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Civil rights leaders demand meeting with Elon Musk

November 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The top executives of three civil rights groups are demanding a meeting with new Twitter owner Elon Musk following what they say has been a rise in racial and religious hatred on the social media platform.

The groups are asking for Musk to have “strong content moderation standards that foster a safe and healthy online environment.”

In a joint letter sent to Musk on Wednesday, the heads of the NAACP, Urban League and National Action Network say they are “alarmed by the rise in white supremacist propaganda and racial and religious hatred on the Twitter platform over the weekend.”

The civil rights groups say the purpose of their request is to “address our concerns and better understand your content moderation plan to protect our communities against abuse on Twitter by those who seek not simply to express controversial views, but who seek to harm us and undermine our democracy.”

They went on, “And as we have seen over the last several years, online behavior has offline impact, including leading to violence and harassment online and otherwise.”

Separately, NAACP President Derrick Johnson met with Musk on Tuesday “to express our grave concerns with the dangerous, life-threatening hate and conspiracies that have proliferated on Twitter under his watch,” according to an NAACP statement.

Johnson said, “Nazi memes, racial slurs, and extreme far-right propaganda do not belong in the ‘town square’ of any democracy or online platform. Taking the necessary actions is not rocket science, but failing to do so will put human lives at risk and further unravel our democracy.”

Noting the upcoming midterm elections, Johnson said he believes “it is critical that Twitter’s existing election integrity policies remain in effect until at the very least after the midterm elections have been certified.”

A new study from Montclair State University showed a dramatic increase in hate speech on Twitter immediately following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social media platform.

Musk acquired the platform on Oct. 27 and promised to reduce Twitter’s content restrictions to promote free speech. He also said a “content moderation council” will be formed to review company policies.

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a statement when the deal was announced.

A spokesperson for Twitter did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Starbucks red holiday cups return for 25th year, plus peppermint mocha and new pastries

November 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Starbucks is officially in holiday mode with the return of its iconic red cups and special holiday menu.

Starting Thursday, Nov. 3, Starbucks will celebrate the return of holiday beverages and festive food, as well as 25 years of the holiday cups.

The coffee chain first rolled out the cups, initially designed by Sandy Nelson in 1997, to signify the arrival of the holiday season. This year, the classic red and Starbucks green colors have accents of mint and sparkles as a nod to the Peppermint Mocha, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Additional fan favorites back on the holiday menu include the Caramel Brulée Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte, Toasted White Chocolate Mocha, Irish Cream Cold Brew, and returning for the second year, the nondairy Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte.

The pastry case is also getting the festive treatment for the season with a brand new Chocolate Pistachio Swirl and the return of Reindeer Cake Pops, Sugar Plum Cheese Danish, Cranberry Bliss Bars and Snowman Cookies.

Starbucks is also debuting its annual limited-edition holiday merch lineup, which features an array of colorful cold cups, tumblers, mugs and more in a variety of holiday designs.

US women’s gymnastics clinches gold at world championships

November 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — U.S. gymnastics fans can now officially book their trips to the Paris Olympics.

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team won gold at the 2022 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Tuesday in Liverpool, England, securing their ticket to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. It is the national team’s sixth consecutive win since 2011.

The five-person team of Skye Blakely, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Shilese Jones and Leanne Wong came out on top with a total score of 166.564, followed by the teams from Great Britain and Canada.

Chiles led the team on the balance beam with a leading score of 13.333. Following the team’s win, Chiles shared a series of photos on Instagram alongside a heartfelt message.

“Wow!! Where do I even start!! I’m am beyond proud of everyone that showed out today!! I’m on cloud 9 right now. Thank you to everyone for the love and support❤️ This girl is a World Champion,” the UCLA sophomore wrote.

Carey also shared the team win on her Instagram, writing, “𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙇𝘿 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙈𝙋𝙎 🥇 I am truly blessed and honored to be apart of Team USA and all the things we have accomplished. We’ve worked so hard for this historic moment and I am so proud of everyone on this team.”

Carey led the team on the vault and floor exercise, with scores of 14.800 and 14.100, respectively.

Jones, who scored the highest on uneven bars with a 14.333, dedicated the team’s victory to her father in her celebratory Instagram post.

“Woke up as a world champion. Words couldn’t explain how truly blessed i am to be apart of this historic winning team. Dreams do come true. Thanks for all your love and support! Forever a world champion. -for you dad,” Jones wrote, adding a red heart emoji.

Blakely, who is the youngest on the team at 17 years old, described winning the world championships as an “experience of a lifetime” on Instagram.

Chiles is the only holdover from the team that won silver at the Tokyo Olympics. Carey competed individually, but was not a part of the team event. And while the U.S. has captured a spot in the 2024 Olympics, the team members won’t be decided until just before the games.

Carey and Jones will compete again on Thursday for a chance to be named the women’s individual all-around champion.

The U.S. men’s gymnastics team, which is currently third after qualifications, competed in their team competition Wednesday.

Why this could be the worst flu season in the US in more than a decade

November 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The number of positive flu tests and hospitalizations in the United States is the highest in more than a decade, indicating this influenza season may be the most severe in years.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been at least 880,000 cases of flu-like illness during the 2022-23 flu season.

Over the season’s first three weeks, clinical laboratories have recorded more than 9,100 positive tests, CDC data shows.

This is the highest number of tests recorded this early in a season since 2009-2010, when the country was seeing a swine flu outbreak. More than 21,000 positive tests were recorded that season, according to an ABC News analysis of data from the federal health agency.

Additionally, there have been about 6,900 hospitalizations so far this season with a cumulative rate of 1.5 per 100,000. According to the CDC, this is “higher than the rate observed … during previous seasons going back to 2010-2011.”

At least two states have also experienced pediatric flu death deaths within the last week, including two reported in Texas and one in South Carolina.

“What the data tells us so far is we’re likely to have a fairly substantial influenza season,” Dr. Timothy Brewer, a professor of epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, told ABC News. “It’s taking off at a faster rate than usual. We’re clearly in the influenza season but what we’re seeing is a more rapid rise in cases.”

He added, “It does seem to be spreading quicker, particularly along the eastern seaboard and the south. It’s unusual for the East Coast to be seeing so much influenza this early in the season.”

Public health experts said one of the possible reasons why cases and hospitalizations are so high is because during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools and businesses were closed and people were staying at home, they weren’t exposed to many viruses.

Due of this, people may be more susceptible to getting sick, as their immune systems are remembering (or learning for the first time) how to fight off these infections.

“It takes some time for immunity to build back up,” Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, told ABC News. “Immunity … is what protects [us] against severe disease in the future. And that’s why we’re seeing so many people who are sick in the hospital with viruses.”

Doron said there also may be more people being tested for flu this season than usual.

“In a normal flu season, we were not recommended to test everyone with flu symptoms … we’re now in a situation where everyone who has symptoms of any kind is supposed to test,” Doron said.

The doctors stressed it’s not too late to get the flu shot and encouraged everyone 6 months and older to receive a dose.

“It’s definitely not too late,” Dr. Justine Justman, an associate professor of medicine in epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, told ABC News. “Now is a great time. This week is a great time to get your flu shot. I wouldn’t put it off, it’s still completely worth it.”

The experts also suggested Americans follow the same steps they did during the COVID-19 pandemic, including washing hands thoroughly, avoiding crowded indoor spaces and even wearing masks.

“All of those things that we talked about, over and over for COVID, what are called the non-pharmaceutical interventions, they will work really well, to help you avoid flu, just the way they help you avoid COVID,” Justman said. “So we’ve all learned how to do those things. We just have to remember to keep going.”

Billion-dollar Powerball jackpot approaches world record amount

November 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Now at an estimated $1.5 billion, the Powerball jackpot is quickly approaching a world record amount after 39 consecutive drawings yielded no grand prize winner, lottery officials said.

The next drawing is Saturday night, marking the 40th Powerball drawing since the jackpot was last won in Pennsylvania on Aug. 3. The cash value of Saturday’s jackpot is $745.9 million, according to a press release from Powerball.

If a player’s ticket matches all six numbers drawn on Saturday night, it will be the second-largest jackpot won in Powerball’s 30-year history and the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history, only behind the world record $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot in 2016 and the $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot in 2018. If no one wins Saturday’s jackpot, it will tie the game record for the number of drawings in a row without a grand prize winner, Powerball said.

Although there was no jackpot winner in the last drawing on Wednesday night, more than 7.2 million tickets won cash prizes totaling $74.9 million. The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9, according to Powerball.

The jackpot grows based on game sales and interest. But the odds of winning the big prize stays the same — 1 in 292.2 million, Powerball said.

Jackpot winners can either take the money as an immediate cash lump sum or in 30 annual payments over 29 years. Both advertised prize options are prior to federal and jurisdictional taxes, Powerball said.

Tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than half of all proceeds remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was purchased, according to Powerball.

Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. The drawings are also livestreamed online at Powerball.com.

North Korea fires three ballistic missiles, launching tests for second consecutive day

November 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(SEOUL, South Korea) — North Korea test-fired three missiles on Thursday, a day after launching its most-ever tests in a single day.

One long-range and two short-range ballistic missiles were tested, South Korean officials said. Tokyo initially said the longer-range ballistic missile had flown over Japan, warning residents of Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata prefectures to take shelter. But Japan’s Defense Ministry later said the missile did not fly over Japan.

Authorities said they were still analyzing the details. Analysts suggested that the missile, which flew 472 miles and reached a height of 1,200 miles, was presumably an intercontinental ballistic missile that failed.

“We can sense North Korea’s anxiety from recent launches. In fact, these missile launches are a huge burden for their military, especially when North Korea is so economically cut off,” Park Won-gon, professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, told ABC News.

The provocations are a typical brinkmanship tactic to either bring the U.S. and South Korea into nuclear talks or a prelude to justifying an imminent seventh nuclear underground test.

“It’s possible to assume that North Korea will decorate the grand finale of its tactic with the seventh nuclear test, and then suggest a deal,” said Park.

The two Koreas test-fired missiles one after another throughout Wednesday in a series of tit-for-tat moves. North Korea fired a total of 23 missiles that were a combination of ballistic and surface-to-air weapons, and 100 artillery shells from various locations toward the east and west. In a retaliatory move, South Korea quickly responded in between by launching its own air-to-surface missiles into a similar area above the NLL, launched by two F-15K and KF-16 jet fighters.

Pyongyang claimed the missile tests are “self-defensive” in nature. Officials called for the U.S. and South Korea to stop their annual joint military drills, which they said were “aggressive and provocative.”

“They are going on a full-scale sprint. Not only are there a variety of missiles, but also a great number of them,” Park added.

Dr. Yang Uk, of Seoul-based Asan Institute, told ABC News that the missile launches are a way to show off Pyongyang’s tactical nuclear capabilities.

“It’s an adamant statement that they will respond with all forces by fully mobilizing all the means they have,” Yang explained.

South Korea’s air force announced Wednesday shortly after North Korea’s ballistic missile provocation, that the joint air drill between the U.S. will be extended. It was originally planned for five days from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4.

Scoreboard roundup — 11/2/22

November 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Houston 5, Philadelphia 0 (Series tied 2-2)

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Washington 121, Philadelphia 111
Atlanta 112, New York 99
Miami 110, Sacramento 107
Toronto 143, San Antonio 100
Cleveland 114, Boston 113 (OT)
Chicago 106, Charlotte 88
LA Clippers 109, Houston 101
Milwaukee 116, Detroit 91
Dallas 103, Utah 100
Memphis 111, Portland 106
LA Lakers 120, New Orleans 117 (OT)

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Toronto 5, Philadelphia 2
Buffalo 6, Pittsburgh 3

An 150-acre property once owned by Willie Nelson — and seized by the IRS — is now up for sale

November 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Want to own a (not so) little piece of country music history? Now you can, if you’ve got a spare $2.5 million laying around.

A sprawling, Nashville-area, 150-acre property once owned by Willie Nelson is up for sale, according to Realtor.com. The property includes pastures, trails and acres of secluded woods plus a log cabin. According to the listing, Willie acquired this property in the early 1960s.

Its famous owner isn’t the only thing that makes this house historic: It’s one of the assets the IRS seized in the early ‘90s after Willie racked up what the IRS estimated to be $32 million in tax debt.

According to Rolling Stone, Willie also had to part ways with RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum records, touring equipment and other possessions during that saga, but the IRS didn’t get his beloved guitar Trigger. After he caught wind that trouble was heading his way, he sent the instrument to his daughter.

Willie’s tax woes are confirmed fact, but as with any good country music story, the property is also home to its fair share of rumors. Some speculate that this property was also the scene of another house owned by Willie, which burned down on Christmas Eve of 1969.

The one thing the country singer is said to have saved when he rushed into the blaze? His guitar Trigger, of course.

Kid ‘N Play, En Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa and Vanilla Ice bring the ’90s to ‘Dancing with the Stars’

November 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Dancing with the Stars is throwing it back to the ’90s in an upcoming episode.

Airing Monday, November 7, at 8 p.m. ET, the eight remaining celebrity couples will show off their dance moves for “90s Night.” They’ll all be dancing to ’90s hits and will each have the chance to groove during a live performance from one of the special guests: Vanilla Ice, En Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa and Kid ‘N Play.

The night will kick off with a Mandy Moore-choreographed dance that will see the pros jam to Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue’s live rendition of “Whatta Man.” The couples’ dance alongside the special guests will mark the return of the Relay Dance competition, which gives each winner the chance to earn five extra points.

After dancing to hits from Boyz II Men, Spice Girls, Ricky Martin and more, two couples will be eliminated. The remaining six will move on to the semifinals.

Dancing with the Stars airs exclusively on Disney+.

The Judds’ final tour dates are unlike any other show — even for a seasoned pro like Wynonna Judd

November 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Wynonna Judd has been touring nearly all her life, but she’s never experienced anything like her current dates on the The Judds: The Final Tour.

“We are taking full advantage of the love and support,” the singer acknowledges, speaking about the fan response to the performance. “I will tell you, as an artist, I’ve never experienced this kind of emotion at a show.”

It makes sense that these concerts would be the most emotional of Wynonna’s career. She and her mom, Naomi Judd, first announced the tour as a final goodbye from legendary mother-daughter country duo The Judds. But Naomi died by suicide at the end of April, months before the run was scheduled to begin.

Wynonna decided to go ahead with the tour, reenvisioned as an all-star girls’ night with guests artists like Trisha Yearwood, Ashley McBryde, Kelsea Ballerini and many more. Those nights have been so special that she recently announced she’ll extend the tour into 2023.

Not only is it a chance for fans to bid farewell to The Judds, it’s also a chance for Wynonna to celebrate her mom’s life and legacy onstage.

Those emotions will be running extra high this Thursday, when she recreates the final concert from The Judds’ 1991 Farewell Tour for a CMT special called The Judds: Love is Alive — The Final Concert at the very same venue where she and Naomi first played that show three decades ago.

“Thirty-one years ago, almost to the day, I did my last concert with my mom,” Wynonna remembers. “And we are recreating it … the stage is similar, but it’s modernized enough for new fans to go, ‘Oh, that’s hip.'”

The Thursday night show will air as a TV special on CMT in March 2023.

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