Top Stories of 2013 on KOOL-FM

Cooper High School students recently put together a video for the GMA/Katy Perry ‘Roar’ contest. The video has had Abilene talking as well as a hot trending topic on Facebook and Twitter. It was a great piece of work and they were rewarded this morning when GMA announced live to the nation that Cooper was one of the 5 finalists in the contest.

The explosion that destroyed the West Fertilizer plant in the small town of West, Texas was caught on cell phone video, and… BE WARNED it is HORRIFYING!

Because of the Labor Day holiday, some of you might have missed the fact that new Texas laws went into effect as of September 1st, 2013. In case you haven’t had a chance to check out some of the over 600 laws passed, here’s a rundown of some of the more notable ones.

Back in May, Tom Petty used the stage of the Beacon Theater in New York City to voice his displeasure of what country music has evolved into when he called the country music of today “bad rock with a fiddle”. Rather than backing down from those comments in a recent interview, Petty took the opportunity to elaborate his point.

For those of you who are on Facebook and play games, especially Candy Crush Saga, you will totally get a laugh out of this video. It is so completely true and yes, I have to admit I am addicted!

Tom Petty already made my list of all-time favorite artists for years. After hearing he gave full refunds after performing 3/4 of a concert before being shut down by the local Fire Marshal, I’m starting to think the rock legend can do no wrong.

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top made an appearance at the 2013 American Country Awards, offering support for his buddy Jake Owen on his rocking country song, ‘Days of Gold’. Adding to this genre-crossing event was the fact that Owen appeared to be genuinely surprised by Gibbons’ appearance.

Sometimes, having a big heart can cause big problems.

Police in Collier County, Florida have arrested 19-year-old Andrew Anderson for giving out discounts to people he felt needed them while he worked at a Goodwill store.

A family in Ontario, Canada is in shock after this anonymous hate letter was written about a young boy living with severe autism.

Daughter of Drag Racing legend John Force made the decision at the age of 7 that she was going to race funny cars like her dad. Oh, She also recently decided to pose nude for ESPN.