Country music superstar Toby Keith has announced he has been battling stomach cancer since late last year but has received treatment and plans to return to the stage soon.In a statement posted on his verified Twitter and Instagram accounts Sunday, Keith said he was diagnosed with cancer last fall."I've spent the last 6 months receiving chemo, radiation and surgery. So far, so good. I need time to breathe, recover and relax," the statement says. "I am looking forward to spending time with my family. But I will see the fans sooner than later. I can't wait. -T"Related video above: Toby Keith gifts veteran $16,000 all-terrain wheelchair before concertAccording to his official website, Keith is due to play the Ribfest in Illinois on June 17.He released his latest album -- "Peso in my pocket" -- last year after taking time out from touring due to the Covid pandemic, the site says.In 2021, then-President Donald Trump awarded Keith the National Medal of Arts, which the National Endowment for the Arts describes as "the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government." "Toby Keith is a singer, songwriter, musician, and humanitarian who has completed 11 USO Tours to date. He has 32 #1 singles," the National Endowment for the Arts said in a January 2021 release.Keith, born in Oklahoma, released his debut album in 1993 and is known for hits including "Red Solo Cup" and "I Wanna Talk About Me." His 2002 song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," released in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, made him a household name.Keith has performed hundreds of shows for US service members abroad, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as at events for Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

Five members of an Amish family are recovering after a driver crashed into their buggy Saturday afternoon in Missouri.

Truman Gingerich, 38, and his wife Ada Gingerich, 33, were returning from a church service with three of their six children, three daughters ages three, five and seven.

According to the crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a 71-year-old driver of a 2003 Mercury struck the rear of the Gingerich buggy.

All five members of the Gingerich Family were taken to area hospitals.

They’ve all been released except the 5-year-old girl.

"The Lord was looking out for them because they shouldn’t be here," said Dan Atkinson.

Atkinson is a friend and neighbor of the Gingerich family and was one of the first people to arrive at the crash site.

The broken pieces of the buggy are lined up against a fence on the Gingerich property.

"I looked for it. I realized when I saw the broken wheels everywhere that the pieces of the buggy were all over the highway," Atkinson said.

Truman Gingerich later told Atkinson the real horror of the crash, wondering if his daughters would survive.

"He said, Dan, you don’t understand how hard it was when I looked up, and I tried to get up, and I could see my little girls lying in the highway, and they were lifeless," Atkinson said. "And he tried to get to them, and he was trying to get up off the ground, and when he got to them, he said he couldn’t get them to wake up or nothing,"

Atkinson spent part of Tuesday with extended Gingerich family members taking a buggy to be repaired for Truman’s family to use.

The family horse also had to be put down at the crash site due to injuries.

Residents of the Holden community have been rallying around the Gingerich Family, including providing them with meals and raising money to help with medical expenses.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol cited the driver for careless and imprudent driving.

The case has not yet been referred to the Johnson County Prosecutor for possible criminal charges.

Oklahoma country singer Jake Flint unexpectedly passed away Sunday, hours after getting married on Saturday. He was 37.

His publicist Clif Doyal confirmed to CNN and The Oklahoman that Flint died in his sleep.

His former manager, Brenda Cline, also confirmed his passing, saying on Facebook that she loved the Red Dirt singer-songwriter "much like a son," and that he was “the funniest, most hilarious, hardest working, dedicated artist I have ever worked with in my career," CNN reported.

The cause of his death is not known, CNN and NPR reported.

Flint and his bride Brenda got married Saturday on a remote homestead between Claremore and Owasso, The Oklahoman reported. On Sunday morning, he passed away.

"We should be going through wedding photos, but instead, I have to pick out clothes to bury my husband in," his widow Brenda Flint said on Facebook, NPR reported.

A friend of the last musician told Scripps Tulsa affiliate KJRH that Flint "radiated positivity," and when he was on a stage performing, he "shared his heart."

Matt Eidson, a friend and colleague of Flint's, told the NBC affiliate that the singer's sudden death had shocked everyone.

“Everybody is just in a state of shock," Eidson told the news outlet. "I mean 37 years old and [the] happiest day of his life… you know, he just got married, and he should still be celebrating."

According to his website, the Holdenville native said he began making music after his father was diagnosed with ALS. Flint said on his website that his father recruited some friends to teach his son how to play the guitar since he couldn't play sports with him.

NPR and The Oklahoman reported that Flint released his first album, "I’m Not Okay," in 2016.

He released his follow-up album "Life and Not OK at Cain’s Ballroom" in 2018. He followed that up with "Jake Flint" in 2020 and his last album "Live and Socially Distanced at Mercury Lounge" was released last year, The Oklahoman reported.

While most people seek safety during danger, Ebonique Johnson actually hurries to the frontlines.

“I’m running towards it because that’s where I’m needed the most,” said Johnson, a nursing student at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Set to graduate in December, she’s looking to land a job at an ICU.

“I want to be where I’m needed,” Johnson said. “I want to help the COVID patients.”

That help could come sooner or later depending on where she gets a job.

Some states are waiving certain regulations and allowing nursing students to enter the workforce more easily. Other states, however, have prevented nursing students from working with COVID-19 patients altogether.

“We can’t hit the pause button with what’s going on, nurses are needed now more than ever,” said Dr. Regena Spratling, associate dean for GSU’s school of nursing.

She says coronavirus concerns have limited student access to hospitals for hands-on clinical training and that more courses are now being taught online.

“We’re really focusing on what they would be doing within the health care system as far as taking care of patients,” Spratling said.

Despite changes, GSU is seeing more people looking to join its nursing program.

For GSU nursing student Phillip Parnell, this pandemic is personal.

“One of my older relatives recently passed away with the virus,” he said.

The army veteran is now making his second career his first priority.

“When it hits home, it’s a different level of intensity,” Parnell said.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the health care industry needs more than 200,000 new nurses each year through 2026 just to replace retiring nurses.

“Although we never thought we would see a pandemic in our lifetime, it’s here,” Johnson said.

GSU students are happy to be leading the next generation of nurses while also fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines.

“We answer the call to be there for people,” Johnson said. “It’s our time to show up.”