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Two dead, three injured in explosion at welding company in Florida: Officials

February 21, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(MEDLEY, Fla.) — Two people have died and three others were injured following an explosion in Florida, authorities said on Tuesday.

The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Medley Police Department responded to reports of an explosion at 11350 Northwest South River Drive in Medley, Florida, at 8:42 a.m., the Miami-Dade Police Department said in a news release.

Upon arriving at the scene, firefighters discovered multiple people were on fire, according to a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesperson.

Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and three people were hurt in the fire, Miami-Dade Police Department said. Two were critically injured and were sent to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, according to police.

The explosion and fire happened at a welding company in Medley, according to ABC News Miami affiliate WPLG.

The Miami-Dade Police Department Homicide Bureau and its arson unit are investigating the incident, authorities said.

The incident comes a day after one person was killed and multiple others were injured in a fiery explosion at a manufacturing plant in Ohio.

Steven Mullins, a 46-year-old man from North Ridgeville, Ohio, was found dead at the scene on Monday, said Christopher Harris, external affairs manager of the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office.

There were “multiple burn victims” from inside the plant taken to the hospital, Bedford Heights Police Department Sgt. Robert Majer told ABC News.

Music notes: Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Billie Eilish, Calvin Harris, Macklemore, Katy Perry and more

February 21, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Miley Cyrus celebrated “Flowers” hitting #1 on the Billboard charts by sharing a sizzling bikini snap. “Flowers is #1 @ Pop Radio for the first time & #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 again for the 5th Week in a row! THANK YOU & I LOVE YOU!,” she wrote.

Selena Gomez is toying with going back to her natural, curly hair. Sharing a bare-faced selfie and her full head of curly hair, she wrote, “I liked my hair back then.. should I do it again?”

Billie Eilish announced it’s a little easier to get your hands on her new fragrance, Eilish No. 2, because it’s now being sold at Ulta’s website.

Calvin Harris teased his new collaboration with Ellie Goulding by sharing a video of her singing inside London’s Great St. Bart’s church. “Wow @elliegoulding plus 900 year old church acoustics. New one is on the way,” he wrote. The song is apparently titled “Miracle.”

Macklemore asked his 7-year-old daughter, Sloane, to direct the music video for his song “No Bad Days.” He shared the adorable video of him asking his eldest child to help him out, to which she bursts out into tears and hugs her dad. He captioned the video, “This one is gonna be special.”

Katy Perry has teamed with Peeps candy for a new shoe collection. The sandal collection, aptly named the Peeps Bunny Collection, arrives tomorrow on the Katy Perry Collections website.

Mariah Carey announced in a statement her Black Irish Cream Liquor is going international by expanding to South America and the Caribbean. Previously, the brand was only available in the United States.

Madonna has a message to those who had an issue with her recent Grammys appearance. She tweeted, “Look how cute i am now that swelling from surgery has gone down. Lol.”

Music notes: Adam Levine, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Mariah Carey and Madonna

February 21, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Adam Levine finally showed up in wife Behati Prinsloo‘s Instagram. He reportedly hasn’t made a cameo on her account since September. She shared a photo of them playing the “pop-a-shot” carnival game. The pair recently welcomed their third child but have yet to reveal the baby’s name or gender.

Miley Cyrus celebrated “Flowers” hitting #1 on the Billboard charts by sharing a sizzling bikini snap. “Flowers is#1@ Pop Radio for the first time on the Billboard Hot 100 again for the 5th Week in a row! THANK YOU & I LOVE YOU!,” she wrote.

Katy Perry has teamed with Peeps candy for a new shoe collection. The sandal collection, aptly named the Peeps Bunny Collection, arrives tomorrow on the Katy Perry Collections website.

Madonna has a message to those who had an issue with her recent Grammys appearance. She tweeted a selfie and wrote, “Look how cute i am now that swelling from surgery has gone down. Lol.”

Liam Neeson on why he never played James Bond, and why he’s not “Taken” with superhero movies

February 21, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NOTE LANGUAGE) In a new Rolling Stone interview, Liam Neeson spilled some tea about his career, and about one near miss in the form of a certain secret agent with a license to kill.

Neeson explains that while he wasn’t expressly “offered” the role by the James Bond-producing Broccoli family back in the day, he might have been had his deceased wife, Natasha Richardson, not forbade it.

“I know the Broccolis. They looked at a bunch of actors. Schindler’s List had come out and Barbara [Broccoli] had called me a couple of times to ask if I was interested,” Neeson explained.

“I said, ‘Yes, I would be interested.’ And then my lovely wife, God rest her soul, said to me…’…If you play James Bond, we’re not getting married.'”

He explained, “So I would tease her by going behind her back, making my fingers as though I’m holding a gun,” Neeson said, humming the Bond theme. “I loved doing that s***!” he added with a laugh.

The Taken franchise star commented, “She gave me a James Bond ultimatum. And she meant it! Come on, there’s all those gorgeous girls in various countries getting into bed and getting out of bed. I’m sure a lot of her decision-making was based on that!” he laughed.

Neeson also admitted he’s “not a fan” of superhero movies, though he “admires” the technology that brings them to the big screen. “They all seem to me to be just the same story,” the actor said.

That said, he did appear in Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight trilogy. Of that, he said they were the exception. “They had a noir feel to them. And Chris Bale and Gary Oldman? Come on! What a cast. And Michael [Caine] and Morgan [Freeman]? My God!”

Love Sux: Avril Lavigne reportedly calls off engagement to rocker Mod Sun

February 21, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Avril Lavigne and Mod Sun, who got engaged last year, have ended their relationship, sources close to the couple tell People.

An insider tells the publication, “Avril and Mod Sun have been on and off for the past two months, but are no longer together as a couple.” The two were last seen together at a pre-Grammy event in LA.

Avril and Mod Sun, born Derek Smith, first met in 2021 and put out a collaboration called “Flames.” They got engaged in Paris in April of 2022. Mod’s new album God Save the Teen features a track called “Avril’s Song” and a duet with her called “Shelter.” He also appeared on Avril’s 2022 album, Love Sux.

Just a few weeks ago, Mod gushed to E! Online that he’d finally found “a real grown woman who has gone through it all 10 times over and she makes me a better person.” He also said, “I want the person that I’m with and I want a child. I don’t know how many children we are going to have. But those are the numbers that matter to me.”

Had Avril actually made it down the aisle with Mod, it would’ve been her third marriage: She was previously married to Sum 41‘s Deryck Whibley and Nickelback‘s Chad Kroeger.

Ohio abortion rights groups file language for proposed constitutional amendment

February 21, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(COLUMBUS, OH) — Abortion rights supporters in Ohio took the first step Tuesday in potentially getting the issue on the ballot in November in a statewide election.

Two groups — Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights — submitted language to the state Attorney General’s Office that could have residents vote on whether or not they want a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access.

Currently, abortion is legal in Ohio up until 22 weeks’ gestation, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law in April 2019 prohibiting abortions after cardiac activity can be detected, which is typically around the six-week mark, before many women even know they’re pregnant.

The law was blocked but temporarily went into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. However, in October, a judge issued an injunction while litigation plays out.

The proposal from the two groups would amend Article I, Section 22 of Ohio’s constitution and state every individual has a right “to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions” on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one own’s pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion.

The amendment would also prevent state officials from interfering, prohibiting or penalizing a person for making choices related to reproductive health.

“Ohioans are perilously close to losing access to safe, legal, comprehensive reproductive medical care,” OPRR executive director Dr. Lauren Beene said in a statement. “As we saw first-hand when Ohio’s abortion ban went into effect last year, withholding that care puts people’s lives and health at risk.”

Her statement continued, “This commonsense amendment ensures that physicians will be able to provide the care our patients need and deserve free from government interference.”

The move in Ohio comes after five states put abortion on the ballot during the 2022 midterm elections. Voters enshrined abortion rights in their state constitutions in three states — California, Michigan and Vermont — and voted against further restricting access to abortion services in two states — Kentucky and Montana.

It also comes several months after Kansas became the first state to leave abortion up to voters following the Supreme Court’s decision. Residents decisively rejected a bid in August to remove abortion protections from its state constitution.

Anti-abortion groups have vowed to fight the proposed constitutional amendment, including Ohio Right to Life.

“The language of this ballot initiative is extremely vague, making it even more dangerous than we originally believed it would be,” said Elizabeth Marbach, communication director for the group, in a statement. “They believe that they can rewrite our state Constitution to eliminate all protections for the unborn, including abortions after the point at which babies feel pain — endangering the health and wellbeing of both women and children.”

“Kang gotta Kang”: Jonathan Majors “plays hard” as Marvel Studios’ ‘Ant-Man’ threequel baddie

February 21, 2023 by WDNY Radio

While critics were lukewarm at Marvel Studios’ 31st film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, most agreed that a highlight was Jonathan Majors‘ performance as Kang the Conqueror.

At a recent press event, Majors explained how he prepared to play the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest antagonist — which he first did as a variant of his Ant-Man character, this one known as He Who Remains, in Loki.

“You can’t antagonize somebody if you don’t know who they are,” the acclaimed actor explained. “If you don’t know, what’s the opposite of them, if you don’t know what their hopes and dreams are. My objective is to do that, antagonize in order to get what I need to fulfill my life, my dream. And so in Loki, I’m dealing with Tom. This opportunity came to me in lockdown. And so I studied Tom Hiddleston for hours a day, you know? And then when that was done, I went, ‘Okay, Paul Rudd, you’re up!’ You know?”

He continues, “You really have to be very clear about what it is you’re doing, who your character is, the spine of the character, what he’s about…what they’re going after. So you build that. And the rest of it, you just play hard…And if they…turn left, you turn it left, you know…and you’re in.”

He adds with a laugh, “You know, Kang gotta Kang.”

After-credit scenes proved we haven’t seen the last of Kang the Conqueror, who will be a part of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which is slated for a May 2, 2025, release.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania had a $225 million global debut over the weekend.

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

“This certain exception had to be made”: Ariana Grande teases new collaboration with The Weeknd

February 21, 2023 by WDNY Radio

The Weeknd and Ariana Grande have jumped back in the studio for another collaboration.

Ariana teased the forthcoming new single by sharing a cryptic TikTok video of her singing in the studio. “Wrote and recorded a verse for my friend after a 14 hour day on set,” she wrote. “this certain exception had to be made.”

The singer previously said she was putting her music career on pause to focus on the upcoming Wicked movies, in which she stars as Glinda, as well as her R.E.M. Beauty brand.

Unfortunately, the video was silent, so fans were unable to hear what she was working on. But it was soon revealed who that “friend” of hers was.

Soon after, The Weeknd helped tease the song by sharing the “thank u, next” singer’s video to his Twitter with alternating star and moon emojis.

The two have yet to confirm the song’s title and when it drops.

Ariana previously teamed with The Weeknd for the 2014 track “Love Me Harder” and 2020’s “Off the Table.” She also jumped on a remix of his song “Save Your Tears.”

Vanderbilt University apologizes after using ChatGPT to console students

February 21, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NASHVILLE, TN) — Officials at Vanderbilt University are apologizing to students outraged that the university used ChatGPT to craft a consoling email after the mass shooting at Michigan State University.

Last Thursday, administrators at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development sent an email to students and staff that noted, in small print at the bottom, that the message was a “paraphrase from OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication.”

The email stressed the importance of “a safe and inclusive environment for all” and encouraged members of the college to “come together as a community,” and was written in clear, understandable prose.

However, unlike a statement the day prior by the university’s vice provost, which seemed to use more personal language than the Peabody message, the Peabody email lacked a list of campus resources students could access to help them process their emotions.

Laith Kayat, a senior whose sister attends Michigan State, called the use of ChatGPT “disgusting.”

“There is a sick and twisted irony to making a computer write your message about community and togetherness because you can’t be bothered to reflect on it yourself,” Kayat told the Vanderbilt Hustler, the school’s student paper, who first reported the Peabody College’s use of AI.

According to the newspaper, Nicole Joseph, Peabody’s associate dean for equity, diversity and inclusion, sent a follow-up email apologizing.

“While we believe in the message and inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College,” Joseph wrote, according to the Hustler.

Joseph did not respond to ABC News about how much of the email was “paraphrased” by a human and how much reflected ChatGPT’s first draft.

Camilla Benbow, Dean of the Peabody College, said in a statement that she was unaware of the email before it was sent and said she is investigating what led up to its release.

“I offer my heartfelt apologies to all those who deserved better from us and did not receive it,” she said.

Joseph and Assistant Dean Hasina Mohyuddin will step back from their responsibilities with the EDI office as the university investigates, Benbow said in the statement.

A Vanderbilt spokeswoman directed ABC News to Benbow’s statement and did not answer questions about how often university representatives use ChatGPT in official communication.

Graham Nash announces new album ‘Now,’ coming May 19

February 21, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Graham Nash has dropped a new single called “Right Now,” from his new album, simply titled Now. It’ll be out May 19 and is available to pre-order now.

This will be the legendary singer’s first new studio album since 2016’s This Path Tonight. Last year, he put out a live album that featured him performing his first two solo releases — Songs for Beginners and Wild Tales — in their entireties.

On Facebook, Nash says Now is “the most personal album I’ve ever recorded.” He adds, “My life is a dream. I wake up in the morning and get on with my life. I check the news around the world, check in with my friends and write about stuff that I need to write about. Here’s to another chapter.”

Nash will kick off a tour April 12 in Phoenixville, PA. Called Sixty Years of Songs and Stories, it’ll celebrate Nash’s six-decade career, starting from his first single with The Hollies.

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