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One Direction’s Liam Payne dead in Buenos Aires: What we know

One Direction’s Liam Payne dead in Buenos Aires: What we know

Liam Payne, a former member of the hit band, One Direction, has died at the age 31 in an incident in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Payne is understood to have fallen from his third-storey balcony of CasaSur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of the city. According to authorities, it is as yet unknown whether Payne’s death was accidental, down to foul play or suicide. Local emergency services confirmed his death, which has left fans and fellow artists in shock. One Direction, which disbanded in 2015, had 29 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 and, as of 2020, had sold more than 70 million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling “boy bands” in history. Who were Liam Payne and One Direction? Payne, the youngest of three siblings, was born in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands area of the United Kingdom. He studied music technology at the City of Wolverhampton College, laying the foundation for his future career in the music industry. At the age of 14, Payne made his debut on the reality music competition TV show, The X Factor, in the UK in 2008 but did not make it past the initial stages. Undeterred, he returned two years later, delivering a powerful rendition of “Cry Me A River” that won the judges over. One Direction was formed on that X Factor show in July 2010, brought together by one of the judges, Simon Cowell, later famous for being a ruthlessly critical judge on the TV reality show, American Idol. All the group members had initially auditioned for The X Factor as solo artists, with the group consisting of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik. Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik from Group One Direction X factor finalists are seen leaving ITV Studios on October 7, 2010, in London, UK [Danny Martindale/FilmMagic via Getty Images] Their achievements solidified their position as one of the most commercially successful boy bands in music history, known for hits like “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Story of My Life”. The band’s debut album, Up All Night, released in 2011, made history by becoming the first album by a UK-based group to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200. First-week sales hit 500,000 digital copies. In 2013, they released their third album, Midnight Memories, which became one of their most successful albums, selling 4 million copies in less than two months. Their “Where We Are” tour in 2014 was one of the highest-grossing tours for a vocal group, earning revenues of $290m. Following the announcement of an indefinite hiatus in 2015, the members of One Direction have since primarily focused on developing individual solo careers. [embedded content] Payne released his debut solo single “Strip That Down” featuring US rapper Quavo in 2017. His solo debut album, LPI, released in December 2019, peaked at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. Payne has a seven-year-old son named Bear Grey Payne with his former British girlfriend, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, who goes by the musician name Cheryl. Fernandez-Versini, 41, first met Payne in 2008 when he auditioned on The X Factor. Cheryl was a judge at the time alongside Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh. Fernandez-Versini was also an X Factor judge at One Direction’s appearance on the show in 2010. After her split from ex-husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, Cheryl reconnected with Payne in 2016. In 2017, they had their son, Bear Grey Payne, but split the following year. Payne had openly addressed his struggle with alcohol addiction. In a July 2023 video, he shared his progress, stating that he had maintained sobriety for six months following a period of rehabilitation. In March 2024, Payne released his last single, Tearsdrop, on which he collaborated with Jamie Scott and JC Chasez of N*SYNC. He shared footage of some emotional moments during the development of Tearsdrop on TikTok. Hours before his death, Payne posted a Snapchat video in which he can be seen having breakfast with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy. He begins the video saying: “Morning everybody, lovely day here in Argentina.” He continues with light banter with Cassidy, smiling at times, as he talks about riding horses, playing polo and returning home to see his dog, Stan. He closes the video with: “So, it’s going to be a nice day.” Liam Payne had posted on Snapchat in the hours before his death, sharing photos of himself with his partner Kate Cassidy as well as videos in which he said it was a “lovely day here in Argentina”. Full story: https://t.co/0WBug7BvAp pic.twitter.com/Wbn7LrE4xt — Sky News (@SkyNews) October 17, 2024 Last month, Netflix announced it had signed up Payne to be a judge for its new reality TV competition, Building the Band. Other judges include Destiny’s Child alum Kelly Rowland, Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls, and Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean as the host. Payne is survived by his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola. Why did he go to Argentina? Payne travelled to Buenos Aires at the end of September to support his former One Direction bandmate, Niall Horan, at a concert that formed part of his tour, The Show Live On Tour, and featured his third studio album, The Show, which was released in June 2023. This visit came after Payne’s appearance at Horan’s show at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires on October 2, where he watched the performance with fans in attendance. How did Payne die? According to local authorities, Payne fell from the third-storey balcony of CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to the recording of a 911 call to police obtained by The Associated Press news agency, the manager of CasaSur Hotel told police that there was “a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol”. Referring to Payne’s hotel room, the manager said: “He’s destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please.” On Wednesday, Buenos Aires emergency medical services (SAME) chief Alberto

Vulnerable Dem senator tied to ‘radical groups’ working to close massive power plant in swing state

Vulnerable Dem senator tied to ‘radical groups’ working to close massive power plant in swing state

FIRST ON FOX: A controversial nonprofit watchdog organization with a history of anti-Israel rhetoric and ties to vulnerable Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is working to close one of the largest power plants in the United States in a move that could cost hundreds of jobs and raise energy costs for Ohioans. The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) recently sent a joint letter, along with the Sierra Club, to Blackstone urging the group to shut down the Gavin Power Plant in Ohio due to environmental concerns and arguing that the plant is the “largest and dirtiest” in the United States. The coal plant is the largest coal-burning power plant in Ohio and the 9th largest in the country, employing nearly 300 people. The Institute for Energy Research has estimated that closing the plant could “negatively impact the stability of the electric grid and power markets” given that it produces 11% of the electricity in the state of Ohio.  Other experts warn that residents of Gallia County, Ohio, the county where the plant is located, already have higher average electric bills than other areas in Ohio and 24% higher than the national average suggesting that closing the plant would send those costs up even higher. OHIO GOP SENATE CHALLENGER REACTS TO POLLS SHOWING DEAD HEAT IN CRITICAL SENATE RACE: ‘RADICAL LIBERAL’ In recent weeks, the Sierra Club has been running ads targeting Blackstone’s leadership in an attempt to put pressure on the group to retire the plant.  Brown, who benefitted from a virtual phone bank event hosted by the Sierra Club in late September and has been endorsed by their PAC, has a long history of working with PESP. Brown participated in a PESP press conference in June and cited PESP in a letter to the Federal National Mortgage Association in 2020. “NPR reports that Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, is seeking answers from a corporate landlord after a report by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project found the firm has been filing for evictions much more over in predominantly Black neighborhoods during the pandemic,” The National Low Income Housing Coalition wrote about Brown and his promotion of PESP In 2021. Brown also cited PESP’s work in a 2024 letter to the Department of Labor.  A previous FOX Business review found that several staff members at PESP, which has been funded by the Soros-backed Foundation to Promote an Open Society, the Ford Foundation, and Surdna Foundation, among other left-leaning groups, took part in anti-Israel protests or promoted radical claims related to the conflict. On the day of the Hamas attack on Israel, where over 1,200 people were murdered and hundreds more taken hostage, PESP senior research coordinator and self-proclaimed “Marxist” Abhilasha Bhola liked a post on X that included the phrase “from the river to the sea” which is widely understood as a call for the elimination of the state of Israel. Community organizer K Agbebiyi, a senior housing campaign coordinator with PESP, attended a November 2023 rally in Washington, D.C. “demanding an end to the genocide in Palestine” and in December of that year she posted a photo of a mural titled “Liberation looks like terrorism in the eyes of the oppressor.”  NRA TARGETS SEN SHERROD BROWN IN 7-FIGURE AD BUY IN OHIO: ‘VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT’ Additionally, Agbebiyi signed a letter with other alumni of the University of Michigan slamming the school for “anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim animus” and demanding the university “discontinue exchange programs and strategic partnerships with Israeli universities.” In 2022, Agbebiyi posted on X that she is “becoming more principled of a Marxist” and described her political views as “communist.” A spokesperson for the Brown campaign told Fox News Digital that Brown “will always fight to protect Ohio jobs and will continue to work with the company, workers, and community leaders to keep the plant open, keep energy costs affordable, and make sure local residents stay healthy and safe.” However, the campaign did not address Fox News Digital’s question about PESP’s anti-Israel rhetoric. Many experts believe the Ohio Senate race will play a critical role in determining which party controls the Senate next year and the Cook Political Report ranks the race between Brown and Republican businessman Bernie Moreno as a “toss up.” Energy has been a key issue in Ohio, a state where coal energy production and fracking are top issues with voters. The Brown campaign told Fox News Digital that Brown “believes in an all of the above approach to American energy independence” and pointed to examples of where he “stood up to his own party” to block Biden energy regulations, including voting against Biden’s “clean” power plant rules. “Sherrod Brown is a Green New Deal radical who wants to shut down Ohio energy production,” Moreno campaign spokesperson Reagan McCarthy told Fox News Digital. “While Sherrod claims there is ‘no war on coal,’ he is actively campaigning with radical groups who want to shut down Ohio coal plants. Unlike Sherrod, Bernie will always stand with Ohio’s energy industry.” Matt Parr, the communications director for PESP, defended the group’s push to close the power plant, calling it “one of the highest emitting, dirtiest, and deadliest coal-fired power plants in the United States.” “The Gavin coal plant, owned by private equity giant Blackstone, is one of the highest emitting, dirtiest, and deadliest coal-fired power plants in the United States, emitting 14.7 million tons of CO2 last year,” Parr told Fox News Digital. “The plume of toxins emitted by Blackstone’s 50-year-old Gavin plant have major public health impacts for Ohio and other states because it is upwind of major metropolitan areas across the eastern U.S. such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Modeling has found Blackstone’s Gavin plant to be the nation’s deadliest coal plant, causing an estimated 244 premature deaths each year from particulate emissions.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Sierra Club for comment but did not receive a response.