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YouTuber Trevor Jacob to plead guilty in federal plane crash case

May 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — YouTuber Trevor Jacob has agreed to plead guilty to obstructing a federal investigation into a 2021 plane crash in California that the Federal Aviation Administration has claimed the pilot purposely caused, court documents show.

The charge — destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation — carries up to a 20-year prison sentence. A plea agreement was filed on Wednesday, court records show. Jacob is expected to make his initial court appearance in a few weeks.

The crash occurred in November 2021 while Jacob flew over Los Padres National Forest. Jacob posted a 12-minute video of the crash to his YouTube channel that has received nearly 3 million views, according to the video’s YouTube page.

Prosecutors claim that Jacob never planned on reaching his destination and that the plan was always to crash the plane, and that he lied to federal investigators about not knowing the crash location. Prosecutors claim he flew in a helicopter and hoisted the wreckage out of the remote area, then dismantled the aircraft with the goal of obstructing an investigation.

Jacob was also accused of lying to the FAA, which revoked his pilot’s license last year over the crash.

“I did not jump out of my plane for views,” Jacob told ABC News at the time.

Jacob’s attorney, Keri Curtis Axel, told ABC News they have no comment at this time.

In an April 2022 letter to Jacob regarding surrendering his private pilot’s license, the FAA said the flight was “careless or reckless so as to endanger the life or property of another.”

Jacob attached multiple cameras to the inside and outside of the plane and was wearing a sports parachute in a backpack during the flight, according to the FAA letter. The FAA claims Jacob opened the side door of the plane claiming the engine had failed.

The FAA noted that Jacob did not attempt to restart the engine, contact air traffic controllers about the problem or look for areas to land safely. The FAA said Jacob then jumped from the plane “while holding a camera attached to a selfie stick.”

Also in the video, Jacob goes to the plane’s wreckage and retrieves the cameras that were attached to the plane.

In the plea agreement, prosecutors claim that Jacob contacted a company to help him retrieve his plane, and that he and a friend flew in a helicopter to the crash site in the weeks following the incident and retrieved the wreckage. Jacob later reportedly told investigators that he was not aware of the plane’s wreckage location, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that Jacob and his friend drove the wreckage to an airport and cut up and destroyed it “with the intent to impede and obstruct federal authorities,” the plea agreement stated.

Prosecutors also claim that Jacob falsely told the FAA that the plane’s engine had quit “in order to conceal the fact that he had purposefully abandoned his airplane in flight as part of his scheme to create a video to gain notoriety and to make money,” the plea agreement stated.

Major, record-breaking heat wave moves into West Coast

May 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(OKLAHOMA CITY) — Severe weather, including possible tornadoes and flash flooding, is expected in a huge part of the Heartland on Thursday, from the Great Plains to Texas and North Dakota.

Nine states are also under flood alerts from Montana down to Mississippi.

A tornado watch is in effect for northern Louisiana through 5 p.m. local time Thursday. A couple of tornadoes are possible, along with damaging wind gusts up to 65 mph and isolated large hail events up to 1 inch in diameter.

Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Wichita are all in the elevated risk for tornadoes and large hail, mainly between the hours of 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. local time.

The weather comes after there were 11 reported tornadoes in three states — Colorado, Arkansas and Kansas — Wednesday. Some damage was reported in Kansas where there was a tornado.

Softball-sized hail was reported in Colorado and Kansas saw winds up to 81 mph with the severe storms.

Severe storms are expected yet again across the Plains on Friday from Texas to Iowa. Cities such as San Antonio; Dallas; Oklahoma City; Kansas City, Missouri; and Des Moines, Iowa, could see damaging winds, large hail and brief tornadoes. Brief tornadoes are most likely to occur in the pocket from Des Moines to Kansas City, while Oklahoma City to San Antonio will likely see large hail.

Aside from the severe weather, southern Texas will also see very heavy rain over the next several days. Locally, 6 to 10 inches of rain are possible, along with a flash flood threat Friday into the weekend.

Flood alerts are also in effect from the Dakotas to Colorado and Montana, where heavy rain is also expected.

Heat wave in the West

In the West, an early season, summer-like heat wave from Seattle and Portland, Oregon, into central California is expected over the weekend and could bring major, record-breaking heat.

An excessive heat watch is in effect for Seattle and Portland Saturday through Monday. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid to upper 80s in Seattle and into the 90s in Portland.

Record highs are also possible for several days straight in the Pacific Northwest over the weekend and into early next week.

Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil on guitarist John 5: “He was ready to play the set before we even hired him”

May 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Mötley Crüe will relaunch their stadium tour with Def Leppard later this month, and it sounds like they are loving having guitarist John 5 on the trek with them.

The former Rob Zombie guitarist replaced original Crüe guitarist Mick Mars, who is suing the band over his departure. According to frontman Vince Neil, the transition wasn’t all that hard.

“We have the honeymoon situation right now,” Vince told AXS TV during an interview promoting his new talent competition Banded. “We really love John. He was ready to play the set before we even hired him.”

He adds, “He knows all the Mötley Crüe songs. He knew everything down to the letter. So we didn’t have to do a lot of rehearsing for the stadium tour, because he was right there.”

Last month Mars sued Mötley Crüe, alleging his share of the band’s profits were decreased following his retirement from touring last October. He also accused the band of playing to prerecorded tapes during their Stadium tour. Mötley Crüe has denied the accusations.

Banded premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on AXS TV. Mötley Crüe’s European tour with Def Leppard kicks off May 22 in Sheffield, England. A complete list of dates can be found at motley.com.

Santos co-sponsoring bill to fight crime he’s accused of

May 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Rep. George Santos co-sponsored a bill to crack down on a crime he is accused of.

The House voted on H.R. 1163, known as the “Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act,” on Thursday. The bill, which passed by a vote of 230-200, would provide incentives to help states recover money that was lost to COVID unemployment fraud. Under the bill, states would retain 25% of recovered fraudulent overpayments and the statute of limitations for federal criminal charges or civil enforcement actions related to unemployment insurance fraud would be extended from five to 10 years.

But on Wednesday, Santos was indicted on 13 criminal counts, including allegedly fraudulently applying for and receiving unemployment benefits during the COVID pandemic when he actually had a $120,000 salary working as a regional director of an investment firm, according to the charging documents.

Santos allegedly applied to receive New York state unemployment insurance benefits, falsely claiming that he had been unemployed since March 22, 2020, prosecutors said in charging documents. He is also accused of collecting more than $24,000 in benefits when he actually had a $120,000 salary working as a regional director of an investment firm, according to the indictment.

Santos denied the allegations of unemployment fraud Wednesday.

“I will get to clear my name on this,” Santos told ABC News’ Rachel Scott following his court appearance in Islip, New York.

“During the pandemic, it wasn’t very clear. I don’t understand where the government is getting their information but I will present my facts,” he added, saying his employment changed during that time.

Santos dismissed the criminal charges filed against him, telling reporters he was going to “fight the witch hunt” and “clear [his] name,” noting he was “innocent until proven guilty.”

The freshman congressman has admitted to fabricating parts of his biography, acknowledging that he never graduated from college, despite publicly saying that he earned a degree from Baruch College. He also said that he stated his work experience “poorly” when he said he worked for companies such as Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Spokespeople for both companies told ABC News that they have no record of Santos ever being employed.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-M.A., took to the floor Wednesday to suggest a change to the bill Santos sponsored in light of the charges against him.

“I think we should rename this the George Anthony Devolder Santos Fraudster Protection Act,” McGovern said.

“They ignore billionaires who pay no taxes, but they want us to believe there’s an unemployment insurance crime spree…while at the same time a sitting member of the House Republican Conference was indicted in federal court this morning for unemployment fraud.”

The bill will be brought up for consideration on Thursday alongside H.R. 2, or the “Secure the Border Act.”

Babyface explains why he didn’t perform at NJ stop of his and Anita Baker’s tour

May 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Babyface has been entertaining fans on Anita Baker‘s Songstress Tour, but those waiting to see him at N.J.’s Prudential Center on Wednesday never got the chance. In a post shared on his socials, the star explained that he was asked to take the night off so Anita could perform her full set following a delay to the show’s start.

“I am truly sorry to my fans who have been waiting for us to hit the stage this evening at @PruCenter,” he wrote. “I was asked not to perform in order to give Ms. Baker her space and time to perform her show in its entirety. My band and I are extremely saddened we didn’t get to perform for y’all tonight.”

According to reports, Anita’s show started two hours later than scheduled due to what the host said were “technical difficulties.”

“First of all I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight,” the host said, per videos shared on social media. “We did have some technical difficulties tonight. However, Ms. Baker isn’t going anywhere ya’ll she’s coming out tonight. Unfortunately because of these delays Ms. Baker wanted to be sure that she gave ya’ll the best that she could give. So unfortunately Babyface will no longer be performing.”

The news was met with supportive messages from some of Babyface’s peers, as well as boos and upset tweets from his fans. Amid the backlash, Babyface clarified that he wasn’t shading Anita but only updating his fans on the show.

“I would never shade Anita Baker. I have too much love and respect for her, and I look forward to continuing the tour,” he told TMZ. “I was just reiterating what the stage hand was saying following all of the tech difficulties.”

The Songstress Tour continues, wrapping December 23 in Oakland.

Mandy Patinkin spoofs famous ‘Princess Bride’ line on WGA picket line

May 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike has no shortage of famous faces and funny picket signs — hey, the strikers are writers, after all — but a photo from Thursday’s protests in New York City had both.

Emmy and Tony winner Mandy Patinkin tweeted a pic of him and Better Call Saul‘s Bob Odenkirk, with the caption reading, “Sauls unite!” a reference to Odenkirk’s alter ego and Patinkin’s Homeland character, Saul Berenson. He also wrote the message, “Support our writers!”

The actor is seen hugging Odenkirk, who is flashing a thumbs-up, while holding a picket sign reading, “You killed residuals: Prepare to pay!”

The handwritten text was a nod to his swordsman character Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, who vowed he’d one day face off with the 11-fingered man who killed his dad and say, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

One of the issues the writers are striking about are those residuals, payments they receive when shows are rerun. But in the days of streaming, the writers say they’re not being adequately compensated.

Pentatonix will star in a Netflix rom-com for the 2024 holiday season

May 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Last year, Pentatonix had their own Christmas special on Disney+. Next year, they’ll be moving up to the next level of holiday TV fare: the Christmas rom-com.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly after they were revealed as the California Roll on The Masked Singer earlier this week, Pentatonix member Scott Hoying said, “We’ve been working on a film that Netflix and Christina Milian are executive producing called Meet Me Next Christmas. And we get to be centerpieces in this movie in a way that is really, really exciting.”

“We’ve always wanted to do a Christmas movie like this,” he adds. “It’s a rom-com that I think people are gonna really enjoy and have a lot of fun with. It’s slated for 2024, so working on that film and our Christmas music for this year has been such a fun joy as well.”

The group will kick off a summer tour in August, and they say they may do some of the numbers they performed on The Masked Singer, including “Creep” and “Paparazzi.”

“If people come to our summer tour, they’ll get our California Roll experience as well as the Pentatonix experience,” joked Scott. “The California-tonix Experience.”

Janelle Monáe releases “Lipstick Lover” single + music video

May 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Just days after teasing new single “Lipstick Lover,” Janelle Monáe has made the song available for fans’ consumption. The track premieres alongside a music video that the star directed alongside Alan Ferguson and will appear on her album, The Age of Pleasure, due out June 9.

“As we enter into The Age Of Pleasure, ‘Lipstick Lover’ is our freea**mothaf**** anthem inspired by f.a.m. for f.a.m,” the singer says in a statement. “This is our oasis made with love, rooted in self acceptance, throbbing in self discovery, and signed with cherry red kisses from me to you.”

“Lipstick Lover” marks the second single on Janelle’s upcoming album, following “Float” with Seun Kuti & Egypt 80.

All in the family: Paul Walker’s daughter, Meadow, says she’s in ‘Fast X’

May 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Meadow Walker, the daughter of the late Paul Walker, has revealed on Instagram that she’ll be seen in the upcoming 10th Fast and Furious movie.

The actress and model, 24, posted a snap of her image on a video preview monitor, showing her evidently on an airplane in the movie. “A preview of my cameo in Fast X,” she captioned the snap.

“The first fast was released when I was one year old! I grew up on set watching my father, Vin [Diesel], Jordana [Brewster], Michelle [Rodriguez], Chris [“Ludacris” Bridges] and more on the monitors. Thanks to my dad, I was born into the fast family.”

She continued, “I can’t believe now I get to be up there too. With those who have been around to see me grow up.”

She went on to thank director Louis Leterrier for his “kindness, patience and support,” saying, “It feels like you’ve been part of the family since we started, I’m happy it’s just the beginning.”

Leterrier stepped into Fast X when it was in production and will direct the 11th installment.

Meadow closed by saying, “I am so blessed to be able to honor my father’s legacy and share this with him forever x. I love you all so much.”

Fast franchise star Paul Walker died at 40 as a passenger in a fiery high-speed car accident along with his friend, the vehicle’s driver, Roger Rodas, on November 30, 2013. Thanks to his brothers Caleb and Cody acting as stand-ins, as well as some digital magic, Walker’s Brian O’Conner was able to drive into the sunset at the close of Fast 7.

Fast X opens May 19.

New book, ‘Bob Dylan: Mixing Up The Medicine,’ explores the singer’s vast archive

May 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Here’s something every Bob Dylan fan will want to get their hands on.

Callaway Arts & Entertainment just announced a new comprehensive book, Bob Dylan: Mixing Up The Medicine, described as “a richly illustrated book that is the first panoramic look at” the Bob Dylan Archive, which is currently housed in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The 608-page book features close to 1,000 images, many of which have never been seen by the public. There’s also Dylan draft lyrics, writings, drawings and more, along with essays from writers and artists who were asked to pick an item from the archive that inspires them and write about it.

“This is the long-awaited book that Dylan fans have been dreaming of since the 1960s, and it introduces the full scope of this artist’s monumental creativity and achievements to a new generation,” Nicholas Callaway shares. “This is a book for the ages.”

The book is being done in cooperation with the Bob Dylan Archive, with Mark Davidson, its curator and director, who wrote and edited the book with archivist Parker Fishel, noting it “is unlike any book on Bob Dylan ever produced.”

Bob Dylan: Mixing Up The Medicine will be released October 24.

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