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Hurricane Ian flood damage to EVs creating ticking time bombs in Florida

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As Florida officials and residents continue to clean up and assess the damage caused by Hurricane Ian, they’re discovering the storm has turned some electric vehicles into incendiary devices on roads, parking lots and even on the backs of tow trucks.

Electric vehicles that were flooded and damaged by the storm have been catching fire without warning in incidents throughout the hardest hit areas in the state, according to State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis, who told ABC News his team has counted at least nine such incidents. In some cases, the EVs would burst into flames, stay on fire, then reignite hours later.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has warned that EVs can ignite weeks after contact with saltwater.

As storms increase in ferocity, and the sale of EVs increases worldwide, it’s a phenomenon we are likely to see much more of says Eric Fredrickson of Call2Recycle, a non-profit which specializes in transporting lithium-ion batteries to recycling facilities.

“Part of what we’re dealing with right now is that this is the first major storm that we’ve had in an area where we have a high penetration of electric vehicles. So we’re seeing these fires in these incidents more than we have with any of the other storms,” he said.

It’s also a challenge for firefighters who have to use between 8,000 to 12,000 gallons of water to put out the fires, more than 10 times as much as a gas engine-based vehicle, according to James Hammond, the assistant chief of operations at North Collier Fire Control & Rescue District.

“It’s just a constant flow trying to cool them down and stop the battery,” Hammond told ABC News.

Hammond said his teams would typically spend an hour putting out a traditional gas-powered vehicle, but have spent five or six hours dousing electric vehicles.

Saltwater flooding is the main factor behind these fires, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The flooding creates a chain reaction in the engine and the batteries that made the parts more likely to catch on fire, the agency said.

The biggest concerns, according to firefighters and safety experts, is that it is still unknown what could spark the blaze in the first place. Something as simple as turning the wheel following the saltwater damage could start the fire in the vehicle, experts said.

The issue has gotten so bad that some tow truck drivers in Florida have refused to pick up flood-damaged EVs. Tim Baker, a tow truck driver, told ABC News that one car he picked up caught on fire after he brought it to his lot.

“They have the potential to catch fire pretty much any time,” he told ABC News.

NHTSA responded to a request by Florida state fire marshal Jimmy Patronis, who asked for guidance on the problem stating, “Lithium-ion vehicle battery fires have been observed both rapidly igniting and igniting several weeks after battery damage occurred. Timing of the fire initiation is specific to the battery design, chemistry and damage to the battery pack.”

The agency recommends that flooded EVs be parked at least 50 feet from any structures, vehicles or combustibles.

“Always assume the battery and associated components are energized and fully charged,” the NHTSA said in its letter to the state.

Patronis also called on automakers to work with the state to come up with solutions and procedures when dealing with the flooded EVs.

“As [EVs] grow in popularity, this is a potential threat that we’re going to have to deal with,” he told ABC News. “I want to create solutions that work, other than just providing water to try to control the temperature of a battery that is burning out of control.”

One solution is education, according to Fredrickson.

“We’re definitely going to see more cars flooded by saltwater if we don’t take steps to educate consumers about the consequences and the risks of an electric vehicle that gets flooded by saltwater,” he said.

Fredrickson said the simplest way of avoiding an EV car fire is moving the car away from a potential flood area before a major storm, and if a car is submerged in salt water unplugging it from the wall before power is restored could be key to preventing it from bursting into flames.

That’s a concern going forward, according to Bobby Schneider of the Energy Security Agency, a company contracted to help mitigate EV car fires.

He said there could still be hundreds of EVs stored in people’s garages in Florida that could turn into potential fire hazards once power is returned to the grid.

Schneider said that with the increased use of EVs, thousands of fire departments and first responders across the country need to be trained in “the uniqueness and particulars of the hybrid and electric vehicles.”

Google sees less Chinese and Iranian hacking this election cycle, they say

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Just weeks away from the 2022 midterm elections, a senior Google official said Wednesday that the company hasn’t seen the same style of hacking from groups backed by the governments of China and Iran as during the 2020 election.

Speaking with reporters, Shane Huntley, the senior director Google’s Threat Analysis Group, compared the current level of activity to past reports from the company that Chinese and Iranian actors targeted email accounts related to the campaigns for then-candidate Joe Biden and then-President Donald Trump in 2020.

“We haven’t seen that this year,” Huntley said. “We’re watching very closely.”

“It’s so far relatively quiet on the hacking front,” he said.

But, he added, outside groups remained focused on disinformation: “There’s a lot happening behind the scenes, but we haven’t seen that sort of cyberattack nature that we’ve sort of have seen in previous years.”

During the 2020 campaign, Google went public with what it said were documented attempts by Chinese and Iranian hackers to compromise email accounts for Biden and Trump campaign staff.

The efforts appeared to be unsuccessful — but were a part of what federal government officials described then as ongoing attempts by foreign countries to interfere in domestic elections. (Both China and Iran have in the past denied accusations of cyberattacks on U.S. entities.)

Of election security, Google’s Huntley said Wednesday that major efforts were being made regarding that and disinformation.

Google officials on Wednesday also offered a broader look at personal cyber security.

Heather Adkins, Google’s vice president of security engineering, told reporters that in the next five to 10 years, “We will see the death of the password.”

She added that Google would continue to iterate on things like “security keys, passkeys that the authentication experience.” In May, Apple, Google and Microsoft announced a joint effort to expand support for passwordless sign-in across devices and platforms.

“The reality is that everyone’s gonna get hacked at some point,” Adkins said. “And the differentiator will become how quickly we recover from that. And you actually see that in Ukraine.”

Noting the cyberattack on the American satellite company Viasat in the early days of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, earlier this year, Adkins said the firm was “actually able to recover very quickly, quickly enough to put their feet back on the ground and then resist the invasion.”

Huntley, the security official, said that Google has been able to to help Ukraine and Ukrainian government officials protect themselves amid the conflict, thus allowing the Eastern European nation to “take direct actions because we were actually able to help out.”

Military to provide leave, travel expenses for troops seeking abortions out-of-state

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — In the wake of the Supreme Court overruling Roe v. Wade, the Pentagon announced Thursday that it will provide travel funding and approval for troops and their dependents to seek abortions outside of the states where they are based and where abortion is now illegal.

The moves are intended to address concerns about whether the U.S. military would be able to provide support to female service members who could be forced to travel away from the states where they were based in order to seek a legal abortion.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a memo on Thursday outlining new policies that will be put in place later this year. They are an outgrowth of a review of existing Defense Department policies that Austin had ordered following the Supreme Court’s decision in June.

The new policies will increase protections for the privacy of those involved and provide legal guarantees to military health care providers, who carry out the limited number of abortions covered by the Hyde Amendment, in states where abortion is not legal.

The military services already provide leave time to service members who have to travel for abortions, but the new policies will make it possible for service members to get the time off and be reimbursed for the travel costs to an out-of-state health care provider. The funding would not cover the cost of abortion services.

“I am committed to the department taking all appropriate action, within its authority and consistent with applicable federal law, as soon as possible to ensure that our service members and their families can access reproductive health care and our health care providers can operate effectively,” Austin said in the memo announcing the new policy.

“The practical effects of recent changes are that significant numbers of Service members and their families may be forced to travel greater distances, take more time off from puwork, and pay more out of pocket expenses to receive reproductive health care,” Austin continued.

“In my judgment, such effects qualify as unusual, extraordinary, hardship, or emergency circumstances for Service members and their dependents and will interfere with our ability to recruit, retain, and maintain the readiness of a highly qualified force,” he added.

Like the rest of the federal government, the U.S. military’s health care system remains covered by the Hyde Amendment that allows abortions only in cases of rape, incest, or where the mother’s safety is at risk.

A defense official told reporters Thursday that since 2016 the U.S. military’s medical professionals have covered 91 abortion procedures that were allowed under the Hyde Amendment restrictions.

Military service members who had wanted an abortion for a reason not covered by the Hyde Amendment had to look to outside health care providers to carry out the procedure.

The length of time that service members have to notify their commanders of a pregnancy will be increased to 20 weeks, a big change from the current rule that notifications take place two weeks following a positive pregnancy test.

The new policies will also provide legal cover for military doctors who have had to provide abortions covered under the Hyde Amendment in states where abortion is now illegal. There had been concerns that military medical professionals who carried out such procedures at federal military medical facilities in states where abortion is now outlawed could face the threat of local prosecution.

Students in Texas are being sent home with child ID kits

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Students in K-8 schools in Texas are being sent home with child identification kits, meant to help identify kids in the unlikely event they go missing, get abducted, or are trafficked.

The kits are being distributed by local schools as required by an amendment to Texas’ education code law that passed in the state legislature in the spring of 2021. Texas Senate Bill 2158 mandates the Texas Education Agency provide “inkless, in-home fingerprint and DNA identification kits” such as the kits from the National Child Identification Program to kindergarten, elementary and middle school students and their parents or custodians.

The TEA confirmed to ABC News’ Good Morning America that the state agency provided funding to The Safety Blitz Foundation to work with the state’s 20 educational service centers to distribute the child ID kits through school districts and that the initiative first began in the fall of 2021.

In an email to GMA, the Safety Blitz Foundation said it had partnered with the state of Texas to send out more than 3.8 million child ID kits so far this year.

According to the National Child Identification Program, such kits, which are also sold for $9.95 on its website, include an ID card for printing fingers, inkless solution, a DNA section, a section to record a child’s physical description, space for a photograph, and a section to record doctors’ phone numbers. The kits have been endorsed by the FBI for at least two decades and are a program the American Football Coaches Association founded back in 1997.

Dallas Independent School District, the second largest school district in Texas, said it received 92,400 kits from the TEA and began distributing the kits this week. The district told parents and caregivers they have the option to participate or opt out of the program.

“Once received, parents can complete the form with their child’s information and store it in a secure location at home. Each kit includes instructions in English and Spanish; participation is entirely voluntary,” the district said in a statement.

The TEA also told GMA the kits are intended to be kept by parents and caregivers and provided to law enforcement if an incident does occur and the information would help an investigation.

The timing of the kits’ distribution comes just four months after the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which resulted in the deaths of 19 students and two teachers. After the May 24 shooting, victims’ families were asked to provide DNA samples to help identify their loved ones. Now, some question whether the new child ID kits being distributed could be used to identify children in future school shootings and say more action needs to be done when it comes to gun regulations and protecting students in schools.

“It was almost like the state just throwing their hands up and saying, ‘We can’t do anything about the guns. We’re not going to change any of the laws. So, therefore, the next best thing is to make sure that we can identify your K through eighth grader if they are killed in any type of school incident,'” Anthony Crutch, a Texas parent, told ABC News station KTRK-TV.

A financial analysis by the Texas Legislative Budget Board estimated last April the kit distribution program would cost about $8 million to implement.

Over 70% of pediatric hospital beds in US full amid surge of respiratory illnesses

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the surge in children’s respiratory illnesses, including rhinovirus and enterovirus, continues across the country, one children’s hospital is considering installing a field tent to deal with the influx of patients.

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford confirmed to ABC News it is considering working with the National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Association as it explores the possibility of setting up a tent on the hospital’s lawn.

The hospital currently has more than one dozen pediatric patients who are waiting for beds.

“We’re thinking of other alternatives as well as adding space, such as a mobile hospital out here on the front lawn,” Dr. John Brancanto, division head of emergency medicine at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, told ABC News’ Erielle Reshef. “We are seeing a very high number of patients and very high acuity.”

Another hospital in the state, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, said overall RSV cases seen in the emergency department jumped from 57 last week to 106 currently.

While the hospital currently has one to three children admitted with COVID-19, there are 30 admitted with RSV, according to Dr. Thomas Murray, associate medical director for infection prevention at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital.

“I think the biggest concern from my perspective is the uncertainty of when the RSV surge will peak and what will happen with influenza as it has started to circulate in the area,” Murray told ABC News. “Increasing numbers of influenza along with high RSV numbers will require us to further expand our strategies to care for the children that need it.”

RSV — or respiratory syncytial virus — can cause mild, cold-like symptoms, and in severe cases, can cause bronchiolitis or pneumonia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults,” the CDC says.

Enteroviruses can also cause respiratory illness ranging from mild — like a common cold — to severe, according to the CDC. In rare instances, severe cases can cause illnesses like viral meningitis (infection of the covering of spinal cord and brain) or acute flaccid myelitis, a neurologic condition that can cause muscle weakness and paralysis.

Hospitals in more than two dozen states — including Rhode Island, Washington, Colorado, Texas, Ohio, Louisiana, New Jersey and Massachusetts — and the District of Columbia have told ABC News they are feeling the crush of a higher-than-expected rate of certain pediatric infections other than COVID-19.

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

Dr. Michael Koster, director of pediatric infectious diseases at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, said that “from mid-September to mid-October,” the number of patients with RSV infections coming into the hospital had “doubled.”

“These patients aren’t just from Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts — we are seeing patients are coming from over 100 miles away, because their local pediatric hospital is full or has closed,” Koster added.

In an advisory last month to pediatricians and hospitals, shared with ABC News, the New Jersey Department of Health warned of increasing levels of enterovirus and rhinovirus activity, and noted the state was seeing a similar “surge” like other parts of the country.

A spokesperson for the department told ABC News at the time they were “monitoring and watching hospitalizations and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit census daily throughout the state,” adding that officials had planned a call with hospitals “to assess pediatric capacity” amid the surge.

Health experts say they expect things to worsen as the school year proceeds and winter approaches.

“When I talk to children’s hospitals in Illinois and across the country, very much universally, they’re telling me they’re seeing an uptick in pediatric admissions through the emergency department as well as children sick enough to require the pediatric intensive care unit,” Dana Evans, respiratory therapist and board member of the American Association for Respiratory Care, told ABC News. “Most of them are telling me that what they’re seeing is rhinovirus and enterovirus. Some of them are seeing enterovirus D68.”

Evans said it’s typical for these viruses to make their way back in the fall, while noting there have been changes in the typical patterns since the coronavirus pandemic.

“Last year, RSV hit unseasonably early in August, and this year it’s September,” said Evans. “We didn’t see it in 2020 — likely due to all of the COVID mitigation strategies and the masking and everything we were doing to prevent the spread of COVID which also prevents the spread of other respiratory viruses — but here we are in 2022, and we’re back at it.”

According to Evans, the cause of the surge is likely a combination of factors, including the fact that some children may not have been previously exposed due to COVID-related hygiene practices and that this could be a “particularly virulent” strain of the virus.

Children with chronic lung disease, premature babies and kids with asthma are considered especially high risk.

Evans said children and families should continue to practice good hygiene like hand washing and staying home when sick to help prevent viral spread.

“Anyone that’s exhibiting respiratory viral symptoms really should stay home, be it staying home from school or staying home from work, so they don’t spread the virus to their friends or to your colleagues,” said Evans. “That slowing the spread is important, so it reduces the prevalence of it in our communities, but also protects others from becoming sick as well.”

Parents and guardians should seek medical help if a child is having trouble breathing, wheezing or becoming blue or discolored in their face, according to Evans.

“Either coming to the emergency department or reaching out to your physician for recommendations of next steps at that point would be really important,” she said.

Three men imprisoned for 28 years freed after judge vacates murder convictions

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW ORLEANS) — For 28 years, Kunta Gable, Leroy Nelson and Bernell Juluke were wrongfully imprisoned, convicted as teens for a fatal drive-by shooting in New Orleans that they did not commit.

The three men were finally freed Wednesday when a state judge vacated their murder convictions after prosecutors cited the interference of two notoriously corrupt police officers in their case.

Gable, Nelson and Juluke have reunited with their families and are now adjusting back to normal life.

Michael Admirand, Juluke’s attorney, said in a statement to ABC News that they are grateful to the court, the prosecutor and the District Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Division for their work in “correcting this grave injustice.”

“Mr. Juluke maintained his innocence from the moment of his wrongful arrest. I am relieved that he has finally been vindicated, if dismayed that it took so long,” Admirand said. “Nothing can make up for the three decades Mr. Juluke and his family lost because of his wrongful conviction, but thanks to the Court’s action yesterday, at least they will have their future together.”

Gable, Nelson and Juluke were arrested on Aug. 22, 1994, shortly after the shooting death of Rondell Santinac at the Desire housing development. Gable and Nelson were 17 at the time while Juluke was 18.

The state judge ordered the three men released, responding to a joint motion by a trio of defense lawyers and District Attorney Jason Williams’ Civil Rights Division.

After an extensive investigation by the division, which involved reviewing records and re-interviewing remaining witnesses, the motion outlined numerous flaws in the original case.

According to the district attorney, the state failed to disclose significant evidence that would have exculpated Gable, Nelson and Juluke, including a record of manipulating cases by investigating police officers, Len Davis and Sammie Williams, who were the first on the scene of Santinac’s murder.

Davis, who headed a small cadre of New Orleans police officers and their drug dealing operation, and Williams were infamous for tampering with murder scene evidence at the housing project to protect their network of local drug dealers and cover up the homicides they committed, according to the district attorney’s investigation.

Davis was even known as the “Desire Terrorist” for his dealings in the Desire and Florida projects, the motion said. He was later convicted for ordering the death of a woman, Kim Groves, because she had filed a complaint against him in a separate matter.

He was sentenced to the death penalty in 2005 and remains in federal prison.

Williams said in a statement to ABC News that Davis was widely known to have “wreaked havoc on marginalized New Orleanians.”

“There is extensive documented evidence that while operating under color of law he engaged in illegal drug trafficking, framed individuals who got in his way and even went so far as to order the murder of a private citizen who dared to report his systematic abuses,” Williams said.

Williams called it “unfathomable” that no agency had reviewed any of Davis’ cases during his “reign of terror” for 28 years until now.

The motion said the state also relied heavily on the testimony of their only eyewitness, Samuel Raiford, who claimed to be driving the vehicle with Santinac in the passenger seat. However, his statements, the motion said, were riddled with inconsistencies.

Still, prosecutors “vigorously defended” Raiford’s credibility, using it to undermine the defendants’ alibi witnesses as well as two additional witnesses claiming to have seen the crime and contending the defendants were not perpetrators, according to the motion.

Tracee Ellis Ross says ‘The Hair Tales’ is “about Black women, for everyone”

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Marsai Martin, Chika, Chlöe Bailey and many others sit down to discuss their lives and career journeys using personal stories about their hair for the Hulu Onyx Collective special The Hair Tales.

Though the stories focus on Black women, their experiences and identities tied to their hair, Ross says Hair Tales is a show for all audiences.

“I say that this is a show that is about Black women, for everyone, in that it is an opportunity for us to gain context and connection,” she told Essence, adding that the conversation about hair and its complexities “is always an important” one to have.

Executive produced by Ross, Oprah Winfrey and Michaela Angela Davis, The Hair Tales arrives at a time when leaders and change-makers are continuing to fight hair-based discrimination in the U.S.

“So often we forget that our society and our culture has been selling us a lie about ourselves and particularly about our hair,” Ross said. “Hair really is a portal into our souls and you’re in a sacred position when you’re the ones putting your hands in our hair, having your hands in our souls.”

By way of honest, open discussions, Ross hopes The Hair Tales resonates deeply with Black women.

“This show is an intimate and intentional discovery of the humanity of Black women told through the metaphor of hair,” she said. “Our intention was that this was a love letter to Black women.”

The Hair Tales will debut October 22 on OWN and Hulu at 9 p.m. EST.

Miranda Lambert shares some selfies with her “Paw Paw”: “Best lunch date ever”

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Blame it all on her roots: Miranda Lambert was destined to be a country girl ever since she was eight years old, thanks to a special gift from her grandfather.

The singer shared two selfies from a “lunch date” with the man she calls Paw Paw Hughes, explaining a little bit of the special relationship she and her grandpa have had over the years.

“He bought me my first pair of cowboy boots and cowboy hat when I was 8. Guess he knew back then I was gonna be a country girl forever,” Miranda wrote in the caption of her post. “Love you so much Paw Paw Hughes (my mama’s daddy.) Best lunch date ever.”

The two photos show Miranda and her grandpa cracking up — a frequent pastime for them, she explained.

“He has the best stories and the best sense of humor,” the singer told her fans. “We were both laughing in pic 2 because he said, ‘Who is taking the picture?’ I said, ‘Me…it’s a selfie.’”

Miranda’s been enjoying a little downtime after the first leg of her Velvet Rodeo: The Las Vegas Residency. She’ll hit the stage once again in late November.

Study: 1 in 3 teens reported poor mental health during pandemic

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The pandemic has taken a toll on all Americans’ mental health, but now, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 1 in 3 high school teens dealt with poor mental health during the pandemic, and 1 in 5 reported considering suicide.

“Our study examined how recent adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are contributing to poor mental health and suicidal behaviors among adolescents,” said Dr. Kayla Anderson, senior study author and expert with National Center for Injury and Prevention Control.

Over 4,000 teens participated in a 100-question online survey. Nearly 3 in 4 teens reported at least one adverse childhood experience — such as bullying, loss of a parent or violence — during the pandemic.

Prior research has established a link between adverse childhood experiences and an increased risk of chronic health conditions, changes in behavior, depression, anxiety and suicidal behaviors.

Researchers asked teens if they had experienced electronic bullying, teen dating violence, caregiver loss, food insecurity, sexual violence or emotional abuse during the pandemic.

Students who said they had experienced one or two of these events were twice as likely to report poor mental health and three to six times as likely to report suicidal behaviors. Meanwhile, students who reported experiencing four or more of these negative experiences were 25 times more likely to report a suicide attempt.

Experts said the changes in teen’s mental health may be related to stressors from the pandemic.

“With COVID-related threats to health, events in the news, and the accessibility of information online, it’s hard to insulate yourself from the stress, and has been even harder to find stability, support and connection — which is what teens need most at this stage of their lives,” said Dr. Neha Chaudhary, chief medical officer at BeMe Health and child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Because suicide has been the second-most common cause of death among those ages 10 to 14, mental health professionals say more research is needed to address the influence the pandemic has had on mental health in this vulnerable population.

Ways to help boost teens’ mental health

Adults can help teens and children by creating safe environments free of bullying, online harassment and violence, according to mental health experts.

“Teen mental health has become a public health emergency, and it’s time we started taking real, actionable steps to do something about it,” said Chaudhary.

According to experts, anyone can be an advocate for adolescent mental health.

“We must connect struggling adolescents to timely, effective care. Young people need all of the support we can give them,” Anderson said.

If you are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.

20 years on, Christina Aguilera reflects on ‘Stripped’: “I was able to be the artist I wanted to be”

October 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of Stripped, the album that saw Christina Aguilera transform from teen pop sweetheart into her more grown-up alter-ego “Xtina.” Featuring the controversial “Dirrty,” as well as “Beautiful” and “Fighter,” Stripped was a multi-platinum success. Looking back, Christina says it marked the first time that she was “literally able to be the artist I wanted to be.”

Christina told ABC Audio that while she’s “thankful” that her debut album was a huge hit, it didn’t truly reflect who she was as an artist. That’s why, she explained, “Stripped was such a special breakthrough album for me.”

“I went into it with the perspective of ‘I don’t care if it sells one or one million copies, I need to do this for me, and be able to express how I feel, so I can be my best and my happiest,'” she explained. “And I was able to do that…not without much controversy, but par for the course — I’ve never been one to shy away from that!”

“Just being able to come from a place that was really genuine to me…that was a labor of love for me,” she said of Stripped.

Today, Christina said she sees the influence of Stripped in other people’s work, revealing, “Other artists come up to me and tell me which songs have inspired them.” She also praised today’s female artists for being “so fearless now…and unafraid to experiment.”

“It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing to see come full circle,” she noted. “And that album was such an important time for me, and…the beginning of being the artist that I became.”

Friday brings a reissue of Stripped with new cover art, the Benny Benassi remix of “Beautiful” and the “Dirrty” B-side, “I Will Be.”

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