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Trial begins for David Barnes, Texas man detained in Russia

November 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(MOSCOW) — A Texas father being held in Russia on accusations that were not substantiated by law enforcement in his home state of Texas is now facing trial before a Moscow judge.

Ten months ago, Russian police took David Barnes into custody and alleged that between 2014 and 2018 he committed child abuse in suburban Houston. His trial began on Nov. 16.

“Their trials seem to be like a circus,” said Margaret Aaron, Barnes’ younger sister. “I’m praying to God for a miracle.”

Barnes flew to Moscow in late 2021 to attempt to argue in Russian family court for visitation rights or custody over his two sons, like he had been granted by a judge in Texas, his family and friends say.

“He was the type of dad that you would never see the kids just sitting in front of a computer or a tablet,” Barnes’ friend Chris Schiller said. “His kids were his world.”

‘Chances are thin’

Svetlana Koptyaeva, Barnes’ Russian ex-wife, had allegedly taken the boys out of the United States in 2019, prompting Texas authorities to charge her with felony interference with child custody.

Instead of obtaining rights to see his children in Moscow, Barnes was arrested and has been held in Moscow’s Detention Center 5, where Trevor Reed was also detained. Aaron said her brother is being held in a 12-person cell.

Over the summer, Rep. Kevin Brady attributed Barnes’ detention to “political purposes.” U.S. officials have not announced whether they have classified Barnes’ detention as wrongful, as they have in the cases of detainees Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.

The trial for Barnes is occurring on nonconsecutive days. Proceedings were previously scheduled to begin in September and October, but according to his family, they were postponed each time after reports of a transportation issue.

“I am focusing my energies on winning my case,” Barnes wrote to relatives. “Even though the chances are thin, I think we could and should win.”

‘It tore him apart’

Russian prosecutors are accusing Barnes of abusing his two sons years ago in Texas’ Montgomery and Harris counties, court documents show.

Similar allegations were previously reported by Koptyaeva, his ex-wife, to Texas authorities during their divorce proceedings — but the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services closed a 2018 investigation after finding insufficient evidence to verify the claims against Barnes.

Prosecutors in the counties that are now at the center of the Russian trial also did not find cause to file charges against him.

“There are still no charges in Montgomery County related to David Barnes,” Kelly Blackburn of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office told ABC News on Friday.

A 2017 settlement signed by Barnes and Koptyaeva said in part that while not waiving legal reporting requirements, Koptyaeva was “to refrain from making statements, either written or oral, to any third party, alleging that … [Barnes] … molested his minor child and/or engaged in improper sexual contact with his minor child.”

Less than two years following the settlement, records show Barnes called police to ask for welfare checks on the two boys, but they were nowhere to be found. Interpol considers the children to have disappeared on March 26, 2019, the same date Koptyaeva allegedly left the U.S. with them.

“It tore him apart,” Schiller said. “I think his faith in God kept him grounded.”

In a September email to ABC News, Koptyaeva continued maintaining that the children were abused by her ex-husband.

“We left everything, our friends, the boys’ school, our house, my job, everything,” Koptyaeva said in part. “We were running away just to protect the boys. Do you really think that a person would take two kids and go into [the] unknown, without [a] job, without any source of income, into nothing just to hurt someone?”

Koptyaeva remains wanted in Texas on a felony interference with child custody warrant, Blackburn confirmed.

‘I may not ever see my brother again’

Russian judicial filings list that Barnes is due back in court Dec. 15.

“We are monitoring Mr. Barnes’ case closely, and we remain in regular communication with Mr. Barnes and his family and legal team,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told ABC News. “We have visited Mr. Barnes four times since his arrest in January 2022. Our last visit to Mr. Barnes in detention was on August 18, 2022.”

Testimony has yet to begin in his trial, but Barnes’ siblings are concerned that should he be convicted, he could end up in a Mordovia penal colony like the ones where Griner, Whelan and Reed were sent.

“He’s probably better off where he is now than being shipped off to a labor camp,” his older sister Carol Barnes said. “I may not ever see my brother again.”

ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova contributed research to this report.

Metallica announces stream of Helping Hands benefit concert

November 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Metallica has announced a stream of their upcoming Helping Hands benefit concert.

The show, which takes place December 16 in Los Angeles, premieres live at 5:30 p.m. PT on Paramount+; it will also simulcast on Pluto and MTV’s YouTube channel.

Jimmy Kimmel will host the night, and viewers who tune in from the beginning will get to watch Greta Van Fleet‘s opening set. Metallica also teases “special guests and presentations” as well as “a few surprises before we hit the stage.”

Helping Hands, which supports Metallica’s All Within My Hands charity foundation, first launched in 2018. The show features a rare acoustic set by the metal legends.

For more info, visit Metallica.com.

Journey’s Neal Schon comments on lawsuit against bandmate

November 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Journey’s Neal Schon is speaking out for the first time since it was revealed he is suing bandmate Jonathan Cain over their company Nomota’s finances, including an American Express card Cain took out.

“The only comment I’ll make at this time is it’s all very unfortunate and tried for over a year to attain all our corporate records for Nomota with many personal e-mails to Jon as well as many legal letter stating it’s my legal right to see all but I was left with no choice but to take it legal,” he writes on Facebook. “There’s much more … since I filed I’ll be following my attorneys advice and not speak until we are in court where I’ll not have a problem at all. It is what it is. “

Schon is arguing that “millions of Journey funds have flowed through” that Amex card, which Cain set up without his knowledge. And while Cain has told him he’d have access to it, he has yet to be added to the card.

In a separate Facebook post, Schon’s wife, Michaele, claims that since 2020, Cain’s wife, Paula White, was added to Journey’s bank account “against Neal’s wishes.” She also accuses Cain and his wife of trying to harm the band, noting it’s “Neal Schon who keeps Journey alive.”

Schon added in a tweet, “Yeah it’s a bit deeper then just a card.”

Fauci gives final briefing after 50 years in government: ‘Gave it all I got’

November 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, briefed reporters from the White House on Tuesday for the last time before leaving the government at the end of the year.

Introducing Fauci at the podium “one more time,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre praised him as a reliable “source of information and facts” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Under seven Republican and Democratic presidents, Dr. Fauci has always led with the science and our country is stronger and healthier because of his leadership,” Jean-Pierre said.

Fauci pressed the idea that Americans should get up-to-date on their COVID and flu shots ahead of winter, making a final pitch in a long effort to explain to Americans the safety and efficacy of the COVID vaccines.

“My message — and my final message, maybe the final message I give you from this podium — is that please for your own safety, for that of your family, get your updated COVID-19 shot as soon as you’re eligible to protect yourself, your family and your community,” he said.

As director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci has been a near-constant presence at White House briefings throughout the two years of the COVID pandemic.

In 2020, he served as a scientific check to then-President Donald Trump’s musings on the virus.

He stayed on after the election of President Joe Biden, who elevated Fauci into a top personal adviser on the pandemic.

On Tuesday, he joined Biden’s other top adviser — Dr. Ashish Jha — to discuss the need for Americans to get the bivalent COVID shot.

“Bottom line is that we’re doing everything we can in the next six weeks to help families get their updated COVID shots by the end of the year because it’s the best protection for this winter,” Jha said.

Fauci is scheduled to retire from the government next month after more than five decades of service.

Asked by ABC News’ Karen Travers how he wants people to remember his service in government, Fauci said he’d leave it to others to judge but that he “gave it all I got for decades.”

“I think what I’ve accomplished in my 54 years at the NIH and my 38 years as the director of NIAID, although COVID is really really very important, it is a fragment of the total 40 years that I’ve been doing it,” Fauci said.

“I’ll let other people judge the value or not of my accomplishments,” he continued, “but what I would like people to remember about what I’ve done is that every day for all of those years I’ve given it everything that I have and I’ve never left anything on the field.”

He spoke about his decision to retire in an interview with ABC Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl for This Week in October.

Fauci said Tuesday he would’ve never imagined at the onset of the pandemic that the nation would see “a three-year saga of suffering and death and a million Americans losing their lives.”

Asked about the contradictory statements released by the Trump administration in the early days of the crisis, Fauci said they were “dealing with a moving target.”

“When you are dealing with things like reporting and discussing with the press, making recommendations, making guidelines, you have to make it on the basis of the information that you have at that time,” he said. “But what is happening is we are not dealing with a static situation. We are dealing with a dynamic situation.”

Going forward, he said, public officials have to do a better job of underscoring the evolving nature of such outbreaks.

Fauci also discussed the most difficult aspect of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, lamenting the politicization surrounding vaccines and other mitigation efforts.

“When I see people in this country, because of the divisiveness in our country, not getting vaccinated for reasons that have nothing to do with public health but have to do because of divisiveness and ideological differences, as a physician, it pains me,” Fauci said, “because I don’t want to see anybody get infected. I don’t want to see anybody get hospitalized. I don’t want to see anybody die from COVID. Whether you are a far-right Republican or far-left Democrat doesn’t make a difference to me.”

It is possible Fauci will be called to testify before Congress despite leaving government.

Republicans, who took control of the House in the midterm elections, have signaled they want to investigate his role in overseeing the government’s response to COVID.

Fauci has said that, amid all the attacks on him, he and his family have faced death threats.

Fauci on Tuesday said he would cooperate fully with any oversight hearings conducted by the new Congress.

“I have no trouble testifying, we can defend and explain and stand by everything that we’ve said, so I have nothing to hide,” he said.

Annie Lennox launches fundraiser to fight against gender bias

November 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Annie Lennox is spearheading a new fundraising effort to fight against gender bias. The newly inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has just launched the Circle Music Icons Auction, with proceeds going to her non-profit The Circle.

“Ahead of the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, I am delighted to have brought together some of the world’s greatest female artists for a very special auction to help raise funds for the vital work o f@TheCircleNGO,” the Eurythmics star shares on Instagram. “I have long believed that music can build bridges and bring people together and it is wonderful to see these phenomenal female artists stand side by side with women and girls around the world facing and fighting gender-based violence.”

Fans can bid on such items as handwritten lyrics to “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” signed by Annie, along with handwritten lyrics to other songs, including Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’,” Billie Eilish’s “Your Power,” Brandi Carlile’s ‘Right On Time” and Angelique Kidjo’s “Agolo.”

Lennox adds, “The auction proceeds will enable The Circle to support our grassroots partners helping women and girls to build lives free from abuse and fear, and advocate for long-term change to end the violence that will affect 1 in 3 women in their lifetime.”

Fans have until December 5 to place a bid on one of the auction items. In addition, there is a sweepstakes that runs until December 15; those interested can contribute $10 to enter and possibly win an item.

“A pretty out-of-body experience”: Kevin Bacon recalls surprise when he heard his name dropped into the MCU

November 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Kevin Bacon worked with writer-director James Gunn in the 2010 low-budget, skewed superhero movie Super, but he tells ABC Audio he was just as surprised as other moviegoers to hear his name dropped in Gunn’s 2014 blockbuster, Guardians of the Galaxy.

Bacon recalls to ABC Audio, “I went to the movies just like opening weekend, like I would, you know…I’d seen the trailer and I went to the movies having no idea that I was mentioned in it. But I mean, you can imagine you’re sitting there in the theater and I start looking around at people and going, you know, ‘Did I just hear what I think I heard?'”

For the uninitiated, Chris Pratt‘s Peter Quill/Star-Lord was abducted from Earth when he was still a kid back in the ’80s, so he cites Footloose and the legend of a “great hero named Kevin Bacon” to Zoe Saldaña‘s Gamora. In Avengers: Infinity War, Pom Klementieff‘s Mantis suggests the actor might be one of the Avengers.

“It was a pretty out of body experience, honestly,” Bacon admits. “I called my wife afterwards,” he says of Kyra Sedgwick. “It’s like, ‘You got to see this movie..I’m going to go back with you, but I’m not going to tell you anything about it…'”

On Friday, Bacon officially joins the MCU as himself in Disney+’s Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

Klementieff explains, “The story is just hilarious…Mantis and Drax (Dave Bautista) want to find a beautiful Christmas gift for…Peter Quill. And then they brainstorm, and they come up with the idea of Kevin Bacon, the real Kevin Bacon, the actual person.”

In the spirit of Christmas, the aliens abduct him.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Kroger holds off passing turkey costs onto consumers, outlook for prices through new year

November 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Americans may be feeling the pinch at grocery store checkouts, but the largest chain in the country has shared some positive news ahead of the holiday season.

“Our turkey costs are up about 20%, but we decided early on to not pass that cost increase through to try to help somebody stretch their budget,” Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen told Good Morning America.

The announcement comes at a crucial time for last-minute Thanksgiving shoppers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its latest National Retail Report on turkey that there is currently “a wide variant in prices throughout most regions” but that “fresh and frozen weighted average whole turkey prices increase when compared to the previous ad cycle.”

“However, many lucrative values abound for both fresh and frozen turkeys helping to lure the customer through [grocery store] doors,” the agency noted.

With inflation impacting grocery bills for many people, some have turned to other Thanksgiving main dishes, including roasted chicken, to save a few dollars. But while McMullen said the price of “chicken and some of those items” was “starting to come down,” the latest USDA Agricultural Marketing Service report shows that, overall, whole chicken prices “are trending at least steady for all sizes.”

The best deal for a non-turkey poultry option, according to the USDA National Retail Report on chicken, are bulk packs of thighs and drums.

McMullen noted that other meats like beef and pork were still affected by high price tags. “Beef is still inflationary, pork is still a little bit inflationary,” he said.

He added, however, that “some of the produce items are starting to come down just a little bit.”

With inflation currently at 7.7%, prices on goods have continually crept upward in the food category, which rose 10.9% overall in the last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index report. Food at home costs, meanwhile, have risen 12.4% since last year.

“The biggest thing we’re seeing is people continue to eat and cook at home. One of the things during COVID, people learned to cook at home and they found they enjoy it, they love eating as a family,” McMullen said. “It also helps stretch the budget because it’s significantly cheaper for somebody to cook a meal at home versus going out to a restaurant.”

When looking for savings opportunities at Kroger, McMullen encouraged people to shop the grocery chain’s “private label” products which are generic store-brand offshoots of mainstream consumer packaged goods.

As for the end-of-year outlook, McMullen added, “Our hope and expectation, as we get early into next year, is that we’ll see [inflation] continue to decrease a little bit.”

Taylor Swift’s lawyer fans are collaborating to take action against Ticketmaster

November 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Ticketmaster might have kicked a hornet nest with the disastrous rollout of Taylor Swift‘s presale tickets because some of her fans, who also happen to be lawyers, are looking into ways to take action against the ticketing giant.

Mashable reports a group of “Swiftie lawyers” created a LLC titled Vigilante Legal — in honor of Taylor’s song “Vigilante S***” — shortly after the ticketing fiasco to strategize over any potential legal recourse.

Blake Barnett, the 30-year-old lawyer who started Vigilante Legal, explained, “Something needs to be done. They’re violating antitrust laws. The monopoly merger should have never been allowed to happen between Live Nation and Ticketmaster.” She adds her message resonated beyond Swifties and non-fans are helping the cause, such as by looking to see if the Sherman Antitrust Act, which guarantees competition in the marketplace, has been violated.

In the meantime, these lawyers are reaching out to fans who also took part in the presale to gather evidence against Ticketmaster for a report they intend to file with the Federal Trade Commission. They will share their findings and opinions with politicians via an amicus brief.

It should be noted politicians such as Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have openly criticized Ticketmaster in the wake of the ticketing fiasco.

In addition to Vigilante Legal, nearly 50,000 Swifties have signed an Action Network petition demanding that Live Nation and Ticketmaster be broken up and requesting the Department of Justice investigate them.

As previously reported, Live Nation is being investigated by the Justice Department’s antitrust division for any potential abuse of power and to determine whether it “maintains a monopoly over the industry.”

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ finally flies onto streaming December 22

November 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The biggest movie of the year — and of Tom Cruise‘s career — Top Gun: Maverick, will finally land on streaming December 22.

Paramount+ made the announcement Tuesday.

As reported, Cruise — also a producer of the blockbuster — resisted pressure to stream the film while attendance in theaters was still low, or even nonexistent, during the pandemic, and insisted it be released only in theaters.

It was a gamble that paid off: To date, the movie has grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide since its release on May 27.

Joseph Kosinsky‘s movie has Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell training a crop of young recruits for a dangerous mission: Miles Teller, Lewis Pullman, Glenn Powell, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez and Greg Tarzan Davis play the cocky young guns. The film also stars Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly, Oscar nominee Ed Harris, Emmy winner Jon Hamm and original Top Gun star Val Kilmer.

Idaho stabbing victim Ethan Chapin ‘lived his best life’ at college

November 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(MOSCOW, Idaho) — University of Idaho student Ethan Chapin was “one of the most incredible people you’ll ever know,” his mother said before his memorial service.

Chapin, from Conway, Washington, was among four Idaho students stabbed to death in an off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13. Chapin didn’t live in the house but was sleeping over with his girlfriend, 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, who was also among the victims. No arrests have been made.

Chapin, a triplet, was born right before his sister and brother, who also attend the University of Idaho.

“We’re here to honor the life and legacy of our son and brother,” his mother, Stacy Chapin, told reporters before Monday’s memorial service, with her family standing by her side.

At Idaho, Ethan Chapin was in the Sigma Chi fraternity and was majoring in recreation, sport and tourism management, university president Scott Green said.

The 20-year-old “lived his best life” at college, his obituary said. “He loved the social life, intramurals and tolerated the academics.”

He loved sports, from golf to basketball to surfing to pickleball, his family said.

“He laughed continuously. He smiled when he woke up and was still smiling when he went to bed,” his obituary said. “He was kind to all and a friend to all.”

The murders of Ethan Chapin, Kernodle and two of Kernodle’s roommates remain a mystery.

On the night of Nov. 12, Ethan Chapin and Kernodle went to the Sigma Chi house, while the other two victims, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, went to a bar downtown, according to police. All four were home around 1:45 a.m., police said.

Two other roommates — who survived the attack and are not considered suspects — also went out that night and returned home by 1 a.m., police said.

It’s believed the four students were killed between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, according to Moscow Mayor Art Bettge.

The two surviving roommates were in the basement and slept through the murders, police said. On the morning of Nov. 13, the roommates called friends over to their house because they thought one of the victims on the second floor had passed out and wasn’t waking up, police said.

At 11:58 a.m., a 911 call from one of the roommate’s phones requested help for an unconscious person, according to police. The 911 caller’s identity has not been released but police said “multiple people talked with the 911 dispatcher.”

Officers responded and found the four victims on the second and third floors, police said.

Authorities said they do not believe anyone at the house at the time of the 911 call was involved in the murders.

Police urge anyone with information, or anyone who saw anything suspicious on the night of Nov. 12, to call the tip line at 208-883-7180 or send an email to tipline@ci.moscow.id.us.

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