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Biden falls at US Air Force Academy graduation ceremony

June 1, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — President Joe Biden took a fall on stage at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado on Thursday.

Biden, who delivered the commencement address and proceeded to shake hands with graduates, fell near the podium and was quickly assisted by those around him in returning to his feet.

Biden, 80, walked away unassisted once he was upright. He continued to stand and greet people for the remainder of the ceremony.

Biden appeared to trip on a black sandbag, according to pool reporters traveling with the president, and pointed back at it after he got up.

“He’s fine. There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands,” Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, tweeted as videos of the incident circulated online.

Biden didn’t take questions as he boarded Air Force One following the hourslong commencement.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also said Biden is “totally fine” while she boarded Air Force One, according to the reporters traveling with Biden.

Biden’s age and fitness have been a factor in his reelection campaign. At 80, he is the oldest sitting president in history and would be 86 at the end of second term should he win again in 2024.

Asked about his age after he announced he was running again, Biden said it will be up to voters to judge “whether or not I have it or don’t have it.”

“I respect them taking a hard look at it — I’d take a hard look at it, as well. I took a hard look at it before I decided to run, and I feel good. I feel excited about the prospects,” he told ABC’s Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce in April.

Former President Donald Trump, who would also be in his 80s if elected, responded to the fall while campaigning in Iowa.

“I hope he’s not hurt. The whole thing is crazy … even if you have to tip-toe down the ramp,” he said, poking fun at his own experience at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2020 when his cautious descent down a ramp opened him up to similar criticism about his age.

“At the Air Force Academy? That’s not inspiring,” Trump added.

When speaking to graduates, Biden celebrated their work so far as he laid out the challenges that lie ahead.

“We have the finest military in the history of the world,” he said. “And you’ve earned it. This day is the day to celebrate. And as your commander in chief, I’m honored to be here as you take on the duties of serving and defending our nation.”

“In the years to come, you’ll have even more asked of you,” he continued. “You’ll take on greater responsibilities, and you’ll be challenged even beyond everything you’ve yet experienced.”

ABC News’ Libby Cathey contributed to this report.

George Lopez explains the real-life experience inspiring his children’s book, ‘ChupaCarter and the Haunted Piñata’

June 1, 2023 by WDNY Radio

George Lopez has had a successful career as a stand-up, a sitcom star and in movies, but his career as a bestselling children’s book author hits particularly close to home.

He’s just released his second book in a series, ChupaCarter and the Haunted Piñata, and believe it or not, he tells ABC Audio it’s based on a pretty paranormal experience he had — not to mention his childhood, which seems like it would have fit right in with the kids from Stranger Things.

George explains his grandfather was strict, so he couldn’t play outside all day. That forced him to make the most of his time and his imagination — like his main character, Jorge, who happens to befriend a chupacabra named Carter.

“The idea that you could almost replenish your past with color and with great stories and with great kids and, and all of that is derived from [my childhood],” Lopez says.

“We did everything but going to the cemetery, really. Everything was in play except the cemetery,” he adds with a smile.

As for that haunted piñata? It goes back to a skull-shaped balloon at a Day of the Dead party thrown some years ago by his sitcom mom, Belita Moreno. “Before we left, we said, ‘Hey, let’s everybody get a picture.’ So there’s like a balloon behind [us] … looking [the opposite] way,” George recalls.

“So we all put our arms around each other. And when we look at the picture, the face was between our shoulders looking at the camera. And I was like, ‘There’s no way that that balloon would have turned that fast.'”

He adds, still a little haunted, “I’ve seen a lot of things that people think I’m crazy for, but that, that moment, it never left me.”

KISS adds more dates to their End of the Road Tour

June 1, 2023 by WDNY Radio

KISS fans now have more chances to see the band before they say goodbye to the road for good.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just added some more shows to their End of the Road Tour: October 19 in Cincinnati and October 22 in Cleveland.

A presale for the KISS Army begins Monday, June 5, at 10 a.m. local time, with the general on-sale happening Friday, June 9, 10 a.m. local time.

KISS is getting ready to kick off the U.K./European leg of their End of the Road Tour on June 5 in Birmingham, England. The tour is set to wrap for good on December 1 and 2 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. A complete list of KISS dates can be found at kissonline.com.

Sam Smith covers Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” for Pride Month

June 1, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Sam Smith is putting their own spin on Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” in honor of Pride Month.

Sam delivers a stripped down, soulful cover of the empowering track, which is available on Amazon Music now.

“I’ve been such a massive fan of Christina’s for as long as I can remember and will never forget the first time I heard ‘Beautiful’ and how personally it spoke to me,” Sam says in a statement. “The song is a true acceptance anthem and continues to inspire me with its important message to never stop celebrating who you are. I’m honored to have the opportunity to offer my rendition.”

Sam’s “Beautiful” cover is the first Amazon Original released for Amazon Music’s PROUD playlist, which will feature new music from LGBTQ+ creators all month.

Music is Universal for Jordan Davis, Brothers Osborne and many more

June 1, 2023 by WDNY Radio

If you’re lucky enough to be headed to Music City for the 50th anniversary of CMA Fest, you can add one more spot to the places you’ll want to hang out.

UMG Nashville will take over Skydeck at Broadway June 8-11 to host four days of free events with its artists, including live performances, fan club parties, listening events, writers rounds and more.

Brothers Osborne, Jordan Davis, Priscilla Block, Travis Denning, Maddie & Tae and Tanya Tucker are just a handful of the stars who’ll be there. You can check out the full lineup for the event, called Music Is Universal, online.

Tenacious D shares official recording of “Wicked Game” cover

June 1, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Tenacious D has shared an official studio version of the duo’s live cover of the Chris Isaak song “Wicked Game.”

While the recording itself is very dramatic, it’s accompanied by a video that fits in more with the D’s sense of humor, and features a smiling Jack Black and Kyle Gass running through waves on a beach together.

You can watch the video streaming now on YouTube.

In May, Tenacious D dropped a new original song, “Video Games,” which follows their 2018 album, Post-Apocalypto. Fittingly, they’ll be performing “Video Games” at the upcoming Game Awards 10–Year Celebration concert event, taking place June 25 in Los Angeles.

Music notes: Offset, Jhené Aiko, Fivio Foreign and more

June 1, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Last month, Offset took his daughters on a date to see The Little Mermaid. Now, it’s the boys’ turn. The rapper and his sons went to the premiere of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, dressed in coordinating red and black outfits. Offset is featured on the film’s soundtrack.

NLE Choppa released the video for “Champions,” which features cameos from champions Floyd Mayweather, Odell Beckham Jr. and more. It also sees him participating in a protest for Tyre Nichols, a Memphis native who died after being beaten by police during a traffic stop, and visiting Cornerstone Prep Denver Campus students who’d won his reading challenge.

Miami Heat player Caleb Martin says J. Cole called him to congratulate him on the team’s Eastern Conferences Finals win. “He was just so hype — jumping up and down,” Caleb says of the rapper. He noted his chances of being on the team without Cole’s help would “be pretty slim to none.”

Jhené Aiko has returned with volume 3 of Sleep Soul: Relaxing R&B Baby Sleep Music. She says, “Sleep Soul is an ever-evolving project where we strive to continue finding new ways to help diversify the baby sleep music genre for parents, and I look forward to continuing the journey with you all.”

Fivio Foreign dropped a new project and accompanying documentary Without Warning. The project includes the song “Concussion,” with a feature from Ye. The doc finds Fivio explaining the decision behind Without Warning‘s spontaneous release.

Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows reveals story behind AI deepfake “hack”

June 1, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Earlier this year, a voice that certainly sounded like Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows announced on the band’s Trax podcast that they were canceling their sets at the then-upcoming Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple festivals. Shadows quickly tweeted that the voice on the podcast was not his, hinting that the band was the victim of some kind of AI deepfake hack.

If, however, you guessed that the whole ordeal was really just promo for A7X’s next album, you were correct. In an interview with Rock Feed, Shadows confirms that he and the band came up with the idea for the “hack.”

As Shadows explains, A7X worked with a member of their social media team named Samantha to keep the plan secret from the band’s management, and from Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple producer Danny Wimmer.

“We knew that everyone would say no,” Shadows shares. “I said, ‘Don’t tell anyone.'”

“I said, ‘Samantha, all you know is we got hacked and we are trying to fix it,'” he continues. “She’s like, ‘Are you serious?’ And I’m like, ‘That’s what we’re doing.'”

Following the podcast, the supposed “hacker” posted a bunch of things related to Avenged Sevenfold, which led fans down a rabbit hole of theories related to the new album. Beyond just being a fun prank — though, maybe not so fun for Wimmer and A7X’s management team — the ordeal was meant to illustrate a larger point about AI.

“The whole thing was, like, ‘We don’t need to be a real person. You will be fooled, you will feel something,'” Shadows says.

Avenged Sevenfold’s new album, Life Is But a Dream…, drops Friday, June 2.

Child accidentally kills another child with father’s gun

June 1, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(RIVER GROVE, Ill.) — A child accidentally shot and killed another child in River Grove, Illinois, on Wednesday, according to police. The gun used in the incident belonged to the father of the deceased child, police said.

River Grove police said the child was severely injured and later succumbed to their injury. Both children lived in the same household.

There have been at least 122 accidental shootings by children in the U.S. this year, as of May 16, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. Fifty-three of those have been fatal. The total number of accidental shootings — 0.9 per day — is down slightly from last year, when there were 0.97 per day, according to data from Everytown.

The father of the child who was killed told police he was outside when he was alerted of the accidental shooting.

The father immediately called 911 for emergency services and is cooperating with investigators, police said. He holds a valid Illinois gun license and a concealed carry permit. He admitted to investigators that he owned the handgun used in the accidental shooting.

The father claimed the gun was stored on a high shelf in a closet, according to police.

The incident is still being investigated and those involved are being interviewed by police. Police said they would not release any additional information at this time.

New ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ box set celebrates visual history of Pink Floyd’s classic album

June 1, 2023 by WDNY Radio

The 50th anniversary celebration of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon continues, with a new box set looking at the visuals associated with the record.

Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon – Super Deluxe Edition: A visual History by Glenn Povey features a slew of goodies for the Pink Floyd fan. It looks at the complete recording history of the record, along with documentation of all the live performances, with previously unpublished photos, plus reproductions of rare memorabilia from the time period.

Each set is signed and numbered by Povey, described as one of the leading Floyd authorities. It also includes a CD featuring rare interviews from back in the day, including one with the whole band, recorded in 1972, and a longer one with the late Rick Wright.

Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon – Super Deluxe Edition: A visual History by Glenn Povey will be released June 16. It is available for preorder now.

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