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Manchin has ‘no intention’ of switching to be independent but suggests that could change

December 13, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Joe Manchin on Monday left the door open to one day becoming an independent, three days after Arizona colleague Kyrsten Sinema announced that she was leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent herself.

While speaking with reporters on Monday afternoon, Manchin, D-W.Va., maintained that he is already “the most independent person” in the Senate and confirmed that he has considered alterations to his party affiliation before.

He didn’t foreclose ever leaving the Democrats but said he has no plans for such a move.

“I don’t know how you get more independent than I am,” he said. “I look at all of these things, I’ve always looked at all of these things. But I have no intention of doing anything right now. Whether I do something later, I can’t tell you what the future is going to bring.”

Manchin maintained that Americans are “very upset” and “don’t like the bickering” that goes on in politics, echoing longstanding criticisms.

“I’m not a Washington Democrat, I don’t know what to tell you,” Manchin said. “But I have a lot of friends who aren’t Washington Republicans and if a Washington independent is, as I said, more comfortable, you know we’ll see what happens there, we’ll have to look. People were registering more for independents than any party affiliation. They are sick and tired of it.”

In the current 50-50 Senate, Manchin and Sinema, who were seen as two of the most centrist members of the Democratic caucus, had particular influence on which legislation and nominees could advance.

Manchin said Sinema did not give him a heads up before making her announcement on Friday but that he “respects her decision” and thinks she “gave pretty good reasons of why.”

“You have to respect every senator up here has to make their own decisions and I trust them all and I respect the decisions they make,” Manchin said, “and it doesn’t change how I’m going to work with them. It doesn’t change anything.”

Manchin and Sinema will both be up for reelection in 2024. He said Monday that he hadn’t yet made a decision about whether he intends to run.

Sinema’s party switch has been criticized by some, like Vermont’s independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, as a possible political move meant to secure better odds for herself given her falling out with the Democratic base over her positions on issues like the minimum wage and tax increases.

But Manchin said he’s not concerned with the politics of it.

“I’ve always said this, and I would tell all the wonderful people listening to you all: Look at the content, look at what the person is, what they bring to it, are they representing you?” he said. “Just because they have a D or an I or an R, does that change who they are and how they represent you?”

When it comes to his own potential reelection bid, Manchin dismissed the role that his affiliation might have.

“Everybody runs against me,” he joked.

Richmond’s last Confederate statue removed; dispute over relocation continues

December 13, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(RICHMOND, Va.) — The removal of Richmond, Virginia’s last standing city-owned Confederate statue was completed Monday but the fight over where it will be relocated continues.

Richmond’s deputy chief administrative officer, Robert Steidel, said the statue of Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill was removed Monday morning.

It will be moved into storage until the administrative process is finished for it to be donated, as planned, to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Steidel said.

Two years ago, amid protests after the murder of George Floyd, the city of Richmond, which was the Confederate capital for most of the Civil War, began removing all of its Confederate monuments.

Since then, more than a dozen such memorials across the city have been taken down. But as ABC affiliate WRIC-TV reported, the removal of Hill’s statue was complicated because the site also includes Hill’s remains and four indirect descendants filed in court to have a say in the process.

According to WRIC, they contended that because the remains of the general, who was killed by Union troops near the end of the Civil War, were buried under the monument in 1891, the statue should be considered a cemetery and grave.

While Hill’s relatives and the city came to an agreement to move his remains to Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper, the family has argued they should also decide where to relocate the statue.

In October, a Richmond Circuit Court Judge ruled against the descendants, WRIC reported, giving the city control over where the statue will end up.

Hill’s distant family has appealed, according to WRIC.

While the city intends to send the memorial to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Hill’s relatives want to have the memorial moved to the Cedar Mountain battlefield by the cemetery where Hill’s remains will be taken.

Scoreboard roundup — 12/12/22

December 13, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Brooklyn 112, Washington 100
Miami 87, Indiana 82
Memphis 128, Atlanta 103
San Antonio 112, Cleveland 111
Dallas 121, Oklahoma City 114
Portland 133, Minnesota 112
LA Clippers 113, Boston 93

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 2, Dallas 1
NY Rangers 4, New Jersey 3 (OT)
Montreal 2, Calgary 1 (SO)
Ottawa 3, Anaheim 0
St. Louis 1, Nashville 0 (OT)
Minnesota 2, Edmonton 1

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
New England 27, Arizona 13

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Texas 87, Rice 81
Gonzaga 88, N. Illinois 67

The Christmas tune Scotty McCreery’s wife and band wish he would stop singing

December 13, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Die-hard Scotty McCreery fans have known about his love for Elvis Presley dating all the way back to when he won the 10th season of American Idol in 2011.

So it’s not exactly a surprise what the North Carolina native’s favorite holiday record is.

“The Elvis Christmas album has got to be the best ever made,” Scotty asserts. “And I know I’m biased, but I do love my Elvis. So ‘Blue Christmas,’ ‘Santa Claus is Back in Town,’ all that good stuff. For me, it’s Elvis.”

What is surprising, perhaps, is the yuletide song Scotty insists is stuck in his head practically every day of the year.

“The one Christmas song — I said I sing it all year long — I do. I think it’s the Drifters — The ‘White Christmas’ — that one,” he explains while imitating that version’s distinctive background vocals.

“Dude, I sing that song basically 365 days a year,” he continues. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s crammed in the back of my head somewhere and will not escape.”

“And the band is so tired of hearing it on the bus, my wife, everybody,” he admits. “But at some point during the day, [in] 24 hours, I will blurt that out.”

Scotty put out his own Christmas album, A Scotty McCreery Christmas, in 2012, though he didn’t cover his favorite version of the Irving Berlin classic. He does do “Santa Claus Is Back in Town,” however.

Taylor Swift opens up about her directing ambitions: “I always wanted to tell stories”

December 13, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Taylor Swift is set to direct her first feature-length film, but has she always had her sights set on directing?

Taylor chatted with The Banshees of Inisherin director Martin McDonagh as part of Variety‘s Directors on Directors interview series. McDonagh opened the conversation by asking the hitmaker if directing was always a goal of hers.

“No, I always wanted to tell stories,” Taylor said. “I have always written stories, poetry, songs. And I think this just grew out of that storytelling. And the more I did it, the more I loved it.”

She revealed her directing “came out of necessity” when she specifically hoped to find a woman to direct her 2019 music video “The Man.” Said Taylor, “The few that I reached out to were fortunately booked … So I was like, ‘I could do it, maybe.’ And when I did direct, I just thought, ‘This is actually more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined.'”

Although her start in directing was accidental, Taylor said she now has 10 music videos and one short under her belt. “I’m just inching my way along toward taking on more responsibility,” she said.

“Every aspect of my job as a singer has affected the way that I am as a director,” Taylor continued. “I definitely feel more free to create now. And I’m making more albums at a more rapid pace than I ever did before, because I think the more art you create, hopefully the less pressure you put on yourself.”

Added Taylor, “I’m happier when I’m making things more often … The more that I’m writing, the more those ideas come. I’m just going with it.”

It was revealed last week she partnered with Searchlight Pictures to make her directorial debut with an original script that she’s written.

Andrew Watt reflects on “beautiful” tour with Eddie Vedder: “We do it more for the hang”

December 13, 2022 by WDNY Radio

After touring in Eddie Vedder‘s solo band this year, Andrew Watt will be playing with another rock legend’s backing group when he joins Iggy Pop live for a run of shows in 2023. Speaking with ABC Audio, Watt reflects on his experience on the road with the Pearl Jam frontman.

“We’re all genuinely friends that love each other,” Watt says of the Vedder lineup, which also included Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and ex-RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. “We go on these tours, and we all go to dinner every night and go surfing and hang out.”

“We do it more for the hang, we just like to spend time together,” he adds. “It’s beautiful.”

In addition to touring with the Pearl Jam frontman and the Godfather of Punk, Watt produced their respective new albums: this year’s Earthling and the upcoming Every Loser. They joined an already impressive collection of collaborators who also include Ozzy Osbourne, whose Ordinary Man and Patient Number 9 records were produced by Watt.

Speaking specifically about Eddie and Ozzy, Watt describes them as “completely different artists.”

“They write in completely different ways, but they’re both fantastic singers,” Watt shares. “They also sing in completely different ways and record their vocals in completely different ways.”

Despite each artist’s unique traits, Watt’s role as a producer is always to get the best music out of them.

“There will be times where they wanna follow [your input] and times where they don’t like the idea,” Watt explains. “You gotta just ride the wave of the creativity and make sure that you’re helping get to a landing point that is what’s the best for the song.”

Pop’s tour launches in April, and will also feature Smith and Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses.

Elton John, Def Leppard & Mötley Crüe make ‘Pollstar’s’ year-end Top Tours lists

December 13, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Pollstar is out with its list of the Top Tours of 2022, and while Bad Bunny’s tour lands at number one on both the worldwide and North American tours lists, artists like Elton John, Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe, Paul McCartney and more are also on them.

Elton’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour lands at number two on both lists, bringing in over $201 million in North America alone. Elton also earned the number one spot on the year-end Artist Power Index, described by the mag as “the world’s most accurate index for an artist’s popularity.” Elton also held the top spot on that list back in February when it was first introduced.

Other artists to land in the Top 10 on the worldwide tours list include Def Leppard/Mötley Crüe at six, Red Hot Chili Peppers at seven and The Rolling Stones at 10. For just North America, Def Leppard/Mötley Crüe land at three, Red Hot Chili Peppers at nine and Paul McCartney at 10.

Joshua Bassett aims to spread “goodness and love and positivity” in 2023

December 13, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Joshua Bassett unveiled his new tour on Monday, dubbed The Complicated Tour, which he hints will help set the tone for 2023.

Speaking with ABC Audio about his hopes for the new year, Bassett teased he has “many things” on the horizon — but he isn’t at liberty to talk about them yet.

“My fans kill me because I’m always like, ‘There’s stuff coming!’ And then I never talk about it,” he said, but hinted that fans should look forward to “a handful of projects” he has coming down the pipeline.

“There’s so many things and honestly, I want to continue to branch out,” he said. “I’d love to do any sort of acting project that challenges me and really puts me into a different character that is … edgier and grittier.”

At the moment, he is filming the new season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and recently starred in the new Disney+ movies Better Nate Than Ever and Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again.

Besides exploring new characters to play, Bassett said his main objective is “to tell stories in whatever way I can and to put as much goodness and love and positivity into the world.”

“Whatever that looks like, that’s what I’m going for,” he said.

Bassett’s 32-date tour, which features North American and European stops, kicks off March 8 in San Francisco, California. It wraps May 9 with a show in London, England. Tickets go on sale Friday, December 16, at 10 a.m. local venue time. For more information, visit Bassett’s official website.

Sports reporter Grant Wahl’s body transported back to US after death during World Cup in Qatar

December 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl’s body has been returned to the U.S., following his unexpected death last week while covering the World Cup in Qatar, according to his brother.

His brother, Eric Wahl, tweeted Monday that he was in New York with his brother’s body and was headed to the medical examiner for an autopsy.

“Please keep Celine in your thoughts. She & her mother & sisters have gone to make the I.D. I couldn’t do it, for my own sanity,” Eric Wahl tweeted.

Grant Wahl, 49, was covering his eighth World Cip when he “fell ill” while in the Lusail Stadium media section during the quarter-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands, according to a spokesperson for the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, the Qatar World Cup organizing committee.

The spokesperson said Grant Wahl received medical treatment on-site before being transferred to an area hospital by ambulance.

Two days before his death, the journalist said on his podcast, “Fútbol with Grant Wahl,” that he had bronchitis and went to the medical clinic twice on Thursday, saying he felt better but wasn’t 100% back to normal.

“I’m feeling better today. I basically canceled everything on this Thursday that I had, and napped and I’m doing slightly better but you can probably tell in my voice that I’m not at it at 100% here. Hopefully I will not cough during this podcast. I’m coughing a lot,” he said.

Last week, U.S. Soccer remembered Grant Wahl, saying, “fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists: Teams, players, coaches, and the many personalities that make soccer unlike any sport.”

ABC News’ Meredith Deliso and Stephanie Guerilus contributed to this report.

COVID hospitalizations at least 3 times higher among seniors than other age groups: CDC

December 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — COVID-19 hospitalizations among seniors are at least three times higher than any other age group, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Dec. 7, new hospital admissions per 100,000 for those aged 70 and older sits at 6.93 per 100,000.

The next highest rate is among those between ages 60 and 69, which sits at 2.21 per 100,000, as of Dec. 6.

When looking at rates for younger age groups, the disparity is even greater. Among those aged 17 and younger, the new hospital admissions rate is 0.28 per 100,000.

It comes on the heels of data from the CDC showing that more than 90% of COVID-19 deaths, as of Dec 7, have occurred among those aged 50 or older.

“It sort of really highlights both that this virus is still around and is causing significant illness in our communities, impacting our most vulnerable population, which is the elderly population,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor.

Brownstein said the rising hospitalization rates showcases the lack of booster shots received by the older population.

Although the majority of seniors aged 65 and older are fully vaccinated at 93.8%, only a little more than one-third have received an updated bivalent booster dose, according to CDC data.

“The reason we haven’t seen an uptake in this population is probably multifactorial,” Brownstein said. “There’s likely misinformation or misunderstanding about the benefits of boosting.”

He continued, “You know they may have gotten the original vaccine and then the virus, so they feel like they’re [protected]. Additionally, we don’t have the same level of messaging we once did about vaccines.”

Brownstein said there is already evidence that COVID hospitalizations are trending upwards, which could continue with the upcoming holiday season as more people gather indoors — potentially unmasked — and travel.

Additionally, hospitals are feeling the crush of an early respiratory season with both flu and RSV cases filling up emergency rooms and hospital beds — and also mostly affecting seniors.

Data from the CDC shows that as of the week ending Dec. 3, the latest date for which data is available, adults aged 65 and older are being hospitalized for RSV at a weekly rate of 3.5 per 100,000.

What’s more, over the same period, for flu, senior citizens are being hospitalized at a weekly rate of 18 per 100,000, also higher than any other age group, according to the CDC.

Brownstein stressed the importance of making sure seniors are boosted, especially ahead of the holiday season, but also that they received their primary series if they haven’t already.

According to the CDC, as of Sept. 25 — the latest date for which data is available — unvaccinated seniors aged 80 and older are dying at the highest rate of 14.16 per 100,000 followed by unvaccinated seniors aged 65 to 79 at 5.68 per 100,000.

“Vaccination really remains the cornerstone of the response,” Brownstein said. “Trying to improve education and access, combatting misinformation and getting information out ahead of the holiday season.”

He added that although it’s important for this group to get the shots themselves, the rest of the community also needs to do the same, particularly because children can unknowingly pass the virus to their parents or grandparents.

“Ultimately we need to do what we can to protest our most vulnerable, the ones who may not be able to mount a good immune response to vaccines,” Brownstein said. “Of course, we also need to be appropriately cautious, making sure we’ve acting responsibly.”

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