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Steve Bannon sentencing updates: Bannon sentenced to four months, pending appeal

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon is scheduled to be sentenced today following his conviction on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, after he defied a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

He was subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 panel for records and testimony in September of last year. He refused to comply and was found guilty of contempt in July.

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:

Oct 21, 11:46 AM EDT
Bannon, defiant, says he will appeal conviction

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse after receiving his four-month sentence, Bannon said he respected the judge’s decision. But he was defiant about his conviction, and his attorney confirmed he would be filing a notice of appeal.

Bannon also attacked the Jan. 6 committee and urged people to vote in the upcoming election.

Protesters nearby chanted “traitor” and “liar” as he spoke.

Oct 21, 11:30 AM EDT
Judge reiterates seriousness of Jan. 6

In sentencing Bannon to four months, Judge Nichols reiterated how serious the events of Jan. 6 were and said the congressional committee has every reason to investigate what happened that day and to prevent anything like it from happening again.

Nichols emphasized that Bannon has not produced a single document or any testimony to the Jan. 6 committee — nor did he provide a log of documents that he believed to be covered by executive privilege.

However, the judge said the factors in Bannon’s favor include that he was taking the advice of counsel, even if it was misguided. Nichols also said the committee did not attempt to sue Bannon to enforce their subpoena.

The four-month sentence is two months shorter than the sentence prosecutors had been seeking.

Oct 21, 11:16 AM EDT
Judge sentences Bannon to four months, pending appeal

Steve Bannon has been sentenced to four months in prison and has been ordered to pay a fine of $6,500.

However Judge Nichols said he agreed that Bannon should not have to serve a sentence while he appeals his case, which Bannon has indicated he will do.

Oct 21, 10:57 AM EDT
Bannon attorney argues for executive privilege

Bannon attorney David Schoen took exception to the suggestion that Bannon did not have a legitimate claim of executive privilege when he rejected the committee’s subpoena.

In particular, Schoen went after Trump lawyer Justin Clark, who told DOJ investigators in July that at no point did former President Donald Trump ever invoke executive privilege over Bannon’s testimony.

“You wouldn’t believe a thing he says,” Schoen said of Clark, who also contradicted other claims made by Bannon’s defense team in their case.

Oct 21, 9:56 AM EDT
Prosecutor says Bannon ‘not above the law’

Federal prosecutor J.P. Cooney argued that Bannon is not above the law and should be sentenced and treated like any other citizen.

“It must be made clear to the public and the grand jury … that no one is above the law,” Cooney said. “He hid behind a fabricated claim of executive privilege, to thumb his nose at Congress.”

“He had an interest in making a public spectacle of the committee’s hearings,” Cooney told the judge, saying that Bannon “has tried to make it about nothing but politics and retribution.”

Oct 21, 9:45 AM EDT
Judge ‘tends to agree’ with DOJ on guidelines

The hearing got underway with Judge Carl Nichols saying he tended to agree with the government on the sentencing guidelines.

The judge said that Bannon “has expressed no remorse for his actions” and hasn’t demonstrated that he has any intention of complying with the subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.

Bannon attorney David Schoen argued that there should not be a 30-day mandatory minimum of jail time for the offense.

Nichols, however, rejected that argument, saying the statute is clear on the point that there is a mandatory minimum of 30 days and a mandatory maximum of 12 months.

Oct 21, 8:58 AM EDT
Courthouse arrival

Bannon arrived at the courthouse before 9 a.m. He thanked the TV news cameras for being there and called the Biden administration illegitimate.

He also thanked a woman who was chanting “traitor.”

Oct 21, 8:43 AM EDT
‘This is just Round 1’

Bannon, whose sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. EST, blasted members of the Jan. 6 committee on his way out of the courtroom after being found guilty in July.

“We may have lost a battle here today, but we’re not going to lose this war,” he said. “[The jury] came to their conclusion about what was put on in the in that courtroom. But listen, in the closing argument, the prosecutor missed one very important phrase, right? ‘I stand with Trump and the Constitution, and I will never back off that, ever.'”

Bannon’s attorney, David Schoen, said that Bannon’s defense team would appeal the case, saying, “This is just Round 1.”

Oct 21, 8:17 AM EDT
Bannon ‘willing to pay any fine’

Bannon is scheduled to be sentenced this morning in Washington, D.C. He was interviewed as part of the court’s presentencing investigation, but prosecutors said he refused to disclose any information about his finances.

They did, however, say that Bannon insisted “that he is willing and able to pay any fine imposed, including the maximum fine on each count of conviction,” according to Monday’s court filing.

“For his sustained, bad-faith contempt of Congress, the Defendant should be sentenced to six months’ imprisonment — the top end of the Sentencing Guidelines’ range — and fined $200,000 — based on his insistence on paying the maximum fine rather than cooperate with the Probation Office’s routine pre-sentencing financial investigation,” prosecutors said in Monday’s filing.

Oct 21, 6:55 AM EDT
DOJ seeks six months’ jail time for Bannon

The Department of Justice is seeking six months in prison and a fine of $200,000 when Steve Bannon is sentenced this morning, according to a court filing Monday.

The adviser to former President Donald Trump was convicted in July on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, after he refused to appear before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.

“From the time he was initially subpoenaed, the Defendant has shown that his true reasons for total noncompliance have nothing to do with his purported respect for the Constitution, the rule of law, or executive privilege, and everything to do with his personal disdain for the members of Congress sitting on the Committee and their effort to investigate the attack on our country’s peaceful transfer of power,” prosecutors said in Monday’s filing. “[Bannon’s] abject refusal to heed the Committee’s subpoena, under the circumstances with which this country is confronted, could not be more serious.”

Bannon faces a maximum sentence of one year per count, for a total of two years behind bars.

In his own sentencing memorandum, Bannon asked that he be sentenced to a period of probation and is seeking a stay of any sentence pending appeal of his conviction.

Remastered deluxe edition of ‘Olivia Newton-John’s Greatest Hits’ album is out now

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Olivia Newton-John‘s memory is being kept alive thanks to a newly released, remastered and deluxe edition of her Greatest Hits album.

The landmark Olivia Newton-John’s Greatest Hits album is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. The work encompasses the singer’s biggest hits spanning from her 1971 debut, If Not For You, to her 1976 effort, Come On Over.

Songs in this newly released deluxe album include “Have You Never Been Mellow,” the 1974 Grammy-winning song “Let Me Be There” as well as the two-time Grammy-winning hit “I Honestly Love You.” Every track featured on this album has been restored and remastered.

Olivia spoke of the album’s 45th anniversary before her death. She remarked in May, “It’s hard to believe that it is the 45th anniversary celebration for my first collection of hit 45s. I was lucky enough to have various songs become hits around the world and that gave us the ability to create versions of the album to represent the biggest hits in each country/region.”

“If I remember correctly,” she continued, “here were five international versions released by different labels – USA and Canada; UK, Europe, Mexico and South America; Scandinavia; Japan; Australia and New Zealand.”

What makes this album even more special is that all the international versions of the 1977 issue of Olivia Newton-John’s Greatest Hits has been combined into this 2022 re-release.

There’s a separate “Japan Deluxe Edition” of this album as a two-disc JCD package. It also contains a double-sided poster as well as a copy of the letter Olivia wrote for her Japanese fans.

Collectors can also get their hands on a special two-color vinyl edition of this deluxe release, which will be sold exclusively at Target on November 18.

Olivia died August 8.

What to know about RSV, one of the main viruses causing pediatric hospitals to fill to capacity

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Many pediatric hospitals across the country are experiencing a surge in patients, and one of the main reasons, experts say, is an increase in cases of the respiratory virus known as RSV.

RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but it can become serious, especially for infants.

RSV infections are the most common cause of bronchitis and pneumonia in kids under the age of 1 in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One parent, Jeff Green, said he noticed his 4-month-old daughter Lindy was sleeping “pretty much nonstop” after contracting RSV.

Lindy is now hospitalized at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

“She’s just really lethargic,” Green told ABC News, adding of her earlier symptoms, “She was sleeping pretty much nonstop and started running a pretty significant fever.”

Adria Mullins, of Oklahoma, told ABC News she thought her 4-month-old daughter Shiloh had what she described as a “normal cold.”

When the infant’s breathing became labored, Mullins brought her to the emergency room, where she was admitted for RSV.

“It was rapid breathing,” Mullins said of Shiloh’s condition. “And it was her chest sinking in as she took a breath in and her stomach going out.”

In California, Amanda Bentley said her 18-month-old son Joshua has been hospitalized for more than a week with RSV.

“When I took him to the doctor, she said, ‘I think I’m going to send you to the ER,’ and I’m like, ‘What?'” Bentley recalled. “It was just a shock.”

Hospitals from California to Rhode Island — more than two dozen states in total across the country — have told ABC News they are grappling with a higher-than-expected number of pediatric patients amid the surge of RSV, flu and other common respiratory viruses.

Nationally, pediatric bed capacity is at the highest level in two years, with 71% of the estimated 40,000 beds filled, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Experts say the influx of respiratory viruses among children is likely due to a convergence of factors, including the start of flu season and the fact that kids are now less likely to wear face masks and socially isolate as they were doing during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. And RSV, in particular, is a very contagious virus.

“Not only are we seeing more viruses, we are seeing them sooner than we typically see them in cold and flu season,” Dr. Lauren Mientkiewicz, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, told ABC News.

What parents should know about RSV

RSV is a contagious virus that can spread from virus droplets transferred from an infected person’s cough or sneeze, from direct contact with the virus, like kissing the face of a child with RSV, and from touching surfaces, like tables, doorknobs and crib rails, that have the virus on it and then touching eyes, nose, or mouth before hand-washing, according to the CDC.

People infected with RSV are usually contagious for three to eight days, but some infants can continue to spread the virus even after they stop showing symptoms, for as long as four weeks, according to the CDC.

Among children, premature infants and young children with weakened immune systems or congenital heart or chronic lung disease are the most vulnerable to complications from RSV.

“Pretty much all kids have gotten RSV at least once by the time they turn 2, but it’s really younger kids, especially those under 6 months of age, who can really have trouble with RSV and sometimes end up in the hospital,” Dr. William Linam, pediatric infectious disease doctor at Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, told ABC News last year. “That’s where we want to get the word out, for families with young children or children with medical conditions, making sure they’re aware this is going on.”

In the first two to four days of contracting RSV, a child may show symptoms like fever, runny nose and congestion.

Later on, the symptoms may escalate to coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing.

Parents should also be alerted to symptoms including dehydration and not eating, according to Linam.

“Not making a wet diaper in over eight hours is often a good marker that a child is dehydrated and a good reason to seek medical care,” he said. “Sometimes kids under 6 months of age can have pauses when they’re breathing, and that’s something to get medical attention for right away.”

Infants and toddlers can be treated at home for RSV unless they start to have difficulty breathing, in which case parents should contact their pediatrician and/or take their child to the emergency room.

At-home care for kids with RSV can include Tylenol and Motrin for fevers, as well as making sure the child is hydrated and eating.

Parents can help protect their kids from RSV by continuing to follow as much as possible the three Ws of the pandemic: wear a mask, wash your hands and watch your distance, according to Linam.

Infants who are either born prematurely (less than 35 weeks) or born with chronic lung disease may benefit from a medication to prevent RSV since they are at risk of developing more complications from it. Parents should discuss this with their pediatrician.

K.Flay reveals she’s gone deaf in one ear

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

K.Flay has revealed that she’s gone deaf in one ear.

In a video posted to her Twitter Thursday, the “Blood in the Cut” artist, born Kristine Flaherty, shares that she woke up some weeks ago without the ability to hear out of her right ear.

“Very scary, I was super worried,” Flaherty says. “I felt some types of hopelessness and depression.”

Despite receiving various medical treatments — including getting various shots in her ear and inhaling “pure oxygen in a chamber in the basement of UCLA” — Flaherty reveals that “it does not look like I will be getting any of my hearing back.”

“I have single-sided deafness in this right ear,” she says.

Looking on the bright side, Flaherty notes that her ongoing physical therapy is going “very well” and that the experience has strengthened her relationships with the people closest to her.

“I’ve had to receive a lot of help, which I think can be hard to do sometimes for people, to receive as opposed to give,” Flaherty shares. “It’s really vulnerable and scary, but it’s brought me even closer to the people that I love.”

Joni Mitchell to join Brandi Carlile for 2023 Echoes of the Canyon concerts

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Joni Mitchell will return to the stage for her first headlining concert in over two decades as part of Brandi Carlile‘s Echoes through the Canyon concerts next year at Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre on Friday, June 9, and Saturday, June 10.

Friday’s show will feature a headlining set from Carlile and her band, while Mitchell will host one of her “Joni Jams” on Saturday, with Carlile opening. Friday night’s opening act, and the full list of performers for the “Joni Jam,” have yet to be announced.

“No one’s been able to buy a ticket to see Joni Mitchell play in 20 years, so this is enormous,” Carlile said during an appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on Wednesday. “And she’s so excited because it’s close to Canada and some of her Canadian fans…I can’t believe it’s happening, but it’s happening and she’s going to crush it.”

Mitchell, who has rarely performed in public since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015, joined Brandi and an all-star cast of musicians and singers — including Wynonna Judd, Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons, Dawes‘ Taylor Goldsmith, Lucius, Allison Russell and Shooter Jennings — at this year’s Newport Folk Festival in July.

Carlile helped organize the informal “Joni Jams” with a rotating crew of music A-listers at Mitchell’s home in Los Angeles.

Tickets for this year’s Echoes through the Canyon shows on sale to the public at 10 a.m. on October 28, with presales for Citi card holders available from 10 a.m. on October 25 to 10 p.m. on October 27. Carlile’s Bramily fan club members will have earlier access to presales. Details are available at BrandiCarlile.com/tour.

Listen to John Lennon’s demo of “Yellow Submarine” from Beatles’ deluxe ‘Revolver’ reissue

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Beatles have just debuted a couple of the previously unheard rarities that will appear as bonus tracks on the forthcoming deluxe reissue of their landmark 1966 album, Revolver.

One track is an acoustic demo of John Lennon singing part of an early version of “Yellow Submarine.” In the 30-second segment, which is subtitled “(Songwriting Work Tape/Part 1),” Lennon softly strums and picks an acoustic guitar while singing, somewhat sadly, “In the place where I was born/ No one cared, no one cared/ And the name that I was born/ No one cared, no one cared/ And the town where was born/ No one cared, no one cared.”

The final version of “Yellow Submarine” features Ringo Starr on lead vocals. It was long believed that Paul McCartney was the tune’s main writer, but the demo suggests that Lennon played a bigger role in its composition.

The second track is an early alternate version of “Got to Get You into My Life,” identified as “(Second Version / Unnumbered Mix).” The rendition is a bit more raw-sounding than the well-known studio version and lacks the song’s signature brass parts while showcasing some fuzzed-out guitar riffs.

Meanwhile, a new animated music video featuring the updated mix of “Taxman” from the Revolver reissue also recently debuted on YouTube.

As previously reported, the deluxe reissue of Revolver will be released on October 28 in multiple configurations.

Among the versions of the reissue is a special edition that features new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes of Revolver, the original mono mix of the album, 31 tracks of session outtakes, a four-song EP that includes the non-album tracks “Paperback Writer” and “Rain,” and a 100-page hardbound book.

You can preorder the Revolver reissues now.

Simple Minds’ Jim Kerr on band’s new album ‘Direction of the Heart’: “There’s some great tunes”

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Veteran Scottish rockers Simple Minds have just released their 18th studio album, Direction of the Heart.

Frontman Jim Kerr tells ABC Audio that he’s proud of producing an album of Direction of the Heart‘s quality this late in the band’s career.

“I mean, 18 albums in 45 years, and still to be wanting to be in there,” Kerr enthuses, “Still to be wanting to surprise ourselves. Still to be wanting to live up to a name we have made for ourselves. I think there’s a real commitment to it, and I think there’s some great tunes.”

Kerr says that while the band began working on tracks for the album before the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the record was written by him and his Simple Minds co-founder Charlie Burchill in the middle of the health crisis in Sicily, Italy, where Kerr has a home.

The singer says the pandemic afforded him and Burchill time to let their creativity flourish.

As Kerr explains, “[W]ith no distractions, because there was nothing else, not even the football matches were going on … we set to work, I think, with the kind of commitment that we’ve never had since those young early days [of the band].”

Kerr notes that Simple Minds’ goal for the project, as described in a press release announcing the record, was “to make a feel-good record in the worst of times.”

Musically, Kerr says the band sought to combine elements of classic Simple Minds songs with modern sounds.

“[W]e started off as an art-rock band, and there’s definitely a pop element and stuff, and I think that’s still the sweet spot for us,” he maintains. “If we can conjure up the old days, but somehow … make it feel in the moment … that’s the challenge, really.”

Netflix adds a disclaimer to ‘The Crown’ trailer following Dame Judi Dench’s letter to ’The Times’

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Following Dame Judi Dench‘s letter to The Times, Netflix has added a disclaimer to The Crown.

In the description box for the season five trailer of The Crown, Netflix writes, “inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign.”

The disclaimer arrives one day after Dench, who was named a dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988, penned a letter to The Times, calling out the Netflix series for blending “historical accuracy and crude sensationalism” in its portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II and her reign over the United Kingdom. The Queen passed away in September at the age of 96.

“No one is a greater believer in artistic freedom than I, but this cannot go unchallenged. Despite this week stating publicly that The Crown has always been a ‘fictionalized drama’, the program makers have resisted all calls for them to carry a disclaimer at the start of each episode,” Dench wrote.

“The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events,” a representative from Netflix tells Variety. “Series five is a fictional dramatization, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the Royal Family – one that has already been scrutinised and well documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”

The publication also reports that British officials at Buckingham Palace have expressed concern over the series’ portrayal of the monarch, especially that of King Charles III‘s relationship with current wife Queen Consort Camilla, who he had an affair with while married to the late Princess Diana.

The Crown season five premieres on November 9.

Panthers trading RB Christian McCaffrey to 49ers: Report

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Carolina Panthers are trading star running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for second, third, and fourth round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024, according to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

“I’m forever grateful for all of the people who have helped make these past 5 1/2 years so special for me,” McCaffrey posted to Twitter on Friday morning. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Carolina, I will always love you.”

I’m forever grateful for all of the people who have helped make these past 5 1/2 years so special for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Carolina, I will always love you💙#KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/0rBS8Ajhgy

— Christian McCaffrey (@CMC_22) October 21, 2022

The deal gives San Francisco another weapon in their arsenal as they push for their first Super Bowl since 1994. In 2019, McCaffrey became the third player in league history to have 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards.

The Panthers are currently 1-5 and fired head coach Matt Rhule on Monday, with the team already looking to the future. The 49ers, on the other hand, are 3-3 and lead the NFC West, putting them in good position to contend for a spot in the playoffs.

The blockbuster trade made waves on Twitter with McCaffrey’s new teammate, tight end George Kittle chiming in.

Let’s gooooooo @CMC_22 https://t.co/bkReZuwZdv

— George Kittle (@gkittle46) October 21, 2022

Voter fraud charge dismissed in Florida after arrest

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(MIAMI) — A Florida man had his election fraud charges dismissed on Friday, making him the first of 20 people who Gov. Ron DeSantis announced had been charged with voter fraud in August, to beat his case.

The ruling by a Miami judge may now pave the way for similar motions and rulings in the other 19 election fraud cases, which garnered national attention and controversy when they were announced on Aug. 18. DeSantis said at the time that they were the “opening salvo” by Florida’s newly funded Office of Election Crimes and Security to crack down on voter fraud.

Robert Lee Wood, who faced one count of making a false affirmation on a voter application, and one count of voting as an unqualified elector, had his charges dismissed on the grounds that the prosecutor lacked jurisdiction to bring them.

Wood was facing up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines and fees, for allegedly illegally voting in the 2020 election.

When the charges were announced on Aug 18, DeSantis said local prosecutors had been “loath” to take up election fraud cases.

“Well, now we have the ability with the attorney general and statewide prosecutor to bring those on behalf of the State of Florida,” he added at the press conference.

But a judge found on Friday that the statewide prosecutor did not have jurisdiction over one case in Miami.

In order for the statewide prosecutor to have jurisdiction, the crimes alleged must have occurred in at least two judicial circuits.

The judge found with the defense, which argued that the act of applying to vote and voting only occurred in Miami Dade. All 20 cases are being prosecuted by the statewide prosecutor.

In order for the Attorney General’s office to have jurisdiction, the crimes that they allege must have occurred in at least two judicial circuits.

State prosecutors argued that the crimes were committed in Leon County in addition to Miami Dade County, because the defendants’ applications and votes were later transmitted to the Department of State in Tallahassee.

The defense argued the alleged offenses only happened in Miami Dade.

The judge found with the defense.

Larry Davis, the attorney for Wood, said that his motion to dismiss on grounds of jurisdiction has been circulated to attorneys representing the other election fraud defendants.

The statewide prosecutor can now appeal the case. If unsuccessful, a similar case could be brought by the Democrat Miami Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez.

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