her Getting Ready to Turn Herself In — But for a Price!

    Fans of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" will hear Teresa Giudice whining during the first part of the reunion show on Bravo tonight because she realizes this is likely going to be her last reunion with the rest of the cast. But you better believe the network is pushing hard to get a little more out of her. Giudice is scheduled to report to a Connecticut prison camp Jan. 5, and Bravo is hoping she will be willing to have the channel film her last days leading up to her 15-month jail term. Reportedly, Giudice is open to the possibility ... but it will cost Bravo.

  • 12 Days of Christmas: 3 Best Versions of 'O Holy Night'

    "O Holy Night" is one of the oldest Christmas carols, originally penned by French songwriter Adolphe Adam in 1847, based on a French poem. The song has since been altered, and today's best known version was written by minister John Sullivan Dwight. Full of huge vocal swells and big musical moments, every rendition of the song is special. But whose comes out on top?

  • Jim Brickman and Christmas

    Jim Brickman is the most commercially successful instrumental pop pianist of the last two decades. A special place in his heart for Christmas has driven him to offer fans a holiday extravaganza every year. 2013 marked the 18th year for the annual holiday tour.

  • 12 Days of Christmas: 11 Best Versions of 'Sleigh Ride'

    For day two, we'll continue the countdown to the happiest day of the year with the classical wintery piece "Sleigh Ride." Originally composed by Leroy Anderson in 1946 recorded as an orchestral piece, complete with horse clop sound effects and that wonderous "clap!", the song first got a classical recording in 1950. The year before, 1949, the song was given the vocal treatment the followingyear by The Andrews Sister. Though not technically a Christmas song, it's hard not to associate this snowy track with the holiday season.

  • 12 Days of Christmas: 12 Best Versions of 'The Christmas Song'

    First, we're going to kick things off with the 12 best cover versions of the most covered Christmas song of all time, fittingly titled: "The Christmas Song." Originally recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946, the track was already redone by Cole again in '53. Since then, it has been recorded countless times and remains a holiday standard to this day. But who has done it the most justice?
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