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Old Friend: Paul Simon celebrates his 80th birthday today

October 13, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Paul Simon, one of the most important singer/songwriters of the rock music era, celebrates his 80th birthday today.

Simon came to fame in the mid-’60s as half of the legendary folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, and then launched a successful solo career in the early 1970s that has seen him incorporate jazz, African, Brazilian and Latin music influences into his pop-rock sound.

Paul’s melodic, intelligent and poetic songs helped make Simon & Garfunkel one of the most popular and celebrated music acts of the 1960s and early ’70s. The duo topped the Billboard Hot 100 three times, with “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson” and “Bridge over Troubled Water.” Simon won eight Grammy Awards for his work with Art Garfunkel, including a 1970 Album of the Year prize for Bridge over Troubled Water, and Record of the Year and Song of the Year honors for the title track.

Simon enjoyed similar success as a solo artist, winning 1975 and 1986 Album of the Year Grammys, respectively, for Still Crazy After All These Years and Graceland. The latter album was not only a huge commercial success, selling more than five million copies in the U.S. alone, it’s considered a critical high-water mark for Paul, who collaborated with South African musicians to create an infectious hybrid of world music and pop.

Simon has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice, as a member of Simon & Garfunkel in 1990 and as a solo artist in 2001. Other accolades include induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1982, being named MusiCares Person of the Year in 2001, receiving a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, being awarded the first Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007, and receiving Sweden’s prestigious Polar Music Prize in 2012.

Paul retired from touring in 2018, although he has continued to play select concerts that raise money for various charities he supports. Simon’s most recent album was 2018’s In the Blue Light, a collection of new versions of some of his favorite tunes from his back catalog, reimagined to incorporate jazz and classical influences.

Alisal Fire in California shuts down Highway 101, prompts evacuations in Santa Barbara County

October 13, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — Wildfires wreaking havoc in several West Coast regions are expected to burn throughout the night as dangerous conditions may further increase their spread.

The Alisal Fire in Southern California had exploded to about 13,400 acres Tuesday evening after sparking near the Alisal Reservoir on Monday around 2:30 p.m. It remains just 5% contained and 50 mph gusts were expected in the region overnight, according to the National Weather Service.

Strong northwest winds pushed the fire south of the summit, crossing Highway 101 to Tajiguas Beach, according to fire officials. The origin of the blaze is not yet known.

The fire prompted evacuations in Santa Barbara County and the closure of Highway 101 from Las Cruces to Goleta. Closures of the 101, the only major highway in the region, have caused congestion on the nearby State Road 154 and Interstate 5, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Videos posted to social media show thick plumes of smoke hanging over roadways in Gaviota, California, and near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County.

While winds died down Tuesday, red flag warnings remained in effect in Northern California, where wildfires have destroyed dozens of trailers at mobile home parks in Sacramento County and San Joaquin County.

The region remains a tinderbox following decades of drought, exacerbated by climate change.

3 USPS workers, including suspect, dead after shooting at Memphis facility

October 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — Two U.S. Postal Service employees are dead after a shooting at a Memphis postal facility, authorities said.

The suspected shooter, who was also a USPS employee, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, FBI Memphis spokesperson Lisa-Anne Culp said during a press briefing Tuesday.

The shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon at the East Lamar Carrier Annex, a location that does not have retail customers. Around 2:50 p.m. local time, the Memphis Police Department said it had secured the scene and there was no active threat.

A witness told Memphis ABC affiliate WATN she saw people running away saying shots had been fired.

USPS is working with the FBI, Memphis Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on the investigation, Postal Inspector Susan Link told reporters.

The USPS and FBI spokespeople did not share any additional information on the shooting, including the identifies of the victims or suspect.

“The Postal Service is saddened at the events that took place today in Memphis,” the USPS said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the family members, friends and coworkers of the individuals involved. The Postal Service will be providing resources to all employees at the East Lamar Carrier Annex in the coming days and weeks.”

This is the second high-profile workplace shooting in the Memphis area in recent weeks. Last month, one person was killed and 14 others were injured in a shooting at a Kroger grocery store in Collierville. The suspected gunman, a third-party vendor for Kroger, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Monoculture farming is another way modern-day agriculture is killing bees, scientists say

October 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Scientists have discovered another way modern-day farming techniques are killing off bee populations.

While pesticides have long been blamed for the decline in pollinators, a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B on Tuesday has found that the mass-flowering of single plant species is increasing the prevalence of bee populations infected with parasites.

Monoculture farming — which involves growing only one type of crop at a time on a specific field — is a common agricultural practice, especially in the U.S., which has about 440 million acres being cultivated for monoculture. But one of the consequences of the practice is that landscapes without much natural habitat can suddenly experience mass-bloom events and have negative impacts on bees, according to the study.

Researchers at the University of Oregon surveyed 1,509 bees in sunflower fields and non-crop flowering habitats in California’s Central Valley, finding that when the crops flowered for a short period of time across a large space, the events can aggregate pollinator species together, which then results in increased rates of bees becoming infected with parasites as they come in contact with each other.

The degraded landscapes are attractive to bees because of the massive amounts of pollen and nectar that bloom at the same time, the researchers said. The mass events have the potential to provide immune and nutritional benefits to the bees, but when the mass blooms peaked is when the bees had higher rates of parasitism, Hamutahl Cohen, a researcher of the at the University of Oregon’s Institute of Ecology and Evolution and one of the authors of the study, told ABC News.

“We have an incredible amount of biodiversity on this earth,” Cohen said. “And we’re seeing that wildlife is declining, and one of the primary drivers of decline is disease.”

While in many ways the modification of landscapes is necessary to feed a growing population, Cohen described the mass-flowering crops as the “doorknobs of the bee world” as bees go from flower to flower to collect food amid their daily work.

“It’s just the same thing as a human touching a doorknob,” she said. “We all know this, because of the pandemic … if you have a cold and you touch a doorknob, and someone else comes and touches that doorknob, they can get sick.”

Scientists are suggesting that farmers stop the practice of monoculture farming, which are often in “highly degraded areas” such as California’s Central Valley, which has seen an “incredible amount” of habitat loss in the past 100 years, Cohen said.

However, the fate of bees is not doomed, Cohen said. On fields where farmers who heeded the call to implement strips of perennial plants, bee aggregation was less likely to be associated with parasitism due to the increased diversity of flowers.

While Cohen was not surprised to see the enhanced rates of parasitism in bees and monoculture farming systems, she was surprised to find just how effective planting non-crop flowers were for conservation efforts.

“It didn’t just dampen the effect of aggregating these,” she said. “It actually reversed the effects.”

The perennial plants are often selected for characteristics like drought tolerance and suitability for pollinators, Cohen said, adding that there can be “economic hurdles” to changing the landscape to implementing conservation practices.

House votes to temporarily raise debt limit

October 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House voted Tuesday to temporarily raise the debt ceiling by $480 billion after the Senate approved the stopgap measure late last week, putting off the risk of default until early December.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the lower chamber back to Washington from a two-week recess to pass the measure. The bill passed along party lines Tuesday evening in a 219-206 vote. It now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for signature.

“A default would send shockwaves to global financial markets, and would likely cause credit markets worldwide to freeze up and stock markets to plunge. Employers around the world would likely have to begin laying off workers,” Pelosi told reporters during a press conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

The debt ceiling bill was packaged as part of a rule for floor debate of several other bills, meaning there was not a stand-alone vote on the debt limit measure. The bill was considered “deemed and passed” once the rule was adopted.

Pelosi staved off defections amid razor-thin margins in the House. She could have only afforded to lose three votes.

Republicans for months have said that Democrats would need to act on their own to raise the debt limit because they have total control of Washington and are planning to pass a multi-trillion social and economic package with zero input from Republicans.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said repeatedly that Democrats should have to hike the debt limit because of the high cost of Biden’s proposed agenda.

Democrats have argued that raising the debt limit is a bipartisan responsibility, in part because it covers spending that already took place under the Trump administration.

The House’s return Tuesday follows a chilling warning from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that if the House fails to act this week the U.S. is at risk of defaulting and will be unable to pay its bills.

Yellen warned on ABC’s “This Week” that McConnell and Republicans are playing with “catastrophe” over a pending fight to raise the debt ceiling.

“Fifty million Americans wouldn’t receive Social Security payments. Our troops won’t know when or if they would be paid. The 30 million families that receive a child tax credit, those payments would be in jeopardy,” Yellen said.

She said such a scenario “could result in catastrophe.”

President Joe Biden has said he will sign the bill into law once the House approves the measure Tuesday, but lawmakers will once again be at odds and at risk of fiscal calamity come December.

The new deadline will coincide with the end of the stop-gap deal to fund the federal government.

Pelosi indicated an off-ramp on the debt ceiling drama is in the works. She told reporters that the Treasury Department should be able to lift the debt ceiling unilaterally, while Congress would maintain the power to overrule an increase to the debt limit.

“I’m optimistic that these decisions have to be made,” Pelosi said.

“We are not a rubber stamp or a lockstep party — we have a discussion, and other family values that all members have brought to the table,” Pelosi said.

The idea to give the Treasury the authority to lift the debt limit “seems to have some appeal on both sides of the aisle because of the consequences of not lifting it.”

Pelosi said she thinks the idea has “merit.”

“We’re just hoping that we can do this in a bipartisan way,” she added.

The speaker said she does not support raising the debt limit through the process of reconciliation, which would allow Democrats to pass any bill with just a simple majority. The process is time-consuming and Democrats have firmly said they oppose using the process.

In a letter to Biden, McConnell warned that come December he would be willing to allow the nation to default on its national debt rather than work with Democrats on a resolution.

“Your lieutenants on Capitol Hill now have the time they claimed they lacked to address the debt ceiling through standalone reconciliation, and all the tools to do it,” McConnell said in the letter. “They cannot invent another crisis and ask for my help.”

ABC News’ Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.

US investigating reported cases of ‘Havana syndrome’ in Colombia ahead of Blinken visit

October 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(BOGOTA, Colombia) — A “few” U.S. personnel at the embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, have reported symptoms consistent with “Havana syndrome,” a source familiar with the cases confirmed to ABC News.

Colombia is now the latest country where American officials have reported incidents of the mysterious neurological affliction that has confounded the U.S. government for years now, but the reports are particularly notable because Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Bogotá this month, the Colombian Foreign Ministry announced last week.

In a similar episode in August, Vice President Kamala Harris’s trip to Vietnam was delayed for a few hours after an unconfirmed case of “Havana syndrome” was reported by a staffer at the U.S. mission there.

American diplomats, spies and other officials have reported strange experiences and debilitating symptoms in several countries now, starting with Cuba in late 2016 and expanding to China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Germany, Austria and elsewhere.

Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, cognitive difficulties, tinnitus, vertigo and trouble with seeing, hearing or balancing. Many officials have suffered symptoms years after reporting an incident, while some have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries.

It’s unclear how many U.S. officials have confirmed medical symptoms.

Leadership at the U.S. embassy in Bogotá informed staff of the reported incidents, saying they are investigating the cases and addressing them “seriously, with objectivity and with sensitivity,” according to an email from Ambassador Philip Goldberg obtained by the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. The source confirmed to ABC News that Goldberg has been in communication with staff, but declined to share the emails.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price declined to comment on the report Tuesday during a department briefing, saying instead the agency is working to ensure all affected personnel get “the prompt care they need in whatever form that takes” and to protect its work force around the world.

Pressed on why the administration wasn’t being more forthcoming, Price said officials had to respect personnel privacy, adding, “It’s certainly not the case that we are ignoring this. We are just not speaking to the press — we’re speaking to our workforce.”

Price also declined to confirm that Blinken is traveling to Colombia. Colombia’s Foreign Ministry announced he would visit for a high-level dialogue on Oct. 20 with Foreign Minister and First Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez after the two met last week in Paris on the sidelines of the summit of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.

Vanilla Fudge’s Mark Stein releasing debut solo album, ‘There’s a Light,’ in November; listen to lead single now

October 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Mark Stein, lead singer and keyboardist of the veteran psychedelic rock band Vanilla Fudge, will release his debut solo album, There’s a Light, on November 26.

Stein recorded the album during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was inspired by the health crisis and other issues the U.S. and the world have been facing — including social unrest, racial disparity and political conflicts — to put together collection of songs offering such themes as hope, unity and redemption.

“This is an album about hope, but at the same time, I had to sing about the dangers of division,” the 74-year-old musician notes. “When I started the newest collection of songs during the early weeks of the pandemic, it dawned on me that I had created an album with a theme. These songs are reflections of what the world is about now, and what we need to do to bring us together again.”

The album’s lead track, “We Are One,” has been released as an advance digital single, and a companion music video for the tune has premiered on YouTube. Stein says the song speaks of “unity and what I know our country and the world is capable of.”

There’s a Light also includes two classic covers tunes that reflect the album’s themes, renditions of The Temptations‘ “Ball of Confusion” and The Rascals‘ “People Got to Be Free,” and culminates with an emotional version of “America the Beautiful.”

There’s a Light can be pre-ordered on CD now at MerchBucket.com, and limited-edition bundles featuring a signed copy of the disc, as well as a Mark Stein T-shirt, bracelet and bandana, also can be purchased at the site.

Here’s the There’s a Light track list:

“We Are One”
“Ball of Confusion”
“We Are Survivors”
“Lyin'”
“Racism”
“All Lives Matter”
“Let’s Pray for Peace”
“People Got to Be Free”
“Break It Down”
“America the Beautiful”

Duran Duran celebrating release of new album, ‘Future Past,’ next week with special streaming event

October 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Duran Duran will celebrate their 15th and latest studio album, Future Past, with a special virtual album-release event that will stream live on the Dreamstage.live platform at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 21, one day before the record hits stores.

The event will feature a live Q&A with Duran Duran’s members, during which they will share stories about their 40 years together as a band. The interview segment will be followed by the premiere of a new documentary titled Duran Duran: Alison Jackson’s Double Take, which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the group’s music video for “Anniversary,” a recently released advance single from Future Past.

The “Anniversary” video was directed by Alison Jackson, an award-winning filmmaker, photographer and artist who explores the cult of celebrity while using celeb lookalikes.

The streaming event will replay at 8 p.m. ET on October 21, and then will be available on demand for 72 hours. Tickets can be purchased now at Dreamstage.live. Check out a trailer for the event on YouTube.

As previously reported, Future Past will be released on October 22 and includes guest appearances by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, Swedish pop singer Tove Lo, German-born U.K. rapper Ivorian Doll, Japanese punk group CHAI and longtime David Bowie keyboardist Mike Garson.

Future Past was co-produced by Duran Duran with the legendary Giorgio Moroder and British DJ/producer Erol Alkan. You can pre-order it now.

Nelly’s former group member reignites feud over his success

October 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

After being honored last week with the BET I Am Hip Hop Award for career achievement, Nelly is now feuding again with one of his former group member who wants more credit for his success.

The 46-year-old rapper began his career with the group the St. Lunatics before launching his solo career in 2000 with the landmark Country Grammar album, which has sold over 10 million copies. Ali from the St. Lunatics has beefed with Nelly for years, and now they are feuding again after Ali claimed that Nelly dissed him Monday on Instagram.

The former Real Husbands of Hollywood star commented in his post, “It’s called a career and in it you have ups and downs…some never have ups themselves so technically they just never had a career. they just was apart of someone else. FACT!!”

Ali took that remark as a personal insult, and had harsh words for Nelly. He claims that he was the ghostwriter behind Nelly’s solo success, and slammed him for slow sales of his new country album, Heartland.

“Do you notice that he hasn’t said ANYTHING about that country album !!??,” Ali responded in his own Instagram message. “Well I’ll tell you why…13,000 !!!! Wow, that’s how many copies of that album he sold !! ‘MY’ career was writing you a career.”

He added, “to be continued (it’s all the most grand illusion ever pulled, and it’s all unraveling RIGHT NOW… and he’s mentally suffering trying to hide the secrets).”

In February, Ali claimed that Nelly “hustled” the entire group, and asked him to put the group back together again. The St. Lunatics released only one studio album, Free City, in 2001.

Tyga arrested for felony domestic violence

October 12, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Tyga has been arrested on felony domestic violence charges following allegations of abuse by his ex-girlfriend, Camaryn Swanson.

In a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department to ABC News, authorities say that Tyga, born Michael Stevenson, turned himself in on Tuesday morning “around 9:00 am where he was arrested and booked for felony domestic violence.”

Tyga’s bail was listed at $50,000, although it’s reported that by Tuesday afternoon, the rapper had quickly bailed himself out.

As previously reported, Tyga’s arrest comes after Swanson took to social media on Monday evening to share photos of the alleged injuries she suffered as a result of what she says was an altercation with the rapper.

In an Instagram Story where she appears to have a black eye, Camaryn tagged TMZ and wrote, “I’ve been emotionally, mentally, and physically abused and I’m not hiding it anymore.”

According to TMZ, the incident occurred after Swanson arrived at Tyga’s home uninvited. There, she reportedly argued and yelled at the rapper until she was picked up by her mother. Swanson, however, disputes claims that she was told not to show up at Tyga’s home.

Tyga and Swanson have been reportedly dating since the beginning of the 2021.

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