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'Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona' is one American community's route to revival

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Jackson Browne was a rising singer-songwriter in 1972 when he penned one of the most memorable lines in American music history.

“Well I’m standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona / And such a fine sight to see,” he wrote in the second verse of “Take It Easy.”

Just about every American of a certain vintage can easily recite a young man’s triumphant testimony that follows. 

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“It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford / Slowing down to take a look at me.”

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Browne described the origin of the song in an interview with the British music site Uncut in 2013.

Winslow, Arizona was immortalized in “Take It Easy,” the debut single by the Eagles in 1972. Written by Jackson Browne, it memorably describes a girl “in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look” at a man “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.”  (Standinonthecorner.org)

“I took a road trip in this old beat-up Willys Jeep and I went to Utah and Arizona. On that trip, I started to write ‘Take It Easy,’” he said.

“When I came back, I played it for Glenn Frey, and he asked if the Eagles could cut it when it was done … It was their first single, and what those guys did with it was incredible.”

The atmospheric, all-American country-rock anthem, complete with quick-picking background banjo, made the Eagles major stars.

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Winslow in the early 1970s was a little city of about 8,500 people made bustling by its location on legendary Route 66.

The Eagles by the end of the decade soared into the pantheon of greatest acts in music history. But the little city that gave their first hit wings was effectively wiped off the map.

The Eagles and Jackson Browne

An image of the late Glenn Frey is displayed on a video screen as recording artists, left to right, Bernie Leadon, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley (on drum riser), Jackson Browne, Joe Walsh, and Steuart Smith perform onstage during The 58th Grammy Awards at Staples Center on Feb. 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.  (Kevin Winter/WireImage)

Interstate 40 opened in 1979, feeding high-speed traffic north of the city. 

“The freeway bypassed us and then basically downtown Winslow died,” Stephanie Lugo, a board member for the Standing on the Corner Foundation, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

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“The freeway bypassed us and then basically downtown Winslow died.”

The same fate befell hundreds of communities along the 2,500 miles of Route 66 that connected Chicago to Los Angeles.

Winslow had something few others had. It had pop-culture immortality, in the image of a young man catching the fancy of a young lady in a truck.

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Standing on the Corner Park, featuring a life-size statue of a man with a guitar between his feet and, presumably, “seven women on my mind,” opened in 1999. 

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Winslow, Arizona

Winslow, Arizona at dusk. The Route 66 community nearly became a ghost town when Interstate 40 opened in 1979 and bypassed the city.  (Standin’ on the Corner Foundation)

Winslow might have become just another desert ghost town. 

Instead, it’s a destination for rock fans and selfie seekers from around the world. 

Winslow added a second statue in 2016 of Frey, soon after the singer died.

“It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford / Slowing down to take a look at me.”

Lugo said 300 people or more stop for photographs on any single day. 

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“On holidays and weekends, the crowd is nonstop,” she said, “especially in the summer time when kids are out of school.” 

The park, she added, “definitely helped rebuild our downtown. We have several new restaurants and new shops. The downtown has come back to life.”

Browne certainly had no idea his song would ever be heard, let alone help recapture the glory of a small desert town.

Winslow, Arizona corner

Standin’ on the Corner Park is a tourist attraction in Winslow, Arizona. The community was made famous by its mention in “Take It Easy,” the first hit song for the Eagles in 1972, written by Jackson Browne. (Standin’ on the Corner Foundation)

Among other claims to fame, “Take It Easy” is the first track on the greatest-selling album of all time.

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“Eagles: Their Greatest Hits (1971-75)” has sold 38 million certified albums, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. 

It surpassed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (34 million) for the No. 1 spot in 2018. 

“Wherever we travel and people ask where we’re from and I tell them, ‘Winslow, Arizona,’ they go, ‘Oh my God! That’s The Eagles’ song,’” said Lugo. 

“They made our town world-famous.”

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Dallas to Tokyo flight canceled after Japan Airlines pilot's booze-fueled 2 am hotel rager

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Japan Airlines grounded a flight from Dallas to Tokyo last week after a hotel room noise complaint exposed the captain’s excessive drinking the night before its scheduled takeoff.

The airline confirmed that flight JL11 from Dallas to Tokyo on April 23 was canceled because its unidentified 49-year-old pilot was allegedly drinking with crew members the night before, Japanese outlet The Mainchi reported. 

Guests reportedly made several complaints about the pilot and crew members’ behavior in the hotel lounge and a hotel room after they returned from dinner in Dallas. Police issued a warning to the pilot after they were called to the scene around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Japan Airlines told USA Today. 

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A passenger aircraft operated by Japan Airlines Co. (JAL) is pictured at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, April 26, 2024.  (Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Although the pilot did not violate the airline’s guidelines against drinking within 12 hours of liftoff, Japan Airlines said they canceled the flight due to “the need to assess the captain’s physical and mental well-being.”

The airline specified that the flight was not canceled because the pilot was intoxicated at the time of the flight:

“It is true that the captain consumed alcohol,” a spokesperson told the Japanese outlet, noting that “there was a sufficient interval between alcohol consumption and the scheduled duty time.”

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Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines said in a statement that although the pilot assigned to fly from Dallas to Tokyo wasn’t drunk at the time of the scheduled flight, they removed him to assess his “physical and mental well-being” after police were called to the hotel where he was drinking with two crew members two nights earlier. The airline was unable to find a replacement pilot in time, they said. (Getty Images)

Japan Airlines said they were unable to find a replacement pilot in time for the flight’s scheduled departure.

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“We sincerely apologize to the customers who were involved in this flight cancelation,” the airline wrote in a statement. “In order to prevent such an incident from happening again, we will thoroughly implement measures to prevent recurrence and work to restore trust in our airline.”

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Passengers were diverted to an American Airlines flight – it is unclear whether their schedule was offset by the shift. An American Airlines plane is seen on February 17, 2019 at Charlotte International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina.  (DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Passengers on flight JL11 were transferred to an American Airlines flight – it is unclear whether they experienced delays. 

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Los Angeles, Ca

Synced Schedules: Jam Family Calendar Keeps Everyone on Track!

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Jam Family Calendar is the ultimate collaborative organizational app designed for the entire family. Seamlessly sync calendars, ensuring that all your loved ones stay connected to your daily schedule. Plus, celebrate Mother’s Day with an exclusive offer: get 60% off an annual membership for a limited time!

For more information on Jam Family Calendar, visit their website or Instagram.

This segment aired on 05/02/24.

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Cowboys' Dak Prescott will not face charges in 2017 alleged assault case: report

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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will not face any charges in connection to an investigation into an alleged assault that took place in 2017 after police said they found insufficient evidence to support that a crime had taken place, according to a report. 

Prescott, 30, was accused earlier this year of assaulting a woman in the back of a vehicle in a strip club parking lot back in February 2017. 

Dak Prescott, #4 of the Dallas Cowboys, throws the ball during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on December 30, 2023, in Arlington, Texas.  (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

According to The Associated Press, attorneys representing the woman sent a letter to Prescott in January requesting $100 million in exchange for her silence, including that she would not pursue criminal charges in connection with the alleged assault. 

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But Prescott instead filed an extortion lawsuit in Collin County, north of Dallas, against the woman in March.

“Sexual assault is a despicable crime that no person should ever endure,” the lawsuit read. “Defendants’ false claims in this regard undermine the courage of actual sexual assault survivors everywhere as well as the legitimacy of the horrific traumas they have endured.”

The woman then filed a countersuit and criminal charges, prompting the police investigation. 

Dak Prescott on the bench

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott sits on the bench during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, October 8, 2023.  (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

COWBOYS’ DAK PRESCOTT SUES WOMAN WHO ACCUSED HIM OF SEX ASSAULT, ALLEGES $100M EXTORTION PLOT

But a police official told The Dallas Morning News on Thursday that investigators had found “insufficient evidence” to support the case.

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“I want to thank the Dallas Police Department and Dallas County District Attorneys’ office for their thorough investigation of the allegations against Dak Prescott,” Prescott’s attorney Levi McCathern told the outlet. “As we knew they would, they found nothing in their extensive exploration of the facts that would support a criminal prosecution. We are confident that at the end of law enforcement’s investigation into the extortion case that they will find the accuser and her attorneys just as guilty as Dak is innocent.”

“As I have said from the beginning, Dak is a great football player, and an even better human. He would never assault any woman. These false accusations were brought up seven years after the alleged events for one reason and one reason only: to line the pockets of the accuser and her attorneys. Their behavior is an affront to all the true survivors of sexual assault.”

Dak Prescott hands on hips

Dak Prescott, #4 of the Dallas Cowboys, looks on against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on November 5, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Attorneys for the woman have said they will continue to move forward with their counterclaim. According to ESPN, they filed a motion on Monday to have Prescott’s lawsuit dismissed. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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