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Buffalo supermarket shooter’s fate to be decided next year

December 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department won’t decide until 2023 whether to seek the death penalty for Buffalo supermarket shooter Payton Gendron, but Gendron’s lawyer reiterated Friday that he’s willing to plead guilty to the federal charges in exchange for a life sentence.

Gendron, who fatally shot 10 Black people at a Tops supermarket in May, pleaded guilty last month to state charges including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate. He carried out the attack “because of the perceived race and/or color” of the victims, according to the indictment by the Erie County district attorney.

Gendron is charged federally with hate crime resulting in death, hate crime involving bodily injury, use of a firearm to commit murder and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

“It is still our hope to resolve this matter short of a trial,” defense attorney Sonya Zoghlin said during a hearing Friday. “He is prepared to enter a plea of guilty in federal court in exchange for a life sentence.”

In the meantime, Zoghlin asked the judge for extra time to review the “voluminous” discovery material turned over by the government.

But Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder responded, “I don’t see the necessity of having a lot of time spent on discovery materials that relate solely to the factual substantive issues to which the defendant pleaded guilty. The issue now for the defense is to focus on mitigation as to why there should not be a federal death sentence.”

Schroeder agreed to give the defense until March 10, 2023, to review discovery and, simultaneously, negotiate with federal prosecutors over a possible plea agreement.

“The defendant has entered a plea of guilty to similar but unrelated charges in state of New York proceedings,” Schroeder said. “So it seems to me the issue of guilt or innocence on the federal charges is basically moot by reason of the defendant’s own admissions in the state court.”

Schroeder also questioned whether a federal trial is even necessary if the Justice Department ultimately decides against seeking the death penalty.

“Obviously you can’t have two consecutive life sentences because Mr. Gendron only has one life to live,” Schroeder said.

Candiace Dillard Bassett, Joyful Drake, Caryn Ward Ross dish on “spicy” new series ‘HUSH’

December 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The brand-new titillating drama series HUSH has arrived starring Joyful Drake, Caryn Ward Ross, Candiace Dillard Bassett and more.

The show follows Dr. Draya Logan, who has built a successful practice discreetly catering to the between-the-sheets lives of her rich and famous clientele. The character is portrayed by Drake, who tells ABC Audio the show is “sexy and spicy.”

“I would say, there’s not anything like this on TV where you see these dynamic, beautiful, powerful Black women making choices to live their lives in a way that is just, I guess, free from all rules and restrictions,” Drake says.

That salaciousness, in part, is what drew each of the ladies to their respective roles, with RHOP star Dillard Bassett adding that it’s the differences between herself and her character, Syleena.

“I am not doing most of the things that Selena is doing in this series,” says Bassett, “but that made it fun to really have to study who this this woman was and figure out what made her tick and make it appear real.”

“It was fun and liberating to play someone who is, you know, sexually fluid,” she continues, adding, “I love how Syleena rides for her husband…I call them a Bonnie and Clyde-esque duo because they get into some things and they hold each other down. So that part I loved portraying of her character of her.”

For Ward Ross, it was the opposite, in that it was the similarities she shares with her character Jordan that enticed her.

“I actually feel like the character is 100% me,” she shares. “The difference is maybe in how we choose to execute our life. I’m not necessarily doing the things that she does, but I certainly understand them.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)

Catch new episodes of HUSH every Thursday on ALLBLK.

Jelly Roll reflects on the “Cinderella story” that led him to the top of the country charts

December 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Friday night, superstar-in-the-making Jelly Roll will storm Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, headlining a marquee hometown show and using the proceeds to benefit the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center, where he himself was incarcerated as a teen.

“You couldn’t write a Cinderella story cooler than this,” the singer tells Billboard ahead of the show. “Saying that I have a headlining show at Bridgestone while I have a top-ten at country radio. I look at it like it’s my introduction party to Nashville, even though I was born here.”

Jelly — who hinted at some special surprises and guests during tonight’s set — says he hopes his story will inspire others.

“I think what I think I represent is just a beacon of hope,” the singer continues. “…I just feel like I represent the guy who looks at himself in the mirror every day and goes, ‘Yeah, guys like me don’t make it.’”

He goes on to say that the decade between ages 14 and 24 were rocky for him, and that he spent quite a while either incarcerated or dealing drugs. While those were dark times, his stint in the youth detention center also provided him his first real introduction to music.

“A lot of what we heard was just rapping to each other, and that got me involved in the art form,” he says, pointing out that the detention center is where he had his first rap battle. “It was our only source of entertainment. Adult jails at least get headphones.”

Jelly’s breakout country hit, “Son of a Sinner,” is currently inside the top ten at country radio.

Roger Waters releases ‘The Lockdown Sessions,’ including new version of “Comfortably Numb”

December 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

After teasing it in a recent interview, Roger Waters has now released The Lockdown Sessions.

Waters recorded the five songs on the project — a digital-only release — at home during the COVID-19 lockdown between 2020 and 2021. One song postdates those tracks, though: a new version of “Comfortably Numb” that was recorded during Waters’ 2022 This Is Not a Drill North American tour.

The songs include material from both Waters’ solo career and Pink Floyd: “Mother” and “Vera” from Pink Floyd’s The Wall; “Two Suns In the Sunset” and “The Gunner’s Dream” from Waters’ final album with Floyd, The Final Cut; and “The Bravery of Being Out of Range” from his 1992 album, Amused to Death.

Explaining why he chose to record these particular songs, he writes, “Our Us and Them Tour lasted three years … At every gig we did an encore after the main show…[we] closed with ‘Comfortably Numb’… the encore was always ‘Mother’ … I can’t remember why I decided to start doing other songs? Anyway, at some point after the end of the tour … I started thinking, ‘It could make an interesting album, all those encores … The Encores — yeah, has a nice ring to it!'”

He continues, “Then … I’m in England doing the Ginger Baker tribute gig one Tuesday night at the Hammersmith Odeon with Eric Clapton and … the following Saturday marching from The Australian Embassy to Parliament Square to make a speech in support of Julian Assange, when, bugger me, Covid! For me it was Friday March 13, 2020. Lockdown! So much for the Encores project.”

Waters adds, “We’ve tacked C. Numb on the end of the collection, as an appropriate exclamation point in closing this circle of love.”

The European run of This Is Not A Drill will kick off March 17 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Should racism and discrimination be viewed as public health threats? A new study argues they should

December 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Racism and discrimination must be acknowledged as public health threats in the fight to address global health disparities, according to a new study.

As part of the four-paper series published in The Lancet medical journal Thursday, researchers from countries around the world, including the U.S., U.K., Brazil and India, carried out a major review of scientific literature and used data from hundreds of articles in recent years.

The tendency among health professionals has been to explain unequal health outcomes on either genetics or economic conditions, according to the study’s authors. But in order to tackle racial health inequities, racism and discrimination themselves should be classified as public health threats globally, the authors say.

“Racism has always been a public health threat,” Alexandre White, assistant professor of sociology and the history of medicine at John Hopkins University School of Medicine, told ABC News. “It has emerged time and time again, especially over the last 10 to 15 years.”

Research into the intersection of race and health disparities has advanced in recent years, particularly in the U.S. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention almost every two in three pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. A 2020 report found that non-Hispanic Black women experienced a higher pregnancy-related mortality rate — a disparity placing them nearly three times more at risk of dying due to pregnancy-related causes compared to non-Hispanic white women.

The report’s authors also found evidence of disproportionate impact from the pandemic, vaccine inequality and climate change on minority groups.

“This study is tremendously important [as] it sheds light on the fundamental role that racism, xenophobia and forms of discrimination actually play on health, both from a structural level and generational level over time,” White said. “But also fundamentally since the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve seen the ways in which, especially racism and xenophobia, affects who gets sick, how seriously and why.”

The study also reports that racial biases in health care can lead to a stress response — affirming previous studies that found discrimination, whether overt or covert, can lead to chronic stress responses which can affect human neurological and immune systems. That chronic stress response can lead to lower life expectancies and is associated with other health complications such as anxiety, depression and heart disease.

“It’s not only because of racism at the individual interpersonal level,” Dr. Abi Deivanayagam, a public health doctor, researcher, activist and one of the study’s authors, told ABC News. “It’s racism in the way that our society is structured. And that’s very real. And it’s really important that we acknowledge this in a medical journal like The Lancet so that health people recognize that this is something this is our duty of care to patients. And our care really has to go beyond the individual to making sure that our systems are safe for our patients.”

Although discrimination against minority groups comes in different forms around the world according to such factors as race, ethnicity and religion, a pattern of worse health outcomes for minority groups can be seen globally.

According to Deivanayagam, the study has drawn two major conclusions.

“One thing is that there is evidence globally that shows that racism, xenophobia and discrimination affect a range of different health outcomes, and that this is embedded across different levels of society and that it affects people across the course of their lives ranging from COVID-19, to vaccines, to actually getting health care access,” she told ABC News. “The second thing is that we need to get to the root cause of this. And the way we do that as health professionals is to recognize that racism, xenophobia and discrimination are actually a public health threat.”

Oil spill in rural Kansas creek shuts down Keystone pipeline system

December 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Keystone pipeline system was shut down by operator TC Energy after an oil spill released an estimated 14,000 barrels into a creek in Washington County, Kansas.

The system transfers oil between Canada and the U.S. Crews were able to control downstream migration of the oil as of Thursday night.

The emergency shutdown was issued early Thursday morning after a detected pressure drop in the system.

The affected segment was isolated and booms were deployed to control downstream migration of the spill, TC Energy said.

The Environmental Protection Agency dispatched two regional coordinators to the scene. TC Energy also mobilized a response crew originating from Steele City, Nebraska, to begin containment and source control, according to the the EPA. Washington County is about 20 miles south of Steele City, Nebraska.

According to the EPA, there are no known impacts to drinking water wells or the public but surface water of Mill Creek has been impacted.

TC Energy said it immediately activated its emergency response procedures and has established environmental monitoring, including around-the-clock air monitoring. It’s still unclear what caused the spill.

The EPA said it will oversee TC Energy’s response operations to ensure proper cleanup and evaluate the cause of the incident.

Lil Nas X and Bad Bunny honored among Money’s Changemakers of 2022

December 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Lil Nas X and Bad Bunny have been honored by Money in its annual Changemakers list. Only 50 people secured the prestigious title, which honors those with enough power and influence to shape the country’s finances.

Lil Nas X was listed with seven others under the “creators” category, sharing the title with people like Diana Sinclair, YouTube star MrBeast, and Hank and John Green. Money saluted the artist’s “glow-up of epic proportions,” going from working at Taco Bell as a teenager to serving as the chain’s chief impact officer.

Money states he is changing what career commitment looks like, and noted he is “one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world” because of his creativity and strategic moves in marketing. “Lil Nas X is changing what it looks like to be hard-working and setting an example for millions of young people — many of them LGBTQ+ — by being unapologetically himself,” the magazine added.

As for Latin superstar Bad Bunny, he is found under the “trailblazers” category alongside investor Alexis Ohanian and Affirm CEO Max Levchin. The outlet says he is changing celebrity advocacy.

The rapper is infusing his advocacy into his television appearances, music and live performances. His tireless support of his native Puerto Rico and demanding justice for those who don’t have a voice has brought attention to unsolved murders, income inequality and pitfalls in infrastructure.

“While Bad Bunny’s turns at speaking out may vary in terms of subject, they all point back to one cause: a better quality of life for Puerto Ricans,” the finance brand states.

Listen to Phoebe Bridgers sing with SZA on new song, “Ghost in the Machine”

December 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

R&B star SZA‘s much-anticipated new album SOS is out Friday and with it comes her previously teased collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers.

The “Kyoto” singer guests on a track called “Ghost in the Machine,” lending her vocals to lines including “You said all of my friends are on my payroll/You’re not wrong, you’re an a**hole.”

You can listen to “Ghost in the Machine,” along with the rest of SOS, now via digital outlets.

Bridgers’ other recent features include guest spots on Marcus Mumford‘s (self-titled) solo album and on Taylor Swift‘s Red (Taylor’s Version). Her most recent album is 2020’s Grammy-nominated Punisher.

Next year, Bridgers will be opening for select dates on Swift’s U.S. stadium tour.

(Video contains uncensored profanity)

Led Zeppelin streaming ’Celebration Day’ concert film to mark 15th anniversary of reunion show

December 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

This Saturday marks the 15th anniversary of Led Zeppelin‘s 2007 reunion show. To celebrate the occasion, the “Stairway to Heaven” legends have announced an online global watch party of their Celebration Day concert film, which captured the historic performance.

You can watch the stream beginning Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on YouTube.

Recorded December 10, 2007, at the O2 Arena in London, Celebration Day featured the reunion of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, along with the late John Bonham‘s son Jason Bonham on drums. It marked Led Zeppelin’s first live performance since their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and their first full concert since their 1980 breakup following John Bonham’s death.

Celebration Day was screened in theaters in 2012, and was released as a live album and on home video later that year.

More funds recovered for victims of Bernie Madoff

December 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The trustee for the liquidation of Bernie Madoff’s defunct and fraudulent investment firm announced on Friday a new distribution of recovered funds to swindled customers.

This is the 14th distribution to victims of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and brings the total amount restored to more than $14 billion.

The trustee has been pursuing stolen customer funds since Madoff pleaded guilty in 2009 and signaled there would be additional recoveries in 2023.

“We are proud to continue our quest to recover additional funds and return them to defrauded claimants,” the trustee, Irving Picard, said in a statement.

When combined with the prior distributions, the fourteenth distribution will equal about 70% of each customer’s allowed claim amount, unless that claim has been fully satisfied. The aggregate amount distributed to eligible customers will total more than $14.36 billion. This recovery far exceeds any prior restitution effort related to Ponzi schemes both in terms of dollars and percentage of stolen funds recovered.

Madoff died of natural causes in April 2021 while being housed at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. He was 82.

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