Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Queen Elizabeth II made a quick visit Saturday to the British navy’s flagship aircraft carrier that bears the name of her eponymous 16th-century predecessor, ahead of its maiden operational deployment. The HMS Queen Elizabeth, the latest navy ship to honor the Tudor-era monarch who vanquished the Spanish Armada in 1588, will be leading a 28-week deployment to Asia. The $4.2 billion ship, which has eight RAF F35B stealth fighter jets on board, is scheduled to depart from Portsmouth Naval Base in southern England, accompanied by six ships, a submarine, 14 naval helicopters and a company of marines. Arriving by helicopter, the 95-yearold monarch was greeted by the ship’s commanding officer, Capt. Angus Essenhigh, and Commodore Stephen Moorhouse, commander of the U.K. Carrier Strike Group. While aboard, she was given a briefing on the coming deployment and had a chance to chat with some of the 1,700 personnel. The queen wore a scarab brooch that had been a gift from her late husband, Prince Philip, a former high-ranking naval officer who died last month at age 99. The carrier group will travel through the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, then from the Gulf of Aden to the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean to the Philippine Sea.
■ Country singer Morgan Wallen will be eligible for several awards at this year’s CMA Awards but not the show’s top prize, a sign of the continuing fallout after he was caught on camera using a racial slur. The Country Music Association’s board of directors voted that Wallen will not be eligible for individual artist categories, such as entertainer of the year and male vocalist of the year, according to Catharine McNelly, a CMA spokeswoman. The board decided that Wallen could still be nominated for awards that recognize an artistic work, such as album of the year, song of the year, single of the year, musical event and music video. The voting schedule was released Friday, with the first nomination ballot going out to voters on July 6. Wallen has apologized for using the slur and radio stations and streaming services dropped him from play lists, but his album sales surged. Wallen is among top nominees at the Billboard Music Awards today, where he has six nominations, including top song sales artist, top country artist and top country album. Still, despite the nominations, he wasn’t invited to attend or perform. The Academy of Country Music Awards and the CMT Music Awards disqualified him entirely.