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Biden touts tentative railroad deal as a ‘big win for America’

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Thursday took a political victory lap after railway companies and unions reached a tentative labor agreement overnight — averting a strike that threatened to paralyze the nation’s supply chain and transportation rail service.

Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, Biden called the agreement a “big win for America” as the White House highlighted how he used his influence to avoid a crisis less than two months before the midterm elections.

“To the American people, this agreement can avert a significant damage that any shutdown would have brought,” Biden said. “Our nation’s rail system is the backbone of our supply chain.”

Biden said “every good you need” from clean water to food to liquefied natural gas gets delivered via rail.

“This agreement allows us to continue to rebuild a better America with an economy that truly works for working people and their families,” he said.

Before delivering remarks, Biden met with the negotiators who brokered the railway labor agreement in the Oval Office.

Administration officials hosted contract talks all day Wednesday hoping to broker a deal, negotiating for more than 20 consecutive hours, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said on Thursday. He described the deal as “hard-fought” and “mutually-beneficial.”

A White House official told reporters on Thursday that Biden called into Labor Department-led talks around 9 p.m. on Thursday to say a shutdown of railways was unacceptable and underscored the far-reaching economic consequences a strike would have. At 2 a.m., the official said, Walsh called the White House and said things were coming together. One union had to wake up their board to get sign off, the official added.

Biden thanked both sides for working in “good faith” to reach an agreement.

“In fact, the negotiators here today, I don’t think they’ve been to bed yet,” Biden said.

Unions will now vote on the agreement.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Trainmen (BLET) and the SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD) — the two largest rail unions and the final remaining union holdouts — confirmed the tentative agreement in a statement on Thursday.

The agreement includes one key sticking point throughout the negotiations: policies that allow workers to take a sick day or attend to a doctor’s appointment without being penalized.

“We listened when our members told us that a final agreement would require improvements to their quality of life as well as economic gains,” BELT and SMART-TD said in their joint statement.

Biden said on Thursday the workers “earned and deserved these benefits.”

“This agreement is validation of what I’ve always believed: unions and management can work together, can work together for the benefit of everyone,” he said.

Congress debated stepping into the fray to avoid the strike this week. Republican Sens. Wicker and Burr on Thursday attempted to push through a resolution that would have forced unions to accept the deal. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., blocked the measure, arguing workers have the right to strike over working conditions.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi applauded the tentative agreement on Thursday morning, stating Congress was ready to step in but “thankfully this action may not be necessary.”

“We congratulate the unions and railroads for coming to an agreement, because it is in the national interest that essential transportation services be maintained,” she said.

Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid Festival airing on Circle Network, with performances by Chris Stapleton + more

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The 2022 Farm Aid Festival will once again broadcast live on the Circle Network. Featuring sets from Chris Stapleton, Willie Nelson & Family, Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crow, the event will air from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Hosted by Runaway June bandmate Natalie Stovall, the annual music, food and farm festival will air in live and pre-recorded segments. The Circle Network’s social channels will also livestream Farm Aid throughout the day.

It’s the second consecutive year that the network will bring Farm Aid to fans in real time. Other performers on the bill include Margo Price, Charley Crockett, Lukas Nelson, Brittney Spencer and many more.

Farm Aid is an annual benefit show that raises money for family farmers in the United States. Founders Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young debuted the event in 1985 and, like Matthews and Price, are still board members.

Dua Lipa chats with Monica Lewinsky on season 2 premiere of ‘Dua Lipa: At Your Service’ podcast

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Dua Lipa will launch the second season of her podcast, Dua Lipa: At Your Service, with guest Monica Lewinsky.

The new season of the podcast — a companion to Dua’s Service95 newsletter — begins September 23. On that day, Dua will host a Twitter Spaces chat on the Service95s account to answer fans’ questions and talk about the new season.

In a statement, Dua says, “Recording At Your Service’s first season and getting to share those conversations with so many was one of the most rewarding experiences. I’m thrilled to be bringing that same curiosity and insight to Season Two, where we have a new crop of cultural icons and thought leaders to bring to you all.”

“I’m honored to have the resilient Monica Lewinsky as my first guest,” she adds. Guests on season one included Elton John, Megan Thee Stallion, activist Amal Clooney, actor Riz Ahmed and Russell Brand.

As for Dua’s Service95 newsletter, which you can subscribe to for free, it features writings on style, the arts, culture and society, as well as a peek into Dua’s life and some of her favorite things.

2022 Grateful Dead “Meet-Up at the Movies” screenings to feature 1972 Copenhagen concert

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Grateful Dead‘s “Meet-Up at the Movies” screening events are set to return this year for the first time since 2019.

The latest edition of the cinematic gathering, dubbed “Grateful Dead Meet-Up 2022,” will take place at select theaters around the world on November 1, with additional screenings to be held in the U.S., Canada and other locations on November 5.

This year’s event will feature film of an April 17, 1972 show at the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark — a performance that was part of the band’s legendary Europe ’72 tour.

Tickets for the screenings go on sale on Friday, September 23 at 10 a.m. ET at MeetUpattheMovies.com.

The 90-minute performance was The Grateful Dead’s first concert ever to be broadcast live and was shown on Danish television. The footage has been restored and color corrected in high-def, and the audio has been mixed and mastered from the original master tapes.

The Dead’s lineup at the time featured Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Donna Jean Godchaux and Keith Godchaux.

The set included the first live performance of “He’s Gone” as well as renditions of such other songs as “Ramble on Rose,” “Jack Straw” and “One More Saturday Night.” You can check out a video of the “One More Saturday Night” performance now on The Grateful Dead’s YouTube channel.

The “Grateful Dead Meet-Up 2022” event will bring to an end a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the band’s Europe ’72 live album. The commemoration also included the release of remastered versions of the original album as well as a 24-LP box set, exclusively available at Dead.net, that documents four full concerts from the trek.

“Rejoice”: Nick Cannon welcomes baby number nine

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Nick Cannon is a dad for the ninth time.

The TV personality took to Instagram with girlfriend LaNisha Cole to announce the arrival of their new baby girl, Onyx Ice Cole Cannon.

It is Cannon’s first baby with Cole; their happy news comes a month after he announced he was expecting baby #10, his third with model Brittany Bell. The pair also have a five-year-old son named Golden “Sagon” and a 19-month old daughter named Powerful Queen.

About his new baby girl, the Wild N’ Out star said, “Once again Today I am in Awe of the Devine Feminine! God has given me and @MissLanishaCole the privilege of hosting an Angel here on earth. I vow to protect, provide, guide and love this child to the best of my abilities.”

He added he was going to “to mute any low vibrational frequencies and only rejoice,” expressing, “I promise to love this little girl with all my heart.”

Nick also commented, “I’ve given up on attempting to define myself for the world or society but instead I’m doing the work to heal and grow into the infinite being God ordained me to be.”

Cannon, of course, is the dad of twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-wife Mariah Carey.

He also has 14-month-old twins Zion and Zillion from his relationship with Abby De La Rosa and a one-month-old son named Legend with model Bre Tiesi.

In December 2021, Nick and Alyssa Scott announced that their five-month-old son Zen passed away from brain cancer.

In Flames announces new album, ’Foregone’

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

In Flames has announced a new album called Foregone.

The 14th studio effort from the Swedish metallers will arrive February 10, 2023.

“Going into the Foregone sessions, we wanted to make a record that was heavily guitar-driven, and that had a strong foundation between the bass and drums,” says frontman Anders Fridén. “We still approached our songwriting the same way, as we always have, as a juxtaposition between melody and aggression. That’s the DNA of our music. From the lyrical end of things, there was no shortage of inspiration to draw from, especially the concept of time.”

Forgone features the previously released songs “State of Slow Decay” and “The Great Deceiver.” A third cut, titled “Foregone Pt. 1,” is available now via digital outlets.

In Flames is currently on a U.S. tour, which continues through October.

Here’s the Foregone track list:

“The Beginning of All Things That Will End”
“State of Slow Decay”
“Meet Your Maker”
“Bleeding Out”
“Foregone Pt. 1”
“Foregone Pt. 2”
“Pure Light of Mind”
“The Great Deceiver”
“In the Dark”
“A Dialogue in B Flat Minor”
“Cynosure”
“End the Transmission”

DeSantis sends National Guard to help with Florida prison staffing shortage

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis has activated the Florida National Guard to address staffing shortages at the state’s correctional facilities.

“Members of the Guard have the training and capability to assist Florida’s correctional officers with certain duties, such as manning guard towers, perimeter patrols, and control stations, which will allow the correctional officers to concentrate on directly supervising and caring for inmates,” an executive order DeSantis signed Friday said.

The order said the Guard will remain in Florida correctional facilities on a “short term basis” and notes current hiring efforts have “shown early signs of success.”

Florida’s staffing shortage has resulted in the “temporary closure of 176 inmate dorms and suspension of 431 supervised work squads,” it said. “This shortage threatens the safety of officers, inmates, and the public.”

The Florida Department of Corrections is authorized to hire 20,000 correction and probation officers — nearly one quarter of the state’s employees.

There is a severe staffing shortage at federal prisons nationwide as well.

“The unprecedented and remarkable steps taken by Governor DeSantis in sending the National Guard to assist the Florida Department of Corrections is indicative of a profession in crisis with nationwide public safety implications,” Shane Fausey, President of the National Council of Prison Locals 33, the union that represents federal corrections officers around the country.

“The Bureau of Prisons, much like our state and county counterparts, have seen an ominous exodus from our agency, aggravated by serious difficulties in recruiting and hiring,” he said.

Fausey said the Bureau of Prisons saw a departure of nearly 3,000 correctional officers and employees in 2021, and is on course to lose an additional 3,000 by the end of 2022, nearly 20% of its total workforce.

The BOP declined to comment on staffing issues to ABC News.

“I implore executive action by the White House administration, coupled with emergency actions of Congress, be implemented immediately to address our inadequate pay bands, crippling staffing shortages, and incentivize the retention of our most experienced officers and employees,” Fausey said.

Gloria Estefan says she fought to have “Conga” become a single

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Gloria Estefan has long been a trailblazer in the Latino community, but one of her most famous songs almost didn’t come to pass because it was “too Latin sounding.” That song was “Conga.”

Appearing on ABC News’ Soul of a Nation, the Grammy winner revealed she never thought she’d become a professional singer. “I sang since I talked,” Estefan said. “It just came with me, but I didn’t feel the need to do it for other people.”

That changed when she met husband Emilio Estefan, who asked her to join his band, The Miami Latin Boys, upon hearing her sing. The newly formed Miami Sound Machine released its first album in January 1976, but nearly a decade later, Estefan said she and her husband still faced pushback.

“They didn’t want ‘Conga’ to be the single. They wanted another single and we told them ‘Conga’ is the single. They still put out another one.” Estefan said. “They thought that it wasn’t going to be the hit because they thought it was too Latin sounding.”

Songs like “Conga,” nonetheless, grabbed the nation’s attention and launched Miami Sound Machine up the charts. Despite their success, some still viewed the band’s Latin influence as a weakness.

Gloria recalled being told it’s “not a Latin market” and to “lose the percussion… lose the horns” by the industry. “Some guy even told Emilio, ‘Lose the girl singer,'” she said.

Embracing her Cuban identity would ultimately be a key component to her meteoric rise to fame, as the group’s Latin beats and Cuban sounds resonated with both English and Spanish-speakers.

Alongside her husband, Gloria would eventually pave the way for the many successful Latin artists who succeeded her, such as Jennifer Lopez and Shakira; she continues to open doors whenever possible.

Soul of a Nation is streaming now on Hulu.

New bills seek to ban sale of diet pills to children. Here’s what parents need to know

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Lawmakers are seeking to limit the sale of diet pills and weight loss supplements to children with the introduction of new bills in California and New York.

The bills in California and New York would prohibit retailers from selling dietary supplements for weight loss and over-the-counter diet pills to anyone under the age of 18 without a prescription. Such supplements and pills aren’t required to be reviewed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration and the federal agency has warned the public of the dangers of certain weight loss products, highlighting contaminated pills that have been tainted with dangerous ingredients.

Overall, the diet pill industry in the United States is largely unregulated.

Women between the ages of 14 to 36 who used diet pills were five times more likely to develop an eating disorder in the next one to three years than those who did not take pills, according a study released in 2020 in the American Journal of Public Health that examined data from over 10,000 women from 2001 to 2016.

More research is still needed to determine the correlation between weight loss supplement and diet pill use and eating disorders.

“Observation and association does not prove cause and effect. So we don’t know whether the eating disorder caused the dietary supplement or pill use or vice versa,” ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said Thursday on “Good Morning America.”

“Also, doctors don’t normally write prescriptions for over-the-counter supplements. But the intention here [behind the bills] is a good one, which is to try to protect this vulnerable population,” Ashton added.

For parents concerned about their kids possibly using unregulated diet pills, Ashton recommends that they find out what children are saying and doing and have conversations with them about healthy body perceptions.

“I think parents need to be on the lookout … and not just in girls but in boys as well. So I think they need to pay attention to what their children and their teens are saying and doing. Talk to them. Keep that dialogue in line of communication open and emphasize that health is really just as much internal as it is, if not more than, what you can see,” Ashton said.

In addition to ongoing discussions, parents should also model and encourage healthy eating habits, physical activity and sufficient sleep habits.

Mariah Carey announces ‘Butterfly’ 25th anniversary collection

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Mariah Carey‘s sixth studio album, Butterfly, turns 25 on Friday, so she’s releasing a special anniversary collection packed full of goodies.

The Grammy winner teased the upcoming celebration on Instagram and cheekily pretended it hasn’t been a quarter century since she unleashed her five-times Platinum album. “Celebrating 25… minutes… since the release of my favorite and probably most personal album,” Mariah wrote, adding that sales start on Friday.

Mariah isn’t just rereleasing the album, she’s packing it with eight new bonus tracks and classic live performance videos of past songs.

The set will also include 4K digitally remastered music videos for “Honey” and “The Roof.” Speaking of the “Honey” music video, she gave it the documentary treatment and teased a brief clip of it, which hints fans will learn a new thing or two about the spy-themed video.

Butterfly‘s special 25th anniversary edition will also be available in vinyl and cassette form.

Mariah also promised new Butterfly merchandise will soon hit her online store and shared a brief glimpse of some upcoming T-shirts, pants, tank tops, sweaters and more.

The “Fantasy” singer ended the video with a promise that she has “more surprises” on the way.

Sales begin on Friday, September 16, which marks 25 years to the day Butterfly hit the shelves.

Mariah’s sixth studio album contained the hits “Butterfly,” “Honey,” “My All,” “The Roof,” “Breakdown” and “Close My Eyes,” as well as a cover of Prince‘s “The Beautiful Ones.” The record, which was nominated for three Grammy Awards, has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

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