Page 5958 – 105.7 WDNY

Stabenow’s surprise retirement pushes Michigan closer to center of 2024 Senate map

January 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow announced Thursday that she will retire at the end of her term, opening up her seat in 2024 and moving her battleground state closer to the heart of the Senate map in two years, when her party will be on the defensive in retaining its narrow majority.

Stabenow, who was first elected to the chamber in 2000 and is a member of Democratic leadership, said in a statement that as she leaves office in January 2025, she will look to hand power to younger lawmakers while she returns to private life.

She said she intends to spend “precious time” with her family, including her 96-year-old mother.

“Inspired by a new generation of leaders, I have decided to pass the torch in the U.S. Senate. I am announcing today that I will not seek re-election and will leave the U.S. Senate at the end of my term on January 3, 2025,” she said.

Her announcement, which surprised Democrats from Lansing to Washington, spurred immediate speculation over who could run for her seat in a swing state where Democrats have seen recent successes after Donald Trump narrowly flipped it in the 2016 presidential election.

To run a replacement for Stabenow, Democrats boast a particularly deep bench in Michigan, including several incumbent federal and statewide officeholders.

Reps. Debbie Dingell, Dan Kildee, Elissa Slotkin and Haley Stevens, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, state Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, state Attorney General Dana Nessel and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow were all mentioned by observers as Democrats who could potentially launch a campaign to succeed Stabenow.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who had a double-digit win in last year’s midterms, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a former presidential candidate who moved his residency to Michigan, were also included in the rumor mill though both put out statements downplaying any interest in running for the Senate.

Democrats have recently enjoyed success in Michigan despite its battleground status, with Whitmer winning reelection and the party winning both chambers of the state legislature in November.

Still, Stabenow’s decision to retire is likely to complicate the party’s strategy in the 2024 congressional elections, when they face a daunting Senate map.

Beyond defending seats in swing states like Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Democrats will also need to hold onto seats in Montana, Ohio and West Virginia, all three of which typically elect Republicans.

In total, Democrats will have 23 Senate seats up for reelection compared to 10 for the GOP.

With a 51-49 Democratic advantage in the Senate, their current majority is two seats, given that Vice President Kamala Harris can break ties.

The fragility of that hold was put into sharper relief Thursday after Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., whose seat is also up in 2024, announced he had prostate cancer, though he said in a statement that he should be able to continue his work “with minimal disruption” and touted his prognosis.

In Michigan in particular, Stabenow, who’s held various offices since 1975, loomed large among her colleagues.

“We all thought she was running,” one former state legislator said in a text to ABC News. “She was unbeatable. A total beast in the state.”

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) contended that it would still be able to defend Michigan without Stabenow in the race.

“In 2022 Michigan Democrats won resounding statewide victories, and we are confident Democrats will hold this Senate seat in 2024,” DSCC spokesman David Bergstein said in a statement.

Among those Republicans who could launch a Senate bid in two years are former Rep. Peter Meijer, who lost his primary last year to a Trump-backed challenger; incoming Rep. John James, who previously lost two Senate bids; Tudor Dixon, who lost her challenge to Whitmer; former state Attorney General Bill Schuette and more.

“We are going to aggressively target this seat in 2024. This could be the first of many Senate Democrats who decide to retire rather than lose,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Communications Director Mike Berg said in a statement.

Republicans could face a messy primary depending who in their party runs for the Senate, given that some conservatives in the state are close allies of former President Donald Trump — and some, like Meijer, have vocally opposed him.

“Great opportunity. Tough state,” tweeted Steven Law, the head of Senate Leadership Fund, Senate Republicans’ top super PAC. “Needed: a candidate who can raise money, unite the party and appeal to GOP-leaning Independents.”

‘Glass Onion’ gives streaming bump to Beatles, David Bowie & Bee Gees classics

January 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Netflix’s latest Knives Out film, Glass Onion, is sparking some renewed interest in The Beatles classic of the same name. Billboard reports that the White Album track, which plays over the credits of the hit flick Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, has seen a streaming bump since the film debuted on the streamer December 23.

During the week of December 23 to 29, The Beatles’ “Glass Onion” was streamed 160,000 times, up from 60,000 the previous week, an increase of 167%.

And that’s not the only song to get some help from the movie. David Bowie’s “Star,” which plays during a Kate Hudson dance sequence, saw a 60% increase, while the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody,” which is also in the flick, saw a 37% streaming increase.

Robert Plant credits Phil Collins with helping him with his solo career

January 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Robert Plant admits it wasn’t easy to go on with his career after the end of Led Zeppelin, but credits his friends, including Phil Collins, with helping him move on.

“After [Led Zeppelin drummer] John [Bonham] passed away and there was no Led Zeppelin, there had to be a way to go,” Plant shares in a new interview with Vulture. “I floundered around a lot because until I was 32, I was in some kind of wild and absurd adventure.”

Plant says Led Zeppelin was “a lot to live up to.” As he struggled with his first solo album, 1982’s Pictures at Eleven, there were a lot of friends who gave him “support and strength,” including Collins, who appeared on five of the album’s tracks.

“Phil Collins especially was a driving force and had positive energy with the first record,” he says. “With Phil, it wasn’t so much advice as encouragement and consideration. He was taking no prisoners. He would only allow himself a short amount of time to come to the studio in Wales and make it work. Nobody was hiding behind the performance.”

Collins actually went on tour with Plant, telling the rocker he wanted to help because of his admiration for Bonham, who was his hero. Plant notes, “That was it. He said, ‘Anything I can do to help you to get back into fighting shape again, I’m here.’”

As this was all happening, Collins was dealing with his own successful solo career, with the 1981 single “In The Air Tonight.” Plant notes, “Yet he was still mixing and working with me while kicking off a particularly impressive and successful time. He’s a great spirit, a good man.”

Nicole Kidman joining Zoe Saldaña in the Taylor Sheridan spy show ‘The Lioness’ for Paramount+

January 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Paramount+ has announced that Oscar winner Nicole Kidman has joined Zoe Saldaña and Laysla De Oliveira in Taylor Sheridan‘s spy series The Lioness.

According to the streaming service, the show from the Yellowstone and Tulsa King creator is “based on a real-life CIA program and follows Cruz Manuelos (De Oliveira), a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within.”

According to the streamer, Kidman will play CIA senior supervisor Kaitlyn Meade, “who has had a long career of playing the politics game. She must juggle the trappings of being a woman in the high-ranking intelligence community, a wife who longs for the attention she herself can’t even give, and a mentor to someone veering suspiciously close to the same rocky road she’s found herself on.”

For her part, Avatar series star Saldaña will play Joe, “the station chief of the Lioness program tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives.”

Kidman will also serve as an executive producer on the series.

Aubrey Plaza, Michael B. Jordan to be ‘SNL”s first guest hosts of 2023

January 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Saturday Night Live has just announced its first guest hosts and musical guests of the new year.

The White Lotus‘ Aubrey Plaza kicks things off on January 21, with Sam Smith as the musical guest.

Creed III star and director Michael B. Jordan will step into the ring of Studio 8H on January 28, with musical guest Lil’ Baby.

Out of the announced names, only Smith is an SNL veteran; the appearance will be the recording artist’s third on the sketch show.

Sam Smith to be first musical guest of 2023 on ‘Saturday Night Live’

January 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

NBC’s Saturday Night Live returns on January 21 with its first new show of 2023, and Sam Smith has the honor of being this year’s first musical guest.

Sam, whose new album Gloria comes out January 27, is returning to the show for the first time since 2017. During that appearance, they sang “Too Good at Goodbyes” and “Pray.” This will be Sam’s third appearance on the show overall; their first came in 2014, when they sang “Stay With Me” and “Lay Me Down.”

There’s no word on whether or not Kim Petras will join Sam if they decide to sing “Unholy.”

Aubrey Plaza, most recently seen in the second season of The White Lotus, will host.

Tony Bennett shares sweet throwback photo of him and Lady Gaga playing pinball

January 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Tony Bennett is celebrating his friendship with Lady Gaga by looking back at some of the fun times they had together.

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, the legendary singer shared a photo of him and Gaga dressed to the nines while engrossed in a game of pinball. Bennett is the one trying to beat the game as Gaga stands to the side and watches him play.

“Playing a little pinball with Lady Gaga backstage in Vegas in 2019!” the crooner captioned the post.

While it is unknown when the photo was taken, Gaga famously invited Bennett to perform during the debut of her Las Vegas Jazz & Piano residency at Park MGM in 2019. The two duetted on Frank Sinatra‘s “The Lady Is a Tramp” and Irving Berlin‘s “Cheek to Cheek.”

The two have collaborated on two duets albums, Cheek to Cheek and Love for Sale. They performed a final time together in 2021 for the CBS special One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.

Bennett, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, has since retired from performing.

Journey’s Neal Schon “won’t take orders” from anyone

January 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Neal Schon appears to be asserting his dominance when it comes to his band Journey. Despite his ongoing legal battles with bandmate Jonathan Cain, the guitarist insists in a recent tweet that he “won’t take orders” about the band from anyone.

“No one is going to dictate to me at this point what I can and cannot do in regards to JOURNEY,” Schon tweeted. “I haven’t been here and not here to take orders- never have and never will. It’s my band and I’ll own it as I should and make the right changes as needed.”

The post prompted one fan to ask him who was trying to “dictate” to him, with Schon responding, “Have a guess,” an indication he was talking about Cain. He also posted an image that read “narcissists act out with frustration, sulking, resentment and rage when things don’t go their way.”

As previously reported, Schon and Cain have been in the news a lot lately because of their legal battles. The most recent incident had Schon sending a cease-and-desist letter to Cain over a performance of “Don’t Stop Believin’” at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

Nick Offerman, Chris Redd and more join Eddie Murphy’s holiday comedy ‘Candy Cane Lane’

January 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

More revelers have joined Eddie Murphy‘s holiday comedy Candy Cane Lane, which is bound for Prime Video.

A day after it was announced that black-ish alumna Tracee Ellis Ross and 22 Jump Street‘s Jillian Bell have joined the cast, came word from the streaming service that A Black Lady Sketch Show creator Robin Thede, former Saturday Night Live star Chris Redd, and Parks and Rec veteran Nick Offerman have also signed up.

Other cast additions include Reasonable Doubt’s Thaddeus J. Mixson, Would it Kill You to Laugh?veteran Madison Thomas and BlackAF‘s Genneya Walton, according to the streamer.

Plot details for the film are still under wraps, but the project was said to be based on the real-life holiday experiences of writer Kelly Younger.

Twenty One Pilots announce 10th anniversary ’Vessel’ streaming event

January 5, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Twenty One Pilots have announced a streaming event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the duo’s 2013 album, Vessel.

“We’re gonna show some behind-the-scenes videos, some old photos, play some songs,” frontman Tyler Joseph says of the virtual festivities. “We’re gonna celebrate 10 years of Vessel.”

During the stream, Twenty One Pilots will also be offering a reissued vinyl version of Vessel.

You can tune in to watch this Sunday, January 8, at 3 p.m. ET on YouTube.

Vessel was originally released January 8, 2013. Every song on the record has been certified either Gold or Platinum by the RIAA, a feat Twenty One Pilots also achieved with 2015’s Blurryface. Twenty One Pilots is the first group to have two completely RIAA-certified albums.

The most recent Twenty One Pilots album is 2021’s Scaled and Icy. In a New Year’s Eve post, Joseph shared that the Scaled and Icy era had concluded.

+ More