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Special counsel Jack Smith expected to wind down Trump prosecutions: Sources

November 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Special counsel Jack Smith is in active talks with senior leadership at the Justice Department evaluating ways he can end his prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

The decision is based on longstanding Department of Justice policy that a sitting president cannot face criminal prosecution while in office, sources said.

It is unclear as of today how Smith’s prosecutors will approach dismissing both the federal election subversion case in Washington, D.C., and their ongoing appeal of Judge Aileen Cannon’s dismissal of the classified documents case.

Trump has vowed to fire Smith “within two seconds.”

“We got immunity at the Supreme Court. It’s so easy. I would fire him within two seconds. He’ll be one of the first things addressed,” Trump said on a call into the “Hugh Hewitt Show” on Oct. 24.

But due to Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a president, a firing is unneeded.

Smith was appointed to his position by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to investigate Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the 2020 election as well as Trump’s alleged unlawful possession of highly classified documents he took from his time in the White House.

On June 8, 2023, Smith indicted Trump on charges he unlawfully retained classified documents and obstructed the government’s efforts to retrieve them. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges in a federal court in Florida.

On Aug. 1, 2023, Trump was indicted on four felony counts related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump also pleaded not guilty in federal court to those charges.

Both cases were thrown into disarray by the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this summer giving presidents partial immunity against prosecution.

The Jan. 6 case was sent back to a lower court, while Cannon, a Trump nominee, dismissed the classified documents case, ruling Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional because he was not appointed by the president or confirmed by Congress.

ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

JD Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, set to become history-making second lady

November 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The White House is set to see another history-making vice presidential spouse.

With Ohio Sen. JD Vance set to become the next vice president, his wife, Usha Vance, who is the daughter of Indian immigrants, is set to be the first Indian American second lady in the White House. She will also be the first Hindu second lady.

That will follow Doug Emhoff’s history-making mark as the first second gentleman in the White House. He is also the first Jewish person in the role.

JD Vance thanked “my beautiful wife for making it possible to do this” on social media on Wednesday, after multiple news organizations, including ABC News, projected that former President Donald Trump will win the presidential match-up against Vice President Kamala Harris.

At 38, Usha Vance is set to be the youngest second lady since the Truman administration, when then-38-year-old Jane Hadley Barkley, wife of former Vice President Alben Barkley, assumed the role in 1949.

She was raised in a Hindu household in San Diego, where her parents are academics.

The Vances met during their time at Yale Law School and got married in Kentucky in 2014. They have three children together.

An attorney who once clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, she left her law firm, Munger, Tolles & Olsen, after her husband was formally announced as former President Donald Trump’s running mate on the Republican party ticket in July.

Usha Vance was in the spotlight at the Republican National Convention, where she introduced her husband.

“My background is very different from JD’s. I grew up in San Diego, in a middle-class community with two loving parents, both immigrants from India, and a wonderful sister,” she said at the convention. “That JD and I could meet at all, let alone fall in love and marry, is a testament to this great country.”

She has since taken on a more behind-the-scenes role on the campaign trail, not delivering any remarks at a public campaign event since the RNC.

“Obviously, at the convention, I was asked to introduce JD, and so that was an active role,” she told NBC News in October. “But the thing that JD asked, and the thing that I certainly agreed to do, is to keep him company.”

She told NBC News at the time that she hadn’t given much thought to what causes or initiatives she might focus on if she became the second lady.

“You know, this is such an intense and busy experience that I have not given a ton of thought to my own roles and responsibilities,” she said.

“And so I thought, what would I do? See what happens on Nov. 5, and collect some information myself and take it from there,” she said. “There are certainly things I’m interested in, but I don’t really know how that all fits into this role.”

In her first interview after JD Vance was named Trump’s running mate, Usha Vance discussed with “Fox & Friends” how she and her husband share different political views and suggested that their opinions influence each other in a “nice give and take.”

“I mean, we’re two different people. We have lots of different backgrounds and interests and things like that, so we come to different conclusions all the time,” she said. “That’s part of the fun of being married.”

She was also asked to respond to her husband’s widely criticized “childless cat ladies” comment, which was directed at Harris and others in a recently resurfaced 2021 Fox News interview.

“He made a quip in service of making a point that he wanted to make that was substantive,” she said. “And I just wish sometimes that people would talk about those things and that we would spend a lot less time just sort of going through this three-word phrase or that three-word phrase.”

She told “Fox & Friends” that she never thought she’d be in politics, that they planned to be lawyers with a family, and that they have agreed to keep their children out of the spotlight.

“Through his Senate candidacy, we had a lot of serious conversations, because, you know, we do have three children, and giving them a stable, normal, happy life and upbringing is something that is the most important thing to us,” she said.

Jon Pardi has a ‘hot girl warning’ tag on ‘Friday Night Heartbreaker’

November 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Looking for some dating advice in the form of a country song? Look no further than Jon Pardi‘s “Friday Night Heartbreaker.”

“‘Friday Night Heartbreaker’ is a very cool song. It’s something that caught my ear when I first heard it. I love the, you know, I call it like the hot girl warning — the heartbreaker, the stay-away-from-this-girl-even-though-you’re-probably-going-to-try-to-talk-to-her,” Jon tells the press.

“It’s kind of a fun song. I feel like girls really like that kind of stuff,” says the “Last Night Lonely” singer. “And it’s kind of spooky sounding, rock ‘n’ roll country.”

“Friday Night Heartbreaker” previews Jon’s forthcoming as-yet-untitled Mr. Saturday Night follow-up.

Gayle King responds to Megan Thee Stallion admission

November 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

In Megan Thee Stallion‘s Prime Video documentary, she opened up about a number of things, including her past relationship with Tory Lanez. Though she admitted she lied to Gayle King about whether they’d been intimate, it hasn’t stopped Gayle from being a fan.

“I thought it was the first time she was telling her story, and it bothered me that so many people didn’t believe her story. So, I wanted to get it from her firsthand. Why she said what she said to me is really on her,” Gayle said to TMZ. “I’m still nuts about her. I think she’s been through a lot, and I can’t wait to see her documentary. I’m cheering her on.”

Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Own Words follows Meg as she attempts to navigate fame, grief, pressure and success.

“Yes, b****. I lied to Gayle King…,” she said of her 2022 interview with CBS Mornings. “First of all, I ain’t know that b**** was even finna ask me about that s**. I thought we was gonna talk about this shooting.”

Gayle later addressed being called out her name on social media.

“Hey, I’m just sitting here, minding my own business, and people are reaching out to me saying, ‘Hey Gayle, Megan Thee Stallion just called you a b****’” Gayle explained on Instagram. “Well, I know you’re expecting me, or maybe you’re thinking I have something negative to say.”

“I do not,” she continued. “I have nothing but great, great love and respect for Megan Thee Stallion and cheering her on always.”

“Feelin’ Alright” soon: Dave Mason to undergo heart surgery on Nov. 11

November 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

After canceling his live dates in September due to what he called an “urgent heart condition,” Dave Mason has now given fans a major health update.

On Instagram, the ex-Traffic rocker reveals that he’s going to have heart valve replacement surgery on Nov. 11. He says specifically, he’ll be having a kind of surgery called TAVR, or transcatheter aortic valve replacement. It’s a minimally invasive procedure that Mason points out has already yielded great results in another rock legend.

“Mick Jagger has had the same surgery, and we’ve all been lucky to have him continue to entertain us,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer writes. “They say I should feel significantly better in 30 days, and fully rocking in 90, given a smooth operation.”

Mason says that he and his wife are “looking forward to getting my health back and feeling better than I have in quite a while.” He adds, “We’re feeling great about the future. Music is my life, and it means the world to me to be able to share it with you … I’ll update you all again soon. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other.”

The 78-year-old Mason, who recently released his memoir, Only You Know and I Know, originally had dates booked through Oct. 12 on his Traffic Jam 2024 tour. When he canceled in September, he said that “doctors detected a serious heart condition during a routine appointment that requires immediate medical attention.”

Christina Applegate talks pain associated with MS: ‘I lay in bed screaming’

November 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Christina Applegate is opening up about the pain she experiences from multiple sclerosis.

The Married… with Children alum, 52, shared her latest health update during the Nov. 5 episode of the MeSsy podcast she co-hosts with fellow actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who also has MS.

“I lay in bed screaming,” she continued, attributing that to “the sharp pains, the ache, the squeezing.”

“I can’t even pick up my phone sometimes, ’cause now it’s traveled into my hands,” she detailed. “So I’ll, like, try to go get my phone or get my remote to turn on the TV or whatever, and I can’t — sometimes I can’t even hold ’em. I can’t open bottles now.”

Applegate said that while her outside may look fine, it’s just because people can’t see what’s going on inside.

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks myelin, the tissue that coats nerve fibers within the central nervous system, consisting of the brain and spinal cord, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health.

MS can be unpredictable, causing differing symptoms with variable timing and frequency from fatigue, numbness or tingling, weakness, dizziness and vertigo to rendering a person unable to write, speak or walk in the most severe cases, according to the NIH. Individually, MS symptoms can vary, ranging from mild to extreme pain during a flare-up of the disease.

There is currently no known cure for MS.

Applegate, who was diagnosed with the chronic disease in 2021, told Good Morning America in March 2024 that living with MS was “kind of hell.”

“They call it the invisible disease. It can be very lonely because it’s hard to explain to people,” she said at the time. “I’m in excruciating pain, but I’m just used to it now.”

Gabby Barrett’s a proud Christmas ‘early decorator’

November 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

The question of when to put up Christmas trees has long been debated. Does it go up before or after Thanksgiving?

For Gabby Barrett, the holiday mood officially kicks in November. And yes, that includes having the good ol’ tree up.

“[My] favorite holiday tradition would be taking out the Christmas tree November 1st. Yes, I’m an early decorator,” says Gabby.

“And putting up all of our special and sentimental ornaments and blasting Christmas music and taking our time doing so,” she adds.

Gabby’s 11-song holiday album, Carols and Candlelight, arrives Friday.

Here’s the Carols and Candlelight track list:

“Mary, Did You Know?”
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas”
“Christmas to Remember”
“The First Noel”
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (feat. Cade Foehner)
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (feat. The Piano Guys)
“Go Tell It on the Mountain” (for KING & COUNTRY feat. Gabby Barrett)
“O Holy Night”
“Last Christmas”
“Grown-Up Christmas List”
“Silent Night”

Prince William wears friendship bracelet from The Eras Tour made by Princess Charlotte

November 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Prince William was enchanted to attend The Eras Tour.

While in South Africa on Wednesday ahead of the 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony, Prince William told broadcasters about the special friendship bracelet he was wearing, and its connection to Taylor Swift.

“Well, this is a relic, if you like, from a Taylor Swift concert that my daughter decided that she wanted to create a bracelet for,” Prince William said. “She gave it to me when I came away. So I promised that I’d wear it and try not to lose it while I was out here.”

The special friendship bracelet spells out “Papa” with its beads. Prince William took his two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, to The Eras Tour when it came to London on June 21 — which also happened to be his 42nd birthday.

The British Royals met Taylor backstage at the concert, where they snapped a photo with her and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

Ice-T says having rap beef “is just not smart”

November 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Ice-T has had his share of rap beefs, but he says it’s nothing like the rap feuds/battles in modern day.

Speaking to the Boss Talk 101 podcast, he noted one of the differences is the existence of social media, which he says “is an amplifier to everything.”

“It forces reaction that really could be squashed so much simpler,” Ice-T explains. “Why people have beef and take it to social media is beyond me, especially if you know a n***** phone number.”

The danger, he adds, is not in the competitive disses themselves — but when artists take the feud personally and up to another level.

“The problem with beef is that it can escalate away from you,” Ice T says. “Say I have beef with Treach and I’m talking s*** about Treach. I could run into one of his fans on the street who wants to get active…Having beef is just not smart if you can avoid it. ”

In other Ice-T news, he’s narrating Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson, a three-part documentary series airing before the boxers’ heavyweight match on Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. ET.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

Jack Black plays a “diabolical but fun” Satan in Farrelly Brothers Christmas comedy ‘Dear Santa’

November 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Peter and Bobby Farrelly exploded on the comedy scene with 1994’s hit Dumb and Dumber, and also scored with 1996’s Kingpin and 1998’s There’s Something About Mary, but they haven’t made a movie together since the 2014 sequel Dumb and Dumber To.

In the interim, Peter Farrelly became an Oscar winner thanks to the 2018 drama Green Book, but as the pair tell Entertainment Weekly, they’re back to the funny with the Jack Black Christmas comedy Dear Santa.

The magazine has a first look at the project, which centers on a kid (Robert Timothy Smith) who desperately wants to prove to his friends that Santa is real, so he writes a letter to the big guy — except he misspells Santa as “Satan.”

Enter Jack Black as the latter, who is so flattered he got a letter that he shows up instead. Bobby Farrelly says reuniting with their Shallow Hal star was a no-brainer. Explaining his Satan is “diabolical, but in a fun way,” Bobby says, “there’s a little bit of mischievous to him at all times, but he’s eminently likable, and that’s just Jack.”

He adds, “We never wanted to make it a horror movie or something like that. We wanted it to be comical. So it was a delicate [balance] of playing this iconic character but doing it in a way that the audience can have some fun with it. And Jack was the perfect guy.”

The Farrelly brothers explained their idea for the film goes back more than 15 years, and they credited Loudermilk writer Ricky Blitt with breathing new life into the project, which Peter co-wrote, and Bobby directed.

Dear Santa hits Paramount+ and digital platforms on Nov. 25.

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